Chapter 8: If You’re a Bird, I’m a Bird

I shoveled a spoonful of frosted flakes into my mouth. “You want to do something today?” Dakota asked, biting into a slice of toast.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. We could eat, ride bikes in Walmart, you know, like old times. Unless you have plans with Elijah today?”

It was a week after Eli and I had the date and the kiss. We haven’t really spoken to each other since then, maybe a few exchanged texts, but that was it. The fact that I realized that I had a crush on him was practically killing me. “No, I don’t,” I said quickly. “And I don’t think the Walmart management would appreciate a grown man and his not-so-little sister running around and causing havoc in their store.”

“Oh! I know! You’ve always wanted to go to the park when you were younger, right? So let’s go!”

I silently chuckled. A little late there, bro. Like ten years too late. Although, I was touched that he remembered. I didn’t want to rain on his cheerful parade. “If you want…”

“Go get dressed. We’re going to the park.”

I finished off my cereal and put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. “Can I drive?” I asked hopefully.

He laughed like it was some joke. Who knows, maybe it was to him. Anyways, I bet you can predict the outcome. He said ‘no, in your dreams.’ If I was going to spend the rest of my summer here, I needed a car. Too bad they just couldn’t ship my car here from New York. It was a shame, really. It was a beautiful cherry red convertible.

I got into the passenger seat and Dakota started driving. He was a better driver than Eli, but still went just as fast; boys. I started to think coming was a bad idea; a very bad one. We would be getting strange looks from people, and knowing Dakota, the cops would probably be there soon. But on the bright side, it’s not like anyone I knew was going to be there.

The car came to a stop and Dakota jumped out and sprinted to the tire swings, chanting for me to push him. He was such a kid. I pushed him for twenty minutes, until I became exhausted. He tried to convince me to keep going, but I insisted that it was my turn. And that itself was a mistake. Dakota is a muscular person, therefore can lift me higher than I lifted him. I almost fell five times. The entire time my hands were clenched around the metal ropes and demanding him to stop. Although, I have to admit, it was a thrill. We spent the rest of the time acting, well, like us. We were screaming like wild banshees and running around the place, earning us terrified looks from children and disgusted ones from their parents.

We were now sitting on the park bench, tired out from all the running we were doing. “I now see why you wanted to go to the park before,” Dakota said thoughtfully.

“Oh, Day.”

“Ashlyn?” a voice said.

It wasn’t Dakota’s voice. No, his voice made my heart beat a little bit faster. It was soft, velvety. It was none other than Elijah. “Hey Elf, what are you doing at the park?” I tried to maintain my cool exterior, even though in the inside, I was a little shocked to see him.

“Going for my run…what were you doing at the park?”

“Oh you know, just hanging out with my big brother.”

“Dakota,” Eli acknowledged. “You forgot to mention that you were screaming like an idiot.”

I blushed. “Oh, you heard that?” Well, that was embarrassing. My crush just saw me running around like a hyperactive toddler. That’s real attractive, Ash.

“It’s okay, I thought it was cute.”

I silently groaned. Did he think everything gruesome I did was cute? There was something serious wrong with him, which meant that there was something serious wrong with me. I had a crush on this guy! But it’s not like I would ever tell him. It would be mortifying if he found out. Guys usually shared my feelings for them, but not Eli.

“Shut up, Eli.”

He smirked and sat down next to me. “Do you mind if I join you two? Or are you having some sibling bonding time?”

At the same moment Dakota told him that he could join us, I told him we were bonding and getting to know each other again. Then Dakota cruelly changed his mind and told Eli he had plans with Cayden and needed to go, leaving me here all alone with Eli.

“We didn’t hang out this week,” he pointed out.

“Yeah.” What could I say to that?

“I really hope that kiss didn’t ruin our friendship. I’m sorry; it was just kind of a stuck in the moment thing. I take it back. It’s my fault completely, although you seemed to like it. After all, you didn’t pull away.”

He was regretting the kiss? Was it just because it made us stop talking or was it because I was a bad kisser? I hope it was the first option. If it was the second, that was just a stab to the ego. I was going to have to talk to Alexis and Taylor about this later. They knew him better than I did.

“No, it’s okay. It’s my fault, too. I’ve just been—uh—out of it lately.”

