Soaked

by Courtney Elliott

  “I don’t see a problem with that so long as she’s finished her breakfast.”

  “I’m done,” I said quickly. Then I stood up and started to lead him out of the kitchen. We didn’t get far before Dad called out my name. I turned around to face him.

  “Shouldn’t you clean up?” He motioned to my bowl still sitting on the table.

  “Yes Sir,” I said politely before I took my bowl and cleaned it out. Then I quickly left the room before he added anything else for me to do. I went right out the front door and headed for the woods. I didn’t have to look to know West was following after me. I could hear his footsteps and smell his citrus cologne that he had been wearing the night before.

  I kept moving and didn’t stop until I was a good ways into the woods. Then I turned around to face him. His smile had disappeared and he was staring at me like he’d never really seen me before. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I expected him to speak up first, but it became clear after a few seconds of silence that he wasn’t. I let out a sigh and looked down at the ground before saying what was on my mind.

  “I’m sorry about last night okay,” I said quickly. “I just I thought that we were having a good night, and I thought that maybe with all the nice things that you were saying about me that you liked me back, and I know that sounds crazy now that I really think about it, but I wasn’t trying to freak you out or anything. You didn’t have to come here to have a talk with me like I’m some kind of child. It’s not like I’m gonna blab to everyone that I tried to kiss your or something.” I noticed he wasn’t saying anything back so I slowly brought my eyes back up to meet his.

  He had a small smile playing on his lips. “I didn’t show up to talk to you because I thought you were going to ‘blab or something’,” he said simply. “I came to talk to you because I felt like I didn’t really get much of a chance last night seeing as how you kind of ran away from me.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Uh, yeah, I’m sorry about that.” He raised one brow up at me in the most adorable way. “I just…I was embarrassed.”

  “And I’m sorry about that.” He swept his tongue over his bottom lip before he spoke again. “I never meant to embarrass you Lennon. I just…couldn’t kiss you.”

  My chest ached at being rejected by him a second time. I wasn’t sure what I was really expecting though. I already knew he wasn’t interested in me. That had been made clear the night before.

  “I know, like I said I just thought that…maybe…you might have liked me.” I buried my face in my hands because saying the words out loud just sounded so ridiculous. How could I have ever thought that West would have liked me? I felt his hands over mine as he lowered them from my face.

  “Don’t do that. You don’t have to hide from me,” he said calmly.

  “I just…”

  “Stop for a minute.” I did as he said. “I came so I could talk to you, and I kind of feel like if I don’t stop you now then I might not get the chance.” He chuckled so I knew he didn’t mean anything bad by it. I stared back at him blankly while I waited to hear whatever he had to say.

  “Okay, so I wanted to start by saying that I had a great time with you last night.” He smiled and I gave him a faint grin back that caused his to dip. “I also wanted you to know that I meant everything I said to you in the back of the limo. I really do think you’re a great girl.” I cringed. I knew what was coming next. The inevitable but. I didn’t think I could handle hearing that from West. “I’m bad at this,” he said. “I know in my head what I want to say, but I’m having a hard time actually putting it into words.”

  “You don’t have to say it,” I said, effectively cutting him off. “I get it. We can just pretend it didn’t happen. We’ll just say the night ended with me going home and us just saying goodnight like we should have.”

  “I like you,” he said quickly, and it made me smile.

  “I like you too, and I get that you were just being nice.” He groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

  “No Lennon, I mean I like you. Like really like you.” I opened my mouth to say something, but then closed it again. Then repeated the gesture. I wasn’t sure what to say. “I wanted to kiss you last night. In fact I’ve actually wanted to kiss you a lot. For a while now. I pushed you away because it would be a mistake.” My brows furrowed in confusion. What was happening? His eyes widened. “I didn’t mean that. It wouldn’t be a mistake to kiss you, but it would be bad if I kissed you. Do you know what I mean?”

  “No,” I said slowly. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that West just said he liked me. Not just as a friend either. He actually liked me. He rubbed his hands over his face again. I could tell he was getting frustrated, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of me or because of the situation. “Are you okay?”

  He dropped his hands and looked back at me. He narrowed his eyes like I saw him do sometimes when he was concentrating on something. “I have a feeling that none of this is going to come out right, but I need to say it otherwise I feel like it’s going to drive me crazy. So, can you just bear with me until I get it all out?” I hesitated for a second before finally nodding my head.

  “Okay, here goes. I’ve had a crush on you since the first day I met you. I think you’re easily one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever met. I know you won’t agree with me, but trust me, you are. I think you’re so smart and it’s pretty intimidating most of the time because I know you know so much more than I do and you’re younger than me. I think you’re funny though you don’t let a lot of people see that side to you, myself included. The times I do, I feel like I really am the luckiest guy around.” I smiled wide, and he just kept going.

