I Am Thankful For You

“Allie,” My mom called to me. I studied myself in the mirror a little longer, wanting my hair and make-up perfect for when the Haners came over. “Brian’s here!!” She continued.

I eeped and ran my brush through my hair real quick. I nodded, satisfied, and ran downstairs. I ran smack into a chest when I was going into the kitchen and almost fell. “Whoa,” Brian said, grabbing my elbow to stop me from falling. “Careful, there.” He smiled down at me.

I felt my cheeks heat up and chuckled, nervously. He always made butterflies appear in my stomach. “Thanks,” I muttered.

He chuckled in return and released my elbow with a smile. “You look nice,” He complimented.

I smiled and felt my cheeks heat up even more. “Thanks, Bri. You’re awfully handsome as well.” He was always good looking, even if he didn’t think so.

“Thanks.” He grinned. I ducked my head down and nodded before slipping into the kitchen to get a small snack. I grabbed a piece of bread and spread some peanut butter onto it.

“Honey, move, will you?” Mom asked, holding a pot of potatoes. I slid out of her way and stood in front of the fridge.

“Excuse me, Allie,” Mrs. Haner said, smiling.

I moved out of her way as well. Brian hopped up on the counter near the stuffing bowl and swiped a finger in the bowl and licked it off his finger. “Yum, Mrs. Sully. Your stuffing is the bomb,” He complimented.

“Brian!” Both my mom and his yelled.

“What??” I tried not to giggle at his confused face. He looked so innocent and unaware of what he did.

“Bri, let’s go to the park. We’re messing with the Thanksgiving system,” I told him. I went and grabbed his hand - a daring move, I thought - and pulled him from the counter and out of the kitchen.

“Be back by six!” Our mom’s called. We smiled at each other and left the house.

“I don’t get what I did wrong,” Brian told me as we walked to the park.

I giggled. “You got your hands in the food. It’s a bit no-no for Thanksgiving. You get to eat when everyone’s seated.”

He groaned. “Our mom’s are psycho,” He told me.

I smiled. “Well, with lots of cooking, they just don’t want anything to be messed up. They want people to be sitting at the table and groaning about how good the food is.”

He shrugged. “Still psycho. You’d be psycho if you did it too,” He stated, poking my side. I made a sound that resembled a squeak and clutched my side. He laughed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “You’re too cute, Allie.”

I blushed at his words. He thought I was cute. We continued walking in a comfortable silence, his arm still around me. I wondered if anyone saw us if they’d think we were a cute couple or just a couple of friends. Probably the second one though.

We were a few blocks from the park when I felt a pain shoot through my thigh. “Ow, ow, ow,” I hopped on my right leg and leaned into Brian so I wouldn’t have the pain in my leg. The pain stayed though.

“What’s wrong?” Brian asked, looking concerned.

“My leg,” I answered, my face scrunching up. “My calf hurts.”

He picked me up bridal-style and sat me on a bench that wasn’t too far from us. He sat down too and pulled my leg onto his lap to start rubbing my calf. “This happens to me a lot. Rubbing the muscle helps sometimes,” He told me.

I nodded and bit my lip, trying not to cry. This hadn’t happened to me before and it hurt! “’Kay,” I murmured.

He smiled. “It’ll be alright, Allie. Just breathe.” I nodded again and squeezed my eyes shut. “You’re not breathing,” He scolded, lightly.

I let out a breath. “Sorry. Just…pain.”

He kept rubbing my calf and messed my hair up. “It’ll be okay. Just don’t think about it. Distract yourself.”

I bit on my lip for a few moments, wondering if I could work up the courage to actually do it. I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his face to mine, our lips meeting in a kiss - my first.

I had read stories about kisses and how there’s fireworks or something, but all I felt was the soft feel of Brian’s lips on mine. And it felt perfect. After a few more seconds, our lips separated and Brian smiled. I smiled back, my cheeks heating up for about the millionth time today. It didn’t take much longer for our lips to meet again, this kiss just as innocent as the last.

When our lips parted for the second time, I smiled. My calf didn’t hurt anymore and I kissed Brian twice. There was an amazing feeling in me right now. “Is your leg better?” Brian asked, breaking the silence.

I nodded. “Yea. I think you helped a bunch.”

He smiled and took both my hands in his. “Good,” He murmured before pecking my lips once more. I smiled and stood up, feeling more confident now then I did before. I took his beanie and put it on my head before running from him, giggling. He started chasing after me. “Hey, come back here!”

I glanced back at him before running faster. I slid on the leaves when I went to hide behind a tree. I put my hands on his hat on my head and put my head down.

“Allie,” Brian called. I bit my lip, smiling. He jumped in front of me, making me jump and squeak in surprise. “Found ya!” He bent down and picked me up.

“Bri!” I laughed as he spun around in a circle. He set me down and took his hat back. I pouted up at him. “Now my hair’s even messier.”

He chuckled. “You’ll live, Allie.” He pecked my lips and a smile broke across my face. My sudden confidence melted and I blushed. He cupped my cheeks and smiled. “So fucking cute,” He muttered, changing his words from earlier since we weren’t in the presence of adults. My cheeks heated up even more and I looked down at the ground. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders again. “We should be heading back since it is currently-” He paused to check his phone. “-Six o’ nine and the psycho moms are gonna kill us as it is.”

I nodded. “Our dads should defend us. You could probably tell your mom you were getting your supply of fresh air like she’s been telling you to do forever now.” I smiled up at him. We began walking back to my house.

“This is true. And if that works, I didn’t let you go home without me. Never know what creeps are out at this hour.” He smiled.

I laughed and moved closer to his embrace when a cool breeze blew by us. We were home after a long and comfortable silence and as soon as we walked into the kitchen our moms didn’t say a word about us being late, only that we needed to sit down. We sat next to each other - in the only two open seats - and as soon as we were comfortable, our legs were wrapped up.

Brian’s mom said we should go around the table and say what we were thankful for. After my mom and Brian’s mom had said their’s it was my turn. “I’m thankful for a great family and amazing friends,” I told them, my hand going down under the table to squeeze Brian’s hand.

Brian smiled and squeezed my hand back. “I’m thankful videogames and great girls,” He stated, giving my hand another squeeze. I smiled as his mom asked if he was thankful for anything else, to which he replied with a “no”.

The table erupted into chaos after everyone had said what they were thankful for. I looked at Brian and smiled. I wiggled my finger for him to come closer and whispered into his ear, “I am thankful for you.”

He grinned and pecked my lips. “I’m thankful for you, too.”

I grinned and we shared, yet, another kiss. We intertwined our fingers and I smeared some potatoes on his cheek, grinning. He shook his head and put a drop of gravy on my nose. I giggled and leaned into him. I’m glad we both like each other and I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving.