When I'm with you

Epilogue

GABRIEL CLARK

It's been almost a month since Anne and I started dating, but our parents still have no idea that we're going out. We don't intend to hide our relationship from them, we're just waiting for the right time. In the end, both of us decided that we're going to tell them about us on Mom's death anniversary, which is tomorrow.

After wearing a black and white plaid shirt and dark skinny jeans, I immediately drive to Anne's house. I park in the driveway and find Anne waiting at the door. I'm overwhelmed by her stunning beauty almost instantly. She's wearing a knee-length gray dress and black stilettos. Her dark hair is pulled back in a ponytail, showing the nape of her neck. She quickly runs to me, and it's obvious that she's having a hard time walking with her high heels by the way she wobbles over, to give me a hug. I put my arms around her hips, pulling her towards me to kiss her. Her lips taste like a strawberries. It's probably the flavor of her lip balm.

I can't believe that our parents still don't know about our relationship, I mean, we're not hiding it from them, like, not at all. I pick Anne up every day to go to school and kiss her in front of their house. They probably already know about it but decided to say nothing. Well, it's better because it makes things easier for us.

The chilly breeze gives me goose bumps as we get nearer to our destination. It's my first time in ten years to go to this place again, so it's not surprising that I feel so nervous. My arms are turning into jelly and I'm slowly losing my strength. I can tell because I can't seem to grip the steering wheel firmly. My hands are sweaty, so I keep wiping them off on my jeans. To fight my nervousness, I try to talk to Anne, but she's busy tapping at her phone. She's completely absorbed in her conversation; her mouth is twitching continuously, obviously trying to contain a smile. My face contorts: Anne and I are together right now, but instead of paying attention to what I'm saying, she's busy having a conversation with someone else. When she finally stops tapping in her phone, her smile widens as she looks at me. I knit my eyebrows as I focus my attention on the road ahead. I'm annoyed by the fact that she prefers to talk to someone else when her boyfriend is right next to her. Does she find me boring?

"Hey, is there a problem?" Anne asks, seeing my irritated look. She finally noticed me.

"Nothing," I say. I try to sound less irritated.

"But you're knitting your eyebrows. Did something happen?" It's sure nice to have a dense girlfriend.

I slowly turn my head to face her and answer "Nothing," then I shift my attention back to the road.

I don't know what kind of face Anne makes after that but she suddenly puts her hand on my face and gently turns my head to face her.

"Tell me what's the problem." She demands.

The problem is that this is extremely dangerous. Has she forgotten that I'm on the wheel right now? I stare at her for two seconds and quickly turn away again, but in those couple of seconds I can clearly see the suspicion in her gray eyes since her hair is pulled back in a ponytail.

"I told you, it's nothing. I'm just busy here talking to myself because the one who's supposed to be listening to me is busy talking to someone else." I say.

Honestly, I'm not sure why I'm mad about that. I don't intend to be possessive. I don't want her life to revolve around me exclusively, but I can't erase the fact that Anne is popular and I can't help but think that there are other guys who are trying to make a move on her. It's not that I don't trust her; on the contrary, I don't trust the people around her.

I thought she'd feel guilty, but she bursts out laughing instead. My face starts heating up, annoyed by her reaction.

"What's funny?" I ask.