Soulmates

"Jade.....wait up," my boyfriend, Kyle, yelled from behind me. "You can't slow down in a race," I yelled back, laughing. Suddenly, I'm lifted from behind. "No, put me down, you cheater," I laughed. "Tie," Kyle announced, as he passed the makeshift finish line. "Nu uh, you cheated," I said as he set me down. Kyle covered his heart, like he was wounded. "Me? Never," he declared, then he smiled. God, I love his smile, I thought to myself. I still remember the day I met him.....I was sitting in Physics when I got called to the principal's office. "Sir," I questioned, knocking on the door. "Come in, Jade," Mr. Collins said. "Shut the door please." I went inside, and the first thing I noticed was the boy. He had golden brown hair and blue eyes. "You get the job of showing the new kid around, since you're head of the Welcoming Committee," Mr. Collins said. I jerked, having forgot he was in the room. "Sure, umm....," I glanced at the boy. "Kyle," he said, holding out his hand. "Jade," I said, then stood there not knowing what to do. "Shoo," Mr. Collins said with a laugh. "Come on," I said, leading the way out of the office. Kyle grabbed his bag and followed me. "What do you want to see first," I asked. "Whatever you want to show me," Kyle said with a grin. “Umm….the art room it is,” I said. “Lead the way,” he said, motioning me in front of him….. “Earth to Jade,” Kyle said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. “What,” I asked. “What are you thinking about,” he asked curiously. “Meeting you,” I said. “That was a good day,” he said with a slight smile. “It was,” I replied, “Anyway, what’d you say,” I asked. “I asked what you wanted to eat,” he said. “You cooking?” I asked. “Yes,” Kyle replied. “Surprise me then,” I said.
Kyle grabbed my hand and pulled me up. I stumbled into him and he put his hands on my waist. He lightly kisses me on the nose, then on the lips. “I love you,” I said, smiling. “I love you, too,” Kyle said. “Let’s go,” I said. Kyle followed me to his truck, then lifted me into it. Kyle got in the truck, and we headed toward his house. He picked up my hand and laced his fingers through mine. I hated that we had to do everything at his house, but at least his parents didn’t threaten to send us to jail. Let me explain.
Our society has very strict rules. Everyone is born with a tattoo. There is only one other person that has the exact tattoo in the same place. This person is supposed to be your soulmate. Society says that we can date our non-soulmates, but we can’t do dating things like kissing, holding hands, etc. Kyle is not my soulmate, but I love him. Kyle’s tattoo is a bird on his right shoulder blade, mine is an angel. My parent’s threaten us with jail if we go to my house, because if we were ever caught, we would go to jail until our true soulmates came forward. That would also bring dishonor on our whole family.
Kyle pulled up in the driveway and killed the engine. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed the palm. I smiled as I kissed his forehead. Kyle came to my side, and I jumped in his arms. We stood there for a minute holding each other. As we walked to the door, Blade, Kyle’s dog, rushed to meet us. “Hey, Blade,” I cooed, bending down to pet him. “J.J.!” I heard a yell, and then a two-year-old threw himself at me. “Hey, little man,” I said picking up Michael. We made our way to the kitchen and Kyle started getting out plates, utensils, and cookware. “What, are you planning to feed an Army?” I asked, staring at the amount of food on the table.
He raised an eyebrow and kept getting out food. I put Michael in his playpen, so I could help. I chopped up onions and peppers, while Kyle made hamburgers and brownies. When I was done, I hopped on the counter and tried to lick some of the batter. Kyle hit me with a spoon. “No touching,” he warned. His parents were home by the time the food was done. “Smells delicious,” Mrs. Lane said as she walked in and hugged everyone. As Kyle put the rest of the food on the table, Mr. Lane walked in. Mr. Lane has always scared me a little. He’s a retired Marine. Mrs. Lane, on the other hand, is a florist. Doesn’t make much sense does it? Somehow, they make it work though.
After dinner, we played some games and watched TV. “Shit,” I said, glancing at the clock. “What….ooh,” Kyle said. It was after two in the morning. Michael was passed out on the couch. “Give me a lift,” I asked. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he told his parents. “Be careful,” Mr. Lane cautioned. “Yes sir,” Kyle replied. I bent to give Michael a kiss then went out the door. “Car?” I asked. “Car,” he confirmed. His car was a ’67 Chevy Impala. It was faster than his truck and, more importantly, a lot quieter. We raced to my house and left the car a block away just to be safe. He kissed me goodbye, then helped me climb the tree to my window.