Indecision and a Chance to Restart

Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge with the sun in my eyes and the top down on my 1978 Mustang Convertible always made me feel alive. The intoxicating drive always put a smile on my face when my hair flew behind me and the cool breeze flowed over my body. I glanced over to the right side of the car, where the love of my life, Jaime Preciado, was sitting with his hands on his lap, eyes closed with a huge grin on his lips. That smile said it all; this moment was perfect. With my right hand, I seized his left and felt 10 times better with the touch. I turned my head and continued to focus on my driving, thinking about this day, two years ago, when everything I knew took a whole new perspective.
~~~
It was my senior year of high school, and i'd had the biggest and hopeless crush on the star track runner, Jaime Preciado. Jaime had moved to Clairemont High halfway through the year, and I slowly became entranced by him. I discovered early on that he lived three houses down from me, and I'd see him on his morning runs while I was on my way to school. We'd started talking shortly after, when I finally got the courage to stop and say hello. After about a month or so, we would end up having lunch every so often but we never got super close because his mind was always on running cross country. Eventually, the season started and then I rarely saw him. As a result, we drifted apart.
On June 18th, my good friend Cara had a backyard bash for the graduating class, and since it was a small school, she decided to invite the entire town. She had always started off the summer with a bash since the seventh grade, and since it was our Senior Year, this one was supposed to be the best one yet. Jaime and I were both graduating, so it was expected we both show up. When we bumped into eachother at the snack table, we were both wasted out of our minds. One thing led to another, and we ended up in Cara's bedroom crying our eyes out and word-vomiting until our throats were sore. We both calmed eachother down by the end of the night and ended up cuddling together on Cara's bed, falling asleep in eachother's arms. We had lunch together every day after that, reconnecting and catching up on the months we had missed.
Two weeks later we were together.
It was unexpected, very. I remembered it being Friday, June 25th, and the only reason i'd remembered the day was because the cafe we had gone to had hot chocolate for half price on Fridays. Jaime and I had planned to meet up at this cafe and then walk to the theatre to see Silent Hill. I can't even remember why we chose such a scary movie, because I hated those kinds of movies. Anyways, at the cafe we didn't do much, we had a small bite to eat, a hot chocolate or two, and chatted about nothing in particular. We were having so much fun that we didn't realize that time had gone by so fast. I remember having to run to the theatre to make it there in time.
During the movie, I had glanced over at Jaime and I noticed he was scared pretty shitless. I wasn't feeling so hot either, and one part made me jump out of my seat so high that my arms flew out from my lap to the armrests. I was so freaked out, when my left arm hit the armrest I didn't realize there was another arm there. When my arm hit Jaime's, he flew backwards into his seat, pulling his arm back with him. I couldn't help but chuckle at the instance, but I still felt bad for scaring him.
"Sorry, I didn't know your arm was there, uh..." I trailed off, awkwardly folding my hands and putting them in my lap.
"Ahha, uhh, it's okay, I just wasn't expecting your arm to be there. I just got a little, shocked, is all." He smiled shyly and I swear I saw him blush under the dim lighting of the movie theatre. I didn't think anything of it and we finished the movie in silence.
After the credits rolled off the screen and the house lights opened up, Jaime and I left the theatre without speaking. We didn't have any other plans tonight, so we walked to Jaime's car, which was on the other side of the parking lot. I turned my head towards to my left, where Jaime was walking, and I noticed he was still shaking from the ending. I seized his hand without thinking, and then realized what I'd done. His eyes grew wide, but he realized what I was doing and squeezed my hand slightly, not letting go. Our fingers hadn't intertwined, so when we got to his SUV, he easily dropped my hand to walk to his side of the car. I got into the passenger side and Jaime climbed into the driver's seat, shoving the key into the ignition and starting the car. Smiling absentmindedly to myself, I thought about what a great night tonight had been. My house wasn’t very far from the theatre, and Jaime pulled into my driveway with ease. I started to unbuckle the seatbelt, but Jaime stopped me, putting his hand on top of mine.
"What, Jaime?" I asked cautiously.
"Just, uh... just, give me a second. I need to uh, I need to tell you something." I swore I saw redness in his cheeks, but there hadn't been much light from the porch lamp, so I couldn't be sure. I didn't think about it and I urged him to continue.
"Okay," I said and sat back in the seat. "What's on your mind?"
"Well, uh." He sighed quickly and I realized this might be a more serious issue than I first figured.
"Jaime, hey, is something wrong?" I asked, growing concerned and worried. I didn't know of anything that could be wrong, but that thought didn't help me in any way.
"Yeah, I just... I uh, I really, I really like hanging out with you."
I sighed in relief. "Oh, me too, really. But I mean, I figured that already. Is everything alright?" I asked, confused. Jaime was my best friend, and I figured he would like hanging out with me. I couldn't tell what he was trying to get across.
"Tony," he started and looked at me with his big brown eyes. He rarely said my name out loud, but I loved it when he did. Butterflies started flying around in my stomach. "Tony, the thing is, I just, I feel... different, around you than I do with other people. I really like, uh, I like hanging out with you and being with you and-"
The interruption was caused my me crashing my lips to Jaime's in a short kiss. Even though it lasted less than a second, it was more breathtaking than any kiss I had ever experienced before.
"I, uh," Jaime began.
"Yeah, I know. Um." I finished his sentence for him. We were both at a loss for words.
"Wow. I mean, I've been fighting the urge to do that all night." Jaime said. The butterflies in my stomach moved faster and freer than they had before.
"I, uh, I know the feeling." I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. I looked towards the floor of the car and Jaime brought his fingers to my chin, lifting my face to his. He connected our lips softly and lightly at first, and the kiss became intense slowly. Gasping for breath, I pulled away, and Jaime started talking again.
"So Tony, I really really like you. Will you be my boyfriend?" He was beaming and I couldn't help but do the same. I saw the light reflecting off his teeth and I couldn't help but let a giggle sneak through my mouth. I replied with a quiet, "yes, of course." He laughed slightly and I did the same, opening the car door and stepping out. "Goodnight, Jaime." I said as I shut the door and waved excitedly. I found him waving and grinning with the same enthusiasm. I watched him pull out of the driveway and drive down the road, and I turned around and walked through the front door. I walked upstairs into my bedroom and fell onto my bed with the stupidest grin on my face.
"Happy June 25th," I whispered as I drifted off to sleep.
~~~
As my memory faded into black as I remembered going to sleep that night, I turned the steering wheel and pulled into the driveway of the house Jaime and I owned. I jumped out of the car, not bothering to put the hood up while Jaime opened the door and stood up slowly. I rolled my eyes and chuckled at how "responsible" he was being and he turned his head, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Just laughing at how responsible you're being." I retorted, smirking at him. I seized his hand and ran into the house kicking the door closed and pulling his face to mine for a soft and slow kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and I felt his arms around my waist. I pulled away from the kiss and grinned, closing my eyes and feeling the sheer bliss run through my body.
"I love you so much, Jaime." I started, and I felt his arms hug me a little tighter around my waist.
"I love you more than ever, babe. Happy two years, Tone." He replied. He put his lips to mine for a light peck on the lips before he unwrapped himself and took my hand in his. We headed into our living room, Jaime scooping me up into his arms and carrying me, bridal style, up the stairs and into our bedroom.
He set me down on the bed and went into the bathroom, closing the door. The day wasn't even half over and it was already perfect. And Jaime hadn't even gotten his gift yet.