"So, you're really not going to tell me why you showed up so late last night?" Hilary questions as she stands in front of the stove, tying her apron into place. "You're literally never late to anything."
"I already told you that the restaurant was really packed and took forever to actually cook our order." I explain, staring at my reflection in the mirror, trying to figure out how to style my hair. "How many more times do I have to tell you that?"
"Until it makes sense." Hilary sasses me, snapping her fingers. "Hm. I'll leave it alone. For now. But did anything interesting happen yesterday that you want to share with me? I forgot to ask because we were too deep into binge watching Insecure, I just had to figure out if Nathan finds out that Issa cheated on him."
"Yeah, now watching the show I don't see why they the internet was going so hard on Nathan when Issa the one who cheated." I stated, granted he wasn't doing anything and let her take care of all the bills and didn't even remember their anniversary and her birthday.
"I don't understand that either. We gotta binge watch the next season this weekend." Hilary says. "But anyway, did anything juicy happen? Did y'all time together end with the two of you gyrating against each other with y'all tongues down each other throats?"
"Aren't you glad you stayed for a while?" Will leans in, his lips slightly touching the shell of my ear, his warm breath against my ear.
Turning around to face him, his eyes lock onto mine the second I look up at him, I set my arms around his shoulder. "Yeah." I doubt he can even hear me due to how light my voice is. "I am."
He closes the small gape between us by pulling my hips against his, which cause me to adjust my arms around his neck. He leans down to speak into my ear and says, "I am too."
As Summer Walker's sultry voice fills the air, our bodies press tightly against each other, it felt like we are moving in a perfect harmony to the seductive rhythm of the music. The music guide our every sway and step, his breath tickles my ear and his closeness sent tingles across my skin. He pulls back and his eyes lock into mine once again, it felt like nothing could get between us.
Expect my phone notification sound going. "That's either DoorDash telling me that my order is ready or Hilary wondering how long I'm going until I get there."
"Guess it's time for you to leave then."
"I guess so." Despite the acknowledgement of my departure to leave, neither of us move away but the space between our faces got closer and closer.
I couldn't help but laugh as I shake my head at her. "You watch way too many romantic dramas. It was just a pool party, nothing dramatic about that."
"Halle Berry!" The nickname brings a smile to my lips, I see his reflection in the mirror. He dress in the Bel-Air uniform with his arms outstretched as he walks towards me. "Whoa! Didn't you have braids last night? How did you manage—?"
"The braids was weave. The locs are her natural hair." Hilary tells him. "So, Will," She basically sings out to him, "being that Halle was with you particularly all day yesterday, maybe you can tell me why Halle was so late meeting up with me last night?"
"There was a fight." Will informs her as he stands beside me, he tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "You should wear your hair down, Halle."
In the reflection of the mirror Hilary back is facing us, meaning she doesn't see how close Will is to me because if she did, she would have a field day with this. "Of course that's why she was late." Without seeing her face I just knew Hilary's rolling her eyes. "You were watching a fight. Such highschoolers."
"Well, we are in high school." I counter.
"Who was fighting anyway?" Hilary questions.
"Maybe the one sporting the black eye." Ashley says as she enters the kitchen, followed behind her is Vivian, Phillip, and Carlton with a noticeable black ring around his left eye.
"Ashley." Vivian says warningly. "Grab what you need and go to the car, I'll buy you breakfast on the way to school."
"I want Starbucks." Ashley chirps as she walks over to the hook to grab her bag from the hook.
"Yes, I've reviewed the case files, and I believe we have a strong argument for summary judgment based on the recent precedent." Phillip speaks into his phone, he gives Hilary a kiss on the forehead when she hands him his Tumblr which is most likely filled with coffee. "Will, I hope you have a good first day." He goes back to his call. "I'm still here. Let's schedule a meeting with the client to discuss our strategy further."
Carlton glares at Will as he grabs his own bag from the hook then heads to the front door. "So, nobody staying for breakfast?" Hilary questions. "I already started prepping!"