“Really?” Relief was evident in his voice. “I’m busy tomorrow afternoon, but we could chill in the night hours?”

I snickered lightly. Night hours. “Like a sleepover?” I understood slowly. I guess I was okay with that. I could just tell Dakota that I was going to Alexis’s or something.

“Precisely! Who’s house?”

“Yours.”

“Okay, what time do you want me to pick you up?”

“You’re the busy one,” I reminded him.

“How about seven?”

“Sounds good. So what do you have to do tomorrow?”

“Work; I ran out of vacation days.”

“Please tell me you weren’t using your vacation days to hang out with me.”

“I wasn’t using my vacation days to hang out with you.”

“Are you lying?”

“Yes.”

“Eli! You should’ve saved them.”

“Hanging out with you is paradise, Cutie.”

I rolled my eyes and his cheesiness. “What kind of shampoo and/or conditioner do you use?”

He chortled. “What kind of question is that?”

“Just answer it.”

“Suave, because I am suave.”

I laughed. “Nice response. Are you really going to hang out with me all day?”

“Do you want me to go?

“No, you can stay and keep me company.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

His spring green eyes sparkled and the sun’s rays were hitting him right, so it looked like he was glowing; glowing, not sparkling. He wasn’t Edward, although, I do love Edward. And dear goodness, he was shirtless. How had I not noticed this before? A shock of desire ran up my spine. Ignore the feeling, Ash. You can do this. Great, now I couldn’t even look below his neck. Apparently I was staring for too long, because out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smirk. “See something you like?”

Yes. “No.”

“Sure you don’t.” He leaned close to me, almost like Cayden did. But the difference was, I kind of liked it. “All you had to do was ask.”

I stared into his eyes and saw his flicker down to my lips. I wanted to kiss him. It was nice last time we did it. But I couldn’t kiss him again, could I? But I really wanted to. Like really wanted to. What harm would it do? It was just a kiss. It’s not like it would mean anything…to him. As he was about to close the distance, I swiftly turned my head. His head snapped back. “I—I’m sorry.”

No, I’m sorry. But then again, maybe he really did want to! But I wouldn’t get my hopes. I couldn’t.

***

I threw in a pair of pajamas, day clothes for tomorrow, a toothbrush, and my phone charger into my grey overnight bag. I think I was set to go. Eli had called my and told me hw was outside. I made my way downstairs and told Dakota I was leaving. He didn’t ask any questions as to where I was going. Lucky me.

I threw my bag in the backseat. “So what are the plans for tonight?” I asked.

He grinned. “Horror movies.”

My jaw dropped. “I’m not watching horror movies.”

“Aw, I’ll protect you from the scary monsters,” he cooed in the voice that you only use when you’re talking to animals or babies.

“Can’t we watch comedies or something? I’ll even watch your geeky Star Wars stuff.”

“Nah, I watched that yesterday. But I’m not totally inconsiderate, so I rented you this.” He pulled out a copy of The Notebook.

“No way! You would watch that for me?” I was touched.

“I’d watch it with you. Plus, Rachel McAdams is a hottie.”

“Agreed.” He looked shocked. “What? I can say those things. It’s only gay if a guy says that about another guy.”

“So it would be wrong if I said Ryan Gosling is a definite babe?”

I shook my head. “No, that’s 100% true.”

He looked at my attire. “You’re not wearing pajamas.”

“Should I be?”

“It’s a lot comfier than jeans.”

“Oh.”

“It’s all good. You can change.”

He showed me the bathroom. I locked the door and changed into a pair of soft, grey sweatpants and an old white t-shirt. To my horror, and to his glee, Eli was wearing the exact same thing as me. “We match!” he exclaimed, picking me up and swinging me around.

I scrunched my nose and pounded on his back. “Let me down!”

He threw me down on the couch, my head bouncing on a soft pillow. “The airplane has landed. I repeat, the airplane has landed.”

“Are you calling me an airplane?”

“No…”

I looked at him doubtfully. “So where’s the rest of your family?”

“They’re all on dates.”

“Aren’t you the least bit jealous?”

“Nah, I’m sitting here with the prettiest girl in the world.

Aw, did he have to say things like this? It made it harder to resist his charm. I decided to play dumb and look around. “Who?”

