Let Me Be Your Gravity (COMPLETE)

Sixteen

Brunch

Everything about last night was magical to me. Carter wasn't forceful he was cautious. Which got me thinking maybe he had more to lose than I did. I was still in disbelief that he kissed me the next morning when I got up to go for my run. After the kiss we went back to how we normally were. He didn't try to kiss me again when he dropped me off. To say I was confused was an understatement.

I didn't know how to be in a relationship with someone or even when you knew you were. Was a kiss just a kiss or did it mean more than that? Normally I would go to Cecilia but she was hard to get a hold of now a days. Plus I wasn't sure how she would feel about me kissing her brother.

I come down stairs to find my parents sitting at the kitchen table with their morning coffees. "How was the party last night?" My mom asks looking up from her book.

I grab a water bottle from the refrigerator. "It was okay definitely not the same without Cecilia." I mutter trying to get out the door as my mom smiles at me.

"Have you heard from her lately?" My dad asks taking a bite of his toast.

"Yeah last week sometime. She was in Mexico." I give him a small smile checking the time on my phone. "I'm gonna go for my run."

"Hold on Henley." My mom says her voice coming out stern. "Who was the boy you left with last night? We didn't even get a chance to meet him."

"He's just a friend. I'll have him come in next time." I give her a forced smile heading out the kitchen quickly before she asks more questions.

I start my normal route going down by the park. It felt perfect it wasn't too hot yet. I took in all the sights as my mind wanders to Carter and the kiss. I find myself wishing it lasted longer. I couldn't help but want to kiss him again.

Once I get back to my house I notice Carter's car parked behind mine. A smile spreads across my face as I make my way up the walk away. As I open the door I see Carter sitting at the table with my parents.   "There she is." My dad says smiling.

I pull out my headphones feeling self conscious as sweat drips down my face. "Hey Carter." I send him a small smile as I walk over to them.

"I was wondering if you wanted to get brunch." He beams at me like I'm the greatest thing he's ever seen.

"Yeah give me 20 minutes." I say softly as my mom clears her throat. "If that's okay with you guys of course." She nods gesturing me to go upstairs. I run quickly to the stairs and jump in the shower.

After I finish getting ready I head down the stairs in black yoga pants and a gray tank top with an elephant on the front of it. "Ready?" I ask Carter.

"It was good to see you guys. I'll let my mom and dad know and they can set up a time to come for dinner." He says getting up from the table.

"See you later." I call over my back as we walk out. "What'd they say? I feel like they probably embarrassed me." I laugh nervously walking out to his car.

"Nothing bad they really just asked me about football. Which reminds me there's a game tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to come watch me play and then we can get dinner?" He replies unlocking the doors for us.

"I really need to start my essay for comp but I'll take you up on the dinner." I smile getting in his car. He nods starting the car. "I promise I'll go to the next game."

"You better." He laughs. The whole car ride Carter was going on about the football game tonight.

"You nervous?" I ask as he parks the car in the front of the Egg and I.

"I'm only nervous before the first game. Last year we almost made it to State. Who knows how we'll do this year. We lost a lot of good players." He shrugs as we get out.

Half of me was expecting him to hold my hand but he acted as if nothing happened last night. It was a little unnerving. I honestly did know what to think. "I remember Cecilia and I were at that game. It was just a field goal huh?"

He nods as the hostess shows us to a table. "Yeah it's still painful to think about." He gives me a small smile before looking down at the menu. I watch him for a moment wondering what was going through his mind before looking down at my own.

We stay silent until we order our food. "You plan on playing football in college?" I ask taking a drink of my iced tea.

"Maybe... my plan was to always go into the marines. I've even talked to some recruiters. But coach thinks I can go far with football so I'm still up in the air about it all." He shrugs giving me a small smile. "What about you? What are your plans?"

"I wanna go out of state but my parents think I should finish a few years here first then transfer." I shrug.

"what are you gonna study?" He asks as his phone goes off. "Hold on." He gives me a small smile before getting up and walking outside.

By the time Carter gets back to the table I've already eaten most of my food. "Sorry I didn't think I'd be gone that long." He mutters as I nod looking down at my phone. He sighs before starting to eat. There was definitely something different going on today. He wasn't his usual talkative self. More than anything I felt like I wasn't wanted around.

The rest of our time together was just as quiet if not more so. The moment he pulls up to my house I hesitate before getting out still trying to figure out why things suddenly changed. "I'll pick you up later!" I hear him yell after me. I give him a thumbs up before watching him pull away. My head still spinning as I tried to figure out what I did wrong.