Just Another Lovesick Boy

I could not figure it out. At times, it was always the simplest things that solved my problems. Other times, it was difficult but I figured it out in the end. However, no matter how much I tried at the problem I was faced with at the time, I could not solve it. I had retraced my steps to see where I had gone wrong and I had tried approaching it with a different method, but to no avail. I was simply failing. And I could not understand why.

I stood in silence with my arms crossed as I glowered at the problem I was faced with. A plate with a slightly burnt and deflated cake sat there on the counter innocently. I tapped my finger on my arm in irritation as I thought about what I did wrong. I had been attempting to take a step away from cooking to dabble in baking but it was proving to be harder that I thought. I had been standing in the kitchen for some time, glaring at the cake in front of me, when my mom walked in talking on the phone. She stopped in mid-sentence before putting her hand over the mouthpiece.

“Sweetie, if you want to make a cake so badly, just buy some mix,” she said.

“Mom, I need to do this all by hand,” I retorted seriously.

“Don’t know why,” she shrugged.

“So I can prove I’m good at it.”

“Adrian, you’re a brilliant cook. Isn’t that enough?” she asked with a patient smile.

I pouted to myself before turning to her. “I guess I wasn’t made to bake.”

“Neither was I. And I’m fine with that,” she nodded before turning back to the phone.

A sigh escaped me as I held the ceramic plate in my hand. I grimaced as I stared down at the mess on the plate before turning around to throw it away in the trash can. It still really bothered me that I could not get a grasp on baking when cooking came so easily to me. But I guess I had to push it to the back of my mind. I ran the plate under hot water and was scrubbing off the cake crumbs with a soapy sponge when my mom walked to my side.

“Cecilia wants to know if you want to come with us to shop for wedding decorations,” she relayed to me.

“Eh…” I groaned with shrug.

“You can take Eddy with you.”

“He’ll be bored and want to destroy everything,” I said dead-panned.

“You can take Nara Lee,” my mom offered.

“Lee?” I repeated, instantly perking up.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” my mom grinned before walking away.

After my mom hung up the phone and I finished washing the dishes, I dashed upstairs to immediately text Lee to ask if her if she wanted to come with us. Once she replied with the affirmative, I quickly went to the bathroom to check to see if my appearance was adequate enough to see her. After I was satisfied with how I looked, I followed my mom out the door and to the car. My mother informed me that Cecilia would meet up with us at one of the stores we were going to stop at after we picked up Lee. My mom drove to Henry’s, where Lee immediately exited the store. I smiled at her figure as she jogged lightly to the car, letting her hair down as she did so. She grinned at me as she opened the car door to sit the back seat.

“Hello, Nara Lee,” my mom greeted.

“Hey, Ms. Dawson,” Lee grinned.

“You’re looking quite pretty today,” my mom complimented her.

“Mom, she looks beautiful every day,” I said without thinking. I immediately clamped my mouth shut once I realized what I had said out loud. I could feel my ears burn up as Lee giggled in the back.

“Aw, Adrian, that was so sweet,” her voice cooed.

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered as I lowered myself in my seat.

My mom and Lee chatted amongst themselves as I blushed and stayed silent in the front seat. On occasion, Lee would lean forward to poke me from around the seat, causing me to squirm around, but other than that, we did not interact with each other at all. It was embarrassing that I had let it slip what I thought about Lee right in front of her. I still found it slightly hard to believe that she was in my life the way she was. There were times where I wanted to just ask her to be my girlfriend already but I had to admit, the rejection and tough time Anya gave Eddy made me somewhat cautious to ask out Lee. After about twenty minutes of driving, we finally pulled up to a rather large building. It looked like a huge warehouse and it did not have any sign to indicate exactly what it was.

“Mom, where are we?” I asked in confusion.

“It’s called the Alice Warehouse. It’s one of the best antique and thrift stores in the area,” my mom grinned as she turned off the car before getting out.

I turned in my seat to glance at Lee, who merely shrugged, before we both followed my mom out of the car. We walked up to the front door of the warehouse. We were only a few feet away from it when it suddenly opened and Cecilia popped out.

