h a r l e y *
"Hey," says my best friend Kendall on Friday morning.
"Hey," I say, looking up at her. "You wanna go to the game tonight?"
"Why? Just so you can stare at Cal?"
Cal is my mom's boyfriend's son, but I've liked him since way before his dad and my mom started dating.
"No," I begin. "I actually happen to like the sport. My mom wouldn't let me try out this year,"
"Well, your wrist was broken during tryouts," Kendall points out.
"I'm still mad about it,"
"Mad that your wrist was broken or that you couldn't try out?"
"Both,"
"You and I both know Coach wouldn't have let you step one toe on the field for tryouts,"
"I know, I know," I say. "But, wanna go?"
"Sure, I have nothing else to do,"
Kendall and I get to the baseball field a little bit before the game starts.
Cal sees me and runs up to the fence.
"Hey," he says.
"Hey," I reply, my heartbeat speeding up.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to watch the game. You know I normally play,"
"I know you do, but I wasn't sure if watching a game would make you sad or something."
"No, I'll be fine. But hey, good luck out there!"
He smiles at me. "Thanks,"
I return to my seat on the bleachers beside Kendall. She looks at me.
"How fast is your heart beating right now?" she asks me knowingly.
"Fast," I say, trying to take a breath. She laughs and rolls her eyes.
After the game is over, I tell Kendall bye and wait in the parking lot for Cal. Kendall was suspicious, but I told her I just needed to tell Cal something.
At last, I see him walking towards his car.
"Hey, Cal!" I call out as soon as he's close enough to me and walk over to him.
He jumps a little and looks over at me. "Harley? Why are you still here?"
"I just wanted to make sure you had a ride home..."
"Oh ok, I do, thanks,"
"Cal?" I ask again.
He looks at me. "Yeah?"
I pull him into me and press my lips against his.
"What--" he begins.
I kiss his lips again, rougher this time. I slide his bag off of his shoulder and set on the ground without pulling back, and grab his hand that had been holding the bag and I slip my fingers in between his. He lifts his other hand to cup my face gently, and I put my other on his waist.
I pull away breathlessly, looking into his eyes.
"Harley...I--" he begins.
"Ssh," I whisper.
"No, Harley, I like you, I do, but we can't--our parents--I'm sorry, Harley," he whispers.
He bends down to grab his bag and goes to his car.
"I'll see you around, yeah?" he says.
"Yeah," I say quietly.
🦓🦁
"You kissed him?!" Kendall's voice says through my car speaker as I drive home.
"Yes," I say. "But he kissed me back! I don't know what to do, Kendall, I really, really like him, but..."
"Do you think your mom and his dad are serious?"
"No, I don't think so. I mean, they work together, but his dad is always out of town."
"Okay, Harley, I'm not saying this makes it right, but maybe...I don't know,"
I can practically hear her shrug.
I stay on the phone with her until I get home and then I hang up and go inside.
"Hi, sweetie!" Mom says as I walk in.
"Hey, Mom," I say.
"How was the game?"
"It was good. We won 21-14."
"That's good. Honey, I know you miss playing but with your wrist--"
"I get it, Mom, I'm really tired so I'm going to go to bed,"
"Alright sweetie, sleep good,"
🦓🦁
It's been a week since Cal and I kissed, and today Cal and his dad are over at our house for a cookout.
"You know what, Randall?" Mom says to Cal's dad. "We don't have any dessert here!"
"Well, how about we go to the store and get some?" Randall says.
"Yes! You two will be alright here by yourselves for an hour, won't you?"
Cal and I nod.
I wait until I hear the car back out of the driveway before I walk over to Cal, who's sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter.
"Hey," I say softly, pressing my lips against his neck.
"Harley--you know we can't--" he begins.
"Why not, Cal? We're not related, they're not super serious... Look at me, Cal,"
I turn him around to look at me and press my lips against his. He puts a hand on my cheek but pushes back a few seconds later.
