The Way We Say Goodbye

Chapter 7

It had been a few days since Osbourne and I kissed, and I shared cookies with Bowie. Osbourne and I hadn't spoken about the kiss, but Bowie kept discreetly slipping me notes asking for more cookies. I told Bowie to go screw himself several times, but he continued to ask for cookies. The day was almost over. Only one class left, but unfortunately, I shared that class with Bowie. Of course, he slid into the seat next to me.

"Hey, Dee, when are you bringing me cookies?"

"Hey, Bowie, when are you shutting the hell up about the cookies?"

"You know, I'll stop asking if you just bring them."

"Maybe I have more important things to worry about than making you some damn cookies," I grumbled as I doodled angrily in my notebook.

"Are you and Jack fighting or something?"

I looked up at him, furrowing my eyebrows. "No. Why would you think we're fighting?"

"Because you're being all moody. I figured it had something to do with him. Especially since you've been staring at him a lot more lately and not talking to him as much."

My cheeks warmed as color flushed them. "I haven't been staring at him," I squeaked.

He rolled his eyes and said, "I'd call you a stalker if I didn't know he's just as obsessed with you as you are with him."

"He has a funny way of showing it," I mumbled.

"Okay, spill," he said, turning in his desk to face me. "What's going on with you two?"

"Why do you want to know so bad?"

"If I help you with this, you'll owe me. By that, I mean you'll owe me some fucking cookies. Now, spill. What's going on?"

I reluctantly said, "The day my mom and I made those cookies, Osbourne and I kissed."

"Okay...what's the big deal? You both clearly like each other. This is a good thing. It's progress."

"Yeah, it was great, but we haven't talked about it since it happened. Things feel more awkward and weird every day that we don't talk about it. I don't know if he regrets it, and it kind of feels like he's avoiding me."

"He's probably just nervous. Maybe he thinks you'd rather forget about it."

"Why would he think that?"

"Have you tried talking to him about the kiss?"

"Well, no."

"He might think you don't want to talk about it then. Maybe he's worried you changed your mind about things after I was all pissy that day."

I smirked at him and teased, "So you're saying it's all your fault then?"

He smirked and shook his head. "What I'm saying is that maybe you should make a move. Invite him out somewhere. Do something to show him that you're still interested."

I scrunched up my nose and asked, "Like what?"
"I don't know. Take him out, take him dancing. I'm not good with romantic shit."

I chuckled. "You think I should take your best friend dancing?"

"Maybe. Seems like something he'd like."

I took Bowie's advice. I texted Osbourne, telling him to meet me at the beach at 7. He hadn't texted back, so I sat nervously in the sand. I looked out over the water, watching the waves wash up over the sand, over the shells lying in the sand. The wind ruffled my hair around. I tried to push it back, out of my face. I jumped when a familiar voice said, "Maybe you should try a hair tie." He laughed when I gasped.

He sat beside me and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

I smiled at him and said, "It's okay."

"So...what did you want to meet about?"

"Maybe I just wanted to hang out."

"Is that it?"

I smiled and shook my head. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Talk away."

"Things have been weird with us lately."

"Have they?" He asked.

I turned to him, looking over his face inquisitively. "Haven't you noticed? Or were you too busy avoiding me to notice?"

He sucked in a breath. "You noticed that?"

I scoffed. "Of course I noticed. I just don't know why."

"Because I was putting off you telling me that you just want to stay friends."

I looked at him intently for a moment before asking, "Who said that that's what I wanted?"

He shrugged and said, "Nobody said it. It's just what I've been expecting. Isn't that why you wanted me to meet you here today?"

"No."

"Then why?"

I stood up, pulling out my phone, and said, "Stand up."

"What?"

"Just stand up."

He stood up, and I pressed play on my Spotify playlist I prepared for this.

"Dance with me," I demanded.

"You told me to meet you so that I would dance with you on the beach," he asked in confusion.

"Yes, now dance with me," I said seriously.

He smiled and pulled me to him. We danced slowly. He held me close, and he rested his forehead against mine. My eyelids fell closed, and I wished I could live in that moment forever. There was a sick feeling in my stomach, and I couldn't shake the thought that we wouldn't be together like this much longer. The thought made my chest feel tight, and tears quickly formed in my eyes. I quickly forced the thought away and focused on the moment. I didn't know what was to come, but I wanted to enjoy the moment. He was there with me, and that's all I cared about. I had him in my arms, and he had me in his.

He whispered in my ear, "Why the sudden need to dance with me?"

"I didn't know what to do to fix things, and Bowie annoyed me into talking to him about what's been going on. I'm just following his advice."

He chuckled and asked, "Bowie told you to dance with me on the beach?"

"He told me to take you dancing. The beach was my idea."

"And why the beach?" he asked, pulling away enough to look me in the eyes.

"Because this is where we kissed," I answered as my heartbeat sped up.

He smiled at me, bringing his face closer to mine. His nose brushed mine, and his breath fanned out across my lips. My eyelids closed, and my breath caught in my throat. His palm rested against my cheek, and we stopped dancing. His lips barely brushed mine, and I felt as though I were on fire. I rested my hand on his chest before grabbing his shirt and pulling him into me, pressing my lips against his. He kissed me back, holding me close to him. My heart raced, and in that moment, I felt complete. It wasn't long before he pulled away from the kiss, both of us breathing heavily. He rested his forehead against mine and smiled down at me.

"I'm really glad you invited me dancing."

I laughed. "I definitely owe Bowie some cookies."

He looked at me with his eyebrows drawn together and laughed, "What?"

I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

He smiled back and wrapped his arms around my waist and said, "If you say so."

We stayed on the beach until after dark. We stared up into the dark sky, looking at the stars and pointing out constellations. I couldn't have dreamed of a more perfect night. If only things could have always been that perfect.