The Gods of Song and Poetry

Chapter 17 - They Grow Up So Fast

Chapter 17 - They Grow Up So Fast

Kristy slowly approached my eye with the pencil, "Hold still, will you?"

"I'm not used to putting this much time into my appearance. We've been at it for like, an hour!" My little sister had talked me into tight jeans, a fitted, untucked, button-down white dress shirt, and a loose necktie. Then, she directed me to use a curling wand on my hair, and insisted on helping me with my makeup. "I still say this outfit is too masculine. I like being a girl. Why try to dress like a boy?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Kristy said. "You look like Blake Lively, right out of Gossip Girl, except you have no chest."

"Leave my chest out of this. Also, I've never even seen Gossip Girl."

"And you call yourself girly. I was going through a magazine with Kelly one day and she said she thought the outfits with ties were hot."

"When was this?" I asked.

"About a week after I met her." She moved to my other eye with the pencil.

"So, did you just happen to remember that, or were you taking notes?" I wondered how far ahead Kristy was thinking back then.

"Don't be so paranoid."

"That doesn't answer the question. I'm just wondering if you already have our dinner reservations made for prom."

Kristy stepped back and looked me in the eyes. "That's a very funny way to say 'thank you' for introducing you to a beautiful girl that you're now going on a date with."

I sighed, "You're right, Kristy. Thank you for introducing me to a nice, beautiful girl." She smiled and nodded, then took a step back so that I could see myself in the mirror.

I gave myself the once over. I hadn't dressed to impress someone in a while, excluding the couple of times I tried to look nice just because Kelly was around. This was different, though. This was a bona fide date, and we were pulling out all the stops.

"I clean up nice," I said checking my profile. "I'd say I'm a solid seven or eight right now."

"Well, you're going out with a girl who thinks you're a twelve. The way you two talk about each other, and yourselves, is oddly similar."

"What do you mean?"

"You talk about her like she's absolutely the most gorgeous thing ever, but you talk about yourself like you're all plain-jane. She talks about herself like she's average at best, and she talks about you like she's never seen a pretty girl before. Honestly, it's been bad for my ego. It's like the rest of us have warts and excessive facial hair."

"Really?" That made me smile.

"When all the girls were talking about how hot Coach Ferguson is yesterday, Kelly looked at me and whispered, 'You're sister's hotter!' It was so cute."

I got serious for a minute. "Kristy, do you think I should be worried about the fact that I'm two years older than Kelly is?"

"A year and a half," Kristy corrected me. "Her birthday is on Valentine's Day."

"That's so cool. Still, it's two school grades. I'll be going to college at the end of the year. She'll still have two years of high school left."

"You're worried about managing a long distance relationship a year from now, and I'm the one who's planning too far ahead?"

"Touché."

"Look, just have a wonderful date tonight with a beautiful girl. Have fun, kiss her good night, and see what happens."