I'm Only Me When I'm With You

4. Lincoln

"You told me it would be an hour," Ryland grumbles. "One. Fucking. Hour. It's been four hours, Lincoln!"

I spent four hours at breakfast with Paisley.

He drives my car back to my mom's house as he continues ranting.

"No one, Lincoln, wants to spend four fucking hours at the goddamn mall if they're all alone. Do you know how many fucking people kept glaring at me? That mall was boring as fuck! I ended up walking through that pink store, Lincoln. You know the one? With all the kinds of panties? And then, I had to go to fucking Barnes & Noble. I don't fucking read, Lincoln."

I should go there with Paisley sometime.

"Did you check to see if Barnes & Noble is open tomorrow?" I ask him.

Ryland turns to give me a quick exasperated look before turning back to the road.

"Linc, I'm glad your girlfriend likes books and shit. That's probably nice. Good for you. You're dating the quiet nerd. She's probably hella smart. I've also heard that the quiet ones are also freaky as fuck, so maybe you'll finally get laid after all this time. Great," he waves his hand. "But you fucking left me alone at a mall, and I got so bored, that I went to look at panties and books, two things I will never fucking use!"

"She's not technically my girlfriend," I mutter, ignoring basically everything he said. "And I still don't know what her shirt meant."

"Um, she kissed you on the first date. Like five hours after she met you," he laughs. "She's definitely your girlfriend. And what were the letters again?"

"Fuck if I know," I sigh. "It was really random though."

"Did you ask her?" He murmurs as he parks the car.

"Yeah. She just started blushing," I run my fingers through her hair.

"Let's go talk to your mom about this," Ryland grins before jumping out of the car and walking to the front door.

He throws the door open and I follow behind him.

"Susan!" He calls excitedly.

"Shut your ass up, Ryland," my mom sighs as she comes around the corner. "The whole goddamn neighborhood can hear you."

"Lincoln just went on a date," Ryland grins.

My mom turns to look at me and raises an eyebrow.

I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"He's just got a lot of energy because he's been alone all day," I snort.

"Oh, yes! Susan, your son left me all alone. He ditched me for his girl, can you believe that?" Ryland sighs dramatically.

"What girl did you go on a date with?" My mom looks over at me, ignoring Ryland.

"Paisley," I murmur, feeling myself smile.

"The girl he smashed the door into at Starbucks," Ryland informs her.

I look back over at my mom and she's rubbing her eyes.

"How'd the date go, Lincoln?" My mom asks.

"It was good. Really good," I murmur, not sure what I'm supposed to tell her about it.

"She kissed him," Ryland tells her excitedly. "And then he kissed her."

My mom raises her eyebrows a little.

I sink down onto the couch and rest my head back, staring up at the ceiling.

I hear Ryland start talking again and tune him out.