A Year Around the Sun

t h i r t e e n - it's freaking me out

and when i am alone,
she's with me every place i g o . . .

🌊🌊🌊

After I had dropped Brody off once our family dinner came to an end, I found myself sitting on a stool at the island in the kitchen, talking with my parents about the past couple of hours. My mom was finishing up wiping down the counter tops while my dad sat beside me, checking his emails on his phone.

Not that it was really surprising to me or anything, but the dinner couldn't have gone any better. Brody seemed to fit right in, and he had no problems talking to my parents about anything. You could have easily guessed that he'd known us for years, and that this was just one of the many times he'd stopped by for dinner.

All in all, they approved of him. And that's all I could've asked for.

"He seems like a good kid," my dad concluded with a firm nod.

"I just can't get over how incredibly gorgeous he is," my mom gushed incredulously.

"Mom, oh my God," I put my hands on my face and groaned into them. She and my dad just laughed.

I felt my dad put his hand on my shoulder, so I brought my face out again and looked over at him. "You know, you've never brought a boy over like this. Other than Noah or Caleb, but they don't count because you guys are all best friends," he explained. I attempted to smile, but the discomfort in my chest at the words "Noah" and "best friends" had me reeling. "Anyway, we just want to make sure that-"

"Is this going where I think it is?" I cut in before he could go on, cringing at the thought of the talk.

My mom stepped in now, smiling gently at me from the other side of the island. "Sweetie, if this thing with Brody is going to continue, we have to know that you're going to behave," she said, which just made me groan again.

"Just make smart decisions, that's all we're saying," my dad backed her up.

"We're not even dating or anything like that, okay?" I clarified our situation for them after I picked my head up from it being face down on the counter top. They both continued to stare at me in a way that said no matter where Brody and I stood, they were still serious about what they said. "I'll be fine – trust me."

"Okay," my mom nodded thoroughly. "But we just want to let you know that we really do like him."

I couldn't help but smile at that. "Me too," I agreed in a soft whisper, my eyes drifting down to my hands sitting on my lap. Mom, you have no idea.

Thus, the weekend went by, filled with plenty of quality time spent with Brody. I thought of it as that time during the very beginning of a new relationship, where all you want to do is be with that person and nothing could make you sick of them. But my clingy friends disagreed.

On Tuesday after we ate dinner, Jodie, Sadie and I were sprawled out in my room. We hadn't done anything too exciting all day, but just getting to spend time with them was nice. Apparently, it felt like it'd "been forever" since we last hung out, just as girls. Which was true, I have to agree.

In the middle of us talking, my phone buzzed with a new text. I stopped mid-sentence to look down at it and when I saw Brody's name, all my focus went on that.

"I guess Surfer Boy is calling," Jodie snickered along with Sadie. I would've shot them the finger or a sarcastic, dirty look had I not been trying to reply to him.

"Shut up," I mumbled, putting my phone down once I sent my response. "One of Brody's friends is having a party tonight and he asked if we wanted to go."