Finally (short story)

Feelings

By the time we got to high school, our friendship had also brought our families together. Every Sunday, our families had brunch – alternating between our house and that of the Fuentes. While Chloe had still been teased a bit in middle school (on those increasingly rare occasions when I wasn't around), by the time we got to high school, nobody would dream of doing so again.

Even then, it was clear that Chloe would grow up to be a stunningly pretty woman. While she was a bit chubby when I met her, a small growth spurt at the end of the 8th grade had taken care of that. For those of our classmates who had not seen her during that summer, the change was staggering.

Chloe had always had a pretty face, framed by thick, black hair. Her eyes were large and dark brown, so much so that they almost appeared black when she was angry. Her smile was gorgeous and she had a cute pair of dimples accentuating her cheeks.

As a freshman, her body was beginning to match the beauty of her face, slowly filling in in all the right places as she slowly began her transformation from a cute girl into a beautiful young woman.

One day, my buddy Jeff stopped me in the hallway.

"Hey, Sam. I have a question for you." He looked a bit embarrassed and paused for a couple seconds before continuing. "I was thinking about asking out Chloe ..."

Jeff paused again.

"That's not really a question," I said, with a knot unexpectedly forming in my stomach. I forced a smile.

"Well, do you mind?" he asked.

"Um, you know I'm not her brother, right?" I said, trying to defuse the awkwardness. "We're just friends."

"Right," Jeff said. "So you're cool with me asking then?"

"I guess. But if you don't treat her well, I'll probably kick your ass."

"Ok," he said and shuffled away.

I had never thought about the possibility of Chloe having a boyfriend. For some reason, I didn't like it, probably because that would mean that I'd get to spend less time with her and she was my best friend.

When we walked home that day, I asked her if she had spoken to Jeff.

"Yeah, funny that you'd bring that up. I was just gonna tell you that he asked me out."

"I thought he might. The weirdest thing happened today. He stopped me in the hall and asked if I minded if he did that. How odd is that?"

Chloe stopped and looked at me with her big eyes.

"What did you say?"

"What was I gonna say?"

I recall there being a frown on Chloe's face.

"I mean, it's silly that he would ask me, right?"

Chloe still didn't say anything.

"Well, I told him I'd kick his ass if he didn't treat you well."

Finally, there was a reaction as Chloe was unable to conceal a smile.

"Well," she said. "I told him 'no'."

For some reason, hearing her say that made me happy.

"What about you?" she asked. "Are you asking anybody out?"

"Dunno," I said and paused while thinking about the question. "I don't think so."

"Let's get some ice cream, Sam. My treat," Chloe said, already skipping ahead.