"Harley, I like you, I really do but I don't want either of us to get in trouble," he whispers.
I look at him. "Cal--" I begin.
"No, Harley, we can't do this,"
🦓🦁
It's been about a month since Cal and I kissed in the kitchen. We're getting to close to the last week of school now and Cal and his dad are coming over for dinner this evening.
"Alright, boys," Mom says as we sit down at the table, glancing at Randall. "Randall and I have talked this over in-depth and we think that it would be best if Cal moved in with us for the summer. Randall doesn't have a lot of trust in his apartment building anymore, feeling that it's unsafe, and Randall's position this summer will require him to travel a lot, and he would just feel better if Cal was staying with us and knowing that he was safe. So, Harley, Cal will be sharing a room with you."
"Mom, may I be excused?" I say suddenly, pushing back from the table.
Cal looks at me as I get up and walk away.
"I'll go make sure he's okay," I hear Cal say.
I go down the hallway and into my bedroom, shut the door, and sit down on my bed.
A few minutes later, I hear my door open and close.
I look up. It's Cal.
"Are you okay?" he asks me.
I shrug. "What do you think? I really like you Cal, and now I'm going to have to share a bedroom with you, and I-"
"Ssh," Cal whispers softly as he kneels in front of me before pressing his lips to mine.
He pulls away a few seconds later but looks into my eyes.
"We'll figure it out, okay?" Cal whispers. "We'll figure out, but please don't be upset with me,"
He raises himself up to sit on my bed and leans his head against mine.
He kisses me again softly. "I love you, Harley," he murmurs against my lips.
My heart stops and my breath gets caught in my throat. "I-I love you too, Cal," I whisper.
He kisses me again, and then says, "We should probably go back before they worry,"
I nod. "Yeah,"
Cal and I go back into the dining room. I play off my leaving as if I just needed to think for a second but I'm very excited for Cal to be moving in with us this summer.
Mom and Randall are very happy about this, and a lot of the evening after is spent talking about dates and plans and stuff.
🦓🦁
Randall and Cal are over at the house, bringing the last of Cal's stuff for the summer.
Randall leaves shortly after, though, because he has to catch a flight in less than twelve hours.
That night, Mom tells Cal and I goodnight and heads to bed.
I'm looking down at my phone when Cal comes over and takes it from my hand.
"What are you--?" I begin.
He lifts my chin and presses his lips against mine softly.
I smile against the kiss and lean upward into it. When he pulls away, he lays back and pulls my body close to his. I look up at him.
"I don't like the idea of sneaking around behind my dad and your mom's back, but, Harley, I love you and I want to be with you," Cal says softly.
"So...what are you saying?" I ask him.
"Will you be my boyfriend? My secret boyfriend, I should say."
I look at him and slowly nod. "Yeah,"
He smiles and leans over to kiss me softly.
🦓🦁
Mom is at work, and Randall is still out of town.
Cal is in sitting on a stool in the kitchen.
I walk up behind him, wrapping my arms around him and cuddling up to him.
"What are you doing? Your mom could literally walk in on us!" Cal whispers frantically.
"She's at work, she doesn't get off for another hour and a half, we'll be fine!" I whisper.
I look at him, smiling softly.
"Don't look at me like that--" Cal begins.
I smile and lean in, pressing my lips to his neck.
"Harley," he whispers.
I pull back and look at him. He smiles at me, kissing my lips softly but pulls back.
"I think my dad is going to break up with your mom and move to Chicago," Cal says.
"But--what about you?" I ask him.
"I'm staying here. With you. This isn't the first girlfriend he's broken up with, and it probably won't be the last, but there's good news to this: we'll be able to be public! After a respectable amount of time, of course,"
I laugh. "That is good news,"
He smiles at me softly and I lean in and press my lips against his.
"I love you," I whisper.
"I love you too, Harley," he says to me, leaning in and kissing me once more.
5/11/2020
*The reason "🦓🦁" are the dividers is because I looked up "sneaky animals" and those are two that came up.
