My Girl

“Thank you so much for dinner.” I said to Mrs. Jonas as Nick and Joe continued to put things into the back of Joe’s car for the Golf Meet. The sun was high in the sky, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I pulled my sunglasses onto my nose.

“No problem, Elise. It was fun having you over. “ I smiled and walked down the steps of the front porch, joining Nick and Joe on the driveway next to Joe’s car.

“Am I going to have to drop you off somewhere else so you aren’t seen with us?” Joe snapped as soon as his family was inside of the house. My eyes widened and Nick hit him in the arm hard, muttering Joe’s name under his breath.

“Uhm. No? Why would you have to?” I questioned, walking over to the passenger seat of the car. Joe was already in the drivers seat, and Nick was getting in next to him.

“Because I know you don’t like being seen with kids like us, and we wouldn’t want your rep to be ruined.” Joe mocked me. I was kind of shocked at how much he sounded like Sylvia in a way.

“If I didn’t want to be seen with you two, I could have driven myself to the meet.” I said back to him, crossing my arms stubbornly over my chest. The car roared to life and Joe scoffed at me in the back seat.

“Then why didn’t you?” Joe retorted as he harshly pulled the car out of the driveway. Nick stared back from the two of us and sighed.

“Please, just stop it.” He said quietly, shrinking down in his seat.

“He started it.”

“-She started it.” Joe said at the same time as me.

“Well both of you just end it.” Nicks voice seemed to get more impatient, but he kept his cool. I sighed and stared out the window next to me. I decided to check my text messages, but regretted it soon after I read what it said on my screen.

NO NEW MESSAGES.

Which meant Sylvia was still pissed at me. Which meant she could soon just walk up to someone and tell them that I was friends with our schools worst enemy. Which meant something not so good for me.

But could it really be that bad? I watched as Nick smiled at his older brother, who had cracked a joke about something that was said on the radio he had turned on in the result of the silence that fell between the three of us. He gently opened the compartment in front of him and slid a CD into the player, his long curly hair falling over his eyes when he looked down at the dashboard.

It wouldn’t be that bad. Maybe I even wished Sylvia would tell everyone, that way this entire grudge following me around everyday could go away and I could finally move on with my new life, along with new and better friends.

That’s when the song started playing. Fading in, it took my mind off of anything except for the notes being expelled out of the speakers. The window on Joe’s side of the car went down and although the wind flew onto my cheeks, they burned.

Joe and Nick took turns singing the song my dad sang to me so many years before I had known either of them. Tears flooded my eyes almost instantly and I blinked rapidly, looking down at my phone. Nick started laughing as Joe sang an octave higher than the song was meant to be sang at and turned around to look at me. I quickly inhaled and smiled up at him, but something shot across his eyes, like he knew I was upset over something. He quickly turned around in his seat and turned down the music, as I continued to pretend to busy myself with my phone.

We had pulled into the country club a few minutes after the song had ended, and as I struggled to get my bag out of the car, I felt someone’s hand wrap around my arm.

“Elise, can I talk to you?” NIck’s voice was gentle as he pulled me away from the car door. I nodded and glanced at the people we passed Nick led me toward the back of the front office of the clubhouse. He looked around us before he spoke.

“Did Joe get you upset or something on the way here?” He looked back at me and stared caringly into my eyes. I smiled slightly and shook my head, leaning my shoulder against the wall of the building.

“No. Joe had nothing to do with…that.” I paused and stared down at my hands, which were shaking slightly at my sides.

“Do you want to tell me about it?” He asked, lacing his fingers subtly through mine at our sides. I felt my throat turn dry as he got closer.

“Right now?” The club was getting more crowded with people from different schools. Sylvia would probably pop up soon. That was if she hadn’t got us switched out of the same team by now.

“Sure.” Nick agreed.

“When you started playing My Girl…” I looked away from Nick. “Well, when I was little, my dad would sing that to me. And he died a few years ago, it has just been hard to get over. We were like best friends.”

“I’m so sorry, El. I had no idea.” The way he called me my nickname made my stomach flip, but it also brought tears to my eyes.

At that moment, I realized that Nick was my best friend. Sure, I had known him for a mere seven days, but I never got close to anyone like I had gotten close to Nick. Sylvia didn’t even know about how My Girl broke my heart every single time I heard it.

“it’s fine, you had no idea.” I heard myself say, but I felt like I was totally missing. This entire moment seemed perfectly bittersweet, that it made me feel like I wasn’t in my own skin.

Suddenly Nick pulled a strand of my hair out of my eyes and tucked it behind my ear, smiling softly at me. I felt my cheeks flush as he adjusted the hat I had on my head and pulled me into a hug, a sudden rush coming over my entire body. His arms were wrapped around my torso, my feet coming off the ground slightly as I rested my arms on his shoulders, resting my head on his shoulder. For one second, nothing passed through my mind about who could see us at this moment.

“Elise?” Nick brought me out of my weird haze and put me back down on the ground. His arms left too soon, but I regained my composure and glanced down at my dad’s golf bag that was next to me.

“Yeah.”

“W-we should get going.” He stumbled over his words, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. The small smile on my face disappeared and I nodded my head, dragging my bag in the opposite direction of Nick. Our schools meeting spot was set up, and I could barely recognize a few people from my team, their pale yellow polo shirts glowing in the sun.

“W-wait.” I glanced behind me and looked at Nick, looking amazing in his team’s blue shirt. Joe’s matching shirt was visible from his car next to the clubhouse, but he had turned his back on where the two of us were standing.

I looked away from Joe and back to Nick, who was now standing right in front of me. His curls were over his face again, making it harder for me to see his stunning brown eyes looking into mine. My chin was cupped in his hand and he brought our faces so they were right in front of each other. We were so close, I could feel his warm and unsteady breathing on my skin. His eyes closed slowly, but I was so startled I kept mine open, although I couldn’t see anything. I felt my knees buckle as his lips got closer and I backed up into the building wall, Nick followed.

Something inside of me snapped when mine and Nick’s lips touched for the first time. I realized that no matter who could see us from where we were, who could tell who what they saw, what could happen from it, I would still have Nick. I realized that life would go on, no matter what Sylvia threatened to do.

If only I knew it wasn’t that easy.