by Caity H.
“My parents hate me. They made me get up two hours ago to pack,” he muttered, playing with Froofie in his hands.
“They woke you up before ten on a Saturday?” I gasped, feigning horror.
“Yeah, parents these days. Anyways, so I'm here to help you pack. You're definitely going to want to bring that bikini of yours.” He waggled his eyebrows.
I glared at him. “Pig.” I slammed the bathroom door. I stripped out of my pajamas, and pulled on the clothes I'd grabbed. I threw my hair up into a messy ponytail, letting my bangs frame my face, and applied a little makeup before slipping on my glasses.
I opened my door and gasped upon seeing Lex going through my drawers. “Lex!” I screamed, moving over towards my purple dresser, and shoving him away. “What do you think you're doing?”
“I'm helping you get ready to go,” he replied. He smiled innocently at me and even tried to use Froofie against me. He moved Froofie in front of his face and started talking a high pitched voice. “Honeybee, please don't be mad at Lex. He was just trying to be helpful.” His Froofie voice got me.
I started giggling, and I saw his childlike smile from behind Froofie's head. “I hate you.”
He laughed. “My mother is downstairs. She has breakfast. You should go down and eat.” He set Froofie down on the bed.
“Okay, I'll be down in a few minutes. I'm gonna throw some stuff in a bag for this stupid trip.”
“Do you need help?”
“No-” I started to say.
“Okay, I'll pack for you.” He pushed me out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind me.
I groaned, slamming on the door with my fist. “Lex! This isn't funny. Let me in!”
“I'm packing for you, deal with it.” I could almost hear the smirk in his words. “Go eat, Bee.” he instructed. I stomped my foot in frustration and went downstairs.
Patty was sitting at the table, a plate of pancakes in front of her. She smiled when she saw me. “Morning Livie, how are you?” she asked, pouring me a cup of orange juice.
“Fine. This trip sure was a surprise though,” I said, taking a sip, feeling the cool liquid slide down my throat.
“It's long overdue,” she replied, dishing me up some eggs and a pancake.
“Thanks.” I smiled.
“Anytime, hon,” she cooed, turning to dish up some more food. I heard the front door open and the sound of footsteps making their way into the kitchen. Steve appeared, dressed in khaki shorts and a floral button down shirt, looking ready for a day off. He also looked like one of those retired golfers. “We've got our stuff loaded. The only bag we're waiting on is Livie's. The rest of the sleeping bags and tents are all loaded up,” he said, smiling at me in greeting.
“Where's your bag, Olivia?” Mom asked, blowing on her coffee.
I scratched my head, somewhat embarrassed. “Umm ... Lex is packing for me.”
Two hours later we were all packed together in Steve's truck, our stuff in the back. I'd called Bethany and Ryan and told them what was going on. They were both a bit worried about me going on a trip with Lex, but I assured them it would be okay.
Mom was sitting up front with Patty and Steve. Lex and I were in the back. He was texting on his phone, while I stared longingly out the window, wishing Mom had allowed me to bring my phone. I was bored and my iPod was packed away where I couldn't get it. Stupid Lex and his packing skills. Or lack thereof.
“So, Olivia, are you excited about graduating?” Patty asked, turning slightly in her leather seat to see me better. Lex glanced up at the sound of someone speaking, but quickly returned his eyes to his fancy phone.
“Yes.” I smiled.
“I remember when I graduated, feels like it was just yesterday,” she remembered with a laugh. “Steve, do you remember?”
He winked at her. “I do, it was a night of amazing memories,” he said with a certain tone, wiggling his eyebrows.
Lex glanced up in time to see the eyebrow show and looked between his parents a moment. The facial expression he pulled made me laugh. His eyes got huge, eyebrows scrunched together, and his jaw dropped. “Mom, dad, please tell me you're not talking about ...” He trailed off, his cheeks slightly tinted. He always blushed when his parents were romantic, or talked about romance in front of him. It was kind of adorable and reminded me of when he was younger and innocent.
