by N. L. Greene
“Nothing,” Mel answered as she snatched the cigarette from my fingers and took a drag before continuing. “I just think he’s going to turn out to be a jerk like Noah was, and then I’m going to have to hear her cry about it again.”
Ash stared at Mel with an odd look on her face that I didn’t quite understand. But Mel just avoided eye contact with both of us as she took another drag from the cigarette and passed it back to Ash. My curiosity was getting the better of me, but I knew Mel wouldn’t tell me what was going on so I appealed to Ash instead. “Why are you looking at her like that?”
Ash snapped out of her daze and took two drags before passing it to me again. I glanced at the tip and saw that there were only about two drags left, so I took them and flicked the cigarette butt to the ground. We all started walking silently down the tree lined path, but I was still waiting for an answer.
“It’s nothing, I was just thinking,” Ash said. Then she added quickly, “So are you going to go out with him?”
“Uh, yeah! Did you not see how cute he was?” My confusion and suspicion was instantly forgotten as I thought about Chase again.
“Oh yeah, I sure did. And so did half the other girls in the sophomore class!” She winked and grinned slyly at me.
I groaned out loud when she told me this. I hadn’t thought about all the girls that would be throwing themselves at him. “Great! Now I won’t even get a chance with him.”
“What are you talking about?” Ash asked me, laughing at my overly dramatic display.
I motioned with my hands to myself. “This! Chase only asked me out because he hadn’t been propositioned by anything better yet. You know that as soon as he sees he has better choices, he’s gonna drop me like a bad habit.”
Ashley rolled her eyes, but Mel remained oddly quiet. “Girl, I really don’t know what you’re talking about! Chase - or any other guy for that matter - would be lucky to date you. You’re cute, smart, and funny. Trust me, once he gets to know you, he’ll be all over that!” Ash gestured with her hand to my body like I had.
I blushed and felt my eyes go big. “Well I don’t know if I want all that!” Ash laughed, and even Mel smiled, but still stayed oddly quiet.
I knew Ash was only trying to be nice, but we all knew the rules of high school. No guy was going to go for a ninth grader when he could have an older, more experienced girl. On top of that, I knew I didn’t rate real high in the looks department. Mel was always trying to help me pick out clothes or change my hair and make-up to help me out, but she always told me I was a lost cause; continually pointing out my flaws. She was my best friend and knew me better than anyone, so I knew she wouldn’t lie to me about something like that. Her silence then only solidified my thoughts. If she thought I was truly good enough for Chase, she would have spoken up and told me.
I snapped myself out of my dismal, self-conscious thoughts once we reached the end of the creek, which was the point where Ash and Mel split from me.
“Don’t worry about everyone else. Just be you, and Chase will like you. I’m sure of it!” Ash reassured me. I nodded but didn’t comment. “And make sure you call Mel if Chase calls you, so she can update me! I want all the juicy details.” I nodded again before she turned away. “See you tomorrow, Nat!” she yelled over her shoulder to me.
“Yeah, call me,” Mel said with a toss of her hand in the air as a goodbye. She still didn’t offer any encouraging words or reassurance, but at least she did tell me to call her. That must mean she was interested to hear the details. This lifted my sprits much more than it should have.
“Kay! I will!” I yelled back, before turning to walk the rest of the way home by myself. Now that I was alone and fueled by Ashley’s ebullient encouragement and Mel’s wan interest, I picked up the pace and practically ran down the street. I was sure Chase wasn’t really going to call, much less that soon, but I couldn’t help my excitement over the small possibility that he would, or my fear that I would miss the call if I didn’t hurry home. I didn’t truly know him yet, but there was something about him that made me like him already…other than how cute he was! I definitely didn’t want to miss an opportunity to get to know him better.
