Just Another Lovesick Boy

I sighed softly to myself as I heard a door slam upstairs. I bit my lip and closed my eyes before looking back down at Nicole. I kneeled down in front of her and I tried my hardest not to be disgusted by the small satisfied smile that crept across her face. I slowly removed her pale hand from my wrist and held it in one of mine. I patted her hand once before stroking across it with my thumb.

“Nicole,” I started off softly, “I don’t mean to be rude but I feel like I have to be absolutely honest with you.”

“Okay,” she smiled eagerly.

“I don’t like you, Nicole. Not in the way you want me to. Not at all,” I told her. The smile on Nicole’s face faltered before slowly slipping away. This was not what she wanted to hear but I knew it had to be said. “You are beautiful. There is no denying that. But looks aren’t what I’m interested in. Lee is smart, funny, sarcastic, honest, and caring. I like that. And from what I’ve seen in you, you are manipulative and mean. And I don’t like that.”

“But I’m not,” she said sadly as she shook her head. “I’m not manipulative and mean.”

“You are, Nicole. You kissed me when you knew I did not like you. You tried to seduce me and say Lee would never have to know. You called your own sister ugly. That’s mean. I don’t like mean girls,” I told her.

“But I could be nice,” she whispered.

“I’m sure you could. I suggest you try to be,” I told her seriously. “But I have to tell you now: I am not interested in you at all. I like Lee so much. She’s the one for me. But I have no doubt that you will find the right guy for you. But he’s not me.”

Nicole bit down on her bottom lip as she bowed her head. Her light blue eyes glossed over and I felt a jolt in my heart when I noticed her tears. I tightly gripped her hand in mine before wiping a stray tear away from her face.

“I really liked you though,” she sighed.

“I’m flattered. But there’s a better guy for you out there,” I told her.

She nodded a few times before slipping her hands out of mine. I realized that our conversation was over. I stood up and straightened out before hesitating in front of her. I bent down and gently pushed my lips to the top of her head. I felt her jolt underneath my touch before I quickly stepped away and walked out of the room. I heard her sniffle once as I approached and ran up the stairs. I wandered down the hallway, trying to find which one Lee was in. There were two open doors; one held the master bedroom and the other I assumed was Nicole’s. Behind one closed door, I could hear the sound of classical music increase so I assumed that was Tessa’s room. Finally, I reached a door that had blue flowers painted it. I took a chance and opened the door.

“Lee?” I called out as I peeked my head in.

I looked around the room and noticed that Lee was standing in front of a window with her back towards the door. I cautiously walked in the room and closed the door behind me. I made my way to Lee to stand by her side. I looked down at her to find her standing rigidly with her arms crossed and her eyebrows furrowed.

“Lee? I swear to you, it was not what it looked like,” I said.

“It’s fine, Adrian, I don’t need an explanation.”

“No, Lee, you do.”

“It’s okay, Adrian. I’m fine. Really. Look, I know you don’t like me the way I like you,” she exhaled shakily.

“Lee, no, I – wait, what?” I choked out.

“I get so nervous around you. So much that I don’t even know how I’m able to keep standing or talking or breathing when I’m with you. I just like you so much. And it’s because I like you so much that I’m okay with you liking other girls, even if it’s my sister. If she can give you something I can’t and you’re happy, then okay. I just want you happy,” she rambled off.

I stared down at her in surprise. My mind was blown with Lee’s sudden confession. I was still processing her words as I looked out her window. I blinked a few times and licked my lips to prepare myself for this conversation.

“Do you really think I don’t like you?” I asked her. “Do you really think I don’t get nervous around you either? My heart beats so fast and that only happens when I’m with you. Do you really think I feel nothing when you’re around?”

“Adrian,” she whispered as she slightly turned my way.

“What do I have to do to prove how much I like you?” I asked.

“Adrian,” she repeated.

“I’ve liked you since seventh grade. Since the first day I saw you on the first day of school. You were wearing a blue dress and you had pink ribbons in your hair that matched your backpack.”