Patty rolled her eyes. “Good grief, Lex. You act like that's unheard of, but no. That was the night your father first said he loved me,” she said, smirking at how Lex's face instantly relaxed, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness. Honeybee's ears are too innocent for such talk,” he said, giving me a sympathetic look.
“She's not as innocent as you think,” Mom said, glancing at me in the rear view mirror. I crinkled my nose trying to figure out what she meant by that.
“Oh, is little Livie growing up to fast?” Patty asked, encouraging Mom to go on.
“Well, just the other night when I had to work late, I came back home and she was sitting on the couch all cozy with Ryan watching a movie.”
“Awh, that's so sweet,” Patty said, smiling back at me. “That sounds like something we did when we first started dating,” she said, glancing towards Steve. He smiled and slid his hand against her cheek.
“Indeed it does,” he replied.
Lex gagged. “Gross, go on with Honeybee's story, I'd rather hear that. It doesn't make me want to throw up.”
“Get a grip, Lex.” Steve said to his son, looking at him in the rearview mirror. Lex glared back until his dad looked away.
“Anyways,” Mom said, trying to get past the tension between the two. “After they watched a movie, they went into her bedroom and shut the door.”
“I did not,” I claimed, sitting forwards in the seat. “You know that I left it open,”
“A crack,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Like that's going to help much.”
“Didn't stop you from bursting in,”
“Go Mama bee,” Lex said, smirking in my general direction.
“Thank you, Lex.” She laughed. “I didn't catch them doing anything, but they did go on a date last night, so who knows what those two lovebirds did. Nothing inappropriate, I'm sure,” she murmured, adding a threatening edge to her voice. I blushed, feeling everyone's attention on me.
“Well, are you gonna prove yourself innocent? Or let the minds of married people work their dark magic?” Lex questioned, slipping his phone into his pocket.
“I guess I'd better talk,” I decided, taking a deep breath. “Well, he came and picked me up at six, and he blindfolded me.”
“He kidnapped you?!” Lex mocked, eyes wide and jaw lowered.
I frowned at him before continuing. “Anyways,” I muttered pointedly and continued to tell them the overview of the night before. During my story, both Mom and Patty were smiling, even Steve seemed to approve. Lex looked indifferent, but I was pretty sure I’d seen him tense up during my recap of the date.
“Oh, Livie, that sounds like a wonderful date.” Patty smiled.
“It does,” Mom agreed.
“He’s a really good guy,” I replied. In the corner of my eye, I saw Lex's features harden, as he turned to glare out the window.
“Your dad probably would've waited up with a shotgun until you got home and ruined any chance of a goodnight kiss,” Mom murmured, smiling sadly.
My heart ached a little at those words. Dad wouldn’t be there to meet any boyfriends, my husband, and my children would never know him. I sucked in a breath sharply to keep the emotion from my face.
“Speaking of which, did he?” Patty asked, with a sly grin on her face.
I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“I mean did he kiss you goodnight?” she asked.
I froze. Either I told them the truth, and risked Patty feeling sad for me because, for all I knew, she didn’t know about my first kiss. Or I lied just to see Lex's reaction, if he e
ven had a reaction. Curiosity got the better of me.
“Umm ... yeah, he did.” I said, shyly looking down, while glancing towards Lex. His jaw clenched and he popped a few knuckles. He reached towards his bag, searching a moment before he grabbed his iPod to tune us out.
“Oh!” Mom said, “Olivia, why didn't you say anything?” she asked, smiling. “I would've wanted to know that when you got home.”
“I didn't want to bother you,” I replied, glancing away again.
“What was it like?” Patty gushed.
“Oh, um, it was ...” I started, trying to think. My brain went back to the tree house, those years earlier. The feelings of Lex kissing me for the first time flooded my head, and I could almost sense that same I-feel-like-passing-out-this-is-so-amazing feeling running through me. My lips started going before I knew what I was saying. “It was perfect.” I said. “Unexpected, sweet, and not like anything I'd imagined it would be...” I trailed off. “It’s probably the best first kiss ever.”
