Becoming Somebody

Chapter 18 - "What if I'm a bad kisser?!"

Charlie was hanging out in her sister Courtney's room later that afternoon. Courtney had been away for a little while, in yet another rehab program, but she was back. Charlie always thought she seemed the most like herself when she returned from rehab, but the trouble for Courtney was staying that way. Charlie loved her sister more than anyone else on the planet, but she had to compartmentalize their relationship. When Courtney was herself, she was caring, loving, and fun to be around. When she wasn't... well Charlie didn't like to think about it.

"How old is this guy Char?" Courtney asked as she stretched out on her bed and scrolled through his Instagram. Cassius and Charlie had added each other after he got his phone back.

"Umm, I'm not sure. He's a senior, so 17 or 18?" she responded.

Courtney raised her eyebrows. "You're going to go out with an 18-year-old?"

"First of all," Charlie said, snatching her phone back. "You've done WAY worse, so hold the judgment. Second of all, I don't know if he's 18."

Courtney sighed but couldn't argue. "Ok just be careful. He's bound to be way more experienced than you."

That made Charlie's insides jumble up immediately. Courtney was right. Cassius could be expecting her to be experienced as well. She was definitely not. Making out with Nick a few times had been fun, but she had no idea what she was doing. She had never even been on a proper date before. What if she embarrassed herself?

"Oh my god what if I'm a bad kisser?" Charlie freaked out.

"Well, what did your last boyfriend say about your kissing skills?" Courtney asked.

"He said they were good. Once."

Courtney just stared at her.

"Oh my god I don't know what I'm doing!" Charlie buried her head in one of Courtney's pillows.

"Relax," Courtney told her. "Just don't be sloppy and don't like, attack his mouth, and it will be fine."

The next day Cassius called her in the afternoon, a few hours before their date. She picked up, surprised to see him calling.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, hoping he wasn't going to cancel.

"Hey, so question, when I pick you up tonight, do you want me to come inside?" he asked.

Charlie paused, "Like... come meet my family?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah, introduce myself to your parents, all that?" he continued.

Charlie hadn't thought about introducing him to her parents. It wasn't that they didn't care about her life, it was just they were so relieved she wasn't as messed up as Courtney that they kind of let her do what she wanted. They would probably like to meet Cassius though, just to know who she was driving off with.

"You know what? Yeah, that would be good," she said.

"Ok, cool. Next question, am I 17 years old and a Senior? Or do I need to lie about my age?"

She laughed. "No, you don't need to lie. They're not easily shocked."

"Sick," he said, relieved. "See you at 7."

***Charlie's first real date! How do you think it's gonna go?