The New Normal

Chapter Nineteen

"So he gave you his letterman jacket, walked you home, and gave you a cute nickname?" Kimberly listed. When I nodded my head, she slammed her hands down on the cafeteria table. "That is so adorable. He's definitely asking you to Homecoming."

"For sure," Stella cooed as she took a small bite of her frozen yogurt.

I shrugged. "Even if he does ask me, should I say yes? I mean, I barely know him."

Kimberly rolled her brown eyes and threw her silky black hair behind her shoulders. "Shit, Juliet, you don't need to be in a committed relationship to go to Homecoming with someone. The whole point of dating is to get to know them, not to know everything about them all at once."

I knew she had a point, but I still felt hesitant. I think Stella could see that because she put a hand on mine. "Do you think he's nice?"

"Very," I sighed, thinking about the company he gave me while I closed the shop and gave me his jacket and walked me home.

"Do you think you guys would hit it off if he were to ask you out?"

I nodded my head. "I think so. When were talking in the cafe, it felt like things were simple, easy."

"Do you-" Stella began again but Kimberly cut her off with a wicked smile. "Do you secretly want to rip his clothes off and ravage his body? Because that boy is fine."

I blushed at the question but I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement. "He's more than fine."

"Who's more than fine?" A voice questioned behind me. I didn't know who it was, but judging by deer in the headlights look on both Kimberly and Stella's faces, it was probably the person of discussion.

I turned to face the voice and much to my dismay, it was Brody. He stood with his arms crossed, not in a seriously stern way, but more of a casual, joking way. Again, I could see the muscles contorting under his shirt as he did so and I again, I stared like an idiot. "Uh, no one?"

Kimberly covered her laugh with a cough and Stella resumed eating her frozen yogurt in attempts to keep herself from laughing as well. Brody smirked and pulled up a chair beside me. "I noticed you wore my jacket to school today. It looks good on you."

My cheeks turned scarlet. "I-I couldn't find mine and I was cold so I took yours instead."

Brody flashed me a grin and I could see his pointy canines. "Relax, J. I like it better on you than on me."

If it were even possible, my face turned even more red. At this, both of my friends excused themselves from the table discreetly, but I could see it was an attempt for me to make a move. After they left, Brody pulled out a red rose from his bag. "This is for you."

I took it with a gentle grip and stared at the deep red petals. "Brody, this is very kind of you."

He gave a small shy shrug and smiled down at me. Kimberly was right, he was very attractive. "I wanted to ask you something and I know it's going to be weird because we only really started talking but truth be told, I've been wanting to ask you this for awhile now. Juliet, will you go to Homecoming with me?"

I stopped staring at the rose and looked up and stared at him instead. He kind eyes and nervous smile. I was still hesitant to say yes, I barely knew him. But Tristan knew him, was friends with him and that was enough for me. Thinking about what Kimberly said about what I should say if he asked me to Homecoming, I smiled. "I'd love to go to Homecoming with you, Brody."

The breath he had been holding in and gave me a big hug.

The next few days were a blur. Brody and I had been spending a lot of time together in the mornings before school. He'd pick me up before his lacrosse practices and I'd sit on the bleachers, working on my homework or reading a good book. Sometimes, Stella would join me. She was on the track team so some of her practices aligned with Brody's and if they didn't, she still came and would keep me company. Kimberly was over the moon I said yes to Brody's invitation because that same day, Seth had asked her. Now, we were making plans as to where and when we'd get ready for Homecoming.

"Well, we can do it at my house," I suggested, taking a fry from Brody's tray and popping it into my mouth. "My dad is out of town for some meeting or whatever, so he wouldn't be bothering us."

"Alright, pre-game at Juliet's house!" Colson hollered and everyone at the table rolled their eyes, with the exception of Tyler. He scarcely had been at school for the past week and no one knew why. I tried to talk to him at work, but he stopped coming in and I wasn't about to go to his mother to see what he had been up to.

"Do you even have a date?" Seth questioned his friend and Colson shot him a glare.

"I was going to ask Juliet, but somebody beat me to it." Colson replied with fake venom.

Kimberly and Stella laughed, whereas I tried my best to not roll my eyes. He was such a shameless flirt, it was hard not to find it annoying from time to time. Brody threw an arm around my shoulders and chuckled but there was possessive undertone as he said, "She's mine."

Everyone at the table laughed but I felt an uneasiness. No one has ever referred to me as theirs and I didn't know how I felt about it, joke or not. I shook off the thought, knowing I was overthinking the simplest of jokes. Turning my attention to a different topic. "What's the colour of your dress, Stella?"

"Oh, it's this really nice pink, like a petal pink," She began, and from then on out, each of us talked about our outfits with ease, no awkwardness at all. As if Brody had been friends with us all along.