My Boy Best Friend

chapter 4- it makes me happy

POV Jaxson

God, I hate this.

I sat in class, mentally exhausted. I was in my last period, with only 20 minutes left to go, and yet I felt like if had had to suffer another minute of this I might collapse. Not to mention my shift at work today. Don't get me wrong, I love working at the cafe, but I really wasn't feeling up to working today. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to find some form of motivation somewhere in deep in my mind. Nothing. Just 15 more minutes. For a second, I allowed my thoughts to wonder. I thought about what Emily was doing. It seemed like I could never get her out of my head, never stop missing her. I thought about her smile, the way her eyes lit up when she was happy, how she jumped up and down when she was excited. I smiled, surrounded by happy memories. Suddenly, the bell rang loudly, almost making me jump. Finally.

I let out an exhausted sigh, glad that the afternoon rush was finally over. I stared at the wall, hoping that I could relax for a second. But then, the cafe bell rang. I mentally sighed and turned towards the person that had just walked in. Then my eyes widened. 

A beautiful girl walked in, with steel gray eyes, light brown hair that was wavy at the bottom, and lightly tanned skin. Her eyes met mine, and she smiled. I could feel my stomach drop. 

"Hello," She said, her voice soft.

"Hi. How can I help you?" I said, trying to stay calm.

"Can I have an iced latte with a shot of vanilla and cream?" She said, and then a small smirk tugged on the corner of her lips. "Oh, and can I also have you number?" She winked. I somehow contained the gasp in my throat, but I couldn't stop the blush that formed on my cheeks. I was surprised that such a pretty girl was flirting with me. 

"W-what's the name?" I said, feeling nervous. 

"Tiana. But you can call me Tia." She said, and then she walked away. I hurried and made her coffee, and then wrote my phone number on her cup. 

"Tiana?" I called out, although she was the only one in the cafe.

"That's me." she said with a smile, which widened when she saw my number on her cup. And just like that, she was gone. Holy shit. That was crazy. While she was super pretty, I wasn't sure if I was really attracted to her. Hmmm. I checked that clock. Only an hour left of my shift. You can do this, I thought. 

I finally got home, exhausted from my long day. Both my parents were still at work, and would probably be for awhile. They both worked intense office jobs, and although it was never said, it was really the way the coped with the fact that they weren't happy. It sucked, because I was constantly trying to be good enough for them. Sometimes, they would come home when I was asleep. That really sucked, because I was an only child, I felt lonely a lot. I spent a lot of time talking to Emily, because she was the only person who erased my dark, hallow feeling. Shit, that got dark. I never really talk to people about how I feel, scared to be vulnerable. 

 I decided to start my homework immediately so that way I could relax for the rest of the night. It was exhausting, especially since I was already so tired from the rest of my day. Finally, I was done. I let out a content sigh, and stretched, grateful to finally be done all my work for the day.

I picked up my phone, determined to text Emily, and hopefully schedule a day we could hang out. My fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Em

Hey. I miss you. Can we schedule a date to hang out? -send- 

I read the message over and over again, nervous that the message was too short or too desperate. I closed my eyes and hit the send button, trying hard not to overthink it. This is Emily, I reminded myself. There's no need to get this worked up. I put my phone down, trying to calm down. I heard my phone buzz, and I jumped up and grabbed it to read what she had said.

Em

Hey. I miss you. Can we schedule a date to hang out?

                                          Aww. Does this weekend work for you?

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I thought for a second.

Em

I'm free Saturday. Does that work for you?

                                       Yeah, it does. What should we do?

Why don't we hang out at my place?

                                     Sure! See you then!

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I smiled, excited that Emily and I were going to hang out soon. For a whole day! I couldn't quite believe it. I closed my eyes, content, my head full of possibilities. 

All of the sudden, my phone buzzes once more. I check it to make sure it's not Emily.

Unknown

                                               Hey, it's Tiana. You gave me your number?

Yeah, I did. What's up?

                                           Well, I wanted to know if you were interested in a date?

Hmm. Idk.

                                         Oh c'mon! Just give me a chance.

Ok, I'll think about it.

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I sighed, still unsure of the idea of dating Tiana. Sure, she was pretty, but I still wasn't sure if I wanted to date her. But, she's right, I should give her a chance. God, this day was crazy.

While I was making dinner, I couldn't get Emily out of my head. I was so excited, we hadn't gotten together for a while. What should we do? All of my favorite moments with her kept playing in my head, and I couldn't help but smile. Her laugh played over and over in my head. When I was particularly sad, I recalled the memory from back when we were freshman. She tilted her head, and in that moment, I clearly remember how pretty she looked. The way her eyes sparkled. The way she looked so relaxed. Her head slightly tilted, her small smile. And then, she looked at me, and her face melted into the most heartwarming smile I'd ever seen. It makes me happy, thinking of how happy she was that day, how excited we both were. I thought about all the ups and downs we went through together. 

Suddenly, I smelt something burning. I looked down to find my grilled cheese very much burnt on one side. Damn it.

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