“You, silly.” He put the disc in. “Now let’s watch Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams get it on.”

“Don’t say that…”

“What? It’s true.”

“That doesn’t mean you need to say it out loud!”

“I suppose you want that kind of relationship?”

“Doesn’t every girl? I mean, c’mon, Ryan Gosling is so dreamy.”

He burst out laughing. “Dreamy?”

“Don’t be jealous.”

“I’m not. Look at this.” He gestured to his face.

“Way to be modest.”

“Sweatpants and a t-shirt are as modest as it gets.”

“Just press play.”

We watched the movie. I awed at all the sweet, romantic parts. Eli just faked a gag and called it cheesy. It was cheesy, but it was still really sweet. Even though I’ve seen this movie a lot, I still cried when Allie and Noah broke up. Eli teased me and started laughing.

“That’s how I would want someone to ask me out,” I stated, looking longingly at the couple on the screen.

“Climb a Ferris wheel and risk their life?”

“It’d be romantic, no?”

“Exactly, no! It’s called stupidity.”

“Loves makes you do crazy things?”

He scoffed. “There’s no way I would do that for anyone. Now let’s watch a horror movie.”

“No.”

“Just one,” he pleaded.

“Get on your knees and beg,” I laughed mercilessly.

He kneeled down, looking up at me with the widest, cutest puppy dog eyes. “Please, Cutie, for me?”

I can’t believe he just did that. Actually, I can believe it. This was Eli we were talking about. “Fine,” I said, giving in. “Just one.”

He cheered and did a happy dance, putting in The Grudge. I screamed throughout most of the movie, covering my face with the throw pillow my head had abused earlier. Eli wretched the pillow from my grip, leaving me nothing to hide behind. “Eli!” I whispered, throwing my hands up to cover my eyes.

“You can cuddle with me. Then you won’t have to watch the movie.”

That sly devil. He purposefully picked this movie so he could get close to me. It was clever. Well, not really clever but cliché, nonetheless, it worked.

Another scary scene came up and I did a face plant right into his chest. It was muscular, yet strangely comfy. I snuck a peek at him. His face held a smirk and winked. I blushed and quickly nose-dived into his chest. Minutes later, I looked again. This time, he was watching the movie intently, occasionally chuckling at a scene.

All in all, it was peaceful, aside from the occasional screaming I did, thanks to the random outbursts of noise that came from the movie. When I freaked out, Eli would just pat my back soothingly.

The back patting turned into hair stroking. He did it pretty smoothly, too. It was comforting. My heart occasionally skipped a couple beats, but I think I was getting used to being around such a hottie.

The movie ended, but we didn’t move from our position—us cuddling. The silence wasn’t the least bit awkward or eerie, and I was starting to fall asleep. I was at that stage where I was hallucinating because I was so exhausted. I heard Eli murmur something, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. It was probably something along the lines of ‘good night.’

When I woke up the next morning, I wasn’t in my room. For half a second, I had a panic attack. And then the memories of last night came flooding back. A smile crept onto my face.

I looked around, noticing that I wasn’t in the living room anymore, the last place where I had conscious memory. I recognized it as Eli’s room, which meant that I was on Eli’s bed. My heart swelled. That meant that Eli carried me all the way up to his room (I was a really heavy sleeper) and slept on the couch? What a sweetheart.

I heard a snoring noise beside me, and was startled to see Eli sleeping soundly, his face half buried in a pillow. I retract my previous statement about him being all sweet and gentlemanly. Why were we sleeping in the same bed? My next thought was that I wasn’t the only one who snored.

He looked so peaceful and innocent, like a little baby. I suppose everyone did when they slept. I lay back down and turned to face him. A curl fell into his face and I gently swept it behind his ear. I let my hand linger on his cheek longer than I should’ve. His eyes fluttered open and he smirked. Great, I was never going to live this down.

“Am I pretty when I sleep?” he asked innocently.

“Gorgeous,” I muttered.

“You, too!” he piped brightly. Wonderful; he was a morning person.

“What?”

“You look pretty when you sleep, too.”

I grinned at his bubbly personality.“When were you watching me sleep?”

He sat up, wiggling his butt and getting situated. “Last night.”

“Creeper much?”

“I could say the same to you,” he scoffed.