He’d already impressed me with the way he ignored Mel and zeroed in on me. Mel had the look that most of the boys liked. She was tall and slim, with blonde hair that had a slight wave, and she had this confidence and coolness about her that most people picked up on right away. The guys were usually checking her out and asking for her number, not mine. So the fact that this one seemed to like me over her, and the unruffled way that he’d stood up to her cross-examination, made me feel special. Something I wasn’t used to feeling whenever Mel was around.
I got home and ran to my room; snatching the phone off the table on my way. I didn’t have a cell phone yet, because my parents wouldn’t let me get one until I was old enough to get a job and pay for it myself. It totally sucked, since everyone else I knew already had one; even some of my friends’ younger siblings! I tried to appeal to their softer side, explaining how important it was for safety reasons, but since Mel had one and I was always with her, they said they would just call her if they needed me and vice-versa. Again, totally sucked, but whatever - there wasn’t anything I could do to change their minds, so I finally quit trying.
I threw my back-pack onto my bed and bounced on after it. My sister and I shared a room, but she was still in middle school and wouldn’t be home for two more hours. Hopefully Chase would call before then so I could talk without Sara blatantly listening to my conversation. As I’ve already mentioned, Sara and I had a love-hate sort of sisterly relationship. We were only thirteen months apart, which wasn’t as great as it sounded. We were almost the exact same size, so we could wear each other’s clothes. To some people that may have been cool - more clothes right? Not for me and Sara. Our family didn’t have a lot of money, so it meant we each got less clothes and had to fight over them to see who would wear what on which day. We fought over it all the time, among many other things. I was already dreading the next year when we would be in the same school. It was bad enough that Mel would talk to her and sometimes try to invite her out with us. Thankfully my parents said she was too young, but I knew it would only be a matter of time before they deemed her old enough and she would be hanging out with my friends. I wasn’t sure where the love-part of our relationship came in, but I was sure it had to be in there somewhere.
Thankful for the privacy I had now, I set the phone close by so I could reach it on the first ring (if it would even ring!), then I started pulling out my homework. That was the only part that sucked about being in A.P. classes. Our homework load was double what the rest of the kids in regular classes got. It was actually pretty easy, but it took forever to do. Thankfully my parents got it and lightened my chore load during the week so I could spend more time on school work.
I got lost in the exciting world of home-work and zipped through my World History assignment pretty quickly. I was moving on to English when the phone rang under my leg. I was so caught up in what I was doing, that it scared the shit out of me; making me drop my book on the floor and causing the loose papers to scatter everywhere. I reached for them at the same time I reached for the phone, which knocked me off balance as well. I grunted a strained “Hello?” as I twisted and my butt hit the floor.
“Umm, may I speak to Natalie?” a deep, tentative voice asked from the other end.
My body jerked up and I forgot about everything else I had been doing. It was Chase! “Uh…yeah. I mean this is she…her.” I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and tried to regain my composure. “Hi Chase, it’s me.”
I heard him chuckle and it made me melt. It was a warm, deep sound that sent tingles through my body; something I had never experienced before. “Hey, Nat! Is this a good time?” He chuckled again.
“Yes!” I shouted, and then quickly lowered my voice. “I mean yes, its fine. I just dropped my book when the phone rang, and so I tried to grab it when I answere
d the phone, but then I fell and…” I trailed off when I realized that I had been babbling a really embarrassing story to the new cute guy I liked, and that I wanted him to like me, too. Telling him embarrassing stories was probably not going to help me achieve that goal, so I shut up.
The line was quiet for a second before Chase prompted softly, “And?”
“And here I am talking to you now,” I said just as softly. Thankfully, he couldn’t see me blushing.
“Are you blushing?” At least I didn’t think he could see me! I glanced dumbly around my room, just to make sure he wasn’t behind me or something, which was stupid considering he didn’t even know where I lived.
“How…how did you know I was blushing?” I asked, embarrassed that he knew I was.
