One For The Road

Chapter Twenty Eight

It must have been five minutes of silence between Just and I, but it felt like much longer than that.

"I do like you, you know," I was saying before I could stop myself. "The same way you like me, I mean. As more than a friend. I realized it a few days before you confessed, I think. I'm sorry I was so closed-off about it. I just had the wrong idea." I stared down at my hands. "But... yeah. You're really cool. Um." I was nervously fidgeting with my hands now.

"You do?" His voice was shaky. "Like me, I mean?"

"Yeah. A lot more than I thought I did. Avoiding you like this has been horrible, honestly."

I looked up, and I was very glad I'd decided to do that. He was smiling, a soft, shy smile that was so rare that it caught me off guard. I could feel my face going red.

"Nice," Just breathes after a moment. I chuckled.

I didn't want to be the one to ask The Question ("What are we?"), but I was wondering what to do now. Would asking him to be my boyfriend be too far of a jump for him? Or for me, really?

He seemed to be thinking the same thing because he took a deep breath. "How about we do this? Let's stay like this— like friends— for a few days, maybe a week or longer if we need it, to think this over. I really don't wanna mess anything up or regret this later. Y'know?" I bit my lip and nodded. "Then, if things continue to go well, maybe we can take that next step and be boyfriends. If you want." He looked into my eyes, gave me a lopsided smile. Wow. My heart. "Does that sound good to you?"

"Sounds great. That's really smart, actually," I added.

There was that soft, tentative smile again. Oh my God. I was going to die before I could be his boyfriend.

"I should get home." He averted his eyes and shrugged. "My mom has to run errands and she wanted me to watch my sister, but I really wanted to clear this up. I guess I'd better get back so she can go. I'm glad we worked this out."

"Me, too." I smiled when he looked back up at me. "See you later."

He returned my smile. "See you."

He stood slowly and walked out of my room to leave me alone with my thoughts. If things went well, Just could be my boyfriend. The adorable, kind, considerate, lovely Just.

It wasn't until I heard him walk down the hall and out the front door that I yelled into my pillow, my heart running a hundred miles a minute.

•••

"Care to explain why you and Just could not look away from each other at lunch today?"

A few days later, spring break was over, and school was back in session. Now, Heidi was walking with me to my car. I was dropping her off at the café on my way home so she could work on homework. Just had driven her to school this morning, apparently. Her question came with a skeptical look, but she was smirking. Oh, God. She was onto me.

I waved it off, but I knew my face was bright red. I wasn't fooling anyone. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

She clearly wasn't buying it, but she shook her head and let it slide.

She began going on about something having to do with her neighbors, and I tried to listen, but after a good couple of seconds in which all that was going through my head was Just's laugh, I gave up.

Yesterday I'd invited Just back over for our first movie marathon since before his confession. It felt strangely good to have him sitting next to me on the sofa again, laughing and chatting over the low buzz of the movie. This time was different, though. We kept stealing glances at each other, some of which were painfully obvious and others that were well-concealed, but I could tell he was as happy with my company as I was with his.

"Chase," Heidi called from behind me, and I turned to see her standing next to my car, one eyebrow cocked lazily. I could feel my face flush. I was so deep in thought I'd passed my own car. By the looks of it, Heidi had called my name a few times, too.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, heading to the car and climbing in. I waited until she was in the passenger seat to continue. "I just got lost in thought."

"Go figure. No wonder you didn't respond when I asked if you were listening to my story." The words coming out of her mouth should have sounded annoyed, but she just smiled and shook her head. "I have a feeling this may have to do with you and Just at lunch. Care to enlighten me?"

I rolled my eyes as I buckled my seatbelt. I wasn't getting out of this one easily. "Yes, it has to do with lunch. Just and I... I don't know. Something happened a couple of days ago, and I— we— well, it's complicated." I found myself smiling fondly as I started the engine and started driving. "But I really like him. And he said he really likes me."

"Congratulations! You were the last ones to figure it out." She rolled her eyes. "You've been giving each other the eyes since the road trip. C'mon, up until like a month ago, Just wouldn't shut up about how much he liked you. At all." I felt my heart flutter, my face flushing a deeper red.

"Really?"

"Yes. Gross." She laughed lightly. "This month he's been weirdly quiet about it. I don't know what got into him. He wouldn't tell me what was wrong."

I sighed a little. "About that."

And then I told her about everything from his confession to our making up a few days ago. She actually had the nerve to laugh out loud when I told her I thought she was dating Just.

"It's not funny," I whined through her fit of giggles. "I'm serious. I thought he was way outta my league and taken. Do you know how much that sucks?"

"That doesn't make it any less funny."

"You're horrible."

"Seriously, though. I wish you two the best. And good luck. I hope things go well for you, because God knows we've all been waiting for this for months."

"Thanks. I appreciate your support." I paused. "And thanks for not being Just's girlfriend, I guess."

She pretended to be offended. "Are you saying I'm not good enough for him?"

"No, I'm saying that you are and I'm very lucky that he's not with you."

She snorted as I pulled up to the entrance of the café. We waved goodbye to each other after she was out of the car, and I pulled out of the parking lot before making my way home.

Heidi was a blessing, honestly.