“Can I ask you a question?” He nodded. “Um…why are we in the same bed?”

He grimaced. “Would you relax? We didn’t do anything. But to answer your question, I didn’t want my guest to sleep on the couch.”

“So why are you here?”

“You don’t expect me to sleep on the couch, do you? It’s lumpy.”

“Uh-huh, sure. You just wanted to sleep with me,” I said with an accusing look.

“I do believe that it’s the other way around.”

“Psh, like I would want to sleep with you.”

“What girl doesn’t?”

A crazy one. “Me. So are we going to stay in bed all day, or are we going to eat?”

“You can eat me.”

What does that even mean? “Gross, Elf,” I muttered, turning my nose up.

“I’m kidding! But seriously, let’s go get some real food. How do you feel about waffles?”

“The same way Donkey in Shrek does.”

“Terrific! But that’s too bad for you. I ate the last frozen one yesterday. I warmed it up in the toaster, so it wasn’t really frozen…anyways! I’m sure my mom will whip something up.”

We laughed at his terrible short story. Eli’s tummy growled, so we decided to head downstairs where we saw Marsha was making eggs. Ethan had his reading glasses on and was reading a newspaper at the table. Sitting beside him was a half eaten donut and a partial glass of orange juice. Marcus was in the living room watching television and pigging out on some type of pastry.

“Make us some waffles, Mom?”

“Sure thing, sweethearts,” she replied happily. “Hello Ashlyn.” She smiled warmly; it was just bursting with motherliness.

“Good morning, Marsha, Ethan.”

Ethan looked up from his news and smiled in acknowledgement, but then resumed reading.

“Did you two have a nice sleep?” Marsha asked with a knowing expression on her face.

My face turned red. We had been caught. Marsha seemed shockingly calm for a mother who had found out that her son and his friend were sleeping together in the same bed. I hope she didn’t think that we were doing things that we shouldn’t be doing—especially under her roof.

“Uh…yes?” Eli answered unsurely.

She grinned suggestively and pointed to both of us with her spatula. “Are you two going steady?”

“Going steady, Mom? No one says that anymore.”

“You know what I mean,” she tutted. “So, are you?”

“No, Mom.”

“Fine, fine,” she sang. “What kind of waffles? Is chocolate chip okay?”

“Yup.”

“Ashlyn?”

I smiled. “I love chocolate chip.”

Marcus walked in to collect his eggs. Seeing me, he winked. “You two were up awfully late last night. The throw pillows are out of place, too,” Marcus commented, waggling his eyebrows.

I lowered my head and looked at the shiny floor in embarrassment. As Eli was shooting Marcus daggers, he was laughing hysterically.

“Leave them alone,” Marcus scolded. “Let them be love doves.”

“Sorry, Mom,” he groaned half-heartedly.

Marsha set two plates stacked with fluffy, chocolaty delights on the counter. “Eat up!”

One morsel and I was a goner. If my stomach didn’t have a limit, I’d probably be a bottomless pit of chocolate chip waffles.

After we were done eating, Eli informed me that we were meeting the others, except for Zander, Alexis, and Marcus (who had another date) at the beach. We stopped at my place so I could drop my overnight stuff off. While I was there, I changed into a turquoise sundress and my usual bikini.

We were the last ones there, thanks to Eli’s three extra helpings of breakfast and my taking forever to change. Isabella and Aaron were sitting in the water. Aaron was gently rubbing her stomach. Prescott and Dylan were sitting peacefully on a bench. Taylor was trying to feed the seagulls, and Blake was trying to get them to eat. In an odd way, it reminded of a scene in Beauty and the Beast; the one where The Beast is trying to feed the birds.

Taylor was the first one to notice us. She came running towards us, completely forgetting about the birds. I was okay with that. The stupid things didn’t need to be fed. If they didn’t eat, then they didn’t poop. “Hey guys!”

“You guys made it! Now Eli, I’m going to steal Ash away for while. You go hang out with Mr. Grumpy.”

Taylor waved to Eli and tugged me to a place where no one could hear our conversation. “So…do you like him?”

“Yes,” I sighed.

She squealed and began jumping up and down, doing a happy dance. “I knew it! Are you two going to date now?”

Why was everyone asking that? I shook my head. “It’s not that simple, Taylor.”

