See you Tomorrow

Dinner

"This is the most awkward moment of your life. Right here." That was the truest statement my brain has ever thought. I could sense Mom knew what was going on, and was asking Corey embarrassing questions, even though she knew him.
"No. . ." Putting her hand up to her mouth so Aaron couldn't see, she mouthed the word "STDs?"
"No, ma'am." Corey replied, trying to eat his lasagna.
"Oh, good, good. You two just went to talk, then?"
God. If Aaron wasn't here, I don't WHAT would've happened. She was ACTUALLY asking him if we had sex! "Mom, can't we just eat our lasagna?" I was tired of her interrogating Corey.
"Okay." She became quiet. An awkward silence soon wrapped around us, choking every word that threatened to come alive. "Just wolf it down. The faster you eat, the less time you and Corey need to be here. Mom can't ask embarrassing questions if you guys aren't there to answer, so wolf it down." That sounded
like a pretty good idea, so I started to eat faster. Picking up on what I was putting down, Corey followed my lead. Aaron was done, so he went to the living room and watched Nickelodeon.
"You guys eat any faster, you'll be swallowing it whole!" Mom commented, which was her way of saying, "Slow down!".
"Sorry, Mrs. L, it's just REALLY good!"
"Thank you, Corey." Mom smiled.
We were finally done, so we put our plates by the sink and I lead Corey downstairs.
"Where do you two think you're going?" Mom caught us.
I stopped. "I'm just gonna show Corey where he's gonna sleep when he comes here."
"Okay. Just don't do anything, alright?" Mom glanced at Corey's attempt to cover up his slowly reddening face.
"We won't, Mom. We wouldn't do that."
She smiled. Was she messing with us this WHOLE TIME?! "I know, I know. It's my JOB to embarrass you, Sweetie Peaty!" She kissed my forehead then walked away. She WAS playing with us! I lead Corey downstairs.
"As you know, this is the guest bed, where you'd be staying."
"Aaron almost caught us."
I froze, my back to him. "I know. And let me tell ya, that makes me cautious."
"I know, and I'm sorry. Something. . . weird happened to me and-"
I interrupted him with a kiss. When I stopped, I said to him, "It's okay. Something came over me, too. And. . ." I took a gulp, forcing myself to see the reality of our situation. "It's gonna be hard. We're basically on opposite sides of the U.S."
"Yeah. But I still wanna be with you. I. . . I've never felt this way."
He chuckled because he was nervous. That surprised me. He has had different girlfriends before, obviously. But the fact that he hasn't felt this way with ANY of them, surprised me. "Really?"
"All of those other girls. . . they were nice, but I feel like. . . like, we have something special. I'm not good at this!" He chuckled.
He didn't need to be. I knew EXACTLY how he felt. "It's okay! That's what I'M here for!"
"Ha ha! Yeah. We make quite a team, the Cali boy and the Yooper girl."
"Ha ha I guess so." I looked up. Corey's face was serious. "When did you become Mr. Serious?" I asked, expecting a funny answer.
"When I found out the girl that was my friend for the longest time was actually my soul mate." I almost melted in his arms. Why did he make a move now? Ugh, I was going to miss him! Before I could tell him I loved him, another thought popped into my head. "How long have you liked me?"
He stiffened a little, then relaxed. "Let's see. . . . We met in preschool, so. . . . In fifth."
"I know that feeling. I liked you for a long time, too. I was just scared. And I didn't want to ruin what we had, in case you didn't like me back." I wanted to kick my past self in the face. If I would've just made a move, we would've had more time together.
"Do you regret anything?"
"What? When did we get on THIS topic?" "What do you mean?"
"Do you regret anything? Like, not doing anything, doing things too late, a decision you made. Stuff like that."
I did. I regret not telling Corey sooner. I regret not taking chances. I regret growing up too fast. "I regret that I can't be there for you. When I had the chance, I didn't take it. I regret that. Not taking chances. And growing up too fast."
"Hey, taking chances is scary. And growing up isn't your fault."
I didn't TRY to be more mature than people in my class, it just happened. We were in ninth grade, and most of them still thought fart jokes and sex jokes were funny. I didn't. They just weren't funny anymore. In eighth grade, they were funny. Guess my stupid brain had other plans, I guess.
"I guess. But it's a pain, you know? I mean, you probably don't, weirdo. But, I'll try to make a joke, and they won't get it. They'll make a fart joke, and it's not funny to me."
Corey chuckled at the word "fart". "See?"
"I'm sorry, ha ha! And, I know. I've had to grow up fast, too. Guess we're both weirdos."
"Ha ha! Maybe." I was silent for a minute. "Just go for it. You really love him after all, don't you?" I did. I decided to take a chance. "I love you."
That threw him off guard. I took advantage of his confusion and kissed him to show that I did love him. He took a breath, put his hands on my waist, then murmured, "I love you, too" before he closed the door and lead me to the bed. He sat down, and motioned for me to sit on his lap. I did, and we sat there for awhile before he said, "You know, I'm kind of tired. How 'bout you?"
"I could use a nap."
"Great." He slipped out from under me and laid on the bed. He patted the place in front of him. I smiled, and cuddled with him. We didn't sleep.
"You know what this place needs?" He asked me.
"What, babe?"
"A t.v. I wouldn't mind cuddling with you and watching some MTV right now."
I chuckled. He was such a weirdo! "But he's YOUR weirdo!"