I Meant What I Said

The rest of the day went by in a blur, but that was typical for Friday afternoons. Teachers didn't want to start new lessons, especially when there was no school on Monday. French class was easy and so was English and science. She was so excited when the bell finally rang for her to go home.

Alex had told her at lunch that he was going to bum a ride off of Tyler to go home and get his soccer stuff and then come back for tryouts. Bree was relieved that Alex and Tyler were getting close.

She found Callie waiting for the bus outside when school ended. “Hey, Cal, you want to go shopping?”

“Uh, sure. I have to be back here at 6 for the football game. It's away and it's going to take like half an hour to get there. But yeah, I can go shop until then.”

“Okay, sweet deal.” Callie picked up her bag off of the ground and followed Bree to her car. She slipped into the passenger's and closed the door.

“Wow, Bree, I haven't been in your car in so long. It's so nice in here!”

Bree laughed. “Oh, thanks.” She put her iPod into the dock and clicked on her 'Cute Is What We Aim' For play list. Shaant's voice made her melt.

She waited for the cars around her to back out and then she put her car into gear and drove out of the parking lot. “So, where are we going?”

“I was thinking PacSun maybe? I need something to wear tonight.”

Callie smiled. “Oh, tell me! What's happening tonight?”

“Well, me and Alex have gotten really close lately and he invited me to go over there tonight.” She paused and looked at Callie who had a huge smile on her face. “So I wanted something cute to wear.”

“That's so great, Bree! I can totally help you pick out something cute.” Bree finally pulled into the mall parking lot. She found a spot fairly close to the door and parked. She got out of the car and locked the door and walked into the mall with Callie. PacSun wasn't far away from the entrance. They went in and noticed that almost everything in the store was on sale.

“Oh, this is just my luck,” Bree said as she walked over to the display with all the jeans. She picked up a pair of dark-wash, boot cut, Bullhead jeans. “Perfect. Hey, Cal, can you help me find my size?” The two picked through the shelves of jeans and finally found Bree's size.

“I think I'm going to get a pair, too. This is a really good price.”

Just then, one of the salespeople walked over. “Afternoon, ladies.” He was trying to be smooth, but was failing miserably. “I just wanted to let you know that all of these jeans are twenty dollars off the ticket price. Can I help you find anything?”

“Nope, we're all set.” Bree tried to shoo him away fast. She hated when salespeople lingered around her, especially when she knew exactly what she was looking for. She walked farther back into the store and picked up a Volcom Henley shirt. She held it up for Callie to see.

“Oh my gosh! That's so cute, Bree!” It was a white shirt with a blue design on it. It said 'Volcom' in a really cool font. She just really liked it. She found her size and walked to the back of the store. A sign said 'All Tank Tops $4.99'. She smiled.

“Wow, this is just way too lucky for me.” She picked up a blue tank top that matched the shirt exactly. Callie walked over holding two pairs of jeans, a red Henley, a pink t-shirt and three tank tops. Bree looked at her.

“What? It's a good deal.” Bree laughed and smiled at Callie. They found one of the salespeople, not the creepy one, and got them to open the changing rooms. They went in and tried on their clothes. Bree put her entire outfit on and opened the door.

“Cal. Check this out for me?” Callie opened the door wearing a pair of jeans and the t-shirt she picked up. “Wow, Cal. You look hot.”

Callie smiled. “Bree, Alex will love that!” She ran over and hugged Bree. “This is just too much fun.”

Bree smiled and remembered all of the good times she and Callie had together. Callie had been her best friend since freshman year, and even though they didn't spend every second of every single day together, they were still close.

She finished trying on all of her clothes, got dressed in her own again, and walked out of the dressing room. She was drawn to the perfume counter- they were having a sale. She picked out a great-smelling perfume and it was on sale, too! She put all of her things on the counter and waited for the clerk to ring her up. Her entire purchase was only thirty-five dollars. She handed the clerk her cash and waited for her bag. She then walked over to the dressing room where Callie was still trying on her things. “Cal, hurry up! You take forever.”