"Halle and I are still here." Will points out. "Since my ride left me behind, I'm going to have to bum a ride from one of you."
"I got you cuzzo." Hilary shoots him a wink. "I'm giving Halle a ride to school before my interview." Hilary looks up and I can see that mischievous glint in her eyes. "How was Halle as your tour guide?"
"Hm." Will taps his shoulder against mine. "She has been an amazing tour guide. 10's across the board."
"Guess it's time for you to leave then."
"I guess so." Despite the acknowledgement of my departure to leave, neither of us move away but the space between our faces got closer and closer. "Or you can just stay for a little while longer?"
"How much longer is a little while?"
"It can be as long as you want it to be." I could feel one of his hands sliding up my back to grab the back of my neck, his face so close I feel like our breathing are in sync. "I don't know about you, but I'm in no rush to leave."
He stares me deep in my eyes, like he's searching for an answer but whatever he was looking for I hoped he knew the answer was "yes." This has been the most fun I've had since my parent's messy divorce, and I don't want it to end just yet. I want to keep being in this moment, even if it last half a second longer. He must have found the answer he was looking for because he place his lips onto mine, my eyes flutter close.
I couldn't hear the loud voices in the party, I couldn't hear Summer Walker voice anymore, it's as if time has stopped. The kiss is cute and innocent, definitely something out of a movie that people would start gushing over. I didn't care that my friends were on the other side of the pool were possibly watching and I would have to explain later, and I didn't care that this would probably get back to Hilary. And he didn't seem to care either.
The kiss turns more intense when his tongue flicks against the parting of my lips, I welcome the kiss with opens arms as if it was a hug. His hand on the back of my neck seems to drive the kiss deeper and deeper, but the kiss wasn't rushed or sloppy — it felt more intimate and intense. The sweet and innocent kiss is now long gone.
I pull back from the kiss but don't make it far due to the hand on the back of my neck. "You've been an amazing tour guide today. 10's across the board."
The same words he uttered to me just last now plays in my head, I can feel the smile creeping onto my lips. "Actually," I start, clapping my hands together. "I'm going to take a page out of Ashley book and get some Starbucks. I don't want you to be late for your interview by dropping me off, text me the details of how the interview goes."
"I forgot you had that interview." Will snaps his fingers. "I also don't want to be the case of why you don't make it on time for your interview either, I'm going to catch a ride with Halle Berry!"
"What?!" Hilary shrieks. "What am I supposed to do with all these eggs I done cracked?"
"Make an omelette." Will suggest. "I'll see you later, cuz!"
My escape plan to avoid Hilary's death endless questions and to avoid having to talk about what went down last night with Will, fell through. Though I don't have to keep dodging Hilary questions, I still have to deal with this situation with Will. It's not like I want to hide the kiss from Hilary, but she gets so fixated on my love life and I don't want her to do that right now. And it's not like I regret the kiss with Will, but it could have just been in the moment kind of thing which is why I don't want to tell Hilary, she's going to make this a big deal and most likely make it awkward.
"You're driving." I tell him as I toss him the keys, the least he could do is drive since he ruined my escape route.
I thought the car ride would be awkward and I would have to speak on our kiss, and everything that went down after. But Will was acting like nothing happened, which made it a lot easier to be around him; part of was kinda disappointed because I wanted to know what he thought about it, but the part was relived because I still don't want to jump back into dating just yet. Especially with a guy I've only known for two days, more like one and half days. I don't even know why I even let him kiss me, let alone why I kissed him back.
It's better this way.
Will claimed he never had Starbucks before so he didn't know what to order, so I order the same thing as me along with a warm chocolate cookie; in case he doesn't like his drink. While he was driving I connect his phone to my car and he let me see what his playlist is working with, he told me to get a understanding of Philly rap, I should listen to Meek Mills and Lil Uzi. I like the beats to their music more than the lyrics, but their music is definitely something I would add to my workout playlist.
"I think PnB Rock would be more your speed just base on the kind of music you like." Will informs me as we walk away from my car and towards the school. "But imma get you into more Philly rappers. I'll make you a playlist."
