Baby, I'm A Dreamer For Sure

“So, what do you want for your birthday?” Alex asked me the same question he had been asking me for weeks. It was starting to get a little annoying actually.

I sighed and gave him a meaningful look, telling him exactly what I was thinking without actually having to open my mouth. “You don’t need to get me anything, Alex.” I sighed and took a sip of the drink I had in my hand as I leaned against the counter in Alex’s and Sophie’s kitchen.

“It’s your eighteenth birthday, of course I’m going to give you something!” Alex grinned and laughed at me.

“Do whatever you want.” I shrugged but couldn’t help the smile on my face. Truth was I was tired of this conversation, he had asked me what I wanted for weeks but I don’t want anything special. I’m not very materialistic, I’d be fine with whatever he’d give me.

“Come on, you’ve got to give me a hint? You’re birthday’s on a Saturday, right?”

“Yes, and no, I just want to spend it with the people I love the most.” I took a step closer to him and stared deep into his eyes. His grin widened and he placed his hands on my hips.

“Is that so?” He asked with a smirk, confident that he would fit into that category.

“Yep.” I said once again and leaned in close to his face, almost touching his lips with mine. Just as he was about to close the distance I pulled back and patted his chest. “That’s why I invited Sophie and Natalie over for a sleepover.”

I watched in amusement as his face fell and he looked taken aback. But I couldn’t keep a straight face for very long and burst out laughing.

“I’m kidding, you fool.” I leaned up and pecked his lips.

His face showed of relief and he sighed. “I actually believed you there for a second.”

“I want you there as well.” I took a hold of his hand and laced our fingers together.

“A sleepover? Really? Do I have to?” He pouted.

I just laughed at him, somehow I knew that was coming. “Yes, it’s my birthday and like I said; I want to spend it with the people I love the most. And I love you.” I gave him and long kiss and squeezed his hand to prove my point.

He smiled and squeezed my hand back. “I love you too.” He kissed my forehead and pulled me into a hug which I responded to by wrapping my arms around his waist tightly.

We stood there for a while as more people began arriving to the house. It was a Saturday night and just like every weekend there was a party. Jack came and joined us in the kitchen. Alex and I broke our embrace and sat down at the kitchen table and talked for a while. Before long Sophie came stumbling into the room with a panicked look on her face.

“Jessie, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” She hurried up to me and grabbed my hand trying to drag me out of there.

“Woah, Soph, what’s going on?” I asked as I stood up, worrying about her.

“I need your help, now! It’s an emergency!”

“Are you drunk?” Alex asked her bewildered.

“Dude, it’s only nine o’clock.” I gave her a look of disapproval.

“Oh god, you’re right! I don’t want to be so drunk, I’m just so fucking nervous.” She ran a hand through her hair as she began pacing back and forth.

“Okay, wait, what are you wearing?” I took her appearance in. She was wearing a white dress with flowers in many different colors on it. It went to her knees and she was wearing white leggings under. At the top the dress had a high cut u-neck and sleeves down just above the elbows. Her hair was down and curly and she had put a bow in it.

“What’s wrong with my looks?” She looked down on herself before looking up at me with raised eyebrows.

“You look like a ten year old.” I stated. Alex and Jack chuckled lightly behind me but shut up by the glare Sophie gave them.

“But I wanna look smart, I want to look sophisticated. Don’t I?” She asked in a whiny tone.

“Honey, no. Come on.” I said, taking her arm leading her up to her room. “I’ll be right back.” I said to Alex and he nodded and continued his conversation with Jack.

“What brought this on?” I asked Sophie once we were in her room. She sat down on her bed and began picking with the sheets. I opened her closet, looking for something better for her to wear.

“Dave is coming tonight.” She sighed.

“Haven’t you met him before? Why are you so nervous now?” I asked, while pulling out a light blue dress I knew she loved and felt comfortable in.

“Yes, but we only went out for coffee, and he is so smart! And he is deep, I mean really deep he talked literature and science and stuff. And not that dress, I don’t want to look like a slut!” She said really dramatic.

“It’s not slutty, common! It’ll look a lot better than the one you have on now.” I tried to convince her.

“But it’s so short.” She argued, but still took the dress out of my hand and lifted up and looked it over.

“Not if you keep the leggings.” I smiled.

“No, I’m so sick of all of this,” She mumbled.