“Chill out, Bree. I'm getting dressed again.” Callie came out holding everything in her hand, perfectly folded.

“Any luck?”

“Yeah, I'm getting all of it.” Bree laughed and walked over to the cash register with Callie. The clerk rung her up and she paid. They walked out of the store and Bree checked her phone. It was already 4:30.

“Want to go get something to eat? How about Friendly's?” Callie nodded and they walked into Friendly's. The sat down and ordered and spent the time reminiscing on old times. They finished at 5:30. “Ready to go?” Bree paid for her part and Callie paid for hers. They walked out of the mall and got into Bree's car.

Bree decided to check her phone since it was relatively quiet all afternoon. At 5, Alex had texted her. She read it. “Hey babe. I made the soccer team. Still coming tonight? We can celebrate.” Bree smiled and handed the phone to Callie who read it, too. She laughed.

“Breezy, make sure to use protection.” Bree hit Callie in the shoulder and put her phone into her cup holder. She clicked play on her iPod and Shaant sang to her again. She drove Callie back to the school and dropped her off where all the other cheerleaders were waiting.

“Thanks for coming with me, Cal. Text me later and tell me how the game went.”

Bree drove home and was greeted by Nate and the twins. “Hey, Nate. What's going on?”

“Mom's out all night so it's only me, you and the twins.”

“Oh, well in that case, I'm going out for the night. I don't know if I'll be back or not. Can you cover for me?”

“Bree,” he said.

“Nate, come on! I used to cover for you all the time. 'Nate is at the library. Nate is at Jordan's'. Give me a break. You owe me.”

“Fine, but you get the twins next time. Do you know how annoying they are if I'm two minutes late to pick them up?” Bree smiled at Nate and then ran upstairs to get ready. She dumped her bag of clothes out on her bed and looked at them. She turned her straightener on and took off her jeans and t-shirt, which left her standing in her tank top, bra and underwear.

She walked over to her bed and took the tags off of her clothes. She was very impressed with what she had bought. She thought it would look really nice on her. She heard her straightener beep so she walked over to the mirror and straightened her hair. It didn't need much since it had been straightened already today, but she just wanted to make sure it was good. She made sure her bangs fell the right way over her forehead and she smiled when she knew she was finished.

She turned her straightener off and walked back over to her dresser. She pulled out a different pair of underwear and the bra that matched it. She was so glad she had a matching set. She took off the old and put on the new set and then walked over to her bed and finished getting dressed. She put on some new deodorant and some of the perfume Lucie had bought her last year. She put on her makeup, but not too much. She was going for a natural look. She found a pair of socks in her drawer, put them on, grabbed her things and walked back downstairs.

“Nate!” She yelled. “I'm leaving!” It was already 7. She wanted to get to Alex's at a reasonable time, but he hadn't told her when to be there.

“Wait! I want to talk to you for a second!” She heard Nate running from the other room. “Wow, Bree. Why are you so. You look so. Yeah”

Bree laughed at Nate. “I guess I'll take that as a compliment?”

“Yeah. Uh, where are you going?”

“Alex's. For a while at least. I don't know.”

“Bree.” His voice was short. “Be careful. I don't want you getting your heart broken again. That Ben and Jerry's ice cream was expensive.” Bree laughed and remembered why she and Nate had always been so close.

“I'll be fine. I'll text you lots, okay?”

“Alright, fine. Just, remember what I said.”

“Okay dad,” Bree said in a mocking tone. She slipped on her clogs that were by the door and walked out to her car. She got in, put her iPod into the dock and pressed play. It was on shuffle so she had no idea what she was getting. The All American Rejects' song “I Wanna” played through her speakers. How ironic.

I wanna I wanna I wanna touch you
You wanna touch me too
Everyday but all I have is time
Our loves the perfect crime

A night with Alex. What was she getting herself into?