Milestones: Teenagers

"I'll see you after class," Grey said as I shut my locker before going off to class.

"Okay," I smiled and leaned up to kiss him real quick before he walked one way down the hall and I headed to Physics. My sister passed by me and fake glared as I passed by, to which I made a face at. She was still ticked at me because Greyson and I had spent pretty much the entire week prior together and that we'd been dating since he asked me yesterday. When Matt heard, he just shook his head at me as if to tell me he was ashamed of me, as if I should be ashamed of myself as well. But I wasn't; they couldn't be more wrong about Grey and I was about ready to prove them all wrong.

I walked into Physics to see Brian sittig in his seat, staring at the wall. "Hey," I said as I sat down. He didn't respond; didn't even look at me. I scoffed. "Oh, I get it. You're not gonna talk to me because Greyson's my boyfriend. Real mature, Brian," I said and crossed my arms over my chest, looking to the front.

I saw his head snap toward me out of the corner of my eye. "...Were you just talking to me?" Brian asked.

I looked back to him with a glare. "Real funny, Brian."

"I'm serious, I didn't hear what you said. I was thinking... off in my little world," he said. "Sorry."

I sighed. "I said 'Hi'.... What were you thinking so deeply about?" I questioned.

"Well, Rita's parents are on the rocks. They might be getting a divorce soon," he said, looking down at his hands.

"Awh, my poor Rita. How's she taking it?" I asked, my eyebrows coming together in concern for my friend.

"She's... she's alright I guess," Brian shrugged. I nodded and then we had to keep quiet because class had started. "I still bet you... one week, he'll turn on you," I heard Brian whisper real fast. I rolled my eyes.

------------------------------

I had made it a week. And then half a week added on. Nothing had come up. Grey hadn't tried to get in my pants or anything. I was relieved, but there was this new feeling of suspicion. What if Greyson was only holding out before he started playing the skeeze card? Then again, what if he wasn't?

"So a couple of my friends are going down to the beach today to go hit the waves. You wanna come with?" Greyson asked me one day, right before he was about to drop me off at home.

"Well, I would but I don't know how to surf," I said. Grey laughed.

"Babe, you don't gotta know how to surf to go. You can watch... or swim or something," he shrugged.

"Dude, it's the beginning of December.... way too cold for swimming in the ocean," I said, smiling as his laughter died down.

"Well then you can... lay in the sand. You wanna come?"

I thought about it for a minute. "Okay, when?"

"Like, right now. I gotta stop at my house to get my board though."

"Okay, let me just go in and leave a note for my sister," I smiled and kissed him quickly before I got out of the car and ran up to my house. Val wasn't home, so I searched for a piece of paper and a pen and wrote that I was down at the beach if she needed me. I skipped back out to Grey's car, and he started off toward his house. I stayed in the car when he ran in to get his board and change into his wet suit.

"So how long have you been surfing?" I asked as we were underway once again.

"Since I was like, thirteen I think. It's so much fun," Greyson smiled as he laced his fingers with me. "If you want, I could maybe teach you sometime."

"Maybe," I smiled, and before long we were down at the beach. There were more people there than I expected because I thought it was rather cold. There were children building sand castles while their parents watched them from far off, talking. Some kids were in the water splashing around, and I thought they were nuts.

We got out of the car and Grey unstrapped his surfboard from the top of his car before he took my hand in his and led me down to the sand. He pointed out some of the surfers for me to watch, and we stood there for a couple minutes looking at them. I was fascinated by how smoothly they were able to maneuver themselves on the boards in and out of the water. I could never do anything like that.

"Watch this," I heard Greyson say quietly into my ear, and he pointed at his friend in the red and black wet suit, Mike. I kept my eyes on him as he rode a wave and then, just like on TV, the wave closed around him and he came out the other end, still riding the wave.

After a few moments, Grey's friends started to come back to shore. They carried their boards over to us, shaking the water from their hair. Grey greeted them in a friendly manner of handshakes and such and then they turned to me, looking back to Grey.

"Who's this?" asked the guy in the deep navy wet suit.

"This is Michelle, my girlfriend. Michelle, these are my friends: Adrian, Pete, Kaleb, and Mike," Greyson said, dropping my hand to point to each guy.

"You ready to get out there, man?" Pete asked, throwing a thumb over his shoulder back at the waves.

"Yeah," he replied, and then turned to me. "Have fun watching," he smirked and then kissed my cheek before he pulled off his clothes to reveal the wet suit he had underneath.

