Everything I'm Not (GirlxGirl)

38. Dreams

"Can I have your number, at least?" The tall boy addresses the question to Julia, whose face now shows casual disinterest. "For when you decide to play for the other team."

"What's your name?" She asks.

From the way his face lights up and makes a move to pull out his phone, he definitely thinks he's got a chance. Poor guy. "Ansel."

"Okay, Ansel, you can go fuck off." Julia tugs at my hand and leads me away, leaving a gaping Ansel staring as we go down the escalator.

"That's cold," is what I say, but I have a feeling that Ansel would've gotten something worse than that if he tried hitting on me.

"He's a dick." Julia moves to stand one step above me, and I turn sideways and rest my arm on the handrail. With the extra height given by the step, we're now standing face to face. She looks at the baseball cap I'm wearing, looks at my lips, and smirks before turning it around and kissing me. It was only a peck, but boy did it feel good.

Sometimes, Julia does things so out of character that I wonder if this is who she really is—a marshmallow.

The look of pure delight on her face when we get to the park only furthers this theory. There aren't many people when we get there, probably because it's the middle of the day and they'd rather stay indoors than bathe under the scorching sun. It's a good thing the chilly November air makes the heat bearable. We pass the children's playground and head for the giant oak tree a good distance away, where I spread out the baby blue blanket over the grass neatly under its shadow.

I toe my shoes off and sit cross-legged as Julia sits next to me. "This place is nice." She says while taking out our food. She opens the container and reveals a mouthwatering baby back ribs coated in barbeque sauce. Another one holds the garlic shrimp, but what made my Asian stomach happy was seeing the rice. She sees me eyeing the rice and says, "I saw how you devoured that rice the other day. If you'd just told me how much you love it, I would've made every meal with it."

"Damn, I love you." I don't expect her to reply, and honestly, I don't think it's that big of a deal. They're just words. What she shows me matters much more.

Julia smiles, her teeth and dimples showing. I love that smile. Feeling like my expression of love wasn't enough, I chip in a kiss for good measure.

"Okay, I'm definitely wife-ing you," I start after a bite of the ribs. "This is really good, babe."

"I know how much you love barbeque sauce."

"You're the best." I beam at her.

Julia forks a shrimp and feeds it to my already waiting mouth. "I used to cook a lot with my mom. But now I don't usually have anyone to cook for at home so it really feels nice to cook for you."

"And I like eating," I smirk, letting the overtone hang. "Win-win."

She rolls her eyes. "All bark, no bite."

I don't have any retort for that—because it's true—so I continue eating. All we've ever done is kiss except for that one time at my house.

We talk and laugh and tease and laugh some more until I felt bloated and just wanted to lie down and sleep. After we finish eating, I stretch a little and find a comfortable spot to rest.

I lean against the sturdy tree behind me, checking and double-checking that no ants or any insects are crawling near. Julia, instead of scooting next to me, wedges herself between my splayed legs a moment later. I bring my knees up to better support her.

One of the things I didn't expect was Julia being so... showy. Especially in public. Between the two of us, she's the one who's more likely to initiate a kiss. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I just didn't expect her to be so open about it, considering her family doesn't know she's gay.