Him and Me.

Him and Me- Thirty Three.

“I know about Kyle,” she continued. “There’s a good chance he has already heard the rumors, too.” She looked at me thoughtfully. 

“He really likes you,” Eliza said gently. 

I averted my eyes, feeling slightly uneasy under her gaze. I had not even thought about Kyle hearing the rumors. Now that Eliza had mentioned it though, a little bit of guilt mixed in with the unease. Why I felt that, I had no idea. Maybe because I knew Kyle liked me, and I felt bad that he had to hear the rumors. And I had made him wait for the whole summer for my answer. Well, technically that wasn’t my fault, since he had said he would wait… but still, it made me feel guilty.

“He told me,” I said quietly.

Eliza leaned in again and rapped her hand lightly against the table in between us, making me look up at her. She gave me a small smile.

“Kyle’s a good guy—I know that because he is one of Carl’s best friends. But I also know it might be a bit confusing for you. It’s like, you don’t know where your feelings lie.” She folded her hands on top of the table, and tilted her head, the small smile never leaving her face. I just stared back and nodded. It was exactly how I was feeling. I just didn’t know.

“Just know that whatever you decide to do, it’s for your best. After all, it’s what you have chosen for yourself.”

With that, Eliza stood up, her hands smoothening the front of her skirt. Her smile widened, and with a wave, she said in a hushed tone, “I’ll see you around, Kayla!”

My hand shot up to wave back, and as I glanced at the redhead’s retreating form, my mind played back her words. They made sense. As undecided as I was, I knew that my choice would be for me, and not for anyone else’s.

Too bad my decision would affect other people’s feelings.

I thought that I would be able to clear my head and I would be able to know what I want over the summer. But no—my head was murkier than ever.

*****

Colby was already seated when I entered our classroom in economics. I saw that he had his backpack on the seat next to his, probably saving it for me. He appeared to be a little distracted and restless, judging from his scrunched brows and the way he was drumming his fingers lightly across the armrest of his chair. My eyebrows automatically scrunched out of worry. Was he okay?

His head immediately turned towards the door at the sound of my footsteps, and his face lit up when he saw me. Gradually, the worry left me as I took in his smiling face. He raised his hand and pointed at the chair next to him, as if to say he had saved me a seat. I gave him a small smile and proceeded to walk to the row where he was at. He didn’t really need to raise his hand. Firstly, I could see him perfectly since he was tall, even when seated. Secondly, there were only a handful of students inside the room, since class would only start in twenty minutes.

As I neared him, he grabbed the backpack off the chair and settled it at the floor in front of him. He chose a seat by the window, which gave us a view of the football field. I sat down next to him, setting my bag on my chair’s armrest.

“Where were you at lunch?” Colby whispered. His breath tickled my ear, and I shivered slightly. Frowning, I wrapped my jacket tighter around my body. Was it that cold in here, or was it just me?

“Library,” I whispered back, deciding not to tell him that whole scene with Eliza. He had probably already heard about our alleged make-out session in the hallway.

He nodded in response, now looking a little agitated. “I was wondering where you were. Have you heard...?” His voice trailed off.

“Yup,” I said. “We made out, in the hallway, by the lockers.”