He chuckled again, and I felt my body go almost limp as the sound traveled through the phone. “I saw how much you blushed today, so I figured you probably were since you just told me you fell. Are you okay, by the way? You didn’t hurt yourself or anything, did you?”
I smiled at the sudden switch in his tone from playfulness to concern. That a guy who hardly even knew me would be concerned for my well-being showed me just how great of a guy he must really be. “No, I’m fine. It was a short fall from my bed. No big deal.”
“Okay, good. I’d hate for you to have an excuse to miss our date this weekend.”
My smile grew. “You still want to go out with me this weekend?” I knew he could hear the surprise in my voice, and I almost slapped myself for allowing him to hear it.
“Why wouldn’t I? I just asked you a few hours ago! What could have possibly made me change my mind that quickly?”
“I don’t know. You know, there are tons of pretty girls, older girls at our school. You could have found someone better.” I tried to say it in a lightly teasing tone so he wouldn’t be able to pick up on my vulnerability and insecurities. I hated that I felt this way, but I didn’t want to be made a fool of again. Maybe if we just got everything all out there in the open right away, I could prevent that. Or at least be more prepared for when it did inevitably happen.
“How would I know if they were better or not if I only just met you? I haven’t even gotten a chance to get to know you yet.” He paused as if he was waiting for me to reply, but I wasn’t sure what to say. “You’re going to give me a chance to get to know you, right?” His voice was soft again, almost entrancing. I found myself wanting to give him whatever it was he was asking for.
“Yes.” My voice was a bit breathless, so I cleared my throat and answered again. “Yes, I would really like that.”
“Good. So Natalie, tell me a little bit about you.” There was a smile in his voice again and I found myself imagining what he looked like now, maybe sitting on his floor, leaning back against his bed like I was. Whoa! Why was I thinking about a boy in his bed? That was new and totally not like me. I quickly shook my head and the image away.
“Well, I’m a freshman, as you already know. I’m in all A.P. classes, which kinda sucks, but my parents want me to stay in them. I’ve lived here almost all my life, so I’ve grown up with pretty much everyone at our school. I have a younger sister and live with her and both of my parents. Mel, whom you’ve already met, has been my best friend since like, the fourth grade, and umm…I think that about covers it.”
“So you’re pretty and smart? I like that,” he teased; making me blush again.
I didn’t know how to respond! “Umm, thanks. So tell me more about yourself!” I jauntily threw back at him, before he could say anything else sweet that would throw me even further off balance.
“Well, you know what I told your friend at lunch already. Let’s see…I’m an only child so I’m pretty spoiled.” I giggled at that while he continued. “I’m not in all A.P. classes, but I do have one, and the rest of my classes I make A’s and B’s in.”
“So you’re smart and cute?” The words left my mouth before I even had a chance to think about what I was saying.
“So you think I’m cute then, huh?” he asked, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Uh-huh.”
“Well that’s promising, then! So do you normally like smart guys?”
“I like you, so yeah.” I don’t know why I felt so bold all of a sudden, but Chase’s easy tone and teasing manner made it so easy to tease him back.
“Good. Then you’re going to go out with me Friday, right?”
“I have to ask my parents, but yeah, I want to.” Dang it! My parents were never going to let me go out with a guy they didn’t even know. I already knew I would have to sleep over at Mel’s house and somehow meet up with him. Hopefully she would be cool with that, even though she was less than enthusiastic about him.
“Cool. How about a movie? You find out if you can go, then pick the movie and tell me tomorrow at lunch. That is, if you want to sit with me?” he asked hopefully.
“Yeah, I want to.”
“Is your pit-bull of a friend going to let you?”
I could tell he was only halfway joking, but I also knew he wasn’t trying to be mean. I knew Mel could be cruel and rude sometimes, and she really had been to him, but I still couldn’t help but to defend her behavior a little. “She’s not that bad. She’s just protective of me.”
“If you say so,” he said with a bit of sarcasm.
That piqued my interest. “Why do you say it like that?”
