My Mentor ♤

Jacinta

So we're dating.

Nick and I.

We hold hands, walking to class. Both of us, so embarrassed to even look at each other. Heads down, blushing to the point our blood vessels should pop. Keeping quiet, not even daring to break the slience.

We barely spoke to each other in the dorm, still, it's surreal that we are dating each other. I think I like him. Yes I do, but it's hard to tell if he likes me.

One night, I try to break this weird tension.

"Do you...want to cuddle again?" I ask.

So we cuddle again. It becomes a cycle. Walk to class, come home, cuddle, eat, sleep. Walk to class, come home, cuddle, eat, sleep.

This isn't right. We should be talking together about our relationship. Trying to work together. We should be going on dates, spoiling each other, loving on each other. But instead, we're having weird conversations and cuddling for a little while.

We're in the kitchen. He's scrolling on his phone, chewing on celery.

"Nick, this has to stop." I confront him.
He stops scrolling on his phone and looks up at me, mid bite.

"What? Me eating?" He says, mouth full of celery.

"No. Us. We need to change our relationship. We should be talking, going on dates, spoiling each other, showing each other off to our friends. Loving on each other. But we're not, we're being awkward, trying to avoid each other."

He put his phone down and stops eating. He walks around the counter and hugs me.

"I'm sorry, it's just... in my other relationships, I was told to shut up, be out of the way, leave her alone. I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know how to be in a healthy relationship. You are going to have to teach me. I'm willing to learn how to do this right. Okay?"

I nod in his chest. We just need to work through this. He's never had a healthy relationship, not even with his own mother, so I have to show him what unconditional love is.

"I just want you to like me, and for me to like you just as much. We need to be on the same page, never keeping secrets or telling lies. If we disagree, we need to talk, without emotions getting in the way. Can we do that?"
I look up at him thinking hard.

He nods and agrees that he can do it.

We just have to work this out together.