One Touch | Charlie Gillespie

T W E N T Y - S E V E N

It's obvious he's flirting with me, and I play along a little.

J U N E

The next morning, I wake up with soft giggling and the smell of feet next to my ear. As I open my eyes, I see two blonde haired little boys laughing at the way I sleep. Their big green eyes and smelly breaths already tell enough. It's the twins.

I sigh a smile before I receive them. They have just turned five, and they're cuter than ever— but also noisier than ever. The last time I saw them, they bounced through the whole living room like two tennis balls. I bet nothing has changed.

Oscar and Oliver are my youngest cousins. They're the two out of three children of aunt Nicole and uncle Jesse, which means they have arrived this morning. I look at my phone to see it's 11 A.M. Huh. That's pretty early for them. Nicole, Jesse and the kids are always late. They're too chaotic to be on time, but I guess today is an exception.

Meanwhile on my phone, I catch myself looking for a text or missed call from Charlie, but there's nothing. Though I expected nothing else, I somehow still have a disappointing feeling in my gut. But I try to hide my disappointment and focus on the twins. They're already tucking at my sleeves to guide me out of bed, and I obey as I laugh at their impatience.

"Wait, you're walking so fast! I can't keep up with you," I say automatically in my baby voice. Oliver throws his head back to look at me. "We're already five. You don't have to talk to us in that voice."
Okay then. He's got an attitude. I chuckle and his brother adds: "Yeah, we're not babies."
I throw my hands in the air. "All right."

Oscar and Oliver let go of my sleeves when we get down stairs. I quickly throw a glance in the mirror and fix my hair, since I just got out of bed. Then we walk into the living room. The room is crowded with familiar people. I suddenly feel very underdressed, because everyone is walking around in nice dresses and shirts. And since my dad's side of the family has always been professional and neat, I can't really show up in my pajamas.

Luckily, no one has seen me yet, and the twins are already out of sight. I turn around and run up the stairs to my bedroom. I grab some clothes out of my suitcase— I didn't feel like unpacking it last night— splash some water in my face and brush my teeth.

I mentally prepare myself for my family, and then I make my way down stairs to face them.

I first spot my other cousin Molly, the twins' older sister. She's playing on her phone and looks pretty bored. Molly is fourteen and in her typical teenage phase: she's always annoyed, she doesn't give a shit about other people— especially her parents— and has an extraordinary choice of clothes and makeup. I also still can't believe how she came out of aunt Nicole. They're two extremely different people. Aunt Nicole prefers to wear every possible color that exists, while Molly only has eyes for black. But I still adore her, even though I'm pretty sure she hates me.

My Grandmother is sitting at the table next to Molly. She tries to talk to her grandchild, but Molly is totally unreachable since she got her own phone. I sigh and walk op to the two of them from behind. "Hi Grandma," I say as I sit next to her. She looks up surprisingly, and I see her eyes twinkle as she sees me. A wide smile spreads across her face and she pulls me in for a tight hug and lots of wet kisses on my cheeks. "Now look at you, my little June. How are you doing?" she asks.

"I'm doing really good," I answer, half true. I'm truly happy to see my Grandmother again, but Charlie is still in the back of my head. I just can't stop thinking about him. But I told myself he has to get out of my head for this weekend. The thing is, that it's harder then it sounds.