Temporary Bliss

I stuck to my plan and ignored Michael, except for at work. He seemed to lay off too, he stopped texting and calling me, our late night hang outs stopped. My life went back to the way it was before I even met Michael, and I was happy with that. Cameron and I hung out a little more, it was nice to not have to hide the flirty text messages that Michael would send me. I didn’t have to worry about getting caught sneaking out or lie to Cameron about why I was so tired.

Cameron and I double dated with Caroline and Zach, I talked to Caroline about all of the cute things Cameron did for me, and Caroline talked to me about how cute Zach was. Cameron kept being cautious and getting me home before curfew, even John approved of Cameron now. I really didn’t think about Michael that often, we both lived different lives, and I finally convinced myself he wasn’t any good for me.

That was until a few weeks later.

I was lying in bed, the analog clock on my bedside table showed that it was a little after midnight. It was Friday night, my parents were out of town for my dad’s annual work party. I had got off the phone with Cameron an hour ago, I tried to get him to spend the night be he refused saying it was too risky and it would lose our trust with my parents. I was upset, because nothing is better than falling asleep in the arms of someone you love and seeing their face when you wake up the next morning. Deep down I knew he was right, I just wished he’d be a risk taker like Michael…and that’s why I’m still up. I was thinking about Michael and what he was doing, or what we would be doing if we still hung out.

I selected his name from the contact list in my phone and opened up a new text message.

Was I really doing this?

Yes, I was.

My fingers began pressing letters on the touch screen keyboard to form a text message, “Can’t sleep. Are you awake?”

I hit send and tossed my phone down on my bed. I sat up and scooted away from my phone. I waited, and waited…and waited.

No response.

I bit my lip anxiously as I watched the home shopping network on TV, I was always so amused by these channels. Maybe he wasn’t responding because he was out with another girl. Maybe he found someone to replace me, someone prettier…someone without a boyfriend. Or maybe he just got tired of me like he does with all the other girls. He probably just deleted my number from his phone and forgot about me, I was in the past.

Twenty minutes later I started to drift off to sleep, just then my phone vibrated. I picked it up off of the nightstand and squinted at the bright screen, seeing that I had one new text message from Michael. “Outside.”

I shut my TV off and grabbed a sweatshirt. I walked downstairs, knowing I didn’t have to worry about being quiet since I was the only one home. I slipped on my green converse and opened the sliding door and stepped onto the deck into the cool night.

I hugged my sweatshirt closer to my body as the wind blew cold air at me. I looked around my backyard, not seeing any sign of Michael. He set me up. I glanced around slower and saw a figure sitting on the trampoline in my backyard. I smiled a little and walked over to him. I lifted myself up onto the trampoline and sat down next to him.

His legs were propped up and his arms dangled loosely around them. He glanced over at me then turned his head to look forward again.

I sat down Indian style and leaned back on my hands, not saying anything.

“Break up with Cameron yet?” he asked.

“No.”

“Are you going to?”

“I don’t know.” I sighed.

He stood up and started jumping up and down a little on the trampoline. I got up and stood as he jumped around.

“So why‘d you text me? I mean it was out of the blue.” he questioned, still jumping.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“There‘s more than that.” he said, narrowing his eyes. “I never did find out why you stopped talking to me in the first place.” he came close and double-bounced, causing my knees to buckle under me and I fell down.

Instead of getting back up I just laid down on my back, resting my hands on my stomach as I looked up at the starry sky. Michael stood above me, looking down at me waiting for a response.

“I thought maybe if I distanced myself from you, I‘d get the same feeling back for Cameron, the one that started to die down.”

“Did you?”

“Get the feeling back?” I smiled a little, shaking my head, “At first, yeah. But after a while it started to die down again.”

He sat down beside me, leaning back on his hands, and remained quiet. “You‘re not wearing flip flops like you always do.” he noted.

I smiled a little, realizing he paid attention to what I wore. “Yeah, my parents are out of town, so I don’t have to take my shoes off to walk on the deck.”

“And you‘re not having a party?!” he winked.

I laughed a little and shook my head, “Nah.”

I closed my eyes and listened to the quiet night, I felt the trampoline adjust and I opened my eyes to see Michael holding himself above me.

We both looked at each other for a while, he let out a chuckle, “You‘re cute.”

I shook my head and smiled as a light blush appeared on my cheeks. I propped myself up on my elbow, I leaned up and slowly leaned in to kiss him. I paused, right before our lips touched, neither of us moving for a few seconds. I looked into his dark brown eyes as I felt his warm breath hit my lips, which only made me want to kiss him more. I let my eyes close and finally leaned in and kissed him softly.

His lips were soft and warm compared to my cold lips. He slowly kissed me back with a little more force, letting his tongue trail along my lips. I could taste the mint flavor that his mouth held, probably from a stick of gum. This kiss was different than the two previous kisses we shared that were quick and sweet; this one was longer and filled with more desire. His tongue ventured into my mouth and I quickly pulled back, breathing heavy.

I placed my palm against my forehead as I tightly shut my eyes. My mind was racing with thoughts of Cameron. “I-I should go…it‘s late. And I-I‘m stupid. I don’t even know why I‘m out here…”

I climbed off of the trampoline and gave him a quick wave as I jogged back to my house. Once I reached the door I heard him calling out my name. I turned around and saw him running towards me.