The Rules My Brothers Made

Chapter 6

That night, I found myself laying in bed feeling entirely too confused for my liking.  I had pushed the awkward exchange with Evan out of my mind while I was with my family during the afternoon and into the evening.  Once everything was all set for the week, I retreated into my bedroom, hoping to hide away from the nosy personalities in the house.  I know for sure that Matt could tell something was up, but I wasn’t about to let him know that something had happened.  Matt and Evan were definitely not friends ever since the mishap in 8th grade, and even though Evan had helped me on Friday, there was no way Matt would be okay with what happened.

Even if Matt was okay with it, he would certainly tell Mike, and the likelihood of me ever being within three feet of Evan ever again were slim to nil once Mike got involved.  Ever since Mike moved away, he took the family rules even more seriously than ever.  Sometimes my friends question Mike’s devotion to that pact, but once I show them the framed copy Mike has on the inside of his closet door with all our original signatures, they seem to catch on pretty quick.   There is even a handprint for Max, since the two year old wasn’t able to sign his name back then.  I really can’t blame the kids I go to school with for thinking we’re a bunch of freaks.  If Mike, Matt, and Mark weren’t so damn charming, we would probably be shunned.  Luckily for me, the girls loved them and the guys wanted to be them, so we were safe.

I was still in shock that Evan had kissed me.  It came so far out of left field, I didn’t even know what to think about it.  Granted, I didn’t make it any better by chasing after him and continuing the kiss, but it was the only thing that popped into my head at the time.  My body was on autopilot, and that kind of scared me.  I hadn’t felt any sort of warm and fuzzy feelings for Evan since middle school, and now, I am apparently that girl who chases after him and kisses him.  I am no better than any of the girls in my grade who hook up with different guys every weekend.  Especially since it was only two days after he had broken up with Alison.  They had been together for three years, surely he was still harboring romantic feelings for her.  People don’t just break up and call it a day, you know.

Frustrated that my mind was just spinning in circles, I finally rolled over and grabbed my cell phone.  Opening it up to the text conversation with Evan, I shot him a quick text.  Hey, can we please talk about what happened earlier?  Honestly, I was a little surprised by it all, and I think we should have a conversation about it.  There, I was nice and polite.  Surely he will respect that and help me figure out why the afternoon went the way it did.

It didn’t take long for me to get my answer.  Nothing to talk about.   It was just a study session.

I frowned.  Nothing to talk about?  How could he even think that?  Of course there was something to talk about!  He must know that I was clearly not talking about me helping him with class.  I didn’t mean that, although you did really well today.  I meant the kiss.  Well, kisses.  I returned.

My phone buzzed almost instantly.  Like I said before, there is nothing to talk about.  It was just a kiss.  Thanks for the help with chemistry today, but I think I’ll find another tutor.  Have a good night, Meghan.

I can’t believe it!  He really was the same jerk he has been for the past couple years.  This afternoon, I thought I had seen some little sliver of decency beneath all the jerky exterior.  I guess I was wrong though.  I’m still annoyed that he kissed me, even more annoyed that I kissed him back, but I was not going to let him bother me.  I could rise above this.  Sure, I wasted my first kiss on an absolute jerk, and risked my brothers freaking out on me, but I could keep it a secret, and just let this ride out.  I highly doubt Evan would chance saying anything as long as Mark and Matt were around, so I figured I would be safe.