“There you are!” she exclaimed before she rushed over to hug me. “Hello, future step-son.”

“Yo, future step-mom,” I smiled as I hugged her back.

“Are you all as excited as I am?” she grinned widely as she stepped back to address us all.

“I don’t think anybody could possibly be more excited than you when it comes to planning your own wedding,” Lee laughed.

“Good point, but it’s always fun to share the excitement. Let’s go!” Cecilia smiled wider before turning around to walk inside.

We all followed her into the building and I could not help but widen my eyes at the sight in front of me. The building seemed endless but I had to admit, it was slightly beautiful. All around us were various items and objects. Some looked brand new but there were others that looked extremely old. There were not a lot of people in the warehouse but on occasion, a random person would pass in front of us, startling me from time to time.

“Wow,” I heard Lee whisper by my side.

“It’s quite something, isn’t it?” my mom grinned over her shoulder. “Not many people know about this place. It was a really lucky find.”

“Jocelyn!” a voice cried out. We all turned to see a woman with bright blue hair stride towards us. As she pushed her hair back, I caught glimpse of several small bright pink strands in the under layer of her bangs. She looked like she was in her early thirties but I could tell she had a very young spirit. Her red and black striped tank top clung to her body and she had several bangles tinkling on her wrist. Her tongue flicked out over her lip piercing as she grinned widely at us.

“Thank you for all the customers you’ve brought in!” she exclaimed loudly, surprising me as she picked up my mom and swung her around as she hugged her. “All your clients tell their family and friends about this place and we’ve gotten more attention than ever. Thank you!”

“Kody, you tell me that every time I come here,” my mom laughed.

“Still true, though,” Kody grinned.

“Well, I’m glad. This place deserves the attention.”

“You’re too nice to me, Joss.”

“Oh, Kody! Let me introduce you. This is Cecilia, I’m planning her wedding.”

“Hey, Cee,” Kody smiled as she shook her hand. “I’m Dakota Alice but everyone calls me Kody.”

“Hello. This place is beautiful.”

“Thanks!”

“And this is my son, Adrian, and his friend, Nara Lee.”

I was not surprised to find that Kody had a very firm handshake. She looked extremely petite but after shaking her hand, I knew she was a very strong woman. I knew that I would not want to get on her bad side.

“You can call me Lee,” Nara Lee nodded as they shook hands.

“That’s a fucking wicked ass name, little sister!” Kody exclaimed, causing Lee to laugh. Kody grinned at us before turning to Cecilia. “So what kind of shit can I hook you up with?”

“Well, it’s a rustic country theme,” my mom said as she began looking all around her. “With a bit of a vintage effect.”

“Sounds badass,” Kody nodded. “I got some mason jars, lanterns, various things made out of wood. Let’s see what else we can find.”

“Excellent. Adrian, you and Nara Lee can take a look around. If you see anything that might look good, grab it!” my mom told us.

Lee and I glanced at each other from the corner of our eyes before grinning and turning to walk away. We walked all over the building, occasionally running into another customer, but for the most part, we were completely alone. I knew there were other people in the building but it was daunting how quiet it was inside. Sometimes, we would hear other people talking, but it only seemed like faint whispers. It was quite surprising how sound resonated in the building. I would have thought that any sound would rise to the ceiling and echo but that never happened.

Almost every single time we turned around, Lee and I found something interesting to take a peek at. We had found several statues and pieces of furniture from different points of time. We had found a stuffed lion, a marble counter, 18th century dresses, wigs, record players, and – surprisingly, in one corner of the building – an antique car from the 1930s. We spent most of our time around the car, sitting inside it while trying to carefully avoid damaging anything.

“How much do you think this car is worth?” Lee asked after a few minutes.

“Whatever someone is willing to pay,” I shrugged.

“Over $20,000?” she clarified.

“I would say so,” I nodded.

“In that case, we better not be messing around in here. Did you feel Kody’s handshake? Do not want to get on her bad side,” Lee laughed.

“Oh, my god. I thought the exact same thing,” I grinned as I stepped out from the driver’s seat.

“Hey, Age, look at this,” she said excitedly in a breathy voice.

