Project Prep (Completed)

Chapter 23

"So Justin," my dad starts off as he slices through a piece of his steak, "What do you like to do for fun?"

We were currently situated at the dining table. I sat on one side of the table, Justin sat on the other. My parents were each sitting at either end of the table.

My dad had gone with his regular attire, a white buttoned up shirt and black khakis. My mom had decided with a green blouse and a black pencil skirt.

We look like the perfect family.

"Well, Mr. Howard, I love messing around and playing games with my little brother and sister." He says smiling, taking a bite of his steak as well.

"Oh that sounds so fun! What kind of games do you play?" My mom eagerly asks him.

He swallows, taking a sip of his water. He then pauses, as if thinking of something. "Oh! This is a personal favorite," He says excitedly, "In the summer we go out and buy a game of twister and a couple of buckets of paint. When we get home, we change clothes and pour the paint onto the twister mat, matching the paint color with the dots on the mat and play 'Paint Twister'. The kids love it."

"That sounds so fun!" My mom replies.

I smile thinking about him out playing with Cammi and Sammi. Just seeing him in his kitchen the other day hanging Sammi upside down made me smile to no end. Now that I noticed it, he had these slight dimples on his cheeks whenever he grinned. Cute.

"What do you say, Abbi?" My mom asks me.

I stop twirling the piece of lettuce in my plate around to answer her. "Say about what?"

"You playing 'Paint Twister' this summer with Emma. Doesn't that sound like fun?!"

My eyes bulge. "Are you crazy? If Emma lost, she'd 'Right foot red' me in the face! Em is way too competitive for stuff like that!"

My outburst causes a chuckle from Justin and a look of realization from my mom.

"Why don't you two play it together one summer, then?" My dad asks, waving his fork back and forth between the both of us.

My face immediately heats up and I resist the urge to kick his leg under the table.

Great. Now my dad's in on it, too.

"I think that would be super fun. What say you, Abbi?"

"Sure, why not sometime?" I plaster a smile on my face and slump in my chair, poking a fork at my salad.

It kinda bummed me out that Justin probably meant that as a friendly gesture. He's not picking up any sign that I might like him, or if he has, he hasn't done anything about it. I guess I'm going to be a forever alone person and be hosted on Animal Hoarders for having fifty cats and dogs.

And why the heck can't I have a steak like my dad and Justin? Why did my mom insist that, and I quote, "A lady must be charming and eat a salad, not hork down steaks." ? Just you wait, momma, I'm sneaking in the kitchen tonight and taking a tub of ice cream to my room.

"Abbi? Is everything alright? You're not speaking much."

I look around at their plates and notice that everyone is nearly done eating.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired, I guess. Can I be excused?" They nodd, and I slowly stand up from my chair. Pushing it up under the table, I begin to walk out of the kitchen. My booties clacked against our tile floor, each clack getting louder.

It felt like I had been walking a long distance, and my feet grew heavy. As I walked out of the dining room door, I saw a hurt look on his face.

I'm sorry, Justin.