Heeeeyyy, srry for the long update, buuuut here's another chapter :) and it's nice and long for ya ;p
Picture of Lori's mom on the side ---------->
Read, enjoy, comment, vote :D
CHAPTER 15
It’s been three weeks since I overheard Delilah and Eric’s conversation. I didn’t say anything to either of them because part of me really didn’t want to know who Eric had feelings for. Just the thought makes me sick and rage with jealousy and that scared me. Plus I barely see him anymore. Football and soccer were pulling us apart. We never have time for each other like we used to. But something strange was up with him. He never comes over anymore; he’s always too tired after practice to hang out or has too much homework. He doesn’t even stay after practice to walk home together. Delilah gives me rides after practice because she doesn’t want me walking home alone. And last weekend when I asked if he wanted to go see a movie he looked pained like it was killing him not to see me but at the same time, he looked guilty and sad. He’s been acting very distant lately and I didn’t like it. We’re best friends and we tell each other everything…or at least we used to.
Today I felt like skateboarding to school. Eric has practice every morning and I don’t like walking to school alone. I arrived at school 20 minutes before the bell. I decided to go and watch Eric at practice. I put my skateboard in my locker and made my way over to the football field. The boys were really at it. It was intense to watch them play. Their first home game they had they won by 14 points. I was so proud of them.
I sat on the bleachers alone and watched as Eric ran down the field dodging everyone and scoring a touchdown. I smiled proudly. When their practice was over I went back to my locker to get my books for my first period. When I turned around I smacked into something hard. A pair of arms caught me before my butt made contact with the ground. I opened my eyes to see Eric staring down at me. My heart started to speed up and all the anger I had to him went away. I embraced him into a big hug and wanted this moment to last forever. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. After we let go his eyes held happiness. I smiled brightly at him but my smile faltered when I remembered that he has been ignoring me.
“Where have you been?” I questioned. His smile dropped and his eyes held sadness.
“I’ve been busy…with homework and stuff” he said looking away.
“But that’s never stopped you before from always barging into my house unannounced” I laughed lightly at the memories. He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“What are you not telling me fuzzy?” I used the nickname I used to call him when we were kids. His eyes glistened and it looked like he was about to cry. He blinked a couple of times and gave me a weak smile.
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it” he said in a monotone. My eyes started to water as I felt the hurt in my heart.
“Too late” I hissed before walking away from him.
I didn’t feel like sitting next to him in calculus so I sat in the front by a girl no one liked because she thought she was better than everyone. Let’s just say I had better days in math.
During biology I didn’t pay attention to anything. Drew had to nudge me a couple of times for me to pay attention. At the end of the day I was heading to my locker but someone grabbed my arm and pulled me into an empty room.
“Hey” I said abruptly. I turned around to see a very concerned Drew.
“What” I sighed. I didn’t have time for his games, I had soccer practice.
“I just want to know what’s going on with you. You’re not your cheery self” he said. My shoulders dropped and I felt all the weight from these past few weeks.
“It’s nothing” I sighed. He opened his mouth to argue but I cut him off.
“I have to go I have practice” I said wearily before leaving him there with his mouth open.
When I got home that evening I heard laughter from the kitchen. Mom and dad were cooking dinner but it looked like dinner was their last priority. I raised an eyebrow and stood by the wall as I watched them. Dad was making his famous chili sauce. He took a spoon and fed it to mom kissing her passionately afterwards. He snaked his arms around her pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss. I had to clear my throat before it got too out of hand. They jumped at my sound and turned around to face me. Mom blushed lightly and I had to hold back my laughter.
“Please not in the kitchen. People eat in here remember” I joked smirking at them. Mom turned beat red and dad stuck his tongue out at me playfully.
“Do you need any help” I asked walking over to them. Mom smiled and nodded her head. I smiled and ran up the stairs to wash up before going back down stairs to help my parents with dinner.
“Is Eric coming over tonight” my mom asked hesitantly as I was setting the table. I stopped and looked at her. She looked at me waiting for my response. I sighed and shook my head. She looked disappointed.
“Are you guys fighting” she pressed. “You guys are inseparable and I don’t like it when you fight. You’ve been best friends from since you were in diapers” she stressed.
“Mom we’re not fighting, it’s just that our after school activities are keeping us apart” I sighed. Her expression showed that she didn’t buy it for a second.
“That hasn’t stopped you before” she raised an eyebrow.