“Sure it is!” she insisted. “I mean, he already likes you.”

“No he doesn’t.”

“Yes he does! He’s happier now,” she said softly, sincerity written in her eyes.

“And you think that this is because of me?”

“I know it is. He wasn’t genuinely happy until you came along, and now look! He’s no longer Mr. Depressed all the time.”

I couldn’t help but laugh when she called him ‘Mr. Depressed’. Taylor was like a little, adorable child. “Sure he is.”

“He is. Now we just have to make him realize it. What’s the plan?”

“There isn’t a plan. We’re just really good friends.”

“But—”

“Let’s just go hang out with everyone else, okay?”

She looked disappointed, but nodded her head reluctantly. Isabella was making her way over to us. Her dark hair was billowing lightly in the wind. A bright smile was painted on her face. “Hey Ashlyn! How are you?”

“Pretty good, thanks. How are you and the baby?”

Her eyes flickered down to her slightly growing belly. “We’re doing great.”

In the time that we spent together, I found out that Isabella didn’t really hate me; that it was just the baby hormones talking. While the boys were fighting in the water, we were lying in the warm sun—tanning. That is, until the boys decided they wanted a bigger crowd for their games.

Aaron came running towards Isabella and scooped her up. She let out a little shriek and scolded him about scaring her and the baby like that. He apologized and they Eskimo-kissed. Blake ran up and carried Taylor bridal style into the water. She giggled and buried her face into his bare chest. They were so different, but so cute and compatible.

I folded my hands above my head, thankful that I wasn’t in a relationship. I really didn’t want to get freezing cold after being so warm and—

I shuddered as cold water dripped onto my shoulder. The orange I could see through my eyelids was darkened. Was it storming?
I opened my eyes. Nope, it was just a wet Eli.

I was thrown over his shoulder as he bounded into the water. I pounded my fists into his back, demanding to be let down this instance. He chuckled and ignored my requests. Jerk.

He dropped me and the icy water enveloped me. Shivering, I looked around and saw that I was the only girl who was dropped. Taylor and Isabella were still in their boyfriend’s arms; dry.

I smacked Eli and he rubbed his arm. “That hurt,” he complained. “And I’m wet! Pain is like twenty billion times stronger when it’s wet.”

“You deserved it.”

“Stop flirting!” Dylan yelled. “Let’s get the game started.”

I motioned Eli to go farther down so I could get on his back. The instant my skin touched his, it was like fire. His temperature seemed scorching after being in the water.

“What are we playing?” Isabella asked.

“We’re fighting.”

I narrowed my eyes. “And you need us because…?”

“We need our ladies on our shoulders,” Aaron chimed.

“Oh no. You’re not expecting us to fight each other in the air, are you?” I moaned. I’ve heard about games like this before, and it wasn’t a good idea; not one bit. It was dangerous and it didn’t seem like fun at all.

The glint in Prescott’s eyes gave it all away. We were going to be knocked down like a couple of bowling pins. Hopefully they would show us some mercy. We were girls, after all.

Taylor already climbed onto Blake’s shoulders. Blake must’ve lifted her up there because she didn’t even look the least bit wet. Isabella was whacking Aaron on the side of his head. “Are you crazy?” she yelled. “Put me down this instance, Aaron! What about the baby? Did you ever think of that?”

“Relax, Bells. I’m sure the baby will have fun, too.”

“I’m not worried about it having fun. I’m worried that it’ll get hurt.”

Aaron gave in and sent us an apologetic look. “Sorry guys. She’s being stubborn.” Isabella look satisfied.

I practically leaped at the opportunity to get out of the game. “It’s okay. You can buddy up with Eli. I’ll sit out with Isabella. No point in you missing out on the fun.”

Eli’s grip tightened on my legs. He let out a little chuckle. “I don’t think so, Cutie. You’re stuck with me.”

“It’s alright,” I reasoned, wiggling. “Aaron can be your girl—err—or you can be his?”

He smiled like he was explaining something to a little kid. “But you’re my girl.”

My belly churned and a fuzzy feeling spread across my body as he said those words. He called me his girl. Who knew four words could have such an effect on me? He probably didn’t even realize what he was saying, but unusually, I didn’t deny it.

“Fine, I’ll be your girl, but just this once.”