"Only if I make you a playlist too."
"It's a deal." Will agrees. "On a scale to 1-10? How would rate Meek Mills and Lil Uzi music?"
"Uh," I take a sip of my coffee. "I have to give their lyrics another listen but as far as the beat, I give it eight."
"I take an eight. Eight is solid."
"But the nine I rated you at the fundraiser wasn't good enough?" I question, shaking my head.
"I mean, I don't care if you want to rate anybody else anything lower than a ten, but why would I want to be rated anything other than a ten? He questions. "But since we're rating again, how would you rate that kiss from last night?"
His question hangs in the air, he had brought the kiss up so directly that it definitely catches me off guard. By the way he's been acting I thought he wanted to act like nothing happened, and I had just convinced myself that it was for the best if we don't acknowledge the kiss. And now he wants to bring the kiss up! And there's no way that I'll be getting out of answering this question, if how intensely he's staring at me is anything to go by.
There was two ways I could handle this, I could answer honestly and this will definitely lead to something more. Or I could completely dismiss the kiss, and nothing more will ever happen between us. I should just shut the kiss down immediately, getting romantically involved with anybody from my best friend family won't turn out good. A time will come and she, along with the family, would have to choose between the two of us: who to lie for and who to lie to.
I turn towards him, crossing my arms which prompt him to mirror my position. My mind was telling me to put a stop to whatever that kiss may lead to, but my mouth had a mind of its own and instead it asking, "You're not confident in your kissing skills? Want me to give you some pointers?"
"Actually, I'm very confident in my skills. If you want to give me some pointers, I definitely wouldn't reject the offer." Will smiles as he takes a step closer to me. "But before you do that, I still want to hear your rating, and I'll give you my rating."
"Hm." I tilt my head side-to-side. "Well, I would—"
"Halle!" Alanna voice fills my ears, I almost feel the relief flooding through my body that I don't have to answer this question. "Coach's pulling you out of the Regional Championship."
The relief that had flooded through my body suddenly morphed into a nerve-wrecking sensation, twisting my stomach into knots. Will was more than understanding on why I couldn't be with him on his first day, I did inform him that there's an assembly first thing this morning and that he needed to head to the auditorium — which he told me he remember where it was. I told him that I would either find him when I get to the student wellness center or after the assembly ends.
Once Alanna told me that Coach was over by the track and field area, I basically levitated to the girls locker room when I heard the news, that's how fast I ran there. But all that running had been for absolutely nothing because the only person who was over in that area was Kennedy. She stands there like she's expecting me, with her arms cross and a large grin slowly dancing on her face.
Kennedy throws her hands up and ask, "what the fuck was that last night?!"
I had been setup.
Coach pulling me out from competing in the Regional Championship was just a ruse to get me to with Kennedy and Alanna, which I should have known. He would never break the news to me by letting somebody else tell me or by letting them know first, he always tell us first then break the news to the team. I should have seen this coming because they were all too interested in what went down last night. From the kiss with Will to the fight with Carlton, and I willingly ran right into their trap.
Though I'm glad for the escape, I did want to hear his rating of the kiss.
"When you walked over towards us with Will arm around your shoulder, I knew from that moment that something was going on between the two of you." Kennedy questions. "When do you ever let a guy just randomly put his arm around your shoulder, who's not somebody you consider family?"
Hilary isn't the only one obsess with my love life, she tries to set me up with different people — if they cute, around my age, and I talk to them then, according to her, they're a perfect match. While Kennedy is more on the body language, hint why she's dragging on about Will having his arm around my shoulder. I can't even laugh to loud over a joke without her trying to read my body language.
"No." Alanna plops down on the bleachers, placing her hand over her chest. "Did you see the way he was staring at you? I would do almost anything to have somebody staring at me like that. And then when the two of you kissed!"
And then there's Alanna, she romanticize almost everything in not only my life but hers and anybody around. Somebody could lend me their pencil and she can hear wedding bells, somebody can say "excuse me," while moving around her and she would crush on them for four months. Only to finally talk to them and they be nothing like she imagined them to be, and she goes through this delusional breakup for a relationship that was never real.