“Mom can we please just not talk about it” I begged. “Everything's fine” I assured her. She gave me a skeptic look before closing the subject.
Dinner was fun. Dad wouldn’t stop pulling jokes about the people at his work. Mom would occasionally glance worriedly over at me but every time I caught her looking I would send her a reassuring smile.
I went to bed early. I completed my homework in an hour. I looked over to Eric’s window and saw that his lights were on but his curtains were closed. I sighed knowing that my best friend is hiding something from me. I went to bed and tried not to cry over my friend, but failed miserably. I’ve never felt more alone than I do now.
~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~
“Lori” Chris shouted running down the hallway, looking like an idiot. I smiled shutting my locker.
“Sup Chris” I beamed. Chris and I have been getting along quite well these past couple of weeks. Especially since Eric and I haven’t really gotten to hang out as much.
“Can you come over tonight? I have a Spanish test tomorrow and I need to review” he said begging me with his eyes.
“Haha sure, I’ll come over” I said smiling, but my smile dropped when I noticed Ashley clinging onto Eric’s arm down the hallway. Chris saw me glaring and followed my gaze.
“What’s up with those two anyways? Since when were Ashley and Eric ever friends?” Chris asked confused.
“I dunno” I sighed. I didn’t want to talk about it. Just seeing them like that made me want to barf. I couldn’t stand the thought of Ashley getting her slutty claws on my Eric.
“I’ll see you later” I grumbled shutting my locker angrily. I walked past Eric and Ashley my blood boiling with each step I took.
“Lor” Eric called out. I slowly turned around composing myself making sure that the bitch didn’t get the satisfaction of seeing how much this affected me.
“Hey” I muttered noticing how much closer Ashley just got to Eric. I glared daggers at her. She returned them with just as much force.
“I going to class, I’ll see you later” she said venomously never taking her eyes off me. I rolled my eyes and scoffed. She finally looked away to give him a flirty smile and traced her hand down his chest giving me one more challenging look before heading down the hallway. I stared after for God knows how long. That chick gets under my skin and it’s really irritating. I wonder if killing her was worth jail time. I looked at Eric who had that same distance in his eyes, the one that he’s had for a while ever since Ashley got her claws on him. Yep killing her would definitely be worth going to jail.
“How’ve you been?” he asked quietly trying to start small talk. Oh I dunno, lonely like never before because I never get to see my best friend cause apparently he’s spending more of his time with the devil herself and not with me! I wanted so badly to say those words to him but I didn’t. I didn’t want him to know what the time spent apart was doing to me.
“I'm good, how bout you?” I lied trying to hold back tears.
“Tired” he smiled sadly, and for the first time in a month, my old Eric was back. I couldn’t help but reach out and give him a hug that could have possibly killed him but I didn’t care, I needed him so badly and I didn’t know how much Eric meant to me until now. I felt like I took his friendship for advantage.
“You wanna see a movie tomorrow night?” I asked hesitantly.
“Can’t I have football practice” he said looking extremely pained to say this to me. I sighed holding back the tears, that I felt were coming.
“Right, I forgot” I muttered. “See you around” I said turning around to leave.
“Lori wait” he called grabbing my hand gently. The tingling sensation that I have missed for weeks entered my body and for some odd reason I missed that. I missed the acceleration of my heart beat whenever we touched. I don’t know why my heart’s been doing that recently. Maybe it’s because I finally realized how much Eric really does mean to me. He pulled me into a hug and I let a single tear fall. I quickly wiped it away and hugged him back. We didn’t say anything, just stood there, until the bell rang. I suppressed a sigh as I reluctantly let go. Why did I feel like I was home when I was in his arms?
“I better go” I smiled giving him another hug. He looked at me for what seemed like eternity with intense eyes. What was he trying to tell me? I couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell me with his eyes, and it was frustrating me.
“Bye beautiful” he whispered kissing my cheek. I stuck my tongue out at him, trying not to cry. I miss my best friend so much that it was causing too much pain for me to bear.
“Bye dorky” I teased turning around and letting another tear slip.
The rest of the day I didn’t acknowledge anyone or anything, my mind was on Eric the whole time, that’s why I jumped almost a mile when I felt a hand go on my shoulder. I turned around to see Chris smiling brightly.
“Hey” I said casually putting my books in my bag.