“You know you want to be it everyday.”

“You mean I’m not?”

“No, you are,” he assured me without hesitancy.

I leaned closer to Eli, my chin resting in the crook of his neck. I started whispering sweet nothings into his ear, like the incredibly romantic person I am.

I’m joking; no girl does that. What I really was whispering were battle plans.

We would go for Taylor and Blake first; Taylor seemed like the person who would easily be knocked down. She was just too small and nice to fight back. And then I told him that if he dropped me, I would kill him.

“Figures,” he muttered.

I grinned at his reaction.

Then Prescott shouted in a battle cry type of voice, “Charge!”

I yelped and gripped onto Eli’s mane as he bolted forward. I saw Taylor coming closer into view. She was talking excitedly to Blake, pointing to various places. As soon as they came close enough, I gave her a little shove.

I felt a little bad; the equivalent to pushing Taylor was like pushing a five year old. Even thinking about it could make you feel guilty.

She wobbled a bit, but didn’t fall like I wanted her to. After a couple more pushes and a light kick, she gave up and descended towards the water. I underestimated Taylor; she was just a little body filled with fury, so she didn’t go down without a fight. She caused me to lose my balance a few times, but thanks to Eli’s strong hair roots, I didn’t. Maybe I’d have to start using Suave.

Before she plunged into the water, Blake managed to swiftly catch her. The two headed towards the shore, their arms swinging freely behind them. I’ve never seen Blake actually smile, at least, not unless Taylor was around being her giggly self.

Now it was between Dylan and me.

Bring it.

Prescott and Eli circled each other, keeping their eye contact, building the tension. It reminded me of before a fight scene in a western show. And to be honest, it was kind of exciting.

“What’s the plan?” I whispered.

“Knock Dylan down.”

Well no duh. I was hoping he’d be more elaborate, but at least he had a plan. Not a very creative one, but it would work. All I had to do was knock down the Justin Bieber look-alike and we’d win. I could do this; just push with not mercy.

Before we attacked, I murmured to Eli, “Don’t let me fall.”

And then all hell broke loose.

Dylan was rough on me. Of course, I wasn’t exactly expecting him to take it easy on me. He may be the feminine guy in his relationship, but he was still a guy. If he lost to a girl, chances are, someone would tease him about it.

I wasn’t going to lose; my ego wouldn’t let me. So I did every dirty thing in the book, some intentional, some not. I pinched, punched, bit, did a little hair pulling. I accidentally kneed kicked him down there, which I immediately felt bad about because his face went from determined to contorted and in pain. I took that time span to push him off. So yeah, I guess you could say I cheated.

However, I didn’t walk away—or carried away, in my case—injure free. There were small cuts scattered around here and there. I’m sure they’ll go away within a couple days; a week max. I had three bruises, two on my arms and one on the side of my face. It was throbbing, like it had its own heartbeat. I’m sure it was some odd color that wasn’t my skin tone.

When Eli saw my face, his eyes widened and he muttered a few swear words. “You look horrible.”

“Gee, thanks,” I deadpanned.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Do you need to go to the hospital to get that checked out or something?”

“I’ll be fine, Elf.”

He scowled at his nickname. “Are you sure?”

“I’m fine. Geez, you sound like me when we first met.”

We both chuckled at the memory. “Fine, but I’m going to have my mom check it out, just in case.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Eli marched over to Dylan and slapped him hard across the face. I gasped and ran over to push Eli away. I would’ve stopped him if I had known that it would’ve ended up like this.

“What was that for?” Dylan cried, wincing and touching his cheek lightly.

Prescott stepped up beside Dylan, holding his arms out protectively. Aw, how sweet.

“For giving Ashlyn bruises.”

“She gave me bruises, too,” Dylan informed him, gesturing to his face. I slightly recoiled at the sight of the swelling bumps. I really got him good.

“But she’s a girl.”

I tugged on Eli’s arm, willing him to leave. “C’mon, Elf, I told you I’m fine. Let it go. Besides, I think he’s in more pain than I am.”

I sent Dylan an apologetic look. He nodded understandingly. We were okay. It was just a nasty coincidental outcome.

Eli grunted, but followed me anyway. I heard Aaron cough ‘whipped’, which Eli responded to by glaring at him. I patted his back reassuringly, leading him to the car. He didn’t anymore grudges, especially because of me.

