Play the Game Boy (BWWM)

chapter 4

Faith

Did I really need to bring this blue umbrella?

Nah. I settled into not bringing it with me— my bag was already almost full as it was. Xander told me to pack lightly as we'd have to move around a lot with our personal items at the music festival that he had gotten us tickets to. He had assured me that this band I told him I was obsessed with was going to perform and naturally, I couldn't pass that opportunity up.

I put on a thin vest and slid into the straps of my small leathered backpack, ready to leave. I peeked through the blinds of my window and noticed Xander's signature brown Jeep outside.

After jumping into some sandals, I tiptoed towards the balcony, but as soon as I tried opening the glassed door, my mother's voice boomed into my ears :

"It's six AM, where do you think you're going young lady?"

Her arms were crossed over her chest, hair still wrapped into a bonnet. Her eyes were droopy and her features, a bit sunken from tiredness. I looked down at the street where Xander waited for me in his car, and back at my sleepy mom. Okay, maybe, and only maybe telling my parents about this beforehand could've spared me from this incredibly embarassing conversation with my mother, but not by much.

You see, whereas some parents were chill about relationships and boys, mine —especially my dad— would seethe at the idea of their only child seeing someone they haven't properly met before, or anyone for that matter.

One of her eyebrows sprung up in impatience.

Oh I was doomed.

She looked at me with an incredulous expression and said :

"Faith, where do you think you're going right now?"

I took a deep breath in, closing my eyes in search of a great excuse. Nadine needed help redecorating her room? At six AM? Yeah, that one was bad.

"That boy, Xander, he's taking you out right?" my mother guessed, a small smile plastered on her round face. I stood there, bewildered that she knew. Yes, I might've casually mentioned him to her once or twice omitting the fact that I was sorta interested in him, and I might've secretly gone out to places with him on multiple occasions those past two weeks, but I didn't think she'd figure it out so soon. Moms did know better. "Go," she added, signing me off with a hand gesture. "I won't tell your father."

I hugged my mother tightly murmuring that she was the best and that I'd call her to let her know I was okay. She seemed content with that answer as she let a sly grin draw itself onto her lips.

If only my dad knew...

I took the frontdoor —the easy way out since I didn't have to go all the way down the metallic ladder-like stairs outside— making sure to hurry. When I pushed open the doors of the complex, Xander was slouched onto the hood of the dark Jeep, looking as messily neat as ever. Dark curly hair tucked inside a black beanie, small sunflower stuck behind his left ear, bushy eyebrows resting in their natural untidy state, shiny black leather jacket on, the long eyelashes and deep green eyes looking up into the distance. When he noticed me, his stare immediately gleamed, as he was visibly enchanted to see me arrive.

"For a moment I almost thought you stood me up," he said in a seductive manner, pulling me into a hug.

"And wouldn't you have missed me if I did..." I playfully retorted, breathing in the distinctive smell of his jacket. Sweet, sour and spicy. The only three tastes that mattered in life.