“You still coming over?” he asked. I nodded my head. “Great” he beamed. “Do you mind waiting for me after practice and then we could just go over to my house?” he asked hesitantly. I shrugged and nodded my head.
“Is something wrong?” he asked after a moment of silence. I shrugged and headed out the door.
“I'm fine” I said in a monotone when he caught up to me. I could feel his eyes boring a whole on the side of my head. I turned to him and gave him a dorky smile. “I'm fine” I lied through my teeth.
The whole football practice I didn’t take my eyes off Eric. No matter how many times I watch him play, I will never get over how amazing he truly is!
After practice I waited for Chris by his car. Practice was over 15 minutes ago and he’s still not out yet. What was taking that kid so long?
I sighed ready to walk over to the changing rooms when I saw a blonde hair coming around the corner. Finally I thought thinking it was Chris, but my heart stopped when I saw it was Eric. I honestly didn’t know what came over me but I ran behind Chris’ car to hide. I crouched down and peered over the hood watching him walk the opposite direction with someone with him. It was a girl, with blonde hair. Is that Ashley? I gasped as I peered closer trying to get a better look before they got too far for me to verify. It couldn’t be her, could it? But then again, I’ve seen that troll all over Eric these days...
“What are you doing?” I heard laughter from behind me. I turned around to see Chris standing there with an amused look on his face. I was so engrossed in figuring out if it was Ashley or not that I didn’t notice the shadow behind me. I blushed embarrassed standing up and brushed the hood of the car slightly.
“Just admiring your car” I laughed awkwardly avoiding his eyes. He laughed and shook his head.
“You are one weird girl Stewart” he chuckled getting in his car.
The car ride to his house Chris couldn’t stop chuckling. I was as red as a tomato the whole car ride.
…
~~~
It was now the last week in November and also tonight was our last soccer game and we were battling for gold. We’ve been undefeated for the whole season and tonight we were going to get that first place trophy we’ve worked our butts off for.
“Come on Lor, coach wants to give us a pep talk before the game” Dee called from the locker door. I nodded my head and finished tying my cleats. We ran over to the bench where the rest of the team was.
…
There was 5 minutes left in the game and the score was 2-2. I could feel the crowd’s excitement flow through me. Delilah passed me the ball and I made my way around the girl on the opposite team and passed it to Natalie who took a shot at the net. We totally thought it was going in but the goalie got it at the last second. The crowd went “Awww” in disappointment and then the pressure started to get to us. The referee blew the whistle signifying there was only a minute left in the game. If we ended this game in a tie then we’d have to go in sudden death where anything could happen. The other team had the ball but Natalie stole it and passed to Delilah who took a shot but it reflected off the post. She headed the ball towards me and I scissor kicked the ball at the net which passed the goalies reach and went into the net.
The crowd went wild and the ref blew his whistle vigorously signaling the end of the game. The crowd got up and cheered.
“You did it” Delilah cheered. I grabbed her into a big hug and spun her around.
“No we did it” I corrected her. She laughed and hugged me again. My team came and tackled us to the ground. We all laughed with happiness that we won the championship.
After the game I was standing on the empty field letting the event of this evening flow through me. Everyone had already left. Delilah’s parents drove her home and my parents were waiting in the car for me. I smiled contently, proud of my team for a wonderful season we had. I turned around ready to go home but bumped into somebody. I landed on my butt with a thud and stared up at the person who caused me to fall. I looked up to see Eric smiling brightly at me. The insides of stomach fluttered and my heart skipped a beat. I tried to ignore the feeling but it wasn't easy. This mysterious feeling was getting stronger with every waking hour and I don’t know why. I guess it was because I just missed him so much. He smiled his adorable smile and helped me up. He kissed my cheek and gave me a hug. The spot on my cheek burned where he kissed me. I stared out into space dumfounded. Seriously why am I feeling this way? And why now, after all these years, why now? Confusion started to cloud my mind and I was forming a headache. What was happening to me? I shook my head slightly and let go of Eric. I took a step back and looked at him. His hair was blowing in the wind making him look like an angel and his smile made him that more beautiful.
“Lori, you ok” Eric asked worried. I stared at him finding myself at a loss of words. What the hell? I know things have been weird with me, but this, this is beyond weird. I can’t even reply back to him without staring like a freaking idiot first. He took my shoulders and shook me gently.
“Earth to Lori” he teased. I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts
“I'm back” I smiled. He laughed gently and took my hand.
