Being Bad

Chapter 40: More Than Friends?

I'm surprised I didn't crash.

There was so many questions swirling around in my mind about the little keychain. The keychain that changed my mindset about everything.

It was sitting in the middle console right now, and I couldn't help but glance at it every few seconds while I was driving. It gave me hope. Hope that Andrew might be planning on coming back.

Is it bad to feel hope? Considering it's not guaranteed he will actually come back, at least not so recent.

He's been gone for almost a month, and it feels like he's been gone for eternity. A part of me inside missed him. His smile, his laugh, his face, the stupid way he walks like he owns every place he walks into.

I know that a piece of fake metal isn't something to get all riled up about, but it was meaningful to the both of us. I gave that keychain to him for his eighteenth birthday, and he loved it more than anything. Just the fact that he had it on his car keys since I gave it to him as a present and now it was on my front porch? It gives me the sense that Andrew wanted to come back, but almost like he couldn't. Like he wasn't completely sure, and he wanted to be certain before he let himself come back to San Diego.

Well, where ever you are Andrew, I'm patiently waiting for you to come back.

When I pulled up to my date location, I parked the car and admired the cute little plaza in front of me. It was called Cosmic and it was a mixture of arcade games, bowling, and roller skating. The sign above the door was brightly lit with neon colors, and spotlights moved around the building giving it a grand vibe.

I walked in and immediately heard the dance music blasting from the speakers on the ceiling. Kids of all ages were hanging around by the machines, either getting their coins or playing the games. There was air hockey, darts, the claw machine, anything you could imagine and it was here.

I walked past all the arcade games and finally found the place I was supposed to be at. It was a decent sized roller rink, with teenaged couples and even friends having fun and dancing to the music. I paid for my skates at the counter and went over to the lockers to put my current shoes in them.

"Your here!" A male voice said.

I stood up barefooted, greeting my boyfriend who came in a pair of dark washed jeans, a red marvel shirt with a black zip up sweatshirt. He looked cute. Nerdy, even. He even took off his glasses for tonight, and he looked even more cute.

"Hey, handsome. Glad you could make it. I was almost convinced that you stood me up." I joked with him even though I arrived just a few seconds after he did.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." He paused, sitting down on the bench to take his shoes off. "By the way, I'm mad at you. I should've paid for those shoes."

"Oh, shut up, Ian. It's not worth it, they were only like ten dollars to rent."

"Still, usually the man deals with all the payments on a date. I'm not a cheap bastard. Next time just wait for me so I can pay for you shoes."

"Whatever makes you happy." I smile at him. "But honestly don't worry about it. You can spoil me anytime you want."

He smiles at me, and then proceeds to help me with my shoes that I seemed to have trouble getting on. He got his on in a matter of seconds and I was sitting there looking like a blubbering idiot that couldn't tie my shoes.

"I swear I know how to tie shoes." I made clear for him.

"Are you sure about that?" He eyes my struggles.