Lex jerked his head up, even though he was supposedly listening to music. “Best, huh?”
Mom shot me a look, obviously knowing what he was trying to imply. Even Patty seemed to understand what he was hinting at. Maybe Lex was right, and Mom told Patty about the first kiss he and I shared.
“Yes,” I replied. He turned away and stared out the window, not giving a response.
“That's sweet, honey,” Mom said softly.
Patty nodded her agreement. “And don't mind Lex. He doesn't know what it's like to kiss a girl he really cares about. The boy only dates those popular chicks, plastic. Nobody real.” she said. I'd heard her talk about this before to him. She really didn't like the girls he dated.
“Whatever,” I said, shrugging it off and smiling. “He can mope if he wants. We're going to have fun today.”
“Yes we are,” Mom agreed, smiling. “Celebrating the last weekend when you kids are still in high school.”
“I can’t believe they’ve grown up so fast,” Patty sighed, as the two of them turned back to the front, talking about how much we’d changed over the past eighteen years. I smiled, and turned to look out the window, watching the scenery fly by.
Chapter Seventeen – Rekindling
Around three o’clock that afternoon, we made it to the campground, and the men set to work to put the tents up. I was sitting on a picnic table eating from a bag of marshmallows. The table wasn’t very comfortable. I’d already gotten two splinters in my hand and whined quite loudly when Mom used the tweezers to get them out.
I glanced up at the lovely weather we were having. The sun still beat down on us warmly, glinting off the lake we were camped next to. A cool breeze came off of the water and made the temperature practically perfect. The trees loomed above us, and the brush added a wildlife feel to the area, even though we were only a few hours away from home.
My attention was pulled away from the scenery when I heard my name.
“Honeybee, those are for tonight’s bonfire, you can’t eat them all now. What am I going to use for smores?” Lex demanded to know, hands on his hips.
“You could always pout. Maybe a fellow camper will pity you and give you some,” I proposed.
He rolled his eyes at me, zipping the tent closed. “Yeah, that’s a great idea.”
“I thought so, too,” I said with a cheesy grin.
He snatched the bag of marshmallows from my hands. “No more.” He took the bag with him when he went to go help his dad with the other tent.
I watched as Mom and Patty talked on inside the car like it had never stopped. They’d started talking about someone at Mom’s work, who she apparently thought was handsome. Needless to say, I’d tuned out the conversation the moment it started. I knew it was natural for her to notice other men, but it still seemed weird to me. She was old. She wasn’t supposed to notice that anymore. She wasn’t supposed to notice anyone after Dad.
“Dad, you’re doing it wrong!” Lex groaned, glaring at his father.
“Well! Then why don’t you do it? You seem to have a better understanding on setting up tents than I do!” Steve yelled, throwing the tent down and walking away. He walked down the paved road and off towards the lake.
Lex was muttering to himself while trying to put the tent together. I hopped off the table and started over to him. He glared at the tent, oblivious to the fact I was coming over.
“Lex,” I said, catching his attention.
“What?” he snapped, getting one of the tents put together.
“You need help. So you and me,” I said, gesturing between the two of us. “We’re going to talk about your daddy issues.”
His face hardened. “No thanks.”
“We are,” I continued in a sing-song voice.
“Not.” He moved away from me so he didn’t have to listen to me. I rolled my eyes and groaned. We would talk about his daddy issues whether he liked it or not. I’d tie him down and sit on him till he talked. We might not have been great friends, and he hurt me more than he knew, but I still cared about that stupid jerk, and I wanted to help him.
Later that night, our parents left us alone and went for a walk around the lake. For wanting to enjoy a last weekend with us, they weren’t really spending very much time together with their kids. I sighed, glancing across the fireplace where Lex was roasting a marshmallow.
“Stop staring, it’s freaking me out.” He didn’t even look up when he spoke. His dark eyes glowed, the sparks of the fire making his green irises looked hazel.