  “I enjoy being around you. You have this light to you that no matter what kind of day I’ve had just being near you can make it better. I asked you to prom because I wanted to go with you. I wanted you to be my date. It wasn’t just me being nice. When you tried to kiss me, I panicked. I wanted to kiss you back. More than you could possibly imagine, but I can’t Lennon. For one thing, you’re Katie’s best friend, and while for me that’s not really an issue, I know it is for you. I know how close you two are and I don’t want to come between you for any reason. The biggest thing though that kept me from kissing you was how young you are.”

  My face fell at his words and I knew he saw it. “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but you have to know it’s an issue.”

  “I’m three years younger than you. Two for the whole summer.”

  “That’s not what people are going to look at though. Not while you’re sixteen. All they’re gonna see is that you’re sixteen and I’m eighteen, almost nineteen. They’re not going to like it. I can promise you, your Dad would hate it.” My eyes dropped to the ground between us. I didn’t want to admit, but I knew he was right. If I was eighteen and he was twenty, no one would care. It wasn’t fair.

  “Why tell me all this?” I asked. “You could have just let me be embarrassed and not said a word.”

  “I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t interested. I didn’t want you thinking that someone like you couldn’t be with someone like me.”

  “I can’t be with you,” I reminded him and he frowned.

  “Not for the reasons you were thinking though.” He stepped closer and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, pretty much sending my heart rate into overdrive. “You’re great Lennon, and you’re gonna find a guy that’s perfect for you.” I didn’t feel like bringing up the fact that I already had. I knew there was no one better for me than West. He had proved that so many times. Still, I knew he was right. We couldn’t be together. All people would see was the fact that he would technically be an adult and I was still a minor.

  “I’m leaving in a month,” he told me like I wasn’t already aware. I had been counting down the days until I would have to say goodbye to him. Though, I had a feeling it was going to be much harder now that I knew how he felt about me. A part of me wished he hadn’t said anything.

&nb
sp; “I know.”

  “I guess I’ll probably see you around before I go.” I nodded my head. “Well, I should probably get going.”

  “Yeah.” I wasn’t sure what else there was to say. We both knew it wouldn’t do any good anyway. We couldn’t be together the way either of us wanted, so all we could do was keep up the way things had been going. We just have to be acquaintances and nothing else. “Bye West.”

  “Bye Lennon.” Then he surprised me when he leaned forward and pressed his soft lips against my forehead. I closed my eyes and relished in it. As far as I knew, it was the only kiss I would ever receive from West.

  He walked me back home afterward and waved goodbye with his signature West smile on display. I couldn’t help but grin as I waved back. Even though things might not have ended the way I would have hoped, I could still be happy about the fact that West had admitted to feeling something for me too.

  That would just have to be enough.

  Eight

  The last month before West left for Houston seemed to fly by. It was as though I had blinked and four weeks went by. We had run into each other a few times since his confession in the woods that day, but those few occurrences barely lasted longer than thirty seconds. I think we were both afraid that too much time spent alone together would make everyone assume something was going on. Funny, since we had spent time together alone before and never thought of anything of it.

  The night before he left, Katie had asked if I could spend the night. She said it was a kick off to all the summer sleepovers we were going to have, but I think honestly it had something to do with West leaving. She had never spent more than a few days apart from him since she’d been born and even though she would deny it to the grave, I knew she was going to miss him like crazy.

  So, I was over at her house while she was discussing the pros and cons of moving into her brother’s room once he was gone. I was supposed to be making a list as she talked, but I kept drifting off to thoughts of West and all the things he might get into while he was away at college.

  “Hello, Earth to Lennon,” Katie said as she waved her hand in front of my face. I blinked rapidly before looking at her. She smiled wide before turning back around and walking over to her closet. She was currently on con number five; West’s closet space was a lot smaller than hers.

  “Sorry,” I said as I looked down on my paper and saw that I had somehow been keeping up with her.

  “What has you so distracted today? You’ve been staring off into space like all afternoon and school is over so it can’t be because of some paper you forgot to write.”

  “I just have a lot on my mind,” I said absentmindedly hoping that would be the end of it. I should have known better. Katie turned with her brows dipped in worry.

  “Like what?” I thought fast and thankfully I did have one other thing on my mind that wasn’t her brother.

  “Next year.” Katie smiled as she rolled her eyes playfully.

  “Really Len, the school year just ended like two days ago. How are you already thinking about next year?”

  “It’s a big year. We take the PSAT’s this year and I want to do well.”

  “Len, you’re going to do well on it. You’ve aced every test that’s been put in front of you since freaking Kindergarten. You’re gonna ace this one too, and get a full scholarship to your dream school, then you can go on to shape all the little minds of the future just like you want.”

  “I’m glad you have so much faith in me.” She shrugged her shoulders.

  “I’m your best friend, it’s required that I believe in you. The same way it’s required for you to help me make all the tough decisions of my life.”

  “Like whether or not to take over your brother’s room?”

  “Exactly.” I smiled wide. “Now, where were we?”

  “Con number five, closet space.”

  “Right. So, West’s closet isn’t much smaller than mine, but if I did move to his room I would have to get rid of like fifteen outfits. Then what happens when I get more stuff?”