“You were amazing out there today, you all were. Congratulations on the win” he congratulated me. I grinned and looked up at him.
“Thanks” I smiled trying to ignore the tingling bolt running up and down my hand as he held it.
“I'm sorry that I haven’t been around much” he apologized looking at me with sad and guilty eyes. I forgave him immediately; I missed him too much to care about the pain that I went through these past months. We walked back to my waiting parents who smiled when they saw us. I ran to my dad and tackled him into a bear hug. I then turned to my mom and hugged her gently. She was now three months pregnant and had a baby bump. She smiled at me and patted her stomach. Eric and I climbed into the back seat and headed home.
That night Eric stayed over. It’s been 2 months and 2 weeks since the last time he last slept over. I was on my bed hugging my pillow staring out the window replaying the soccer game. A smile appeared it way my face at the memory. I still can’t believe we did it. I looked over to see Eric staring intensively at me. My stomach did summersaults and I wanted to scream of excitement for no reason. I had missed him so much I couldn’t describe the way I was feeling right now.
He yawned and rubbed his eye. I smiled slightly at how cute he looked.
“Come here” I patted the side next to me” he smiled getting up to snuggle closer to me. I wrapped my arms around him as he rested his head on my lap. I started to play in hair soothing him. I yawned a little, the adrenaline running out of my body. Eric sat up and shifted himself so that he was lying on his back and gently put my head on his chest. I yawned again and wrapped my arms around his waist before falling asleep peacefully for the first time in 2 months.
I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs the next morning. I smiled happily as I turned over to see Eric’s sleeping form. I missed my him so much. I gently ran my hands through his hair and watched as a tiny smile appeared on his face.
I got up and took a quick shower before heading downstairs. Dad was at the counter beside mom watching her with loving eyes as she prepared breakfast.
“Morning mom, dad” I said brightly kissing them both on the cheeks.
“Someone’s in a good mood” mom winked placing my breakfast in front of me.
“Yeah, slept peacefully last night” I smiled taking a bite of my bacon. Mom smiled knowingly.
“Is Eric up yet?” she asked still smiling.
“Not yet” I said taking a bite of my toast. My parents knew Eric stays over sometimes. I'm surprised their okay with it. I couldn’t contain the smile that was on my face.
“Your sister called” dad smiled stealing one of my bacon
“Hey” I protested. He just winked and kissed my head.
“She asked about the soccer game last night and told us that she’s coming home for Christmas” he told me.
“Great, how is she?” I took a sip of my orange juice. She came home for thanksgiving and brought Aaron. He’s so funny. He made thanksgiving a memorable night. I'm so glad my sister found someone. He’s perfect for her.
“She’s fine. She misses the crap out her baby sister” dad laughed ruffling my hair.
“She’s a year older than me” I scolded fixing my hair.
“So you’ll always be her baby sister just like you’ll always be my baby no matter how old you get” mom cooed kissing my cheek. I rolled my eyes playfully at her. Too much love went on in this family. I finished my breakfast and washed my plate.
“Go wake up Eric. I don’t want his breakfast getting cold” she smiled beaming at me. I looked at her weirdly before heading upstairs. Okay she’s way to cool to be a mom.
“I don’t like them sleeping together” I heard my dad grumble
“They’ve been doing this since they were little Darrell. It’s a normal thing for them. Mom told him chuckling.
“Yeah for now” dad mumbled. What the heck was that suppose to mean? Then it was quiet. Guess that’s the end of that conversation.
I went to my room to see Eric walking out my bathroom with only a towel on. I froze dead in my spot. My mind was spinning out of control with the way his chiseled chest glowed in the sunlight. My eyes lingered on his toned abs. I groaned internally. Why did Eric have to be so HOT! Yeah I’m admitting it to myself, my best friend is SEXY!! I’m going to have a hell of a time making sure those girls stay away from my innocent friend.
“Hey” Eric smiled walking over to give me a hug. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply.
“Humnuna” was what came out of my mouth. I quickly shook my head before looking into his gorgeous green eyes trying extremely hard not to look at his chest. Gosh Lor stop perving on him I scolded myself.
“Mom made you breakfast” I told him averting my eyes from his chest.
“Sweet. I’ll be down in a bit” he said grabbing his clothes and going back into my bathroom. I stood there standing at the empty spot where he was just standing his abs still lingering in my mind. I looked at the locked bathroom door and bit my lip. He was so close, the only thing between us what that closed door. I stood for about a good minute fighting with my slutty side who wanted to barge in the bathroom and pounce on him.