"Oh, I will," I said, and then watched as Grey and his friends retreated back to the waves. In five minute's time, all fove of them had caught waves. After awhile I took a seat in the sand, moving my eyes around to all the other people there.

I pulled my sweatshirt closer around me and pulled my knees up to my body as the wind blew around me. I had to tuck my hair behind my ears repeatedly to keep it out of my face before I got fed up with it and just pulled it back with a hair tie. I closed my eyes after awhile and just let my mind wander.

I wonder what Brian's up to... I thought to myself. I snapped my eyes open with a jolt and then looked at the sky confusedly. Why did I just think about Brian? I asked myself. I honestly had no answer, and tried to convince myself that it wa just because I let my mind wander and think of anything. Or at least that was my explanation.

I shook the thought from my head and watched Greyson again, just in time to see him wipe out and fall face-first into the water. What troubled me the most in that situation was that I laughed. I didn't think Oh my God, is he okay? or Wow that hurt. I laughed.

I watched as Grey's soaking wet body walked slowly through the shallow water of the beach. His right shoulder was slumped and his face had a small contortion of pain on it. I got up and quickly made my way over to him as he dropped his board to the sand.

"Are you okay?" I asked quickly.

"I dunno... I think I pulled my shoulder. That wave didn't do what I thought it would, and my body fell one way while whe current pulled me a different way," he said, and then hissed in pain as he touched his shoulder with his free hand.

"We going?"

"Yeah... you think you could grab my board for me?" he asked with a sheepish smile.

"No problem," I replied and I leaned down to pick up his board. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was lighter than I anticipated. I strapped it onto the roof of the car and then got in the passenger seat. "You gonna be able to drive?"

"If you can turn the key and move the shift to drive, then yes. Thank God this is an automatic," Grey laughed.

"Okay. We going to your place?" I asked as I turned the key in the ignition.

"If you want."

"Let's go then."

When we got to his house, I carried Grey's board inside as he continued to nurse his shoulder. I opened his front door after setting his surfboard on the porch and the first thing I saw was a little blone girl with pigtails in the kitchen.

"Ooohhh Greyson's got a girlfriend," she squealed, jumping down from the stool she was on to come over to us.

Greyson scoffed. "Molly, where's mom?"

"She's at the store," Molly said innocently. "Who are you?"

"I'm Michelle," I smiled down at her. She couldn't have been any older than nine.

"Are you his girlfriend?" Milly asked, swinging her arms back and forth.

"Yeah," I laughed.

"Ooooh! Are you guys gonna go--"

"MOLLY!" Grey hissed, and I looked at him to see his eyes were narrowed and his face was red. "Go play in the living room," he ordered, and she scampered off.

"Awh, you didn't have to do that," I said.

"Yeah, I did. I'm sorry about her. She's a pain," Grey apologized.

"How old?"

"Eight.

"Awh, she's cute," I giggled.

"She's a demon, is more like it," he replied grimly as he walked past me to the kitchen, getting ice from the freezer and putting it in a bag to soothe his shoulder with. "Come on," he said, heading to the stairs. I followed him up to his room, and he closed the door behind us.

"I'm gonna go get some dry clothes on," he said and he grabbed some stuff to wear before he went back down the hall to the bathroom. I took my time alone to look around his room. I didn't know whether I dared to snoop or not, and didn't know if I wanted to risk it. I decided to turn the TV on and chill out on his bed until Greyson walked back in, which was about five minutes later. He came and laid down next to me, laying the ice under his shoulder.

I leaned back on my elbow, laying on my side as I looked down at him. "How's it feel?"

"Ehh... I'll live," he smiled back, and I leaned down to place a short kiss on his lips. I ended up going in for another one, and I felt Greyson's left hand pull me by the waist closer to him. I felt his tongue graze my lips before I granted him entrace. We laid like that for a couple minutes before he pulled me on top of him and slid his hand a little farther down my back. I felt a little uneasy but decided not to say anything.

But when I felt him try to get his hand down the back of my jeans, I pulled away and grabbed his arm with my hand.

"Watch it," I warned him. Skeeze factor = 4.

"Alright, I'm sorry..." he said quickly and I got up off him.

"I think I should probably get home," I said, trying not to get too mad.

"Um, okay. I guess I'll see you at school then, yeah?"

"Yeah. See ya," I said and then walked out the door.

I ended up walking home and when I went inside, Val looked at me funny.

"What's wrong with you babe?" she asked.

I shook my head, crossing the room. "Nothing... don't worry about it," I replied, and then scaled the stairs to my room.