Daddy

Three

"He's so good to me." My cousin Sarah babbles on while leaning further into her boyfriend's side. I watch my grandparents eat up all of the bullshit she's feeding them.

If there was a perfect couple, if that truly existed she was bound and determined to be 'that couple'. Even as kids she was fantasizing about the love of her life. I remember when we were ten, she would pick out the fastest, smartest guy in the class and spend her days following him around and laughing at the idioc rubbish he would say.

Her boyfriend was tall and had dark brown hair which he styled combed over to the side. His outfit was coordinated to match Sarah's and they looked so fake it made me sick. The way she was staring at him as if she actually believed flowers grew out of his asshole.

"Oh, Stella!" She squealed finally noticing my presence. "You have to meet Jake." She ran over to me pulling me by the arm.

"Hi, I'm Stella." I reached out for his hand but he suprised me by hugging me.

"I've heard so much about you I feel like I've known you my whole life." He tells me pulling away and smiling a little too widely. He looks like a fucking Abercrombie and Fitch model.

"How long have you two been dating?" I ask coughing to hide my laugh.

"Six months." Sarah replies grinning and reaching up to kiss his cheek. "Where's your man Stells?"

I cringe at her nickname for me, I've hated it for as long as I can remember and she is the only one who constantly brings it back. Luckily I only have to see her at special family functions.

"Don't have one," I say putting my hand on my hip dramatically "I'm a can't be tied down kind of girl." I wiggle my eyebrows sarcastically and giggle.

My cousin hugs me one last time before disappearing to change into her bathing suit. I make my way to a table that is filled with side dishes of food and pink graduation decorations. I bend down to grab a soda from the cooler and notice a shadow covering me from behind.

When I turn around I see Luke, he's dressed in basketball shorts and a white v-neck tshirt. His sunglasses hide his eyes from me but he smiles sweetly,"Hi there Stella."

"Hey." I wave slightly and rock back and forth on my feet.

"I figured you'd be drinking Pink lemonade." He points at the soda I'm holding and chuckles lightly.

I look down at it and then back at him, "Oh well there was no hard liquor around so I had to settle for this." I joke doing my best to sound tough but really sounded like an eighty year old smoker.

The two of us shared a moment of laughter before finding some chairs to sit in.

"So have you talked to Jess?" I ask him cracking open my soda and taking a sip.

"No, she's here?" He asks turning his head and looking at me. "Why would you ask me that?"

"She told me you guys were a thing." I answer him nervously. It was damn near ninety degrees outside but the way he was looking at me so darkly had my palms sweating.

"I would hardly call us a thing." He turned his attention back to the crowd of my relatives. The two of us just sat there, side by side watching everyone else conversate and make fools of themselves. It felt nice to sit with someone but not talk, just being with another person's presence.

"Look a that," Luke broke the silence after what felt like forever. He pointed at Sarah and Jake. "I can't tell which of them is more full of themselves." Luke laughs, like really laughs and it sounds amazing. The sound is quite contagious.