I glanced up, raising my eyebrows in curiosity, before following her. I lost sight of her for a moment and stood there in confusion. I put one hand on my hip, scratching my nose lightly with the other, as I looked around. It was not until I heard her voice call out to me that I looked around a huge pile of trunks. All around her were open trunks filled with various clothes. There were a row of curtains hanging from poles against the wall to make small dressing rooms, presumably. Lee was sorting through the clothes with a broad grin.

“What’s got you all excited?” I asked her.

“Let’s try on something pretty, Adrian,” she smiled up at me.

“I don’t know,” I said hesitantly.

“It’ll be fun! Come on. I’ll try on a dress if you try on a suit. And I’ve seen you in a suit and you were handsome. Come on!” she repeated as she held out some clothes to me.

I sighed heavily before taking the clothes from her. “A simple please would have sufficed.”

“Shut up,” she smiled before picking up a dress. She hid it in her arms from me before rushing off to change behind a curtain.

I slowly entered a dressing room a few curtains down from Lee, examining the clothes she gave me as I did so. I gave them a small grimace before ultimately putting them down to take off my normal clothes. The suit she gave me looked like it once was jet black but had faded after some time. The material was a bit itchy and smelled old. There were a few places where the edges were frayed but it hardly seemed noticeable. After I had put on the vest and jacket, I noticed that Lee had gone so far to even include a bow tie. It seemed a bit unfortunate that I did not know how to tie a bow tie. I was forced to leave the bow tie behind as I straightened out the suit. I shrugged out my shoulders, trying to get comfortable in the suit before I stepped out. There was not a soul around outside and Lee had yet to come out. I cautiously made my way to the large mirror that was leaning against a pile of trunks to examine my appearance. I stood up straighter as I gazed at my reflection. If I had my hair slicked back, I would look like Jack from Titanic in the scene where he had dinner with all those pretentious rich people. I was not quite sure how I felt about that.

“Adrian, are you done?” Lee called out.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, close your eyes. I’m coming out.”

“Why do I have to close my eyes?”

“Adrian!” she whined playfully.

“Okay, okay! They’re closing,” I rolled my eyes before closing them.

I heard the curtain rings slide on the pole before hearing Lee’s high heels click on the floor as she walked towards me. She stopped a few feet away from me and I could hear her smooth out the material of the dress. She cleared her throat noisily before sniffing once.

“You can open your eyes now,” she said, her voice sounding like it was shaking.

I opened my eyes and I let out a small gasp as I soaked in her appearance. Lee stood there nervously in front of me, all dressed in white. She was wearing a very delicate looking wedding dress. It flowed all the way down to the floor and had a small train behind it. The entire dress looked like it was made out of lace. The lace covered all of her arms and it buttoned up from her waist to her neck. She looked absolutely stunning. I could not help but gulp nervously as I stared at her. I would not say that I could suddenly hear wedding bells but a part of my mind did instantly think about a wedding.

“The tag says it’s from the 30s. I’m scared I might damage it,” she told me.

“You won’t.”

“So how do I look?” she asked me as she twirled around.

“Breathtaking,” I answered honestly as I looked over her once more.

She smiled nervously up at me before taking a few quick steps towards me. She straightened out my jacket, avoiding my eyes as she did so.

“See? I told you you’d look good. You look amazing.”

“Not as much as you, though.”

Ever so slowly, Lee’s eyes trailed up my face until she was looking up into my eyes. As soon as our gazes matched, I took my chance to say something once more. “I mean it, Lee. You look so beautiful.”

I could see a faint tinge of pink sprinkle across her cheeks after I spoke. She licked her lips and cleared her throat before taking a step back. She turned towards the mirror, peering at her reflection, but I could see her take a few glances at me. Every other moment, she would turn to a different angle to inspect the dress. After a few moments, she smiled and rushed back to her dressing room. She returned immediately with her teal phone in her hand. She pulled me by my hands so I could stand next to her in front of the mirror.

“Here, I want to take a picture of me in a dress for my daddy,” she explained before put her phone up. She was about to take a picture before she lowered her phone and gazed at our reflection curiously. She turned towards me and took a step forward to my form. I felt my ears burn up once more as she grabbed my arm and looped it around her waist.

