Teach Me How To Kiss

Birthday Girl

I was watching The Notebook for the 50th time. I enjoyed watching Allie struggle in her love triangle between Noah and Lon Hammond. And then for some reason I replaced both actor's faces with Jordan and Aaron's, for my personal entertainment. Of course I had a little difficulty pasting my face on the blonde protagonist, but all it took was a little push of the imagination.

I was at a good place right now. This same time last year, I had one 'friend' and her annoying brother. And now I had five, including the annoying brother turned good guy; Isaiah, Lilah, Keith, now Aaron and Jordan. Friends I'd text back and forth with, some more than others. While Isaiah and Lilah were part of my inner circle, I kept tabs with the others and sent an occasional 'Hi, how's it going?' salutation.

Keith and Jordan were both in their junior year in UCLA; although they hung out in separate crowds. Jordan had made a new group of friends that shared his same Christian interests and beliefs, proving even more his permanent change. And Aaron would send me brief texts on how busy he was with his study load as he was getting closer to graduating from his Bachelor's degree, only to dive back into 4 more years for his Masters.

I was just sailing through the rest of my junior year, which didn't have much left. But my birthday was around the corner. Sassy Seventeen! And boy had I changed a lot in a year, judging from my past events. But having passed through Valentine's Day with my eyes closed, I was starting to get that yearning feeling for a special kind of companionship. And I was reminded each time I saw Isaiah and Lilah like love struck romantics, hating to be apart. Ugh!

"So what are we doing for your birthday?" asked Lilah, Isaiah's arm around her shoulders.

"Hmm, I'd like a small get together. I'm serious, big parties scare me for some reason."

Isaiah gave me a look "I wonder why?"

I threw my crumbled up napkin at him and finished the last of my caramel iced coffee.

"Anyway, let me know if you guys have any ideas." I added.

"Let's have it at my house. It falls on a weekend right? So Aaron and I can prepare for it." Lilah offered.

"Prepare for what? You don't need preparations for a get together. You just order a pizza and pop in a movie and presto! Besides, it's not like I have a hot long list of friends to invite."

"Doesn't mean it can't be equally special?" Isaiah jumped in.

"No. Promise me guys. No party! If I see even one balloon…I will leave." I laughed.

"Can we at least dress fancy?" Lilah spread a cheesy grin.

I shook my head and gave up.

…

I loved birthday weekends. Who wants to be at school celebrating with a bunch of strangers and doing class work? Not this girl! Luckily my b-day fell on a Saturday, and I was on a special brunch with my mom. I was just about to open some cards from my grandparents which meant …a nice fat Benjamin.

"So how do you feel about this 'get together' tonight? Won't Aaron be there?" She asked.

"Yeah… and that's what makes me kind of nervous. I haven't seen him since that Sunday and even though we text frequently, it's not the same as being in person." I said twirling a noodle with my fork.

"I'm sure you're going to have a great time and you'll be singing in my ear the next day."

"I don't know about the singing…but I'll tell you all about it. Where are you and the girls going out to tonight?" I had just remembered.