The Ups and Downs of Our Life

You know that feeling when you do something that you've done a billion and a half times throughout your life and then suddenly you're doing it with just a slight change. The feeling of nervousness that something's going to go wrong.

Well that's how I feel tonight. I'm going over to Nick's for dinner and sleeping over like always except this time I'm going as his boy friend and not his best friend.

I know I shouldn't be scared. Nick's family is amazing and so is mine. Oh right. Did I mention my family will be there too? Well nobody knows why Nick and I planned this family get together and I'm kinda scared to tell them.

"Hey Peanut! Dinner's ready!" Nick's little sister, Bentley, called.

Nick had made dinner and I was currently in his room trying to calm down. I smiled when I heard her nickname for me. She came up with it because Nick always called me Jeffy and she said it sounded like Jiffy, the peanut butter brand, but because peanut butter was too long to say she just simply shortened it to peanut.

I walked downstairs and saw that everyone was waiting for me. It was the first time we had all been together since the divorce. I quickly sat down. My little brother, Ross, and my big sister, Jess, were seated on one side of me and Nick sat on the other.

I looked at Nick, scared, but he just smiled and grabbed my hand. I smiled too. Nick just had that effect on me.

"Umm okay so before you all start eating, we have something to say," Nick announced, after we said grace. Everyone looked at us. "Umm Jeffy and I, well, we're kindadatingnow." He rushed through the end of the sentence.

At first, everyone was quiet. Then Bentley announced "I win! You all owe me 10 bucks." Nick and I looked at her, surprised.

Nick's mom was first, grumbling as she pulled ten bucks out of her pocket, then Ross. Pretty soon everyone at the table had paid Bentley.

"You guys couldn't have waited until next week to tell us?" Nick's dad asked.

"Wait. You all bet on how long it would take us to get together." I asked.

"Well of course. Sweetie we knew you two were gonna end up together ever since you were little and would get "married" to each other. And then you guys came out to us and we just knew it was a matter of time." My mom explained.

"Well thanks. Love you guys too." I grumbled. They all smiled.

"Now can we eat? I'm starving!" Bentley announced. Giggling, Nick nodded. "Of course you can twerp."

I watched as everything else went like it normally did. We all ate and talked. Nick and Bentley teased each other. Then Nick brought out his pie.

Soon Nick and I headed up to his room to get ready for bed with calls of 'Keep it down' and 'Use protection' following us.

As we climbed into bed I sighed.

"I'm glad we did this Nicky."

"Me too. Jeffy, you know I love you right?"

I smiled. "Yea Nicky I l-lo-like you a lot too."

He smiled too, understanding that I still couldn't use the L- word but that I would eventually.

"This was great Jeffy. Thanks." He sighed, as he snuggled into me and drifted asleep.

"Yea. It really was, Nicky. It really was." I answered softly.