The doorbell rang making me jump slightly at the sound. I turned and ran down the stairs silently thanking God that he saved me from possibly making a terrible mistake. When I got to the door mom beat me to it.
“Delilah” my mom shrieked embracing her into a death hug. Dee laughed and hugged her back.
“What’s up” I smiled after mom released her and went back to the kitchen to accompany my father.
“We came to hang out with you” she beamed. I raised an eyebrow and looked around. There was no one there but her.
“We?” I asked. At that moment Dylan, Drew, and David jumped out from now where.
“Boo” they shouted. I jumped clutching my heart.
“You guys are going to be the death of me” I told them. They all laughed and came inside. I turned around to see Eric bouncing down the stairs. My whole body erupted with that tingly feeling again. I sighed, I just can’t seem to get used to this feeling.
“Hey guys” he beamed.
After breakfast we went out in my backyard to play some football. I laughed as Delilah got the ball but David grabbed her waist and pull her down. I stood there with a smile on my face as I watched them stare into each other’s eyes.
“Guess I’m rubbing off on him” Drew smirked at me. I pushed him but laughed along with him.
We got tired playing football and decided to go for a swim.
“Looks like you and David were getting cozy” I teased Delilah as we were in my room changing. She blushed and put her hair into a ponytail.
“He and Drew have been coming over my house almost every day and we’ve gotten close” she blushed lightly.
“Define close” I smiled coming behind her. She turned around and her face was a tomato.
“We’re just friends, even though I wish we were more,” she sighed looking up at the ceiling. “He’s a real sweetheart. He listens to me talk and actual cares, plus he funny, smart, cute and he drew a picture of me which was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.” I watched as her eyes gleamed with happiness when she spoke about David.
We headed downstairs and out the back to join the boys.
“Lori watch out” Dee screamed but I was too late. Drew took me by the waist and threw me over his back.
“If you don’t put me down in 3 seconds I swear Drew you’ll be sorry you messed with me” I threatened. I felt him chuckle.
“As you wish” he said before throwing me into the pool. I resurfaced sputtering water everywhere. I looked over to see Drew laughing his butt off.
“You jerk” I yelled. He only smirked at me before bending down eye level.
“You looked hot, I thought I should cool you off” he smiled innocently. I growled before grabbing onto his shoulders and pulling him in. When he came back up I smiled innocently.
“Oops” I laughed swimming away. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me from behind.
“Hey” Eric’s deep husky voice filled my ear causing me to shiver against him.
“Hi” I whispered not trusting my voice. I pressed myself against him slightly feeling his toned body against my back making me hot for him. I gasped and pulled away looking anywhere but him.
“Drew had it coming” he said laughed huskily coming close to me again. I sighed but didn’t resist this time. I didn’t have it in me. I pressed my back against his chest loving the feel of his muscled body close to me. It was exhausting fighting against my body’s urges. I can let myself enjoy it this one time right?
“Yeah, don’t mess with me” I joked causing him to laugh. I loved the sound of his laughter and I just can’t seem to get enough of it even though I’ve known him my whole life, his laugh is one of the things I’ll never get tired of.
…
We were lounging around in my basement playing video games. Eric was playing against Drew and Dylan in Halo 3 and he owned their asses tremendously.
“I'm done” he laughed handing the controller to David.
“What? Come on dude, one more round” Dylan whined. Eric shook his head and laughed.
“No way man, you guys suck. Lor’s a more challenge than you guys” he laughed making his way over to me. I laughed and blushed slightly. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder bringing me closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder loving his embrace. I still can’t get over how much I miss him and the warmth he gives me every time he’s near.
Drew’s cell went off to Bon Jovi “Wanted Dead or Alive”
“Hello” he answered eyes still glued to his game. “Shit man I forgot” he said jumping up and handing the controller to Eric. “No I'm at Lori’s, I'm on my way now” he said about to hang up but paused. “Yeah she’s right here, why?” he asked looking at me with a confused look. “You sure?” he asked after a pause. “Alright, ok, I’ll see you in a few” he said hanging up.
“That was Chris, I completely forgot I have band practice” he said grabbing his jacket. “He wanted to talk to you, but then changed his mind, he sounded unsure about something” he said scratching his chin and looking intensely at the T.V. as if trying to figure out what Chris wanted to talk to me about. I felt Eric tense beside me. I looked over to see his jaws rigid. What’s up with him?