Lee slightly danced back and forth in her spot as she clenched her arms closer to herself. There was a small smile on her face as she continued to look out her window. She paused for a moment before saying, “You were wearing a green shirt and rainbow shoelaces.”

“What?” I asked in confusion.

“First day of seventh grade.”

“You remember that?”

“I remember everything about what I learned about you. You and Eddy born on the same day and you even act like twin brothers. You like cooking and taking pictures. Your initials are A.D.D. You don’t like math but you still always managed to be in honors math classes. We’ve had at least one class together every year since seventh grade.”

“I can’t believe you remember all that,” I grinned.

“Do you remember, Adrian? That day you walked me home for the first time? You told me that everyone saw the pretty popular girl but you saw me for who I was. I think that was the day I saw you for what you really were. You were just another lovesick boy. That’s when I realized who I really was. I was another lovesick girl. And I thought to myself, ‘this could work.’ That’s when I knew I loved you.”

She was not looking up at me but I could see the pink flush on Lee’s cheeks as I stared down at her. I was definitely not expecting any of this. This had to be a dream. I pinched myself roughly on arm and grimaced at the pain. This was not a dream. I let out a few shaky breaths before turning back to Lee.

“That day that I went to school with sunglasses and everyone found out I had a black eye and I didn’t want to talk about it. You knew I didn’t. All you did was hold my hand and kiss my eye. That was all I needed. I’ve always liked you but that’s when I knew that I was seriously, honest to God, hopelessly in love with you,” I told her.

It was only when I finished speaking that Lee turned and looked up towards at me. Once she was finally looking into my eyes, I immediately felt nervous and could feel the heat spread to my ears and the back of my neck. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously as I glanced away at her. I bit my lip as I looked back at her. She was staring up at me seriously without blinking and I found it increasingly difficult to look away from her eyes the longer she stared. I blinked a few times before I could hear Cecilia’s voice in my head. She told me only a few weeks earlier that there would come a time that the moment would be right between Lee and I. I had this strong feeling in the back of my mind that that time was then and there in Lee’s room.

I bit down on my lip harder as I reached out to Lee. She continued to stare up at me as she allowed me to pull her by her wrist and waist towards me. I moved my hands up to cup the sides of her face. I blinked a few more times as I tried to contain my nervousness. I slowly leaned down towards her and I could see Lee flutter her eyes shut as she leaned up. I closed my eyes and before I knew it, my lips were on hers.

There first thing I seriously thought about was how minty her lips tasted, like toothpaste. That probably explained what she was doing when she left me in the living room. The second thing I thought about was how soft her lips were. The third thing I thought about was how I was actually and seriously and literally kissing Nara Lee Evans. And it was everything I always imagined my first kiss with her would be. It was exactly what Cecilia promised it would be. It was breathtaking.

Literally. It was taking away my breath. I had to pull away.

Lee’s eyes flickered open as soon as I pulled myself away from her. We stared at each other for a few seconds before small smiles started to spread across our faces. Before I knew it, both of us were laughing. This entire day seemed unreal. We eventually made our way across the room and sat on top of her bed and began talking.

“I can’t believe we’ve liked each other this entire time and neither of us did anything about it,” I groaned in embarrassment.

“Right?” she exclaimed with a grin. “It’s messed up.”

“I think I was just shy and intimidated by all the other guys who approached you.”

“It wasn’t just you,” she shook her head. “I was so insanely jealous of Emma Rochelle in eighth grade.”

“Eddy likes to tell me that she never counted as a girlfriend,” I admitted.

“I was jealous of her. Believe me, she counts,” Lee told me seriously with a bit of a glare on her face.

“Oh, man,” I mumbled as I pushed my hair out of my face. “I feel like I need to do this right.”

“What do you mean?” she asked me.

I shook my hands a few times in front of me before letting out a shaky breath. I straightened my back out before grabbing one of Lee’s hands and staring into her eyes. She glanced at our joined hands amusedly before looking back up at me.

