The wedding was absolutely beautiful. They were married on the coast of Maui, Hawaii. The sand burned our feet and the waves crashed at our toes as they both said, "I do." The reception was even better. The music was fabulous and fast paced, perfect for dancing. Aside from the few slow songs here and there. Lydia and I laughed and giggled the entire time taking pictures and dancing together. The week after our parents returned from their honeymoon we moved into a house together. Lydia and I were to share a room together.
We decided to paint our room a light blue on two walls and a teal blue on the other two. We bought loft beds and set them up so we could whisper back and forth at night when sleep seemed nearly impossible. We also shared a walk in closet. We each got a rack and a book shelf to store our clothes. That didn't really matter though because we shared and swapped clothes so often that we could barely remember who's was who's in the beginning.
Lydia was only a grade beneath me in school. And we lived in such a small town that our school held preschool all the way until the seniors. I was a freshman and Lydia was in eighth grade. We had the same general group of friends and sat together at lunch. I helped her with all of her homework and we worked together on household chores and the cleaning of our room and closet.
One night it was particularly difficult to sleep. "Oh come on Kameron you have to say yes!" Lydia was saying.
" I don't know what would dad think?"
"Oh who cares. Tanner asked you to wear his jersey on homecoming and he asked you to the dance! I know you like him a lot and he likes you even more. Come on!"
"Are you sure? I don't want to rush things... Do you really think he likes me?"
"I know he does. He told Kate. Come on!"
"Alright" I say turning over in bed so she can't see my smile. Or the redness that began to pop up on my cheeks.
"Good. I can't wait for next year. I'll actually get to go to the dance. Maybe a guy will ask me to wear their jersey."
"Of course a guy will ask you to wear their jersey! You basically have your pick of any guy in your grade."
"I know! None of them are cute though. And I wouldn't look good with any of them. Gosh you just look so cute with Tanner!"
"Thanks but I'm not sure if this is a thing or not. He might just need someone to go to the dance with."
"Kameron. Seriously he likes you Kate said that he told her he was thinking of asking you out. And I saw the text messages." My heart fluttered. I tried not to let my mind race.
"Whatever some guy must have taken his phone. And besides I have too much at stake now. I mean school is a breeze but there's still homework to do and you know how important swimming is to me. I shouldn't be focused on boys."
"Ugh can't you just accept that you guys are absolutely perfect for each other?"
"I think you're absolutely naïve. I'm going to bed I have a test tomorrow. Night"
"Night." But I didn't go to bed or have a test. I made up my mind that I would wear Tanner's jersey and go with him to the dance on Friday. If something more were to happen like him asking me out I wasn't sure yet what to do. He had come over to our house before. Only when Lydia was at her moms house. And only with other people. We would squish together on the bean bag and watch a movie. I usually sat next to Tanner. Sometimes I would catch him looking at me and then he'd look away. But sometimes I'd be the one caught. He would sit close to me and one time he put his arm around me and pulled me closer when Jake got too close to me. He would hug me goodbye. I could tell the hugs didn't just mean goodbye.
What was I worried about? It was just Tanner. It's perfectly normal to like someone. Isn't it?
