I take my makeup off from last night as Harper tries to see how many pretzel M&Ms she can fit in her mouth.
"So you guys are dating dating?" She asks shocked.
Harper was the only person besides me and Ian that knew about us the first time around.
"Yeah, since Christmas break," I smile thinking about him.
"That's like three months now," she says. It's now DePaul's spring break. Harper is home, whereas Ian is out in California visiting his mom.
"I know, I love him," I climb onto my bed and cuddle a pillow.
"Have you told him that?" She inquires.
"No, I want him to say it first," I laugh and so does she.
"I'm sure he already knows, I mean you guys were "together" for 11 months last year and now three months again," she says and I shrug.
Todd knocks on my door before coming in.
"Hey," he smiles and looks at the both of us.
"What's up?" I ask.
"Um, well I was wondering if you guys wanted to go to breakfast. Mom and Dad aren't home right now so it's just us," both myself and Todd both started calling our step-parents by normal parents names last month.
"I'm down, are you, Harper?"
She nods her head and I tell Todd we'd be down in a minute. I throw on a pair of grey joggers and a black v neck tee shirt.
"Ugh I can tell you are in a relationship just by the way you dress! You have the "I give no fucks, I have a sex god boyfriend" look nailed," she groans as she puts on jeans.
"I'm going to lunch with my brother and best friend, I'm sorry but I don't have to dress up for you both," I say and throw my hair up in a bun.
She rolls her eyes and we head down the stairs.
We go to a bagel place and sit near the front. We talk about college and Todd tells Harper that he's going to Rider.
Just my luck, Ross and Amber walk in, yes they are still dating, yes it's been six months.
"Ross!" Todd calls him over. He knows Ross? My eyes go wide and Harper's do too, I have told her everything that has happened.
"Hey man, what's up?" They both come over. Amber acknowledges Harper and Todd but skips over me. Ross looks at me and I can't bring myself to look up at him.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," I say and get up. Amber immediately takes my seat and I start walking over.
I feel a hand wrap around my wrist and pull me around the corner.
He pins me up against the wall but doesn't kiss me like I had expected him to.
"Hi," he breathes and smiles.
"Hi," I say back. It feels good to stare into his eyes again. I watch as they shift ever so slightly to focus on one of my eyes at a time.
Ross drops his hands by his waist side and I breathe since the first time he touched me.
He clears his throat, "How are you?"
"Good, ready for spring break," I laugh faintly. He smiles crookedly at my laugh.
"You going anywhere?"
"My whole family is going to Iceland," I say and he raises an eyebrow.
"I know it's not conventional but Todd and I both have always wanted to go," I admit.
"No, I think it's cool you're going there, really," he says.
"When does Ian come back from school?" He inquires. I feel a twinge of tension fall between us at the mentioning of his name. It feels strange to talk about him with Ross.
"Late April. He's in California right now visiting family though," I shift my weight from right to left.
"Have you heard from Stanford?" I'm shocked Ross even remembers that I only ever brought it up once.
"Any day now. Very nervous to say the least," I say.
"They would be crazy not to let you in, Claire, are you kidding?!" He says softly. I blush at his kind words.
There are some moments in life where you are standing and you think about your life as a crossroads. What would have happened if I did this or that. This moment with Ross feels like that.
What if I hadn't taken five days after homecoming to tell him how I felt. Would I have been raped? Would I have mended things with Ian? Would Todd and I be as close? Would I be standing here in an Einstein's family bathroom standing before the guy your parents dream about you bringing home?
What if Ross tries to kiss me in this family bathroom. Would I kiss him back? Would we go further? Would Amber, Harper, or Todd walk in on us? Would I feel regretful or liberated?
I think about this all as we stand facing each other listen to Bitter Sweet Symphony faintly playing from the speakers on the ceiling.
"I miss hanging out with you," Ross finally admits.
"I miss it too," I say truthfully. We had so much potential to be great friends and it never blossomed. Sure it was stunted by our own actions and mistakes but I can't help but think about if we never kissed in the first place.
"Well don't be a stranger," he smiles, "I'll let you pee now, sorry."
He exits the bathroom and I stand there taking in his absence.
Harper and Todd tell me they want to go to some crazy international market that they talked about when I was in the bathroom. I decided against going so they drove me home before taking off.
I check the mail. Waiting for me is a white envelope that reads:
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
STANFORD, CA 94305
MISS CLARISSE DYER
I nearly faint at the site of the envelope. I don't even look at it until I am upstairs in my room sitting on my bed. I don't want to be standing Incase I do actually faint.
Dear Miss Dyer,
Stanford University is pleased to accept your application and offer you a position in our class of 2023.
I stop breathing. I- I got in?! How? I'm not good enough for Stanford?! This must be a mistake! I continue reading and sure enough it is no mistake. They point out specific parts of my application they enjoyed in all.
Nothing in my life thus far has compared to this feeling. This feeling of self worth, thinking I did that.
"Holy fucking shit," I say to myself, "I'm going to Stanford."
YOU ARE READING
Bad Timing
Romance"Don't leave with him, Claire," he turns around and whines. "Why? He's nice to me! He's there for me! He likes me! Why shouldn't I leave with him, Ross? Because you're the one who wanted to screw me tonight?" "No!" "Because you're the one who want...