“Nara Lee Evans,” I began, “would you please be my girlfriend?”

A large grin spread across Lee’s face as she flushed a bright pink color. She bit down on her bottom lip before nodding enthusiastically. “I’d love to,” she answered.

“Okay,” I nodded as I let go of her hand. “Just let me do one thing.”

She stared at me in confusion as I pushed myself off of her bed and stood in the middle of her room. I closed my eyes and stood there calmly for a moment before grinning widely and jumped up and down.

“YES!” I shouted excitedly. “Oh my God, I’m so happy!”

After I finished freaking out, I calmly walked back to the bed and sat across from Lee. She stared at me stoically for a moment before laughing loudly. I smiled as I sat there accepting the fact that she blatantly laughing at me. I was absolutely not embarrassed by my actions. I was insanely happy that I could finally call Lee my girlfriend after liking her for so many years.

“Aww, sugar, that was precious,” she laughed before getting up on her knees to lean towards me and kiss me.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise at the action but I immediately closed my eyes and raised a hand to hold her close. Her lips were already becoming very addicting and I knew I would never get used to her kisses. They would always run a shiver down my spine. Lee pecked my lips once more before pulling back with a smile on her face.

“I think I like kissing you,” she admitted.

“I know I like kissing you,” I confirmed.

“That’s good to know,” she grinned shyly.

“Actually, I have another thing I wanted to ask you.”

“Yes?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to be my date for Jack and Cecilia’s wedding?” I asked.

“Will their guest list allow it?” she asked.

“Cecilia already said they had room for more people,” I nodded.

“Then I would be glad to be your date,” Lee smiled.

“Great,” I grinned at her before looking away to assess her room. I was so caught up in trying to explain what happened downstairs and confessing to Lee how I felt that I never noticed about her room. I took in the green walls and the giant clock painted on the wall before staring up in confusion at the ceiling. I shifted on the bed, taking note how the bed swayed lightly. “Whoa. Is your- no way. Is your bed hanging from the ceiling?”

Lee looked up at the ceiling before glancing back down at me to say with a small smile, “Yeah, it is.”

“That’s so freaking cool!” I exclaimed before turning to the wall with the painted clock. “And check out this wall!”

“I take it that you like my room?”

“I love your room, man. It makes my room look stupid and boring. This room is fun and interesting. It suits you,” I smiled.

“What a charmer,” Lee smiled my way before turning to glance at the alarm clock on her bedside table. “Oh, it’s already half past eight. When did your mom want you back?”

“She didn’t say but I should head back anyway,” I sighed as I slid off her bed.

“This was, um, a pretty intense day,” Lee commented as she stood in front of me.

“Yeah, it was,” I laughed to myself as I rubbed my arm.

“I liked it though,” she smiled.

“Me too,” I smiled down at her.

She stood in front of me quietly. There was no way I could resist now that I knew she would let me. I leaned down and kissed her gently, curling two of my fingers into the palm of her hand. She twisted her hand around to intertwine our fingers as she pushed herself up lightly to reach my height. We stood there kissing for a moments before she pulled away from me.

“Can’t leave your mom waiting,” she stated.

“I don’t want to leave now,” I moaned, leaning down to drop my head on her shoulder.

“Too bad, sunshine. Besides, you’ll see me tomorrow,” she reminded me.

“I guess,” I mumbled before pulling myself off of her.

“I’ll walk you to the front door,” she smiled as she shook her head and patted me gently on the back.

I nodded as I followed her out of her room, my hand still clasped in hers. We walked down the stairs hand in hand casually but as soon as I saw her parents sitting the living room, I immediately felt nervous. They turned in unison to see us standing there awkwardly.

“Leaving already, Adrian?” Mr. Evans asked as they both stood up to walk towards us.

“Yes, sir. Don’t want to worry my mom,” I answered.

“You come over whenever you like, you hear me?” Mrs. Evans smiled as she stepped forward to give me a hug.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“It’s Sarah! How many times do I have to tell you?” she shook her head.