  “Well, you have been saying that you’ve wanted to downsize for a while now,” I reminded her. “Besides even if you stay in here, you’d have to get rid of some stuff because you probably couldn’t squeeze a hair pin in your closet now.” She took a step back and looked ahead of her.

  “You’re right. Okay, new plan I need boxes.”

  “Boxes?”

  “Yep, I need to clean this out. Some of this stuff is seriously outdated.” She held up a yellow sundress with flowers that I couldn’t remember ever seeing her wear. “Like this. Ew, why I ever thought a dress with that many sunflowers on it was a good idea is beyond me.” I chuckled as she tossed the dress back at me. I held it up.

  “I think it’s cute.” Either she didn’t hear me or she chose to ignore me because she just kept digging through pulling out random outfits and commenting on her horrible taste with each one. I stood up from the bed and stretched before making my way downstairs to get a box. Otherwise, I might have ended up buried under all those clothes.

  Just as I rounded the corner leading out to the garage, I ran right into a hard body slick with sweat. I stumbled, but before I could fall completely, an arm snaked around my waist and steadied me. I looked up and straight into those stormy blue eyes that I knew so well.

  “Hey,” West said. Slowly, his arm removed itself from around my waist and then we both took a step away from the other.

  “Hey,” I said back. I let my eyes rake over him and it was obvious he had just come in from working out. His hair was sticking to his forehead the way it always did, and his gray tank top had a large wet stain from his neck to mid chest. Then I realized I was staring so I snapped my eyes back up to meet his. “I’m looking for a box.”

  His eyebrows rose up in question. “Huh?”

  “Katie is cleaning out her closet and she needs boxes. I was looking for some.”

  “Oh, I think there may be some in the garage. Do you need help?”

  “Nah, I wouldn’t want to keep you from anything important.” He smirked.

  “Let me take a shower real quick, and then I’ll come help.” Before I could tell him not to worry about it, he jogged up the stairs leaving me standing alone in the hallway.

  I turned and headed out to the garage to look for boxes while he took his shower. I found a few empty boxes, but they were way up high on a shelf that even at my five seven height, they were out of reach. I looked around for something that I could stand on and finally saw a chair that looked a little worn down, but it would have to do.

  I positioned it under the boxes and stepped up. It was a lot wobblier than I had been expecting, but I figured that so long as I didn’t make any sudden movements, I should have been fine. I was mid reach when the door to the garage opened. I barely turned my head, but apparently that had been a little too much. The chair wobbled beneath me and I had time to widen my eyes before I went tumbling to the ground. West was fast, but he wasn’t that fast.

  By the time he reached me, I had already hit the ground and the damage to my ankle was done. I yelped out in pain and clutched it like that would somehow stop the pain from radiating through the rest of my leg. West cursed as he dropped down next to me on the ground.

  “Can you move it?” He asked, keeping his gaze focused on my ankle. I bit my lip and shook my head as the first tears began to roll down my cheeks.

  “I don’t think so,” I mumbled. He narrowed his eyes and gently moved my hand away so he could see my ankle better.

  “I think you just sprained it,” he said. I frowned; it sure didn’t feel like just a sprain.

  “How would you know?” The last I’d checked West hadn’t gone to medical school.

  “I’ve broken my fair share of bones Lennon, and if it were broken it would be a lot more swollen. Still, we should probably get you to the hospital.” I winced at that. I hated hospitals. They freaked me out. I didn’t want to argue with him though. Plus, I was pretty sure his diag
nosis was wrong. There was no way it wasn’t broken.

  “Okay.”

  “Come on, wrap your arm around my shoulder,” he ordered. I didn’t argue and just did as he told me. Eventually, he helped me to my feet, or my foot more precisely. I wasn’t even going to try and stand on my hurt ankle. Then without any kind of warning, West put his other arm under my knees and lifted me off the ground completely. He carried me like I didn’t weigh anything.

  “Katie!” He called. She came out of her room quickly and her brows rose when she saw West holding me in his arms. “I’m taking Lennon to the hospital. Call Mom and let her know.”

  “Wait, what? What happened?” Katie asked as she made her way downstairs toward us.

  “I fell,” I admitted, embarrassed.

  “Just call Mom.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “No,” there was finality in West’s tone, but that didn’t stop Katie from arguing.

  “What do you mean ‘no’?”

  “I mean no. My truck is small and Lennon should keep her leg raised. So, we don’t have room for you too.” I could tell by her expression that Katie didn’t like that plan, but she wasn’t going to argue further.

  “Fine.”

  “Just call Mom so she can call Lennon’s parents.” Then West was out the front door still holding me in his arms. I’m not really sure how he managed to get the door open without putting me down, but he did and then he sat me down in the passenger seat.

  “You should probably lie down or something. Keep that foot elevated.”

  “Okay.” I moved to do as he said, but it was hard getting comfortable. West walked around the front and climbed into the driver’s seat. He gave me a worried glance before starting it up and pulling out of the driveway. He kept casting nervous glances my way the whole way to the hospital.

  “Thanks for this,” I told him after the silence became too annoying to let it continue.