A Little Bit Older

The past few days had been a whirlwind. Kevin and I had found a house that was perfect for me. It had a smaller blueprint but also some green space and was the most adorable house I’d ever seen in my life. We’d managed to get an offer in before it officially went on the market too which had helped me secure the deal and in a month, I would be able to move into my new house and finally unpack all my boxes.

I was so excited about my house hunting success that I had barely had time to keep up with Matt. We’d done our two ‘dates’ like we’d agreed and I knew he had been in touch with Meghan about ‘asking me out’ but I hadn’t really gotten a chance to follow up with him on any of it. With my job starting in a few short days as well, I’d been so preoccupied that I hadn’t even though about it honestly.

Which would explain my shock when I woke up to Meghan pouncing on my bed on a Saturday morning at 9AM.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” I groaned curling tighter under my blanket and trying to get her away from me.

“Rise and shine, beautiful! We’re having a cook-out.”

“As wonderfully American as that sounds, what’s the big deal? You all have cook-outs like every other week.”

“A little birdy told me, today’s going to be a very big day for you,” She mused joyfully resting her head on my hip and staring up at my face.

“A big day?” I asked confused not putting two and two together right away. Suddenly, it all clicked and my eyes quickly opened to stare at her. “No.”

“Yes. But, you didn’t hear it from me.”

“Fuck, Meghan. What is this? High School? Please tell me you aren’t making a big deal out of this?”

“Of course not! It’s going to be perfectly lowkey. I’ve got it all planned. I even made a playlist with your favorite songs so that the mood is always perfect.”

“Holy Father, who art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Save me from murdering my sister.” I murmured under my breath. When I suggested he go to Meghan for help, I did not think she’d take it this seriously.

“You’ll thank me later when you two are getting married and you look back on this moment. This is how couples get their song, you know.” She huffed before sitting up and pulling the covers off my body. Before I could protest, she proclaimed I needed to get ready because everyone would be arriving by eleven.

I laid in bed for a few minutes trying to replay in my head what terrible decisions I’d made in life to get me where I was right now. Ultimately, I was thankful to have such a loving younger sister. However, the prospect of her trying to make such a perfectly romantic mood during a family and friend cookout was kind of nauseating.

You could’ve warned a girl. I messaged him quickly as I pulled myself out of bed before I hopped in the shower. If he replied, he could wait. I had figured when we arranged all these details, I wouldn’t have to worry about being the last to know when it came to situations like these.

By the time I got out of the shower and finished getting ready it was around 10. I took a quick glance at my phone and was disappointed to see that Matt hadn’t replied yet. Already, this was shaping up to be a great fake relationship built on beautiful lines of communication. I went downstairs and found Zack setting up the barbeque area while Meghan sat playing with Theo.

“Anything I can do to help?” I asked taking a seat next to my sister.

“Nah, it’s pretty lowkey. I just finished cleaning the grill and I’m about to go on an ice run.” Zack explained.

“Matt’ll be here soon, Zack. Why don’t you just ask him to pick some up?” Meghan asked without taking her eyes off Theo. The two were playing with a tiny toy xylophone that was surprisingly muted as far as children’s toys go.

“Eh, I can grab it. The store’s not far. Besides I figured I’d give the lovebirds some time before everyone else gets here.” He gave me a pointed glance and I shot him back a sharp glare.

“We’re not lovebirds.”

“Yet.” He cut me off before I could finish my sentence and with a quick kiss to Meghan’s cheek disappeared before I could retort. I couldn’t believe my sister and her husband sometimes. They were, without a shadow of a doubt, two peas in a pod. Although, I was glad that Meghan found him because she’d never shown an interest in dating beforehand. She had higher standards than I did and knowing that she found someone and it was working so well gave me hope for myself.

“So are you going to tell me what the plan is?” I asked looking over to Meghan who just gave me a coy smile with a quick shake of her head.

“It’s really nothing serious. Matt didn’t even want me to tell you so you need to act surprised, okay?” I laughed at her sudden change of energy and didn’t have the heart to tell her that none of it would have been a surprise in the long run anyways.

“Fine, fine.” I conceded. “I’ll try my best.” She beamed at me before returning her full attention to Theo.

It wasn’t long before everyone arrived and I found myself being whisked up in introductions to the rest of Meghan and Zack’s friends and the extended “family” that found itself in their backyard. It was honestly overwhelming but I just kept a smile on and pretend that I was absorbing all the names and attaching them to the faces. In actuality, it felt like the wedding all over again and I knew I wouldn’t remember anyone I met for the first time. New faces and names were not my forte.

Which was the main reason why I found myself chilling off to the side of the flower gardens once the party was in full swing. I wasn’t very far from the beer coolers which kept me socializing frequently but I was far enough away from the ruckus of the actual event so I didn’t have to worry about getting pestered with introductions and boring small talk

“Hey you!” I smiled as Michelle found her way over to me and leaned in to give me a hug. I quickly kissed her cheek and she pulled away abruptly. I laughed slightly before shaking my head and remembering that hugs for greetings was the norm.

