Waiting on You

Chapter 14

One year ago.

I had gotten to the point where I wasn't sure if I wanted to fall in love. I knew that the deeper you fell, the harder it was to get back up. But when I saw Jacob on Monday morning, I knew that I had to take a chance.

"Hello, Aurora," he greeted me on my way to my locker. I got shivers at the sound of my name on his lips.

"Hi, Jacob," I say back to him.

"Hi, Jacob," a group of girls, including Chelsea walks by. I guess they wanted to play the game too.

"Hey ladies," Jacob says smoothly. I felt my cheeks start to heat up. He didn't like any of them, did he?

"So," he says, turning away from them and grabbing my hand. "Do you want to come over to my house after school?"

"You're house?" I had never been to his house, but I had pictured it many times. It would be big with a long driveway and three floors. His parents would be very well dressed and either very welcoming or snotty.

He nods. "Yeah. My parents are leaving for a dinner party so I was wondering if you wanted to come over for a little bit."

I nod uneasily. "Sure, when should I come over?"

He shrugs. "Like six."

"Okay, see you then," I say as cooly as I can, but inside I am melting.

-------------------

"What are you guys gonna do?" Juliette asks excitedly, rummaging through my closet, making a large pile of clothes next to her foot. I couldn't tell if those were outfits she liked or hated.

I shrug. "I don't know. Watch a movie or something..."

She squeals. "Maybe he'll kiss you again!"

I blush heavily. "I don't know."

Jules rolls her eyes. "Stop saying 'I don't know'. You do know, you're just too embarrassed to say so."

"I don't know," I smile wickedly at her, but she just sighs.

"Tuck-man," Juliette whips toward our other friend. "Tell her she's being ridiculous."

Tucker sits up from his spot on my bed, tossing my magazine he was reading next to him. "You're being ridiculous."

I watch him as he gets off my bed and heads toward my deck. "I gotta go. Have fun, Ror."

"Thanks," I mumble. He opens the door and disappears outside.

"Does that boy ever use the front door?" Juliette asks.

I laugh. "I don't think so."

"Ah-ha!" She pulls an outfit from my closet, then comes over to where I was sitting. She is holding a short fuzzy white sweater and a black high waisted skirt.

I point to the skirt. "That's not mine."

She smiles. "I know, I thought I would find something good to go with it."

I stand up and hug her. "Thanks so much, Jules. I swear, I'll help you when you get a boyfriend."

A scoff escaped her mouth. "And that will be never, so don't worry about it."

"You did have Derek..." I taunt, heading over to my bathroom.

She throws a magazine at me. "Don't even talk about him. He already does enough of that himself."

I laugh, closing the door. I changed, and thanks to Juliette's skirt, I felt pretty. But then my stomach dropped. As soon as I walked out that door, I would be ready to go.

And for some reason, deep deep down, I felt like I didn't want to go as much as I thought I did.