A Step to Love

“Pissed. Pissed. Pissed!”

“Ow,” Brit complained as I pulled hard the braid I was making in her hair.

“Sorry. I’m just pissed.”

Brit was resting her head in my lap and I rested on the floor with my legs folded. “I heard, I heard,” she laughed.

“Mr. Roberts has made me do things I’ve never thought of doing before. I got detention, for crying out loud!”

“Annie, get over it. He’s not out to get you.”

I thought about it and decided to leave the seductive stares out of this conversation. It would eventually come out, I thought. No point in bringing it now, specially with Alex in the bathroom. It might not even be real, anyway. Instead… “I talked back to him.”

“So does everyone. He’s cool.”

“No, but I mean like ‘talking back’, no as in ‘talking like replying’,” I sighed. I finished braiding her hair with one last pull.

“Ow.” She paused, rubbing her head. “Relax. You have an imperative mind.”

I tied a scrunchie to the end and rubbed her head, apologizing again.

“I know,” I agreed.

There was a short pause before it was Brittany who spoke up. She got up from my lap and stared deeply into my eyes. “Joe and I broke up.” Brit had been kind of down for the last few hours or so. I sighed in a small relief, thankful that it wasn’t something completely horrendous.

I still had my doubts about Joe. He was friend, sure, but when somebody was wrong, somebody was wrong.

“I imagined he apologized about whatever stupid thing he did and you got over it.”

To my surprise she shook her head. “I seriously don’t want to talk about it, but I thought you should know. Since we’re best friends and we promised to tell each other everything.”

I nodded. “I respect your wish.” Yeah, that gave me a small slap of guilt, but I decided to ignore it. I did not want to pressure Brit into telling me anything she didn’t want to tell me, and I was pretty sure she felt the same way about me. Especially with the whole Mr. Roberts issue that I had decided it wasn’t really an issue. More of a…scene (?).

Okay, no.

I wasn’t ultimately sure of what had happened. Did he really seduce me? Or was I imagining things?

He did bring up stupid excuses, and I was not in the disposition of flirting, specially with a teacher, specially when it took so much time to get where I was with Alex.

Definitely. Erased.

I think.

As if on cue, Alex stormed out my bathroom and sat next to Brit and me. She gave me a look that told me to stay quiet and I did.

Thankfully, he spoke. “We’re set for the amusement park?”

Brit raised her eyebrows. “You guys are going to the amusement park and didn’t invite me?”

I gasped. “I’m sorry, Brit, I thought you might be busy.”

She laughed. “It’s all right. I have something to do, anyway.”

I looked guilty at Alex which didn’t seem to comprehend that I felt bad for my best friend. Nevertheless, she kissed and hugged me and her brother goodbye before taking her backpack and heading home.

“Is she all right?”

I stared at her back in the front door. “Yeah, just tired.” I turned and caught him staring at Brit, too. I closed the door silently and crawled into Alex’s arms. He seemed surprised, but held me, anyway, pressing his hands on the small of my back. “We should get going.”

I felt him nod against me. He pulled away and pressed my mouth against his, separating the lips quickly enough to get my tongue tangled in his. My hands reached his chest and traveled upwards to his neck, sliding down again to his pecks.

Our breathing got hard quickly and he pressed rapidly kiss after kiss until his hands got a hold of my face. He started guiding me gently to explore his mouth, when a voice interrupted us.

“Y’all need to stop suckin' face in ma’ face,” a man’s voice warned.

I quickly separated and pressed my hand against my mouth. Alex laughed and turned to greet Uncle Laurey.

“Well, don’ be embarrassing, Lilly. I was making a joke.” If it wasn’t for that cute Southern accent my uncle had, I would’ve been scared shitless. Uncle Laurey’s voice was big and loud even when he was just whispering. He took a hand and ran it across his golden hair excitedly. “When are ya’ leaving?” he asked me and I took my hand out of my mouth.

I smiled. “Few minutes. I—I just…” I reached for my head and looked like I had just remembered something. Anything to get out of the “talk” he was about to have. I could sense it. “Purse! I left my purse.” And ran off hearing Uncle Laurey talk to Alex about how a girl should be treated and whatnot. I knew it. I walked down quickly just in the middle of Uncle Laurey’s speech and took Alex’s arm with mine. I pulled him to the front door, hearing him apologize for my “eagerness.”

“Goodbye, Uncle Laurey!” I called behind myself and entered the cold night, shivering instantly.

He smiled and waved towards us. “God bless y’all! Be right aroun’ midnight.”

“Eleven!” I heard my aunt scream after us.

Alex and I both laughed, and then the comfortable silence set us as he opened the door to his car like a complete gentleman. I got in and before he closed the door, I took his shirt and pulled him close. He leaned his head and kissed me before walking to the driver’s seat and starting the engine.

This was nice. A small date with a nice boyfriend.

We reached the park in a few minutes. When I turned to check Alex’s wristwatch in our linked hands just when were in the middle of the Ferris wheel, I saw that it was 9:32pm.

We took a couple of rides, played some games (won, lost), saw people puke their guts out. The night seemed to end quickly, and it helped me to forget about everything. Mom, Dad, Mr. Roberts, school itself, life itself, etc.

That is…until I saw Jenny and Brody walking around next to the darts station.