“Okay, now it’ll be cute. 1, 2, 3,” she counted off before taking a picture of our reflection.

We both looked down at her phone simultaneously to look at the picture. Lee was grinning widely to the camera phone in the mirror. Her dress was flared out behind her, leaving a trail of white lace on the floor. Her blond hair tumbled down her shoulder as her head tilted towards me. I had my head tilted towards her as well but I was not looking at the camera or our reflection. My gaze was on her. It took us a moment to realize that my arm was still wrapped around her waist. I hastily pulled my arm away and pushed my hair back nervously.

“I love it, it’s cute,” Lee smiled down at her phone.

“Send it to me,” I said.

“Why would you want a picture of us in wedding attire?” she asked, still not looking up at me.

“I can think of a few reasons,” I replied quietly before trailing off.

Lee shyly glanced up at me once more. My heart jolted in my chest as I stared down into her large blue eyes. Every time she blinked, I could see where her eyelashes tickled the tops of her cheeks. We were finally alone and I did not think that I would ever find a better time to do what I wanted. I had been waiting for a perfect moment and I believed that I finally encountered it. I cautiously lifted up my hands until I cupped the sides of her face. Her cheeks grew pinker as she stared up at me with wide eyes. I began leaning down and her eyes slowly flickered shut. My lips were only a few centimeters from hers.

“Well, aren’t you two the cutest!” a voice cried out.

Fuck.

We quickly stepped away from each other. I never thought I was the type to blush in my face but I could feel the heat spread across my face. I must have been as pink as Lee looked. We glanced at each other slowly before quickly looking away towards Cecilia. She was grinning widely.

“Jocelyn! Your son just might be the next one for you to plan a wedding for!” Cecilia called out behind her before walking towards us. “Nara Lee, darling, you are just a beauty. I bet you got all the boys going all googly-eyed for you.”

“Googly-eyed, Cecilia?” I asked her in monotone voice.

“Yes, googly-eyed. You know, kind of like that funny looking face you always have when this pretty girl is around,” Cecilia’s Southern accent rang out before she laughed.

“I don’t have a funny looking face,” I pouted.

“He doesn’t. He has a cute face,” Lee nodded.

“I guess he does. When he’s not all googly-eyed over you, of course,” Cecilia grinned wider. “Now, come on, kiddos, it’s my wedding, not yours. Help the adults out with picking decorations. We have time to plan your wedding later.”

Lee flushed brightly as Cecilia pushed us back towards the dressing room. Lee silently went back behind the curtain. I glanced over to make sure she was securely inside before whirling towards Cecilia.

“Are you kidding me, Cecilia?” I hissed quietly.

“What?” she asked incredulously.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss her since seventh grade and I finally got the balls to do it and then you interrupt!” I whispered angrily.

“Oh, sweetie, you don’t want your first kiss with her in a thrift store. I did you a favor,” Cecilia nodded with a smile.

“That was a perfect moment! She was in a wedding dress!”

“But it wasn’t hers and it wasn’t that special day. It may seem cute and romantic but trust me, a better day is coming.”

I stood there in frustration as I glared over at her. Cecilia stared at me from the other side of the curtain before pursing her lips. She took a step forward to be closer to me.

“Adrian. There will be a day where you two will be so caught up in a moment of passion that that kiss will transcend the definition of love. I know it will happen. I would rather you have that as your first kiss with her than some pathetic little peck in a store.”

“It wouldn’t have been a pathetic peck.”

“Adrian, we both know how you are,” she laughed. “It definitely would have been.”

With that, Cecilia pushed me back into the dressing room and closed the curtain, ending our conversation. I glared at the curtain before angrily kicking it, causing it to flare up. I heard Cecilia giggle wildly on the other side but I paid her no mind. I knew she had good intentions but I was really irritated that I was no able to kiss Lee like I wanted. It took all that I had to work up the courage to kiss her. It was courage wasted. I had no idea when I would be able to gather up that courage again. Whenever it happened, I only hoped that the first kiss between Lee and I would be as important and passionate as Cecilia guaranteed it would be.