“Hey, can I come check out your band?” David asked.
“Yo me too” Dylan said excitedly. Drew laughed and nodded his head. He looked over at me and Eric.
“You guys want to come too?” he asked. I looked over at Eric whose jaws were still set. I shrugged my eyes still glued on Eric.
“I guess, Eric you want to come too?” I asked looking at him intensely. He looked at me his eyes searching mine. He seemed to stare at me for a long time before finally nodding his head.
“Alright” Drew beamed with excitement, “Let’s go.”
We pulled up to Chris’ house.
“Thanks for finally showing up dude” I heard Chris say sarcastically as I got out of the car. “Lori” he said shocked when he saw me.
“Hey, we came to watch you guys in action” I smiled. I suddenly felt Eric’s presence close behind me.
“Awesome” he said never once looking Eric’s way. They may be on the same team and have to work together when it comes to games and practices, but outside of school, they’re back to hating each. Why? I will never know.
“Come on let’s go” Drew directed leading us into the garage.
…
The band was awesome. They were really good, and I could see them getting signed one day. Drew was the leader singer, and Chris played the guitar and sung as well. I was surprised when I heard Chris sing. These two seem to impress me more and more every day.
There were 5 of them in their band. 3 of the other guys went to our school and were on the football team with Chris.
Delilah and I were rocking out in the corner laughing our asses off and pretending to be crazy fans making the guys laugh at us and make snarky comments.
Suddenly I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. I jumped almost a mile shocked at the sudden contact. I angled myself to see it was just Eric. He grinned at me as he pulled me closer to him.
“Need a dance partner?” he smirked winking at me. Immediately my body starting to tingle and I subconsciously pressed myself against him more.
“I don’t think you can handle me” I smirked turning around looking at him challengingly. He grinned and pulling me closer if that was possible.
“Oh but I do want to handle you” he winked chuckling a little. It took me a minute to catch on before I gasped and hit him in the arm.
“Eric” I scolded. He laughed and gave me an innocent look. He was starting to sound more and more like Chris and Drew every day. Let’s just hope it stops at the crude jokes. He’s too sweet to be an arrogant jerk.
Chris pulled me aside after band practice.
“Lori can you do me a huge favor?” he asked with an adorable puppy dog face.
“Sure” I said not able to deny the look. He probably gets virgins to drop their panties for him with that look.
“Remember when I asked if you would help me get Monica to know I'm not such a bad guy?” he referred to the time at the pool party when I said I would help him any way I can to get Monica to give him a chance.
I laughed. “Yeah, I remember” he smiled and clasped his hand into a begging form.
“Please help me be charming” he begged. “Tell me everything about girls, what they like, what they want to hear, all of the secrets to getting to a girls heart” he said giving me that puppy dog look again.
“Hold up” I said putting both my hands up. “Let me get this straight, you want me to tell you what girls want in a guy?” I asked trying not to laugh at this situation. Chris was actually asking for my help with girls. The guy who just had to smile to get any girl to fall at his feet, or look at them the right way, and they were his. He shook his head taking a step closer.
“Not just tell me, but teach me, show me what I need to do to make Monica see that I'm not all that bad” he said smiling slightly. I could tell he desperately wanted my help.
I sighed. “Well for starters, girls don’t like their man perving on other women. If you want Monica to know you want her let her know you only have eyes for her, meaning no flirting with other girls, no checking them out either, especially when you’re with her, if you have to, do it discreetly” I said the last part wearily and rolled my eyes.
He looked at me funny before a broad grin stretched across his face.
“So this means you’ll help?” he asked continuing to grin like an idiot. I laughed and nodded my head.
“Thanks Lor” he said hugging me tightly. “You’re the best”
“I know” I teased. He let go of me the grin still plastered on his face.
“I really appreciate this” he thanked me. “I know it’s weird and this is nothing like me, but I really like her and that’s why I want to do this” he said looking vulnerable I couldn’t but melt.
“It is weird, but I'm glad you’re not a dick anymore. I can actually stand being near you now” I joked causing him to laugh. I smiled. I really like the change in Chris. He wasn’t so bad after all. Now it was Monica’s turn to see that.
“Lori, we’re heading home, Drew driving us back, come on” Delilah said giving Chris a suspicious look. I nodded my head and turned back to Chris.
