Crush

Chapter 15

            Saturday morning finally came around and I awoke to the glorious sound of birds chirping…not. I actually woke up to my neighbors working on their cars, like I do every Saturday morning. They weld and sand down metal every Saturday morning around 8. Music to my ears…

            The only good thing about waking up this early was that I was going hiking with Matthew today. I was so excited I could barely sleep last night. I’ve never been somewhere by myself with a guy before, let a lone a senior.

            I skipped over to the bathroom and brushed my hair, quickly throwing into a messy bun before brushing my teeth and putting on some mascara. I decided since we were going hiking, I didn’t have to dress nice, so I just threw on some black soccer shorts and a t-shirt that said “I’m lovin’ it.” Great, right?

            I grabbed a backpack and put my phone, my iPod and a jacket in case it got cold outside and ran down the stairs to the kitchen. Luckily, I didn’t trip on any step this morning, so hopefully I wouldn’t have a clumsy day today…that wouldn’t be too fun.

            When I got to the kitchen my mom was already up reading the newspaper and drinking her coffee just like she did every morning.

            “Hey mom,” I chirped as I went to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.

            “Hey Alley,” she said, still reading through an article in the paper.

            “Anything interesting today?” I asked, trying to make light conversation before Matthew got here. I didn’t really talk to my mom much anymore after my dad died, so it was always just a little bit awkward when we were alone.

            “There was an accident on the freeway this morning,” she said looking up at me with a worried expression, “So I want you two to be careful OK?”

            “Yes mother,” I laughed, making her smile. Hey, at least I brightened the mood a bit.

            “So he’s coming to pick you up?” she asked smiling wider now.

            “Yeah, he should be here any minute,” I said, eating a granola bar.

            Just then I heard a knock at the door. My stomach did a little flip and I immediately got nervous again. How does he do this to me?

            “I’ll get it,” I said looking at my mom when she didn’t get up.

            I walked slowly over to the door and kept my hand on the doorknob for a while. Was I really ready? I heard another knock and I jumped a little. I guess I have to. I heard my mom chuckle in the kitchen and I turned back to give her my best glare before opening the door. When I opened it, my breath caught in my throat a little bit and I choked on my granola bar.

            From what I could see before my eyes started watering from choking, he was wearing blue basketball shorts and a plain black t-shirt. His eyes were sparkling in amusement when he saw me and he stood there with a small smirk. Why did I have to make such a fool of myself all of the time?!

            “Are you OK there?” he asked, smiling his million dollar smile.

            “Uh-uhm,” I half choked, “Yeah I’m good, let me just go get some water.”

            I left the door open and waved him in as I walked towards the kitchen to grab a glass out of the cupboard.

            “Hi Mrs. Stevens,” Matthew said walking towards my mom with his hand out, “I’m Matthew Hunter.” He flashed a gorgeous half-smile and shook her hand. She looked like she wanted to say something but couldn’t get the words out.