Flashcards On The Wall

Chapter 22: Questions

In all honesty, Gabe is such a huge distraction. I'm thinking I should have just talked to him at an earlier time. I'm sitting at my desk, he's feet away on the bed.

"You know I'm going home for the weekend?" I start, "I was thinking, maybe you wanted to come with."

"You want me to meet your parents?" Gabe asks.

"It's only an idea. I understand if you don't want to. I know they'd love having you over. What do you think?" I ask.

I leave out that Mom specifically asked to meet him because that's not why I'm asking.

"I think meeting the parents never sounds exciting. You think we're there already?" Gabe questions.

He doesn't want to go.

"I don't care if it's time or not. I'm simply inviting you," I answer.

"Well..."

"You hate the idea," I finally say.

"I'm not thrilled," he states.

"I see," I say.

"Don't get mad."

"Why would I be mad? Because I know my family is interested in meeting the guy I'm seeing and yours will probably never hear of me?"

"It sounds serious and we aren't-"

"Serious?" I finish his sentence, "You have no problem discussing sex or the possibility of us having it-"

"But we aren't. Discussing is the key word in there," he responds.

"Is that why you don't want to meet my parents? Because if we were 'serious' we'd be having sex?"

"No-" he starts.

"So if I have sex with you right now you'll meet my parents this weekend? Is that how it works?" I ask.

"No, that's not it at all. What we have is between you and I okay? I haven't asked you to meet my parents and you've been okay with that," Gabriel says.

"I would if you wanted me to," I inform him.

"Now you want to meet my parents?" he asks.

"No. Forget I brought it up," I say.

He did it. He managed to get me mad.

"Don't do that. Don't get mad when you ask for honesty and that's what you get," says Gabriel.

"You're right that's what I get," I reply.

"That's not what I meant. Don't twist my words," he tells me.

"Stop telling me what not to do. Just because I thought we might be at a certain point doesn't mean we actually are. I get it, Gabriel. No need to explain yourself. My mistake," I tell him.

"I have somewhere to be anyways. I have work and-," Gabe says.

"And what?" I ask.

"A protest," he answers.

What?

"A protest?" I repeat.

"I have a friend that helps organize protests against the rising tuition. There's one tomorrow," he explains.

"You've never mentioned this friend before," I say.

"It's never come up," he replies.

"It's never come up," I repeat, "Well was I supposed to bring it up? Because this is the first I'm hearing of it."