The Words I Never Said [editing]

2.9

danielle

jonas: Be safe with this Joey guy! Love you, see you soon!

me: I will, don't worry. Love you too.

I turn off my phone, stepping into the Starbucks I've been to all too many times before. I look around, seeing Joey sitting at a table next to a window. I walk over to him, and as I approach him, he looks up from his phone.

"Hey Danielle!" Joey says, standing up to hug me. We wrap our arms around each other for a split second, then sit down. "I'm so glad you could come."

I take out my phone, texting him.

me: I am too! We really needed to hang out and get to know each other better.

"That's what I was thinking!" Joey says.

We continue discussing things about ourselves: what we want our future to be like, aspirations in life, college, just random topics about us. While we were talking, Joey bought me coffee, and now, 15 minutes later, I'm almost done with it. As I drink the last drops, Joey asks me about my friends and family.

me: I have a younger sister (Jessie), my mom, and my boyfriend Jonas. No one else really. Well, besides you.

"No other friends?" He asks. "What about your dad?"

Shit.

me: My father died four years ago.

"I'm sorry. I bet he was a great man," he replies, taking a sip of his coffee.

me: It's fine. And he was.

"What about school?" Joey's eyes look straight into mine.

me: I go to Morriston High. I'm a Junior (A/N: Year 12) there.

"Are you in the advanced classes?" he asks.

me: Yeah actually.

me: What about you, Mr. College-Man? What classes do you take? What do you major in?

"I take all your normal classes: math, science, social studies, all that stuff. And I'm majoring in English Literature," he replies, smiling.

me: So you want to be a writer?

"I hope to," Joey says.

me: Maybe you'll let me read some of your work one day...

"Some day," he pauses, "when it's finished."

We both laugh.

My phone beeps, so I take a look at the screen. 'New text from: Mom'

mom: I'm fixing dinner, so you better be getting home soon. Love you.

I hurry to reply to her text.

me: Okay, I'll leave in a minute. See you soon. Love you too.

I look up to Joey. "Time to go?" he asks. I nod my head. "I'll see around then."

We stand up again, hugging. I release him, both of us smiling. We both wave goodbye as I walk out of the shop and down the street. I stuff my hands into my jacket's pockets, the wind picking up.

Joey is actually a real down-to-earth guy. He asked a lot of questions my father would have asked after I would come home from school.

I wonder if Joey will be like my father when he's that age?

I try to remember the stories my mother used to tell us about Dad when he was Joey's age. She used to say that he wasn't a party-er. She met him at a book store where he worked. When they were dating, he never took her anywhere party-like either. Just cute diners, the same bookstore, and on picnics. It's actually really cute.