I opened the passenger door and pushed him in. Once I was in the driver’s seat, I held my hand out. “Keys.”

“I’m not letting you drive my baby.”

“Yes you are.”

“It’s my car! And I’m perfectly capable of driving.”

“I know, but I want to drive,” I whined, putting on my best puppy face.

He groaned, but reached into his pocket for the keys, which he dropped into my hand.

I clapped excitedly and pecked his cheek. I, then, immediately regretted it. Would he think of it as a friendly gesture or something more? What if he didn’t even really notice it? Why do girls always have to over think things?

I knew what my face looked like; a nice shade of tomato red. I’m going to assume his had a smirk on his face, or completely clueless; one of those two.

I fumbled with putting the key in the ignition. And when I finally did, I had a hard time concentrating on the road. I honestly didn’t feel like getting a checkup from Marsha or anybody else for that matter. “Eli, where are we going?”

“You’re the one driving.”

I began to turn irritable waiting for this red light to turn. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, debating whether or not I should talk to him. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I just did it. It was an in-the-moment-thing; like last time. Let’s not make this awkward between us.” I wasn’t sure if he even knew what I was talking about. “The kiss,” I clarified.

“You’re just making it awkward, Ashlyn.”

“I—how am I making this awkward?”

“You make it sound like a bad thing; kissing.”

“It’s not?”

“Not with you it isn’t. Why are you so against it?”

Hm, because it sends my brain mixed signals. “Why aren’t you?”

“Because I like you, that’s why.” He said it in such an overt tone that it made me feel like an unaware idiot.

I turned my head to look at him, thoughts buzzing through my mind. He liked me? Was he just saying this because he wanted to mess with me? I don’t think he would, but Eli was full of surprises.

A smile made its way to my face. “What did you say?”

He rubbed his neck again. “I like you,” he said slowly, enunciating each word as if I was some kindergartener or someone who didn’t speak English as their native language.

“You like me?” I comprehended.

He nodded his head. For once, he didn’t really look like his normal, sarcastic self. He looked almost…nervous. It was cute.

I beamed and almost did a fist pump. He returned my feelings! Hallelujah, praise the lord, and all that jazz. This was great. I didn’t feel so pathetic anymore.

“I like you, too.”

He looked up from his lap, his eyes lighting up. “You do?”

I nodded shyly. Wait, shyly? I was never shy, except for in front of new people, but Eli wasn’t new. This guy was introducing me to a world of feelings that I’ve never experienced before—even with Liam.

“That’s wonderful!”

“Oh?”

“Now we can date!”

He seemed overly excited; more like a fifteen year old than an eighteen year old. I don’t think that the kid in him will ever grow up. But that’s what I loved about him. He could still find fun.

“But I’m still in high school and you’re going off to college—”

“Don’t think so far to the future, Ash. It can just be for the summer, just like you wanted. Noah and Allie, remember? Oh, by the way, I’m not going to take you to the fair and hang off a Ferris wheel for you to agree to a date. If that’s what you want, then forget about it.”

I smiled. “I already agreed.”

“That’s a yes, right.”

I nodded, a content grin forming. “A summer romance,” I said thoughtfully. “I like it. I’ve never had one before.”

“So let’s go on a date; me and you.”

“Those are usually the people on a date,” I said sardonically.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six?”

“Sounds good,” I agreed. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“How will I dress?”

He crinkled his eyebrows. “Like a girl?”

“No, silly,” I giggled. “What’s the dress code.”

“Oh! Definitely casusal.”

Eli leaned in for a kiss, but I pressed my finger to his lips. I winked. “One kiss a day,” I flirted.

“Tease,” he muttered, looking disappointed.

Batting my eyelashes and getting a boost of confidence, “And that’s why you love me.”

“Pretty soon, you’ll be begging me to kiss you.”

“If I’m begging, then you must be dying.”

“Sure, Cutie.”

“Bye now!”

I have him a smile wave and sauntered into the apartment, making sure to sway my hips extra well. I felt his eyes on my backside. I couldn’t help but smirk.

Now this sounded more like me.

Aaron on the side :)

I hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS :D

And if you don't celebrate it, I hope you enjoy your day off/happy holidays!