"Hey, you're coming with us, aren't you?" The wind blew her curly blonde hair all over while her perky blue eyes looked up at my dull, dark brown ones.
"What was that?" I took my singular earbud out to hear her question again. Music always helped to calm me down when I was around her.
"You're coming with us? To the New Years' party?"
My heart fluttered. "Uh...yeah, I'll be there, Kay. Who's coming again?" Her real name was Mikayla, but everyone called her Kay. Quit beating so fast, heart!
"Oh...you know." She twirled her golden locks with her fingers. Man, she acted so cute sometimes. "John- the one with the glasses, Kaden, Andrew...and I think that's everyone I know that's going."
"Kay, I think you're a bit more popular than that," I smirked.
She laughed. "Yeah, but you don't care about which of my girl friends are tagging along."
"Darned straight I don't. What time is it at again?"
"I'll text you later." She shivers. "It sure is cold out this time of year...."
"Yeah, normal humans wear jackets. You've got on shorts and a sweatshirt."
"Shut up, I forgot my jacket at home, that's all...."
"Right." My heart pounds with the next question. "Y-y'know, if you want you can borrow my jacket. Temporarily."
She waves away the offer with a smile. "That's alright, I'll run it off. Catch you later, Jay!"
"Yeah." I wave at her as she goes, her hair a mess in the wind as she runs. I can't help but laugh.
Mere months ago, I couldn't imagine being invited to a party, much less from my own crush. I had so many opportunities to reach out, take her and kiss her like there was no tomorrow. But I kept my feelings hidden, waiting for the right moment to tell her. It would come. I just needed to be patient.
I thought about all these things as the leaves rustled in the wind, my breath visible, the lake frozen over as I crossed the bridge. I thought about all of these things as I walked towards my apartment home a few blocks away, past rushing cars, taxis, even pedestrians. And the pedestrians were everywhere. Somehow, I made it safely home.
Soon, however, I would come to realize the distance between myself and her.
YOU ARE READING
The Distance
Romance"You've never wanted better for yourself?" "Well, this is how it's always been for me, so I never really thought about it...." "Well, I've had enough of that! I'm going to introduce you to a whole new world, my friend." When introvert Jay Parnick ma...