“Sorry, still readjusting to casual greetings I guess.” I apologized as she sat down next to me on the freestanding porch swing.

“Cultural differences. They happen.” She said with a warm smile and I was glad to see that she had warmed up to me a lot more than the first two times I’d met her. It was the first time that she was talking to me like I was an actual friend and not just another body.

“Tell me about it. I forgot how American all these things were.” I said shaking my head at how silly my comment sounded.

“That’s how whenever I’m away to visit the guys on short tours. I can only imagine how you’re feeling.”

We continued casually talking about my time living in France and I was surprised at how genuine her interest seemed to be. For a bit, she even tried speaking French with me which was fun and impressive since she apparently hadn’t studied it since she finished with high school. As odd as it sounded, I was starting to get a bit homesick – which didn’t entirely make sense since America was in the end my original home; but, she understood what I meant when I tried to explain.

“Ladies,” Brian interrupted after about an hour. “I hate to be a bother, but I’m going to need to steal my wife.” He smiled apologetically at me, “Game night with my folks.” He explained and I nodded.

“Then by all means, steal away.” I said gesturing at Michelle as he offered her a hand to pull her off the swing.

I quickly said my goodbyes to the duo and realized that a good portion of the party as leaving. It had gotten later than I expected without my noticing. What was the most surprising however was that it had gotten so late and I hadn’t seen Matt at all… although, I hadn’t been looking for Matt either so maybe that was the reason.

I got off and wandered into the house looking for Meghan, Zacky, or Matt. I was hoping if I could find one of them I could figure out what had happened with this supposed ‘asking out’ plan that I had been clued in on this morning.

When I arrived in the living room, I found Theo and Cash curled up on the couches napping with Meghan sitting in the loveseat reading from a magazine.

“Hey sis.” I whispered walking in and situating myself next to her.

“Hey, did Matt find you?” She asked and I shook my head in the negative.

“I’ve been hanging out with Michelle. I haven’t seen him all day.”

“Oh, well he just disappeared with Zack to find you.”

“Think if I just stay here, he’ll show up?” I asked leaning my head against her shoulder and closing my eyes. Something about being in a room with napping toddlers just forced me into desiring a nap as well.

“I think that’s a pretty safe bet.” She said and I could almost hear the smirk in her tone.

“Cool. Wake me up whenever he shows up.” I yawned and before I knew it, I was out like a light.
When I woke up, Matt was sitting next to me and I could hear the Zack and Theo playing in the backyard.

“Hope you don’t mind. Meghan left to make dinner and asked me to take her place as resident human pillow.” I laughed and shook my head at his terrible attempt at jokes. Although judging by the tone, I had a feeling that he was saying things like that because he figured Meghan would be listening in from the kitchen.

“I don’t mind at all.” I whispered gently sitting up and pulling my body away from him bit which was harder done than said given that he took up a lot more of the loveseat than Meghan had.

“So I was wondering,” he paused and gestured with his hand towards the baby monitor on the coffee table. I nodded in understanding, noticing the green light which signaled that it was one. Meghan was definitely not the subtlest person out there. “I’ve had a lot of fun on our past few dates and I know this is kind of quick and I’m not really sure if you’d be interested or anything, but what would you think about making this an exclusive thing?”

I paused for good measure to make Meghan think that I was contemplating the question. Giving him a silly smile, I replied, “You mean like dating? Boyfriend girlfriend type thing?” I tried to keep the laughter out of my voice even though I felt absolutely ridiculous.

“I mean, yea, something like that.” He responded keeping his tone before making a silly face back in response to mine.

“I think I’d be okay with that.” I said with a small giggle. He was asking for trouble acting like that.
He quickly held up a finger to his lips trying to tell me to be quiet. I had to bite my lips together to keep from bursting out in laughter. I could feel my face heating up because the whole situation felt so natural.

“Awesome.” He answered before reaching out and placing a hand over my mouth as a round of laughter finally escaped me. He tried shushing me quietly and I could tell he was trying to keep these sounds obscured in the static of the baby monitor and I was hoping it worked.

I shook his hand off my mouth and leaned forward to whisper in his ear, “I told you I’m terrible at lying.”

“You’re an awful actress too.” He responded in whisper to me.

“There’s a reason I’m a scientist.”

He pulled me into a tight hug which crushed my face into his chest and at that I finally burst and couldn’t hold in anymore of my giggles. Luckily at this point, if Meghan overheard or came in, I would just look like a silly, giddy girl so I wasn’t nervous. I definitely wanted to say a lot more but, given the younger sister with too much of an interest in my love life, I held back and instead let myself rest my head on his chest once my laughter died down.

“You okay now?” He asked gently and I nodded listening to his heart beat.

“Yea, I’m okay now.” I replied softly. And the worst part? I felt so totally okay with the predicament I was in. I felt so comfortable resting against him that part of me was wondering if I was only in it for the sport of one-upping my sister. For a brief, fleeting second, I genuinely believed that I was okay simply because it was him. As soon as the thought crossed my mind though, I pulled myself away and gave him a small smile. I scooted back to my side of the couch and prayed that it wouldn’t be long before Meghan announced that food was ready.