I heard him blow out a breath. “I don’t know, I just got a different feeling from her is all, but I don’t know her, and you do. So if that’s what you say, then you’re probably right.”
“I am. Once you get to know her, you’ll see that she’s not that bad.”
“I honestly don’t want to get to know her, and I don’t think I’ll ever like her. There’s just something about her.” I started to object but he continued over me, completely halting what I was going to say. “I only care about getting to know you, Nat.”
“Oh. Okay then.” I was quiet for a minute and then asked, “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Definitely. Later Nat,” he said tenderly before the line clicked.
I turned the phone off and fell back onto the floor where I’d sat during our entire conversation. I couldn’t get rid of the huge smile that was plastered on my face while I laid there imagining how my date with Chase was going to go. I thought about how I might finally get my first real kiss, and how it would be from a guy I really liked and who seemed to really like me, too.
I floated on cloud nine for the rest of the night. Sara didn’t get on my nerves like she usually did, and I even let her borrow one of my shirts for school the next day. She looked at me in surprise, but didn’t question my unusual niceness. She probably figured I would take back the offer if she did. And she was probably right.
The next day at school I was nervous about seeing Chase, but I quickly learned that I had no reason to be. Chase found me before school started, where he greeted me with a hug and a gentle kiss on the cheek. He walked me to my first class, his hand firmly holding mine, and then left me with another soft kiss on the cheek until lunch. We sat together at lunch, talking and getting to know each other more, as well as making plans for Friday night. I told Mel about it first thing that morning on the bus, and she already said I could sleep at her house. I’d even preemptively asked my parents about spending the night at her house, and they said yes, too. It was all worked out. Her brother had agreed to drop us off at the mall and then pick us up later. I could hang out with Mel for a little while, and then I’d meet Chase at the movies. I didn’t like the idea of lying to Chase, so I told him the plan. He smiled and said it was sweet that I was sneaking around to make sure I could see him. He also said Mel could come if she wanted to, but she said no. She said that she and Ash were going to shop while I was at the movies, and then we would all meet up again after.
Once the plans were set, the week progressed pretty much the same as that first day. During our talks at lunch, Chase and I talked about every
thing. He told me more about his family, what it was like growing up in Illinois, and all of his favorite things. I did the same. It was almost like playing twenty questions every day, except neither of us ran out of things to talk about or things we wanted to know about the other. With every day that passed and the more I got to know Chase, the more I liked him. He was smart and cute, but he was also funny and listened to me. It was nice to hang out with someone new who seemed to care about what I thought and liked. Mel didn’t really listen to me much, and although Noah was a great friend, somehow it was different with Chase.
Every day after lunch Chase walked me to my class, where I got another kiss on the cheek, and then he’d meet me after school at my locker. We walked together to the bus section since he rode one and it was the same way we had to go to walk home. We usually had to say goodbye pretty quickly with a hug and a quick peck on the lips. But once we both got home, he would call me and we would talk for another hour or more. It was amazing how we still had things to talk about after talking for so long during lunch each day. Usually I was awkward with guys, but Chase made it so easy to talk to him that, I found myself eager to get to know him and to let him get to know me.
He was incredibly sweet and thoughtful, and I had so much fun talking to him. And it amazed me how fast it seemed we were getting to know each other. I felt like I could tell him anything… well, almost anything. I couldn’t tell him about how my heart rate sped up and how my breath faltered when his lips touched mine, even if it was only a peck. I didn’t know what I was going to do when he kissed me for real. I was actually a little scared that I might pass out.
After a long but wonderful week, Friday finally came. The whole day I was dizzy with excitement, and everyone could tell. Mel acted like she was aggravated with me, and she still didn’t pay attention when I tried talking to her. By lunch I was beginning to get a bit irritated with her myself. I was about to go on my first date! She could at least act like my best friend and be happy for me! My exasperation must have been obvious because at lunch Chase noticed too.