"Okay, there's only two important questions that matter right now. To me at least." Kennedy holds up two fingers. "First one, Halle, what are your thoughts on the kiss?"
I debated back and forth about what I wanted to tell them, but I already can't tell Hilary about just yet so maybe talking about it out loud with them could possibly help me center my thoughts. "I don't know." I admit as I sit down beside Alanna. "I don't know anything. Everything's confusing. I'm confused."
"Then we'll help you unconfused things." Kennedy says. "Let's just focus on the kiss right now and only the kiss. Did you enjoy it?"
I nod my head just as Alanna dreamily states, "He looks like he's a good kisser."
"Shut up." I could hear the annoyance dripping in Kennedy voice, she plops down beside me. "If you like it then just forget all the other confusing thoughts and just let the kiss be what it was. A really good kiss."
"Yeah, I guess." I shrug, silence fall between the three of us for a few seconds. "But—" Kennedy groans dramatically. "—But I don't want to read too much into the kiss, it could have been just in the moment kinda thing. Or it could have meant more, but it can't mean more because I don't date my friend's family. Family chose family at the end of the day. And since the kiss I've been feeling like I'm overanalyzing it, sometimes a kiss is just a kiss."
"Is that what you want?" Kennedy questions. "For the kiss to just be a kiss and nothing more?"
"I mean, I did just meet him." They didn't help unconfused anything, and I'm so over talking about it. "I don't know. What's the second question you wanted to ask?"
"We can all agree that Carlton attacking Will last night is weird, right?" Kennedy ask. "Like it was so left field of him to do?"
The kiss turns more intense when his tongue flicks against the parting of my lips, I welcome the kiss with opens arms as if it was a hug. His hand on the back of my neck seems to drive the kiss deeper and deeper, but the kiss wasn't rushed or sloppy — it felt more intimate and intense. The sweet and innocent kiss is now long gone.
I pull back from the kiss but don't make it far due to the hand on the back of my neck. "You've been an amazing tour guide today. 10's across the board."
"Really?" I tap my forehead against his. "I haven't even taken you to all the best spots yet."
"I guess I have to stick around a little while longer for you to show me those spots." Will says, his lips brushing against mine.
Just when our lips were about to connect again, the moment is over when he's suddenly ripped away from me. The gap between Will and I is now huge compared to before, he stands there looking at me confused before Carlton shoves him into the water.
"Definitely." I agree. "I know they had an issue earlier that day, but Will told me that resolved that before they went to the party."
"Maybe. . ." Kennedy drags out. ". . .Carlton secretly likes you or something. That's the only thing that makes sense on why he would attack Will, like you said they were on good terms before the party."
"Please." I wasn't even going to entertain that idea.
"Yeah, he didn't push Will in the water because of Halle." Alanna says which cause Kennedy and I to look at her.
Alanna just smiles at us so Kennedy ask, "Do you know why he did it then?"
"Yup."
"Well."
"Well, what?"
"Tell us what you know, what the fuck?" Kennedy snaps.
"Easy there, no need to get all aggressive." Alanna holds her hands up. "Ken, I don't know how you don't know. Connor, Trevor, and Carlton were talking so loud like they were on megaphones or something."
"Just get on with it." Kennedy urged her to continue.
"It's really all Connor's fault, he was taunting Trevor about how he got his girl, Halle, taken by the new kid and how he was flaunting in front of all their friends. Carlton told Trevor to leave the situation alone and that Halle was only being friendly, and nothing more." Alanna says. "But then when the two of you started dancing to Summer Walker, Trevor started bringing up how he saw Will flirting with Lisa earlier that day when she was swimming, and that it was only a matter of time before Will made a move on Lisa."
"Okay, so long story short, Connor tried to get Trevor to do something to Will, but it didn't work. So then Trevor tried to get Carlton to do something to Will, and it did work and now both Connor and Carlton are sporting black eyes." Kennedy simplified her story. "I know Trevor's been trying to win you back, but this is going to far."
