Baby, Just Breathe.

“Got any plan for the night?”

John stopped me before going back home at almost dinner time. We spent the whole afternoon at the park, and we even felt asleep for a while.

“Well yes I have a date with my couch”

“Is he nice?”

“Utterly nice”

He smiled and I just wanted to kiss him in the middle of the street.

“So there’s no way to compete with him I guess?”

Was he trying to ask me out?

“It depends. What’s on your mind?”

“I was thinking that maybe you can come out for a drink with me and the guys tonight”

I didn’t know if I was expecting him to ask for a date all alone with me or if I felt relieved by knowing we weren’t alone at all. It would have been awkward to go on a proper date with him, I guess. Or maybe not.
The only thought of going out with him made me feel dizzy. I didn’t even know if I wanted to go that serious, because of the consequences. What if I felt in love with him for real? Was I that strong to take it?

“It’s ok. I just hope the couch won’t feel let down”

“I’ll pick you up at 10, yeah?”

I nodded and before leaving I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, hoping no one was looking.

“I’ll see you later then”

I felt the world spinning around me, I felt like touching heaven. John made me feel like that.
John made me feel like I was 13 years old again, when you have those crushes and you giggle by yourself.
It was hard to keep my feet on the ground with someone like him involved.

I had a fast dinner with my mom and then I went straight into the shower. I wanted to be perfect for John.
When I got down to the kitchen waiting for him to pick me up like he said, my mom started talking.

“I don’t even remember the last time you went out with someone else but me”

“Just because I prefer staying at home…”

“Correction. You like staying in your bedroom”

“Remind me the last time I’ve been in my bedroom for a whole day then. Since you got me this job, I’m never home”

“You should thank me”

Yes, I should have, because without that job I wouldn’t have met Sophia and his brother.

“I’m not giving you the satisfaction of thanking you until this is over”

She was about to reply when we heard someone knocking at the door. We both went to the front door and I was the one to open. Of course, it was John. And of course, he was gorgeous.
He introduced himself politely to my mom and thanked her for the brownies she made for his birthday.
She was totally amazed by his beauty, but how could I blame her? He was charming, he could have made even guys fall for him. My mom tried to make a conversation but I took John from his arm to get out of my house as soon as possible before she started to question him about his life since his birth up to now.

“Your mom is nice”

“When she wants. She was the one getting me to babysit Sophia two months ago”

“Well you should thank her then”

“That’s what she says”

We got on his car and he started driving, being really quiet, thing that was weird of him.
He turned up the radio, where Kurt Cobain’s voice was playing ‘Polly’. He started singing and I didn’t want him to stop, so he kept on doing it until we got to a pub in the centre of Tempe.
The bar was crowded for being a normal day of the week, but I kept forgetting it was summer.

“Here they are! Hey guys!”

We approached a table full of just guys. I liked guys’ company more than girls, but still I felt awkward.
I obviously recognized his band mates, then a couple of other people that I was sure I saw at his birthday party. He introduced me to everyone and they all said hi. Then we sat down with them.
John asked me what I wanted to drink but I asked just for a coke. He went straight to the bar and ordered our drinks, leaving me alone next to his bassist, Garrett. He kept looking at me like I was an alien.

“What?”

“I like your t-shirt”

I looked down on my t-shirt which had the massive Ramones logo on it.

“Thanks”

John came back with my coke and his beer in his hands.

“Hey pal, don’t even start to bother her with your zombie obsession yeah?”

“He is not bothering me”

Garrett smiled at me.

“Thanks Lauren” he then spoke to John “straight to your face mate”

John replied with a not so polite gesture and then looked at me smiling.

“Do I have to get jealous of him?”

I felt awkward. He was really direct when he wanted to and I wasn’t use to it. I never met someone who always told me everything to my face. That was one of the reasons I liked John.
Along with the stunning beauty, he had a beautiful personality. Yes, he got me mad most of the times, but still, he was so precious. Every time I looked at him I felt lucky. Lucky to be the one who he kissed days before. Lucky to be the one to have his attentions. Lucky to be there with him. Lucky to be the girl who had the chance to see his smile every day.

I shook my head and he smiled again. After a while we were talking and laughing because of the funny tour stories they were remembering, and suddenly I felt John taking my hand under the table. I didn’t look at him but I felt extremely embarrassed, so much that I felt my cheeks burning under his sight.
We hold hands until he got up saying that we had to go because I was running late as I had curfew.
Actually it wasn’t true; I tried to ask why but before I could open my mouth he took me by my arm and got straight out the bar before I could even say goodbye to the guys.

“John what the hell? I have no curfew, and I was having fun so why did we have to go away??”

“Because I wanted to stay alone with you. Do you not agree?”

Suddenly I changed my mind. Fuck everybody else. As long as I had John, everyone else was useless.

“Well yes. But you looked in a rush and I didn’t know what was happening”

“You should get use to this”

“This…this what?”

“This kind of things I do. We have a month to spend together and I’m not going to waste it”

I suddenly wondered how come that happened to me.
I never had anyone I cared that much who cared that much about me in return, beside my mom.
I never felt so happy before, just looking into his eyes.
I never felt so into someone. So…in love.
I was sure of anything in my life, before that moment. I was sure of anything but one thing, from that night.
I was in love with John O’Callaghan, and I didn’t want to waste the month we had from that day on.