“I’m bored,” I moped, my shoulders drooping forward. “You’re not talking. I don’t have a phone, so I’m bored.”
“I’m so sorry you don’t have your boyfriend to talk to,” he muttered.
I rolled my eyes. “We went on one date. I don’t know what we are yet.” He gave a humorless laugh. “And I already know you don’t like him, so you don’t need to remind me.”
“If you know I don’t like Ryan, then why date him? If Bethany didn’t like him, you wouldn’t date him. What’s so different about me not liking him?” he questioned quietly. I looked up startled. That was unexpected. He sat, staring at me as he waited for an answer.
“I don’t know how to answer that,” I stammered.
“Honestly.” His eyes were like daggers, they pierced my heart.
I sighed. “We’re not friends anymore.” I didn’t make eye contact. “After the past four years, everything that’s happened, do you honestly think I would consult you on who I date?” I glanced up at him. He was once again staring into the fire pit. His jaw was working back and forth, like he was trying to control his emotions. “You broke my trust over and over again. What would possess me to tell you anything, or ask your opinion on anything?” I continued.
“I thought you might still care about my opinion.” He shrugged. “After being friends for so long, I thought maybe when it came to decisions like dating you might want to talk to someone who knows you.”
“Like you consulted me for all of the girls you dated?” I retorted, trying to keep the edge from my voice.
“Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have been such a heartbreaker.” He tossed another log onto the fire, sending embers flying into the air. The wind caught them and pulled them around, making the embers look like fireflies.
“This all revolves around the choices you made to get to this point, Lex,” I told him, wrapping my sweater tighter over my shoulders.
“I know,” he grumbled, running a hand through his hair. “I hate that I ruined our friendship, I really do. I wish I could take it all back. So we were still best friends, and you could trust me.”
“Well, you can’t.” I took another marshmallow from the bag, stuffing it into my mouth.
“If I could, would you let me?” he asked, looking from the fire to me. “Would you want to be my friend after all I’ve done?”
“What are you talking about?” I mumbled around the marshmallow, thoroughly confused. Why couldn’t he pick one personality a
nd stick with it. Why did he have to change all the time?
“If I could take it all back, but you still knew what I did, would you accept me or reject me?”
“I don’t know,” I trailed off, picking up another marshmallow. “I’d probably still be your friend. But you can’t take everything back. That part of our lives is over.”
“Could we start a new friendship?”
I glanced at him. He was again looking into the fire pit, watching the embers dance and glow. I didn’t get why he wanted to be friends all of a sudden. It couldn’t really be because I went on a date with Ryan. There had to be more to it than that. “Why do you want to be friends again?” I asked.
He sighed, closing his eyes, and setting his head in his hands. He was silent for a few minutes, and I was beginning to wonder if he was even going to answer me, or just leave me hanging. Finally he opened his mouth to reply. “I haven’t had anyone I can really be myself with, or trust since I was thirteen-”
“We were friends till we were fourteen,” I interrupted him. He didn’t even remember when we stopped being close? I found myself a little upset about that.
“Yeah, but I wasn’t a good friend to you. I think our friendship kind of fizzled out when I turned thirteen. I thought I was to cool to be best friends with a girl.”
“You weren’t,” I said with a smile. He smirked and glanced at me. “Just saying.” I shrugged.
“Thanks, I appreciate the confidence booster.”
“You have your fans for that,” I replied.
“Listen, Honeybee, I really do want to put the past behind us. I want to be able to come over and complain about the guys on the team, or my parents, or whatever. I miss having someone who actually cares.” He took a deep breath. “I miss my best friend.” His words pierced my heart more than his eyes did. He missed his best friend, he missed me.
“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” I wondered, playing with the ends of my hair. It was a nervous habit.
“I know it’s hard to trust that I won’t, but I promise, if you give me a second chance, I won’t be a jerk to you. I’ll even be sort of nice to Bethany,” he offered.