You Haunt Me

It had been nearly a month since John and Rae had shared that first, brief kiss. Neither of them brought it up again, despite knowing they’d have to talk about it sooner or later. It was almost ironic, Rae thought, that the kiss seemed to bring them closer together, especially since she thought it would have done the opposite. The whole thing was confusing, to say the least, and she still had no idea where things stood between them.

They were sitting on his couch watching Netflix when he had a break from recording. The tension in the air was nearly palpable, and as much as she didn’t want to be the one to start the conversation, she felt she should.

"What is this?" Rae had asked him after they had already watched a couple of films. It had been on her mind since he'd gotten there— even before then— it just took awhile for her to build the courage to say something.

"Hmm?" his gaze moved from the television to her. She suddenly felt intimidated and regretted saying anything in the first place.

"I..." she trailed off. "This, I mean." She gestured to the space between them. She almost laughed as she realized how far away she was sitting from him.

He shook his head, looking at her confusedly. "I'm not sure I know what you mean, Rae."

"Whatever this relationship thing is," she responded. "Where do we stand?"

He chuckled, moving so he was closer to her. "I was wondering the same thing."

"I... I'm sorry," she shook her head.

"For what?" he questioned.

“You know… I’ve never done this relationship thing, let alone with my best friend,” she couldn’t help but laugh a bit at this.

“Well, you did say I could be your first boyfriend, remember?” he joked, nudging her side.

“We were thirteen!” she laughed, pushing him.

“Still…” he looked at her expectantly.

Sighing, her gaze fell to her hands. “Look, I’m just… I don’t want things to go too fast and then I lose
you.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” he promised. “We can take this as fast or as slow as you want.”

“Okay,” she replied, her eyes moving back to meet with his.

“Okay, well, I’ve waited my whole life to say this,” he inhaled dramatically before gripping her hands.
“Aralynn Rae, will you be my girlfriend, in the most sappy way?”

She laughed, shaking her head and wanting to punch him for using her first name. Nevertheless, she responded: “I would love to.”