Just a Girl

“Nate!” I screamed as soon as I flung myself out of Rob’s car and into Nate’s arms.

“Cara!” He replied, a huge smile lighting up his face.

I tried to pull myself away from him, but he kept his grip tight around my waist.

“Do you mind?” Rob cut in from behind.

“Not really.” Nate shrugged.

“Well I do. So paws off.” Rob snarled.

Nate released me and I went to stand next to my boyfriend. I placed a hand on his shoulder, staring up at him.

“Rob, calm down.” I laughed. “Nate and I haven’t seen each other in almost 4 months.”

Rob just huffed as I ran over to Ryan and Cheyenne to give them bear hugs.

“Where’s Ashley?” I asked, looking around for her mop of blonde hair.

“She’s getting her sled from Ryan’s truck.” Cheyenne told me.

I couldn’t help but notice how Ryan arm was snaked around her waist, and her’s his. I shot them both a questioning look, making Cheyenne get embarrassed and hide her blushing face in Ryan’s shoulder, while he stood triumphantly.

“A lot can happen in 3 months.” Ryan explained.

“Yeah.” I agreed. “Like you can get pregnant, or…,” I trailed off when they both shot me a harsh look.

Ashley appeared a moment later, next to Cheyenne. As soon as she saw me, she dropped her sled and charged at me. I opened my arms and smiled broadly as she entered them and hugged me back, and tightly I might add.

“Cara!” She giggled as she pulled away.

I stepped back beside Rob and grabbed his hand. I thought I saw a flash of pain on Nate’s face, but it was gone as soon as it came.

“I’d like you guys to meet my-,”

“Fiancé.” Rob cut in. I rolled my eyes, seeing the shocked looks on everyone’s faces.

“Boyfriend.” I corrected, then started to explain. “Rob is going to propose after graduation because I turned him down on Monday.”

“He’s a keeper.” Ashley informed as she looked him up and down.

I mean, he’s okay.” I joked, staring up at Rob for his reaction. His mouth formed an ‘o’ and he playfully punched my arm. “Abuse!” I yelled, earning the attention of a few passersby. They looked at me with concern until I burst out laughing.

“Shhh!” Rob shushed me, slapping his hand over my mouth. “You’re gonna get me pepper sprayed.” He chuckled.

I licked his hand, hoping to make him release me, but all it did was give me a salty taste in my mouth.

“You expected that to work?” He asked, a disapproving tone falling over his words.

I bit his hand and he pulled it away quickly, shaking it as he did so.

“Don’t silence me again.” I commanded lightly.

“The bite mark in my hand says I’ll never do it again.” He promised.

“Oh, so Cara’s a biter?” Nate asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

I blushed, but I fought it. “Wouldn’t you like that?” I asked playfully.

Nate was taken aback by this, making him speechless.

“Let’s go sledding.” Ashley whined. “We haven’t got all day.”

Rob handed me the long, two-person sled I hadn’t realized he was holding.

“Go on.” He whispered in my ear. His hot breath sent shivers down my spine. “I want to sit in back.” He smirked.

“Fine.” I sighed and followed Ashley to the hill. I remembered when we all used to play here when I first moved here. Rob was close behind, so close in fact, I swore I could feel his breath on my neck. Why was he so hostile toward Nate? All we did was hug. Just HUG.

It wasn’t long before my butt was wet, being violently thrown off the sled when we’d hit a bump. The next time though, Rob wrapped his arms firmly around my waist.

“This way, if you down, you’re bringing me with you.” He chuckled.

I had to force a laugh and a smile. Rob was kind of getting on my nerves. I don’t know why. I just feel like… he needs to respect my friends. My best friends. I was getting ticked off.

He pushed off and we went flying. We hit snow that no one had traveled into yet, causing friction. We lurched forward and Rob accidentally hit his chin on the back of my head. I cringed and reached up to grasp the area he hit.

“Sorry.” He said, rubbing his hands up and down my arms in a soothing manor. I melted back into him. This was why I liked him. I forgot about how he ticked me off and allowed myself a moment of peace in his arms.

“Alright lovebirds, I get that you’re together and stuff, but if you could not act so lovey-dovey, that’d be great.” Ashley shouted from the top of the hill.

I blushed and quickly freed myself from Rob’s arms. I got up with him and we brought the sled back to the top of the hill. Well, I tried, but I slipped and fell, sliding the rest of the way down after having gotten a face full of dirty snow.

Once I had rolled to the bottom, I felt a pair of arms grasp my shoulders and pulled me back up. I turned around to thank Rob, only to find that it was Nate who’d helped me.

“You do realize you’re on thin ice with Rob, and one more thing will probably earn you a punch in the face, right?” I asked, staring at him with disbelief.

“I do realize that. But if it’s that big of a deal for one friend to help another friend back up after rolling down the hill, especially after her boyfriend was more worried about his sled, then maybe he’s not the right guy for you.” Nate hissed, walking back up the hill. I stood there for a while, thinking about what he’d just said. Maybe Zeke was right. Maybe Rob wasn’t the right guy for me.

I shook the thought from my mind. Today was supposed to be fun. Not stressful.

I carefully made my way up the sled, watching Rob carefully. He was talking to Ashley, making her giggle. Fucking. Hypocrite.