4th of July
Tuesday
6:00 pm
Joji
Ready if you are
(Y/n)
Yeah be out in a sec
I grabbed my purse and left my apartment to meet Joji at the elevator. I dressed nice because I really wanted to impress him. Ya know, maybe show him what he's missing. I wore a black and white pattern dress that wasn't too revealing, but still super cute while being casual. It was perfect for a cookout/party. Joji stared at me the whole time I walked toward him to the elevator.
"Wow...you look beautiful, like always." He smiled.
I smiled back at him as he snaked his arm around my waist while we waited for the elevator. However, it lasted about a second because he took his arm away very quickly and let it rest back by his side. He looked a little like he didn't know how to act, so I took his arm and put it back on my waist. I missed that, and I wanted him to know that I did. I could see him smile from the corner of my eye. We stepped inside of the elevator and Joji hit the button for the lobby.
6:30 pm
We walked up to an average sized house. Joji rang the doorbell.
"Are you nervous?" Joji asked me as we waited for his friend to answer the door.
"A little...are you?" I asked as I looked up at him.
"I was...when I first saw you tonight, I mean. But I've gotten more comfortable. I missed you."
That little moment was interrupted by Joji's friend opening the door.
"Hey! Joji!" A tall man with thick brown hair and brown eyes yelled as he stepped out from behind the door and pulled Joji into a hug. "And you must be (y/n)?"
"That's me! Nice to meet you...?" I trailed off as I realized Joji had never told me which friends we were going to visit.
"Sean! I'm Sean." He shook my hand. "Well, barbeque's in the back, of course, and right now everyone's just kind of hanging out inside if you wanna meet them." He said as he turned to Joji.
Joji nodded as he grabbed my waist and we walked inside. Sean went to the backyard, probably because he was the one doing the cooking. There was semi-loud music playing, so I leaned in to Joji to speak closer to his ear.
"So you never told me how you knew Sean, and the rest of these people..."
Joji kept walking through the hallway as he leaned closer to me to reply.
"Friends from high school. I really only know Sean, the rest of these people are his friends. His parents were Americans who lived in Japan. Come to think of it, I never really knew why...but anyway, we were pretty close. We lost contact for a while though. Never even knew he moved to the suburbs of the city until he followed me on Instagram a couple months ago. This is only the second time I've seen him since high school."
The hallway eventually opened up to the living room. There were a lot of guys standing around drinking and talking. I felt a little out of place. It looked like I was the only girl there until a woman with long brunette hair strode up to Joji and I.
"Hey! Is that really George Miller I see?" She smiled as she stopped in front of us, hands on her hips.
Joji looked a little confused at first, until I saw his face light up with realization.
"Meghan Grochowski?"
She just smiled and nodded. She pulled him in for a hug and Joji stepped back, looking her over.
"You look good! Can't believe it's the same Meghan from high school." He chuckled a bit.
My heart sunk. Who was she?
"You can call me Meg. I figured out I like that better." She smiled.
"And you can call me Joji. I figured out I like that better." He repeated, mirroring her smile.
Meghan then turned to me and stuck out her hand to shake mine. I took it as I introduced myself.
"I'm (y/n). Nice to meet you!" I tried to fake a smile. Maybe I was just overreacting, but you can't blame me after everything Joji and I had been through.
"Girlfriend or...?" She asked, not really sure of our situation.
I didn't know how to respond. Was I his girlfriend?
Joji put his arm around my waist again as he opened his mouth to reply,
"Yep! She just moved here. We met when we found out we're actually neighbors." He pushed himself closer to me.
I felt a little more relaxed. It seemed like he was trying to make an effort to show that he was with me.
"Well, it was really nice seeing you," she turned to Joji, "and meeting you!" She turned to me. "We'll have to catch up during dinner." She said as she turned around and began to head off toward the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard.
She stopped after about two steps and turned around.
"Oh, (y/n)! All of the girls are in the back if you wanna mingle with people who don't smell like raging testosterone and beer." She smiled and I laughed in return.
"Yeah, maybe I'll catch up with you in a little bit!"
Meghan nodded and then stepped outside, closing the door behind her.
Joji leaned closer to me again.
"I feel like I should explain why I said 'you look good' to her..."
"You don't have to...but I mean if you want to..."
Joji chuckled and spun me around by my waist so we were face to face, his hands not leaving my hips.
"First off, I only have eyes for you. I fucked up in the past but I want to be different. Second, I only said that because she looked completely different in high school. She was another one of the mystery Americans. She used to be this little pudgy, shy girl in 10th grade, then she moved away and no one ever heard from her again. I just knew that in high school she was constantly trying to lose weight, and I guess she just, I don't know, grew up." He shrugged. "She's in no way as beautiful as you, but you can understand why I wanted to compliment her, right?"
I rolled my eyes at his compliment to me and chuckled a little. I gave him a soft punch on the arm.
"Yeah, I get it. You just...you understand that it'll be hard for me to fully trust you right? Like, I'm sorry, but it'll take some time." I tried to smile a little to soften my words.
Joji frowned a little, but then smiled a bit back at me.
"And I get that. I promise I'll make it up to you."
He interlocked our hands and we walked to where the drinks were.
