Maybe Then...

Chapter 11: if my family would stop teasing me

If my family would stop teasing me,

maybe then, I wouldn't be so flustered.

-----------------------------------------

It wasn't exactly the norm for me to come home in total and utter bliss, at least, not since the move. My cheerfulness did not escape grandpa's eye, either.

The next morning I woke up reminiscent of last night's events, the feelings, thoughts, and images still freshly imprinted on my mind. I didn't wake up with an attitude of what do I have to do today? but rather what do I get to do today?

It was a Saturday, so I didn't have to go to work, but I had band practice right after lunch. Since we all knew for sure that I get Saturdays off, it was declared a day of "putting our foot down" and "working for hours straight." At least by Kyle, that is.

"Why are you so perky today?" Aunt Ruby asked as I danced over to the counter with the orange juice. "Last time I checked, you were much more of a night owl than an early bird!"

"It's probably because she went out with her boyfriend last night!" grandpa smirked.

A felt a blush creep up my face. "He is not my boyfriend!"

"Not yet," he said stifling a smile.

I rolled my eyes at him. "You need to get a hobby."

"But teasing you is my hobby!"

"Okay then, let me rephrase: you need a new, more productive hobby."

----------------------------------------------------------------

"When do you think we'll be ready for our first gig?" Kyle asked through a mouth full of chips and bean dip. No, not tortilla chips, but potato chips of all things. It was Dan's idea, not mine. 

"I don't know, why?" Cooper barely even flicked his eyes up from whatever he was writing on a notepad. 

"Because I may or may not have found our first gig for us," he said with a proud grin on his face. 

"Potential first gig," Cooper corrected. "Depends on when it is."

"In two weeks."

"We'll see, but I don't think that three weeks as a band has given us enough time to really find our sound." 

Kyle started naming details about potential customers and rambled on about how he thinks we sound "good enough." 

I leaned over on the arm of the chair I was sitting on to try and get a glance at whatever Cooper was writing. That did not go as planned, and I ended up losing balance and falling onto the floor. 

"Smooth," Dan snickered. 

"Ah, baby doll, it looks like you just fell for me!" Dolan put his hand on his chest as though he were flattered. 

"I was trying to see what you were writing," I said standing over Cooper. 

He handed me the notepad briefly. Written on it were notes on random parts of the sheet. Some of it said stuff like blend dans riff into a bridge with Amelias rhythm but not Dol and others said stuff like change (insert instrument) octave. I made notice that everyone's name had a shortened version except for mine. 

"Does it take a lot of time to write out a full first name?" 

Cooper shrugged, "I mean, you said not to call you Millie, so I don't know whether or not you care if I used a nickname when writing your name. I thought about using "Mel," but didn't know if it'd offend you or something."

"Oh, no! I really don't care, it's just Dan that I don't want calling me Millie."

"Hey!" said. "Why just me?" 

"Because I pick on you since I love you," I said simply. I turned my attention back to Cooper, "You can put "Lia." 

"What the fuck?" Dan started laughing. "That's the best nickname you could come up with for yourself?" 

I felt my face heat up a little. Okay, it was a kinda stupid idea. "Shut up, I didn't get enough sleep last night." 

"Yeah, because you were staying out late with your boyfriend," he teased. 

"Woah, woah, back it up now!" Dolan cut in. "You moved here a couple of weeks ago, and in that time, you managed to get a boyfriend? I can hardly even get a call back from a girl after one date!" 

"He's not my boyfriend!" I protested. 

A few buzzes came from the phone in my pocket. Everyone looked at me intently while I read the text on the screen. I furrowed my eyebrows as I glanced up at the eyes around the room that were staring at me. "What?" 

"Who's the text from?" Dan sneered. 

"Zeke," I mumbled.

I averted my eyes to the phone and focused on writing a reply, while Dan let out an exaggerated laugh. A blush crept up my cheeks. My family was never gonna let this go, were they? 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lookie Lookie! Another update! It may not be as long as the last one, but, hey, it's something! 

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it, and are enjoying the book! 

A little bit more action is going to come up soon, so if it seems a little bit slow and repetitive, hold on for just a little long, okay? Also, if you feel like I over explain or go into excessive detail on certain things in the book, please, feel free to let me know. Others tell me sometimes that I have a problem with over-explaining and talking slowly, so let me know if my details are too tedious. 

So what do you think Zeke was texting her about? 

Do you think he's gonna take her on a (kinda) first date? Or maybe act like nothing happened between them? 

Do you think that they're gonna take the offer of that first gig?