Lions, Tigers, and Bears

Slow and Low

I was acting a little strange the rest of the day and the day after that.  Ryan wanted to hang out again, but I had a dress fitting for my brother's wedding so I told him no.  I ended up turning my phone off on Saturday evening, I didn't want to talk to anyone.  I felt like I was being pulled in two different directions.  One side of me was excited that he kissed me.  I mean, I really like him and he obviously has feelings for me too.  The other side of me felt violated.  Papa always taught me that a real man asks if he can kiss a lady, and that a lady should say no unless she's marrying him.  I know the last part was a little ridiculous,  but I wish I was less surprised for a kiss.  I woke up on Monday morning and dreaded school.  I was going to have to see Ryan.   I wonder if he talked to Brendon?  Or worse, I wonder if he told Angie...

I got dressed, gathered my things, and sat at the table for breakfast.

"Sleep well, June-bug?" Mama asked me while I started eating.  I just nodded.

"Okay, you better tell me what's going on missy.  Ever since you came home after hanging out with that boy, you've been acting strange.  Now if you tell me what happened, I won't tell papa.  But if you don't tell me, i'll tell papa and you know he'll go try and kill that boy." She said sitting across from me.

"Don't tell papa... Ryan kissed me." I said to her.

"Oh!" She said with a smile.

"No, he has a girlfriend."

"What is that boy doing kissing girls when he's got a girlfriend? I don't like that at all, you gotta stop seeing him June." She said making the smile disappear from her face.

"She treats him awful and I do admit we have been growing close but he feels bad.  I don't know, i'm just mixed up emotionally."

"Do you like him?"

"Yeah, I really do."

"You gotta be patient... And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.  But i'm telling you now, if he's still with his girlfriend, move on.  You deserve a man who gives you his full attention." She said tucking some hair behind my ear.  

"Thanks mama... Can I walk to school today?" I asked her.  She sighed and thought it over for a bit.

"Okay, but be careful."

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I loved walking in the mornings.  The air is fresher, people are walking their dogs, and it helps you wake up fully.  It didn't take too long to get to school, I even got there a little early.  I started walking to my locker and saw that Ryan was standing outside of it.  He was looking at his phone so he didn't see me yet.  I quickly turned around and walked in a different direction.  I wasn't ready to talk to him yet.  I did spot dark hair with purple streaks!

"Nora!" I said coming up behind her and tapping her on the shoulder.

"Hey! How was the dress fitting?" 

"It was fine, the dress fits.  I need to talk to you about something."

"Do you want to skip our first class and hide in the courtyard?" She said with an evil grin.

"I've never skipped a class before..." I said.  It was math, and Ryan was in that class.

"Screw it, lets go!" I said.  She laughed and led the way to a courtyard.  We had to sit hidden in a bush, but I was excited that I was doing something rebellious.

"Okay so what do you want to talk about?" Nora said getting comfortable.

"Ryan kissed me on Saturday."