As A Friend

7: Unsatisfactory

I called Dominic last night and had a conversation with him. He apologized profusely and I shrugged it off, telling him that it's whatever. I probably should've told him to check his friends. They both texted me apologies, which I forgave them for. I didn't bother making a big deal about it. He asked how my date went and I told him it went fine. I was too irritated to deal with the excitement that'd come if I told him that Eli and I had kissed. Instead, I initiated plans to catch breakfast at an off campus diner to convince him that I'm no longer upset. So here I am, bright and early, walking to his car.

"Hey," he greets me as soon as I get in.

"Hi." I keep my eyes locked on my hands. The weight of my secret is weighing on me. He doesn't seem to notice. Instead, he starts in the direction of the diner with a cheerful grin on his face.

"How was the date last night? Did I come up at all?" he teases and I nod.

"Yeah, he wants to meet you. Are you free for lunch tomorrow?" He turns to glance at me devilishly. 

"I am now." His eagerness earns a quiet laugh from me.

"Don't be too mean," I plead with him. The last thing I want is for him to intimidate Eli.

"I'll try my best." He glances at me for a brief second before turning back to the road...only to have his neck snap back in my direction. "What the hell is that?!"

I look down, swatting my torso fearfully. Is there a bug on me? I quickly skim my sweater. "What?" I ask him in a tone of irritation when I find nothing. Way to get my heart all worked up.

He reaches over with one hand and pulls down the visor. I look into the mirror and see a purple blotch on my neck. I reach up and touch it, trying to see if it's makeup. I press my fingers against it and furrow my eyebrows when it doesn't rub off. My eyes widen when I realize what it is. I quickly shut the visor and rub my hands together. "What the hell was that face for?" Why is he so attentive? 

"Huh?" I say stupidly. I wanted to tell him, not have him find out himself.

"Don't 'huh' me! That is a hickey!" Of course he'd know.

"Is it? I couldn't tell," I respond.

"November," he says sternly and I sigh as I look at the ceiling of his car.

"We kissed." As if that wasn't obvious enough.

"And?" he begs for details as his eyes stay locked on the road.

"And it was good."

"You're not going to give me details?" he retorts as if I'm supposed to unload the entire event to him.

I sigh loudly as my face continues to burn like it's submerged in a pit of flames. "We went and got ice cream. We parked in a parking lot and were eating. I told him to kiss me. We kissed. I crawled over the center console and sat on his lap and we kissed some more. And then he gave me a hickey and suggested that we stop because it was getting a little...much. Then he took a five minute breather and we came back to school."

"Oh my god." He repeats it over and over for the next five minutes. He shoots me short glances with a look I can't pinpoint. It's a mixture of emotions: shock, amusement, horror, and complete and utter surprise.

"Can you say anything else?" I'm a little frustrated. I was expecting a bit more feedback from him.

"You were on his lap?" he questions for clarification. I nod. "And you're saying he got too excited?" I nod again. "Did you notice?"

"Yes I noticed," I retort and he howls in laughter. "I don't know what came over me. I wanted to keep going. I was enjoying it. I didn't mind it at all."