First Kiss

44

"Want to walk around the neighborhood?" I suggest.

His eyes become a bit more intrigued.

"I actually..."

He clears his throat.

"I never really explored this neighborhood. It's the biggest part of our community, but I just thought it was...off limits."

I wince. Because we're sort of in the uppity sort of town? The bigger homes, snobbier people? Cole can read my mind.

"I'd love to look around with you," he says.

I muster the best smile I can.

"Let's go then."

We make it one round before one of the neighbors come up. An nineteen year old girl with a need for going out every night and getting wasted. Precious. That's her name. Somehow, her family still trusts her with watching little kids or their homes and stuff. She doesn't even need the money but she wants the cute kids for Clickchat, captioning every post with #wifeymaterial and #singleandreadytomingle.

Ew.

She usually approaches me because she wants me to do one of her jobs for her. I do it, not for the money, but for the wellbeing of the kids she's supposed to be watching.

She already has the bills in her hands before she spots me. And then she spots Cole. Her eyes become as big as saucers. I feel jealousy raging inside of me, because she's undeniably beautiful. Gorgeous even. And, just like every other girl on the PLANET, she thinks Cole is gorgeous as well.

Ugh, she's so...you know. Hitting on a sixteen year old boy.

Okay, in a few years it'd be like him being twenty two and her being twenty five, which doesn't seem as bad as a sixteen year old with a almost twenty year old. Life stages make big differences, I guess. I'm just salty, sour, bitter, all of those unhappy emotions right now.

"Well lookie here," she coos. "Who's this, Brittany?"

"Uh, my name is Brianna."

"Yeah, whatever. Who is he?"

She never once looks at me. She smacks her gum, her beautiful lashes batting at him. Cole keeps it cool and collected, and I want him to just explode at her. Or an alien to zap her to an alternate universe where she can have someone she deserves. Obviously, that doesn't happen. Cole knows how to handle these situations while I, on the other hand, do not. Not one bit.

"I'm Cole," he introduces himself, giving her one of his trademark smiles. "Brianna's boyfriend."

He sticks out his hand to her. Her eyes narrow to tiny slits, and I can see her flawless maroon ombre eyeshadow. She ignores the handshake.

"Oh. You're her boyfriend."

She enunciates the "boyfriend" part of the sentence. I slowly nod, as if that was completely obvious. Because it was. Ha.

"Yes."

Cole pulls back the handshake that she ignored.

"He's hot," she comments after a moment's hesitation, her perfectly lined and glossed lips pursing. I bite my lip in an attempt to keep myself from blowing up.

"Hit me up when he dumps you," she says. I grit my teeth, my hands clenching at my sides.

"I'm not planning on doing that anytime soon," Cole says before I can bite back, his hand slowly intertwining with mine. He purposely makes a big show of it, his smile/smirk never leaving his face.