Because I'm a Girl

Chapter 27

I stood in front of Josh's front door and took a deep breath in. I didn't know what to expect and I was nervous. Finding out why Josh was the way he was had been on my mind for days and finally, I was about to find out the truth.

Ringing his doorbell, I smiled when the door opened immediately. Josh smiled at me and I smiled back, but I noticed how tensed he seemed. His body was rigid and my eyes softened.

"Hey," Josh said. "Come in."

"Hey," I said, handing him the cake I brought. "I brought cake. I kind of stole the idea from you."

Josh smiled at that and shook his head, and he took the cake from me. Turning around, he began to walk off and I followed him. My heartbeat picked up it's pace when I realized I was about to meet his dad.

We walked into the kitchen and I saw a man standing at the stove. He was tall with dark hair, and when he turned to face me I saw the blue eyes I knew too well.

"Hi, you must be Sarah," Josh's dad said, walking over to me. "It's nice to meet you."

He extended his hand out towards me and I shook it. I smiled when he let go, but he didn't reciprocate my smile. His face remained expressionless and he stared at me, taking me in.

"Hi," I said. "It's nice to meet you, too."

"Have a seat," he said, nodding towards the table. "Dinner's almost ready."

Smiling once again, I walked off to the table and sat down. Josh sat next to me and I glanced at him. He was still and expressionless, and his eyes were on the table. Something seemed to be bothering him and with a frown, I wondered what.

After a few minutes, Josh's dad came over to the table. He set a plate of burgers and buns in the centre, and then sat across from Josh. He pulled up the sleeves of his shirt and looked over at me.

"Dig in," he said.

I nodded and grabbed a burger and buns. Josh followed my lead and so did Josh's dad. None of us said anything as we put our burgers together.

As I put mayonnaise on my buns, I glanced at Josh who took a bite of his burger. His eyes were still on the table and he was expressionless, but I could see how tensed he was from his rigid body. He seemed to be trying to hide how he felt, but I could see something was bothering him.

I wanted to ask what was wrong, but I knew Josh wouldn't appreciate it. Although he was more open now, Josh wasn't an emotional person. I also knew he especially wouldn't appreciate me asking in front of his dad who was chowing down on his burger.

After a few more minutes of silence, Josh's dad asked, "What are you planning on studying?"

Growing relieved that someone had broken the uncomfortable silence, I said, "Computer Science."

"Where?"

"Waterloo." I smiled, remembering the good news I just received. "I just got my acceptance today."

"Really?" Josh said, his eyes growing wide. "When? That's amazing Sarah!"

Josh reached over and grabbed my hand. I grinned at him, my heart growing warm as he smiled. He seemed genuinely happy for me and my heart soared.

"This morning," I said. "It was hard keeping it from you, but I wanted to tell you in person. Did you check to see if you got a response?"

"No," Josh said. "Let me check now."

Josh pulled out his phone and went to his mail. I stared at him, my heart pounding against my chest as I awaited his news. Although I had no doubt Josh would make it, I was nervous for that small chance him and I would be forced to go our separate ways.