When I Kissed You - Book One

Chapter Eight

The bus finally made it to Jeffrey's bus stop. May and Jeffrey got off the bus. Jeffrey took May's hand and started leading her to his house.

"So, your family, you've told them about us?" May asked. 

"No need to worry so much, they're really carefree people and said they think they'd really like you," Jeffrey said. "I should be the one worrying about meeting your family."

He walked up to his garage and put the number in. The garage opened. May was getting even more nervous. She'd never been to Jeffrey's house and she'd never met anyone in his family before. Jeffrey took May's hand and walked her inside. 

"You have a really nice house!" said May, amazed. 

"Thanks," Jeffrey said as he put his bag down by the stairs. "You can just put your backpack where mine is if you want." 

"Jeffrey, you brought your girlfriend!" a small voice called from upstairs. Jeffrey's little sister, Jolie, walked down the stairs and smiled at May. "She's really pretty." 

May smiled. "Thank you! What's your name?" she asked. 

"This is my little sister, Jolie." Jeffrey answered. "She's nine. Jolie, this is my girlfriend, May."

"Hi," May waved at Jolie. 

"Mom! Jeffrey brought his girlfriend home!" Jolie yelled. May giggled. 

Jeffrey's mom walked into the front room out of the kitchen. "Hello!" she said smiling widely. "I'm Jeffrey's mom, Jennifer. You must be May! He talks a lot about you," she said as she shook May's hand. 

May nodded. "Nice to meet you," she said. 

"So, are you two going skating tonight?" Jeffrey's mom asked. 

"Yeah," Jeffrey responded. "Could you drive us?" he asked. 

"Of course! When are you guys planning on leaving?" 

Jeffrey looked at the time. It was around 3:15. "She can stay for dinner, and then you can take us to the rink right after dinner." Jeffrey said. 

"Alright, sounds good!" his mom replied. 

Jeffrey took May's hand and led her up to his room. As they were walking up the stairs, they were interrupted by a teenage girl. She was tall and had dirty blond wavy hair and brown eyes like Jeffrey's. She gasped. "Jeffrey, is this May?" she asked, smiling. "She's so pretty! You guys look adorable! Can I take a picture of you guys?" 

"No," Jeffrey said sternly. "May, this is my older sister, Julia. She's 16." 

"Please, just one picture?" Julia begged. 

"No," Jeffrey said again. But Julia had already pulled out her phone. "I said no! I can see your phone! I'm not blind!"

"Fine," his older sister said. But still, she quickly opened her camera while her brother wasn't looking. "Just one!" she said. "Jeffrey, look over here!" she said. 

"What?" 

Julia quickly took a picture. "Thanks!" she said. She ran to her room. 

"JULIA!" he yelled and kicked her door. 

"Jeffrey, you have a guest! Just ignore your sisters while May is here," his mom called. Jeffrey sighed. 

"Sorry about that," he said to May. 

"That's okay," she said. "I have a little sister, too. Having a big sister must be...nice." 

Jeffrey walked to his room and opened the door for May. 

"So..." May said. "Am I meeting your dad today, too?" she asked. 

"Nah, probably not." Jeffrey replied. "He's usually...he's always out hunting. Rarely ever at the house."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," May said. "I thought you liked hunting."

"I do," Jeffrey said. "I just never get to see him anymore unless he's teaching me to hunt." 

"Well at least when you're spending time with him, you're doing something you both love," May said, trying to cheer him up. "You must be really close with your family," she said. 

"Yeah, you could say that." 

May thought about how close Jeffrey probably was to his sisters and parents. How he probably spent his time with his father hunting, and how much fun they probably had together. She thought about how many fights he probably had with his sisters that just brought them closer together. All the fun they probably had talking about silly fights they'd had in the past. She thought about his mother, how every day when Jeffrey walked through that garage door after school, he could probably smell his mother's cooking. Talking to her about his school day and social life. Thinking about how close Jeffrey's family made her think about her own family. She thought about how she always fought with her little sister about little things, and never forgave her. Always saying "I hate you" and hurting her sensitive little feelings. She thought about how she was always trying to avoid her mother, leaving for school early and saying nothing whatsoever about her school days. Constantly eating dinner in her own room instead of joining her family for dinner. Then, she thought about her father. 

"My dad is kind of like yours," May said, breaking the utter silence. 

"Oh, really?" Jeffrey said. 

"Yeah, but not exactly like yours. He goes on business trips all the time and is never home, like your dad is never home. He goes out of state all the time, and on occasions, out of the country or continent." 

"Oh...that must be horrible. Do you get to see him much?" he asked. 

"Not really. It's just one business trip after another." 

"Is he on a business trip right now?" 

"Yeah. In Japan." May said.

"Wow. That's pretty far from here. Are you used to not having your dad around?"

"Been three years since he started going on business trips. I'm pretty used to it." 

Jeffrey didn't say anything back. He just hugged her and tried to make her feel better about it. He was trying to think of how to change the subject so May didn't have to talk about her dad not being around. 

"Kids, come eat!" Jeffrey's mom called. 

After May, Jeffrey, and his sisters ate dinner, Jeffrey told his mom they were ready to go. May and Jeffrey got ready, and his mom took them to the skating rink. "Have fun," Jeffrey's mom called to them after she dropped them off.