"You should kiss Will again." Alanna suggest.
"I agree." Kennedy cross her arms. "Kiss him right in front of Trevor just to prove a point."
I stare down at my hands, I really wasn't listening to what they were saying because I was stuck on the Will flirting with Lisa. Was he saying that to get to Carlton? Or did he really see Will flirting with her? "We should go to the assembly before it's over. You know how Coach gets about using track to ditch school event."
"Don't try to use the school assembly as an excuse to be next to Will again." Kennedy as she stands up.
I roll my eyes as I walk ahead of her. "Shut up, and let's go." Walking into the student wellness center, it was easy to find Will because he's standing on stage with Carlton. "That's family for you. Fight one minute and then make up the next."
"Hm." Carlton lowers his head, he tucks one hand into his pocket and shake his head. "See, this is why I think we need a change? You know, instead of supporting some wildlife initiative halfway across the world, why don't we sponsor a struggling public school right here in the L.A area?"
"I don't think they made up." Kennedy adds.
"Cause not all of those students are going to be as lucky as Will here, being able to transfer to a school like ours." Carlton says.
Will approach the microphone and says, "Hey, y'all, don't get it twisted—"
"Thank you so much for your help today, Will." Carlton cuts him off. "You can go. And again, welcome to Bel- Air academy."
The two of them exchange some words before Will walks off stage, I don't get how Will can just come in town and be having problems with Carlton. I understand that Carlton isn't everybody cup of tea, but people usually figure that out after being around him for a while, Will has been here for all of 2 days. And to embarrass him like that in front of everybody for a couple giggles from weird, putting somebody down because they don't have it like the rest of us is wrong.
I can't even imagine what he must be feeling.
"I'm going to find Will." I inform Kennedy and Alanna when we walk into the hallway.
"Okay, let's go find Will." Alanna says as she starts to walk past me.
"She's going to go find, Will." Kennedy stops her by putting her hand out in front of your. "We're going to stay right here and wait for her." She shakes her head. "She's like oblivious to any and everything."
I chuckle. "I'll be back."
I navigate my way through the crowd of people leaving the assembly and trying to get to their next class, my eyes dart across the familiar faces and various clique formed within the school. And then, I spotted it — a backwards hat. Will is the only one who would wear a hat like that, a hat in general really. I begin walking towards him, I didn't want him to feel alone after what Carlton just did to him but as soon as I got closer, my footsteps slowed, and if I was smiling it definitely would have dropped.
Will stands against the wall smiling and laughing with Lisa, well, it doesn't seem like he feels alone at all. Seeing that he's doing just fine, I start to turn around but stop when I noticed him walking over towards me. "I was hoping you would find me." Will says as he drapes his arm around my shoulder. "I thought you were finna stand me up and I was going to be flying solo today."
"Why would I stand you up?" I question, even though I was going to leave him there with Lisa. I navigating us over to where Kennedy and Alanna are, I ignore the look on Alanna face because I knew she was going to be thinking something because his arm is around my shoulder again. "Will, I'm sure you remember my friends Kennedy and Alanna."
"If you don't, we remember you." Alanna smiles.
"Very well." Kennedy adds. "I can actually see your face now that your lips aren't attached to Halle's."
"Kennedy!" I hiss.
He chuckles as he gives a short wave. "Hello, ladies."
"So, tell us, Will." Alanna says. "Are you planning on kissing Halle again? And if so, when?"
"Ignore my friends." I inform them. "This one—" Alanna. "— hasn't been neutered. And that one—" Kennedy. "—can't be let off her chain at anytime."
"It's fine." Will assures. "But to answer your question, I would—"
"Don't enable her." I stop him, Alanna needs only an inch of romance for her to start romanticizing anything. "She won't know when to stop."
"Yeah, ignore her." Kennedy shakes her head. "But not me. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the kiss last night?"
Mental note: don't bring Will around Kennedy and Alanna ever again.