Just Say Yes

13. Just Say Grounded

I lie down in my bed with my headphones on and my phone in hand. I'm grounded for two months just because I stayed out of the house for three nights without telling anyone. And Nate was only grounded for two weeks since he apparently didn't come home on the Friday.
I pause my movie when I get a text message from Ethan.

Do you want to come over?
'I'm grounded for seven more weeks.'
Sneak out.

I roll my eyes and sit upright

'You're such a bad influence on me.'
No, I'm just showing you how to live a little. You know, how to have fun.

I burst out laughing.
Boy the things he doesn't know. If anything I'm the one person on the planet you should think needs to slow down, because believe me, I know how to have fun.

'Excuse me, I already know how to live, thank you very much.'
You keep telling yourself that cupcake.
'Fine I'll come, but it has to be at night, so my parents don't come check up on me.'
That's okay. I'll see you soon.
'You'll see me at 10:30, so if five hours is soon for you, then okay.'
Damn, the sass is real

I stare at the screen with my jaw dropped, then burst into a fit of laughter.
'Oh my gosh! You did not just say that.'

The constant ticking of my clock resonates in my ears. One minute down, 299 more to go.
I hear three consecutive knocks on my door and lazily roll onto my side.
"Come in." I call out when I come to the realization that getting up isn't a possibility at the moment.

"Hey you." I smile when Nicholas comes running towards my bed.

He climbs up onto my bed with ease.

Well, faster than he's ever been able to before.

He lies down beside me and turns to face me.

"So, what brings you to Casa de Jay?"

He giggles and rubs his face with his hands.
"I need help." I raise an eyebrow and look at him. "Really? With what?"

"I want to ask Maya to be my girlfriend."
My eyes practically bulge out of their sockets.
"Why?"
"Because I like her," he stutters before continuing,
"and I don't want anyone else to go on play dates with her."
That's sweet, but its crazy. He's four.
"When's your next play date?"
"Saturday."
"Okay, here's what you're gonna do. Before she leaves, you're going to give her a flower and get down on one knee. Then you'll tell her everything you like about her and ask her. Got it?"
He nods.
I wipe a few stray tears from the corners of my eyes.
"Did I say something wrong?"
I shake my head with my eyes closed. When I open them, I see his bright blue eyes staring back up at me.
"No, it's just that. Didn't I tell you to stop growing up."

"I'm not, see. I'm still the same. I'll always be your baby brother." 
He crawls into my lap and hugs me.
I must be a really bad role model or older sister if I'm actually helping him with this.

He lets go of me and gets off my bed.
"Bye Jessy."
"Bye Nicky."

This boy is going to be a heartbreaker. I can see that already.

I close my eyes and take a couple deep breaths. My breath moves in sync with my clock.

240 more minutes.