Familiar | Kajemac

Chapter 6

A/N: I will state now that I don't know anything about Judaism beyond what I've learned from the internet, media, classes, and my Jewish friends, so I apologize in advance if anything is factually inaccurate. I would love to learn more. Thanks.

KJ's POV

Family and family friends and my family's family clutters the venue. Pink and green balloons float from the centre of every table, and a huge banner hangs for everyone to see with my full first name 'Karina' on it. Kids from my classes form their own little huddles, glancing at me every now and then. I don't even know most of them that well. My mom invited them all. She pretty much organized this whole thing. The only thing that was entirely my choice was the dress, thanks to Mac.

"Hey, Tiff, Erin, have you seen Mac yet?"

Both my friends look around but are unsuccessful.

"Not yet," Tiffany replies.

"I'm sure she'll show up," Erin assures me. "She probably just got lost."

The crashing of dishes gets my attention, and I turn to see Mac by the door next to a waiter picking up a bunch of metal dishes from the floor.

"Shit," my friend says. "My bad."

She kneels down and helps the man pick up a couple dishes before she spots me and completely changes course, coming up to me instead.

"Hey," she says.

I'm shocked as I look her over. She's wearing a dark green button-up shirt with jeans. It's not much, but it's more than I expected. I thought she would just come in her T-shirt and jacket as I normally see her. But she dressed up...for me.

"Mac, you—"

"You dressed up!" Tiff exclaims in surprise. "Sort of."

Mac looks at me with a shy smile and asks, "Do I look stupid."

I shake my head. "Not at all."

She lets out a nervous laugh and looks down then remembers the red wrapped gift in her hand and holds it up.

"Uh, where should I put this?"

"I can take it over to the gift table," Erin offers.

She takes the present from Mac and walks off, leaving Tiffany with me and Mac. That means I can't only look at Mac. I have to give Tiffany my attention too.

Thankfully, I don't have to. Because a tray of appetizers catches her eye, and she splits away to get one for herself. Now it's just me and Mac.

Mac looks down at her boots then back up to me, touching the back of her neck as she asks, "So what exactly happens at these things?"

"We eat. There's some speaking. I read from the Torah. Then we celebrate."

"I"m not gonna have to dance, right?"

A smirk forms on my face, prompting a look of terror on hers.

"I'm not a dancer," she insists.

"We'll see about that," I tease.

The night goes on smoothly. My friends join me and my parents at my table. I receive many congratulations from family members so extended I've never even met them before but they swear they saw me as a baby. By the time the dancing has started, I've spoken to so many people that they all begin to blur together. The only one that really stands out is my red-haired friend still sitting at our table, even though Tiff, Erin, and I have all been dancing for a while now.

"I'm gonna go check on her," I say before leaving my friends on the dance floor.

I duck through the crowd of people toward Mac. She looks up at me as I plop down on the chair next to her.

"Still don't want to dance?" I ask.

"I told you. I'm not a dancer."

"Nobody is. We all just kinda feel the groove and move our feet and pretend it looks good."

She chuckles, and after a second, changes the subject.

"Your speech was cool. I didn't know you could speech french."

"That was Hebrew."

"Oh. Sorry. I don't really know anything about this stuff. But it seems cool."

I smile in response.

We both look out at the dancers as they slow with the song's end. As the next song begins, Mac stands up.

"I'm gonna get another drink," she says.

"I join you."

Both of us make our way between the tables to the back of the room. It's empty over here now. Everyone is out on the dance floor or conversing at the tables near it. Coloured lights flash over that end of the room, making our end practically invisible to anyone under the lights. Here, the shadows give us privacy as we pour pitchers of pop into our cups. Mac takes a sip of her drink as she leans against the table, watching the party go on in the distance.

"Is it weird that I feel like I've seen this before?" she asks. "Like maybe I dreamt it or something."

Without needing any time to ponder, I reply, "No."

She turns her gaze to me, and I continue my thought.

"So much recently has felt like I know it but can't, like, remember it. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah."

Her eyes flick over my face as mine do the same to hers, subconsciously counting the freckles on her nose.

"Like you," I confess. "It feels like... I don't know how to explain it."

She lets out a heavy breath. "...Yeah."

The speakers go quiet once more, and a new song begins, but this one is half the tempo of the previous one. Both of us watch as couples form on the dance floor, and those without a partner sit down on the sides. I can't explain what comes over me next, except that there's this peculiar urge I can't quiet down, so I have to give in.

"Mac, dance with me."

She furrows her bows. "Like, slow dance?"

I reach for her hands, and she puts up no fight, instead letting me pull her toward me. I wrap my arms over her shoulders, and hers find home around my waist. Neither of us dare to look away from each other, like if we do, we'll wake up. I take a step left, and she follows my lead. Soon we're swaying with the beat, alone in our little corner. This feels so familiar.

My next words form without any thought, like following a script.

"Mac, you love me."

"I do?"

My heart picks up speed as I comprehend what I just said and everything that's happening at this very second. I should be terrified, because what I'm doing is absolutely insane. But I just know I'm right. I don't know how. But I know.

I take a deep breath and respond, "Yeah."

Her eyes trace my face again before landing on my lips. All of a sudden, she kisses me, and that taste of cigarettes and Ultra Brite toothpaste comes back to me like unlocking a door I'd lost the key for. This must be fate. That's the only thing that can explain how perfectly we fit together.

My eyes open as her lips drift away from mine, and she drops back down from her tip toes. We exist together in silence, this tranquil yet confusing state, for a minute, simply letting our breath calm down and our heartbeats return to normal.

"Yeah," she eventually whispers. "...I do."