“Once more, ma’am,” I grinned.

“Oh, I give up,” she sighed, causing Lee to giggle.

“Well, Adrian, I know that you’re a good boy and you wouldn’t purposefully hurt my princess. But I have to ask you to refrain from hurting her, even on accident,” Mr. Evans told me seriously.

“Trust me, sir, I will try my hardest to never hurt her and always keep her happy,” I replied just as seriously.

“Good man,” he gave me a smile as he clapped me on the shoulder. “Get going and tell your mom I said hi.”

“Yes, sir,” I nodded before Lee pulled me away towards the front door.

She walked out onto the porch and stood there with me. She grabbed my arm with her other hand before she took a small step towards me and wrapped her arms around my middle. I blinked in surprise before smiling and wrapping my arms around her shoulders to hug her back. We stood on the porch with our arms around each other for a few moments in silence before she leaned up to give me a small kiss.

“See you in the morning, Adrian,” she smiled.

“See you, Lee,” I smiled before kissing her forehead and walking off her porch and down the steps onto the sidewalk.

I turned around to give her a small wave, which she returned before calling out, “Now go tell Eddy, you gossip, I know you’re dying to.”

“You know me so well,” I grinned before turning around to walk down the street.

I could the sound of her ringing laughter following me down the street. I waited until I was at the corner before I began to run as fast as I could down my street. My mind was conflicted on who I should tell first but I felt that ultimately I should break the news to my mom first. I grinned widely as the wind pushed my hair back as I ran towards my house. I sprinted across my lawn and ran into my house.

“Mom!” I yelled out.

“What?” I heard her yell back immediately from her room.

I closed the front door behind before jogging up the stairs and entering her bedroom. My mom was sitting on the floor with dozens of pictures and magazines sorted on the floor in front of her. I knew she was working on a new inspiration board for a customer but I had to get this out.

“Mom! Oh, my God. Oh, my God!” I exclaimed.

“What?” she asked again as she took off her glasses to look up at me.

“I told her, Mom. I told Lee how I felt about her.”

“Oh, my God. And?” she asked anxiously.

“She said she likes me back, Mom!” I yelled with a grin, throwing up my arms in excitement. “I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes!”

“Oh, my baby boy has a girlfriend,” Mom grinned as she stood up to walk over and give me a hug.

“This is such a – I can’t even – I’m so happy!” I rejoiced.

“I’m happy for you, honey. She’s a good girl,” my mom smiled as she looked up at me, placing her hand on my cheek.

“Thanks, Mom,” I smiled down at her.

My mom patted my cheek before pushing me out of her room. “Now, go tell Eddy, I know you want to.”

“That’s what Lee said,” I laughed before making my way across the hall into my room.

I crossed through my room before crawling on top of my bed to make my way out of the window and on to the wooden board. I quickly made my way across, making a mental note to tell Eddy and Mr. Devereux that we might need to replace it soon, before crawling through Eddy’s open window. I collapsed on top of Eddy’s bed and rolled over so I was laying on it properly before turning my head to grin up at Eddy, who was sitting at his desk and typing away on his laptop.

“’Sup?” he greeted me.

“Dude. You’ll never believe what just happened,” I told him with a smile.

“Tell me before you pee your pants,” he mumbled.

“I asked Lee to be my girlfriend. And she said yeah.”

The clicking from Eddy’s laptop slowly came to a pause before Eddy turned in his chair to look at me properly. He blinked down at me before a small smirk crawled on to his face. He stuck his tongue out as he gave me the famous Devereux grin while he stood up to jump on his bed next to me.

“You finally got the balls, man! Congrats,” he grinned as he punched me on the arm.

As I lied in Eddy’s room, telling him everything that happened that led up to me asking her out, I felt a sense of exhilaration overcome me. I was absolutely thrilled that Lee was finally my girlfriend. I had never thought in a million years that she would become my girlfriend, much less actually liking me back. The warm feeling that flooded my chest was almost overwhelming but I welcomed it. It felt like life could not be better.