“What are you talking about?” I sat down next to her. I didn’t know what happened to her, she was usually a happy drunk, not this sad melodramatic girl she was right now.

“I mean this, our lives, the partying, I don’t see the point. I’m just tired of it all.” She sighed and looked at me with a question look as if I should feel the same.

“And we got one year of high school left.” I joked, trying to sheer her up. All I got was a small smile, but at least it’s something. “And all this now because of one date with this guy. Wow, he must really be something.” I mused.

“He is!” She said excitedly. “I don’t want to screw this up, I don’t want him to think I’m a slut, or a party girl. I really like him, and I really want him to like me too.” She stood up and took off her dress and leggings, then walked up to the closet and began throwing out a bunch of clothes for me to make my opinion of.

“Skirt or skinny jeans?” She asked after we limited it down to two outfits.

“I say jeans, that’ll make you look a little more casual as well, and not like you spent hours on your outfit.” I stated. She nodded slowly in thought and then went with my choice, putting on a black and white dotted tank top, completing the outfit.

“Okay, does this look better?” She asked, spinning around for me to see.

“A lot better.” I smiled and took out the bow in her hair and roughed her curls up a bit.

“Stop ruining my hair!” She shriek, stepping away from me and went over to the mirror trying to fix her hair the way it was before while pouting. But then ended up roughing it up even more as she giggled. “Do I look rock and roll now?” She turned to me and did the rock sign with her fingers as she made a grimace.

I laughed at her silliness, but was glad she was in a better mood. “Sure.” I agreed, making her grin even wider.

She looked at the clock hanging on the wall and immediately her grin disappeared. I looked at the clock as well and saw it was over ten now. I heard her groan and check her phone once. “Shit, what if he’s already here?” She asked nervously.

“Calm down, Soph. You’re acting all weird, you’re never nervous about a guy.” I said, laughing lightly at her.

“Look who’s talking, you should have seen yourself when you started going out with Alex. You were such a nervous wreck, you couldn’t even answer his text messages without analyzing every word and have mine and Nat’s opinion on what you wrote back.” She said with a roll of her eyes.

“Well, that’s different.” I argued, not wanting her to make fun of me.

“Exactly how is it different? At least I’m not denying it.” She shrugged.

“First, I had known Alex for over two years before we started going out and we were friends before. Second, he is your brother so if it went sour then he would always be around and that’d be awkward. You have known this guy for like a month and you have no other connection to him, if it doesn’t work out between you two, you never have to see him again.” I stated all my facts, knowing I had a legit reason to be nervous about Alex and me.

“But you know that Alex loves you, and won’t care whatever you do.” Sophie answered simply.

“I didn’t back then.”

“But he did.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked confused.

“Look, I tried to set you up long before you took the step to do so yourself.” She said casually and put her hand on her hip, giving me a look to say she was right.

“What?” I looked at like she was crazy. What does she mean she tried setting us up? And why would she do that? I had thought she would be against me and Alex being together, that’s why I never told her I had feelings for him.

“I know, you’ve liked him since like forever. You always wanted to hang out at my place and you were always asking about him and whenever he was in the same room you got this look in your eyes and you just spaced off. And I know he’s liked you too, he was always asking about you too, and he was secretly checking you out in the photos I have of us in my room.”

This was a lot to take in. Had Alex really liked me before we got together? I mean, had did say he had liked me for a while but I never really believed he liked me that much, he obviously hadn’t liked me enough to make a move on me. Though he had said he didn’t want to make it awkward for me if I hadn’t liked him back.

“Remember that night when we got drunk at my house with Dick, Jack and Derek?” Sophie continued, when I didn’t answer. I nodded, remembering that night.

“I made Alex take you down to his room, I made him stay there cause I figured in your drunken mind you would make a move on him to just get it over with and then dump that loser Dick, but I guess I was wrong.” She looked at me disappointingly.

I looked down at the floor thinking, if I had kissed Alex that night instead, thing would have turned out completely differently. I would have broken up with Dick before we would have lied to the whole school about us sleeping together and I would have eluded a lot of drama. But you can’t change the past, and after all is said and done I am glad with the way things have turned out. I have Alex, what I have wanted for so long, to myself. I love him more than anything. He has taught me a lot about life, and giving me better self-confidence. I have it all to thank for him.

“Well I have him now.” I said thoughtfully. Sophie smiled at me and nodded her head. “So let’s go get your man!” I took her arm and we both went downstairs to join the full going party.