I'm standing in our kitchen with Cadence, Mom and Dad waiting expectantly on the barstools before us.
"Well?" Mom asks, polaroid camera dangling from her hand lazily as she looks at me with a confused expression. "Will you start? We have groceries that we need to put away. The ice cream isn't gonna freeze itself, you know."
Mom looks at Dad, who mirrors her confused expression. "She's right, girls. You brought us here for a reason."
Cadence, who's perched on the countertop, looks at me with a mischievous grin, tapping the pads of her index fingers together. I suppress a loud groan, running a hand through my hair. Ever since I told Cadence about the kiss, she insisted I tell Mom and Dad about it.
I guess I should've told them right away; They're my parents, and keeping a huge secret from them like this makes me feel horrible. I remember Cadence nearly tackling me in order to stop me from bolting when she called my parents' names.
"Mom! Dad!" She yelled, pinning my hands behind my back with one of her tiny hands. She may be 9, but that girl's stronger than a bull. She's growing fast. A little too fast for my liking.
I grumble under my breath at the memory.
"Sooo..." Dad says, twiddling his thumbs. He does that when he's nervous, which only further deepens the pit in my stomach. I take in a deep breath, recollecting every word from my brain when I recited telling my story to them.
Unfortunately, the words come out dry as sandpaper, as if I choked.
"So, um. You know Theo, right?" I say, lowering my gaze to my socks. I never did realize just how fascinating the threading pattern of my socks was.
"That's Dave's kid, right? Good kid, well rounded. Haven't heard from them in a while. I should really call them and-" Dad rambles on, completely going off-topic. Thankfully, Mom's voice cuts him off before he starts talking about 401K shares.
"Robert. Let the girl talk."
I shoot Mom a glance of approval, though quickly regret it when I realize I have to tell them my story. This should be easy, but it's not. I seriously should've called Dahlia and asked her for advice. Her parents love Aadhi, almost like he's already her husband.
Shaking the thought off, I return my gaze to their eyes, absentmindedly picking at my hair.
"So anyway, me and Theo kind of... met, at the end-of-11th dance, and ever since then, we've been playing tennis every week in the morning."
I can feel Cadence's unapproving glare burning piercing holes into my side as she stares at me.
What are you doing, giving them the whole backstory? Cut to the chase! Her expression reads.
Does it look like I know what I'm doing here? Just give me some time, OK? I shoot back, eyebrows furrowed together in distaste as the electric currents pulsate throughout the room.
"So, back to the story. Then, at Dahlia's birthday party, we met again, and um, we, like-" I start again, but Cadence, who's practically red from trying to not butt in, says in a triumphant voice:
"Kiara and Theo kissed!"
My parents stay silent for a second. Maybe a minute. Nope, nope. Hours.
The trash can looks like a wonderful hiding spot, now that I think about it.
Mom raises an eyebrow, looking amused. "Oh really?" she says, setting her mug down with way too much interest. "Well, well, well."
Dad doesn't miss a beat. "Theo, huh? The tennis kid?"
I feel my face heat up. "It was just one kiss. Not a big deal," I mumble, trying to keep my voice casual while every part of me is mortified. I'm standing straighter than a statue.
"Just one kiss?" Cadence teases, flicking me on my back. "But you said it was amazing."
I turn around swiftly before tickling her, causing her head to knock onto one of the cabinets behind her.
"Ow!"
I stick my tongue out at her before turning back around to face my grinning parents.
Mom's trying not to laugh, clearly enjoying this more than I am. "So... does that mean you and Theo are a thing now? Power couple? Are people going to go cray-cray for you two?"
"No," I say quickly, my face practically on fire. "It's not like that. It was just... it just happened. It's complicated. And please don't say cray-cray, Mom!"
Dad gives a slow nod, clearly fighting a smile. "Ah, 'just happened.' Classic." He sighs dreamily, propping his face up with his hand, elbow resting on the counter. "My little Ari, all grown up. Are you ready for the talk?"
I bury my face in my hands for a moment, then slowly emerge as I wearily ask, "What talk?"
Cadence grins widely behind me, her 'injury' forgotten about. "The birds and the bees talk, of course!" She pretends to fan herself with her hand, gazing dreamily upward.
"Mom!" I yell exasperatedly, gesturing to Cadence going full Romeo-and-Juliet mode. "Make her stop!"
"Well, I think it's cute," Mom replies, her eyes sharpening as she looks at Cadence. "But next time, maybe you should tell us, Kiara. Not your little informant here." She pauses. "And... just be careful. Even if you two aren't... dating."
I roll my eyes, but I can't help the tiny smile tugging at my lips. "Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad."
"Hey, it's all cool here," Dad says, sipping on his green tea heartily. "I'm just glad you have good taste."
I smack a hand onto my forehead but quickly bounce back when Mom asks me something I was dreading.
"Why don't you bring him here? I would love to meet him." She winks at me before getting up abruptly, running her hand over Dad's shoulder. "Come on, Robert, let's give the girl some time to breathe. After all, she has to spend time on daydreaming- I meant,- her homework."
They both get up, putting away bottles of pasta sauce before Dad hands me a crisp envelope. "Here, kiddo." I take the package gingerly. "It's from your school. Some sort of meet-your-peers thing. You should go. Theo might be there."
He grins at the last sentence before heading into the garage to bring more groceries.
