The parking lot is practically empty outside the frozen yogurt shop when I get there. I see Christian's silhouette against the bright inside lights, waiting for me. I get out of the car and walk up behind him and tap on his shoulder. He turns around and smiles down at me.
"Hey."
"Hi." He leads me inside. We order and choose a spot then start talking.
"So. How's Tyler?"
"He's pretty great. He smiled a lot before I left. They say he can come back home sometime in the next week."
"Nice."
"Yep."
We talk for about an hour about just about everything we can think of. Friends. Best memories. School. Family.
"So what about you? I always talk about Sophia but you don't mention anything about siblings."
"Uhm. Yeah. Its kind of a hard subject. I had a sister. Her name was Skylar but uhm," I gulp hard and take a deep breath to try to avoid the tears that I can feel building up. "She died. In a car crash...that I caused." I look down at my fro-yo, stirring it until its just a melted puddle of vanilla cream with gummy bears floating in it. Christian takes me by surprise and grabs my hand gently until I look at him.
He has a look of understanding on his face. "I'm sorry Rosaline."
"Its okay. It was almost a year ago."
He gives me a small smile, makes a joke, and just like that we're back to the lighthearted remarks and witty exchange. When we leave, he walks me to my car and takes my hand while we talk quietly for just a few minutes. I can't help but notice how close he is and how good his cologne smells. I keep watching his lips and then realize I'm staring and I look back up to his eyes. He takes it as a green light.
He kisses me. All I can hear is the crickets and the angels singing "hallelujah, amen" in my head. He puts his hand on my lower back and pulls me a little closer and I let it happen. I finally come to my senses a few seconds after he pulls away. I keep my eyes closed and blink them open to his bright smile really close to me.
"Uh." And its all I can think. Uh, what the hell just happened?
"Sorry. I know I shouldn't have and we just met but you're... wow. Yeah. I'm sorry."
"Uhhhh...."
He laughs and walks away to his car. He opens the door and in my head, I shake my head like in a cartoon and blink the stars out of my eyes. "Christian!" He turns and looks at me. "What time are you picking me up for school tomorrow?" He gives a wink and a smile.
-
I wake up in Ty's bed and I try to remember coming home last night. I don't so I stare at the ceiling trying to comprehend my feelings towards Christian. I'm thinking about what it would be like if he was my boyfriend when my alarm goes off, scaring me half to death. I get up and for the first time in about a year, I actually try to look okay.
I put on my dark blue skinny jeans, a maroon top with a black bow cut out of the back and a pair of black boot-heels. I even go to the point of twisting my hair up and back into a bun and putting on a little bit of mascara. The knock comes at about 7:10- exactly when he said he would be there. He smiles when he sees me.
"Well don't you just look beautiful."
"Thank you." I blush a little bit.
I get in his car and its everything I hoped it would be. I'm apparently having issues containing my awe-struck look because Christian laughs and revs the engine a little bit. I practically melt into his seat.
"Christian?"
"Yes?"
"I think I'm in love with your car."
He laughs, "it gets better." He leans in a little toward the stereo. He clicks a few buttons and Panic! At The Disco starts blaring Hallelujah, the bass making it so you can feel every instrument down to your bones. My jaw drops and you can tell he gets a kick out of it.
-
The rest of the week goes by in a pretty predictable pattern: Christian, school, Christian, homework, Tyler. Christian and I dont mention anything about the kiss. We go back to being best friends by an unspoken understanding of what should be done. Friday afternoon when I finally finish my homework and get to Tyler's room, he sits me down next to him. He scoots over and we have just enough room to sit side by side.
"They're sending me home tomorrow."
"Oh."
He looks at me. "Please, try to curb your excitement," he says sarcastically.
I laugh. "I just should probably tell you something before you go back."
"Oh? What's up?"
"Well, first off, I've been sleeping in your room since you left. And secondly, Christian Thomas has been picking me up for school every morning."
He smile falters for a second. "Alright."
It gets quiet for a second then he speaks again. "Are you and Christian dating or what?"
"No. I mean...well, we kissed. Once. But I don't think it'll happen again." I try not to sound too dissappointed at the last bit. "Why?"
"Uh...." he thinks for a second and I can tell he's warring with himself over something. He apparently decides against it. "Nothing. Just...if he hurts you, just remember I've got an entire varsity football team to back me up while I beat him."
I laugh "okay Ty."
I lean my head on his shoulder and we just enjoy the quiet. He holds my hand and I feel like we're back in 8th grade, the night he kissed me. I start to think about Tyler and how he always says he loves me and how he always frowns and pauses when I mention Christian...is it possible he likes me? Nah. No way.
I look at Ty. He's lost in his own train of thought. But then again....
I look away again and shake the thought out of my head. No.
We sit like that for a while and at 8 I tell him I'm going to go home.
"What time are you coming home?"
"I don't know exactly. Mom and dad are picking me up in the evening sometime. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed. That is, if you either don't mind sharing or you dont mind going back to your room."
"We'll see if I feel like sharing." I wink and then leave.
When I get home, Avenlea and Zion are sitting on the couch laughing. They both have a glass of wine in hand and there's a movie in the background. The couch is facing away from me and I smile and the head quietly upstairs so I don't distract them. I haven't heard them laugh since before the accident. I'm glad they're doing okay.
I open Ty's closet, pull down a white Smithton High Football sweatshirt and when I put it on and its way too big, I decide its perfect pajama material and I go to sleep in it.