“I’ll talk to you later alright” I smiled as I walked over to Delilah.
“Bye Lor” he called out. “Bye Delilah” he said timidly. I laughed at how afraid he was of her. She glared and gave a stiff head nod trying to be intimidating. I pulled her out of the garage still laughing.
“You seriously can’t still hate him can you? He’s actually trying to be a better guy” I smiled. She laughed and grinned at me.
“I know, but it’s fun messing with people. Plus did you see how terrified he look, like I was going to bitch at him or something” she burst out laughing. I rolled my eyes. Delilah really was too sweet to ever be a bitch.
When I got home I dropped myself heavily on my couch. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. It felt like it’s been a whole day when in fact it’s just after noon. I got up and made my way to the kitchen to make myself an afternoon snack.
“Hi honey” mom beamed coming round to kiss me on the head. She looked happy. What’s up with her?
“Mom why so happy?” I questioned as put some lettuce on my sandwich.
“Just in a good mood is all” she grinned.
“Okay” I chuckled heading out to my backyard to eat my lunch and read.
Mom wasn’t working today so she came out to keep me company. She brought out a book as well and we sat next to each other reading quietly in peace. After about an hour mom closed her book and turned to face me with a huge smile on her face. I slowly put my book down and looked at her suspiciously.
“Let’s do something together, just me and you” she said happily. I looked at her weirdly and put my book down.
“Okay” I said dragging out the word. “What did you have in mind?” I asked.
“I was thinking we could, I dunno, have a mother and daughter fun day. We could do each other’s nails, watch movies, pig out” she beamed. I couldn’t help the smile that appeared on my face as I watched her eyes glisten with happiness.
“Sure, mom, I’d love that” I grinned. She clapped her hands and squealed with excitement. She took my hand and brought me back to the kitchen.
“This is going to be so much fun” she beamed. I laughed at her giddiness. My mother had the heart of a 5 year old. “I'm going to kick your dad out of the house for a while and then the fun can start” she smiled. I laughed and nodded my head and waited as she ran up the stairs to get dad who was probably sleeping. Didn’t know what was up with her, but it would be fun spending time with my mother.
I chuckled when I heard her whining to dad. He came downstairs in his pajamas and bed head. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.
“You’re mother wants me to leave” he yawned again taking a seat around the island. I giggled as I watched my mom give him the puppy dog eyes. He sighed and looked at me with pleading eyes for help. I shook my head telling him no, this was his wife not mine.
“Fine” he sighed. She clapped and kissed him all over. A smile appeared on his face but he turned his head so that she wouldn’t see.
“I'm going over next door to Ricky’s and chill there” he said getting up kissing my mother on the forehead. Ricky was the name of Eric’s dad. Sometimes I wonder if I was raised by teenagers. My parents are too chill to be parents – literally.
When dad left mom got busy with setting up everything to give each other mani’s and pedicures. Mom put some music on and danced her way to me. I laughed as she hip bumped me. We danced for a little bit laughing our asses off.
“Do you want to watch a movie or do our nails first?” she asked excitedly.
“Movie” I grinned. I made some popcorn and brought out some blankets for us. I snuggled up to her while we watched the movie ‘P.S. I love you,’ mom’s ultimate favorite movie because of the actor Gerard Butler.
We laughed cried and laughed some more during the movie. We even broke into a popcorn fight.
“So what’s up with you and Eric these days?” mom asked as she doing my nails. We watched a couple more Gerard Butler movies and decided it was time for mani’s. When it came to doing nails, mom was amazing at it. I didn’t even need to pay money to go to a nail salon because I had mom to do them for me. She was just as good.
She looked up waiting for my response. I sighed. Of course she would notice the change in our friendship. My mother was observant to everything.
I sighed and shrugged my shoulders.
“I don’t know, he’s just been busy, nothing’s up” I replied sounding more confident than I felt.
“Lori you know you can come talk to me whenever you need. I’ll always be there for you” she said placing her hand on my cheek and smiling adoringly at me.
“Thanks mom, I love you” I smiled.
“I love you too baby girl” she smiled and went to doing my nails. “Blow” she ordered as she got up suddenly. “I’ll be right back, I have to go get something” she said smiling brightly.
“Blow” she ordered again laughing as she quickly went up the stairs. I laughed as I started to blow on my nails. Mom came back down a couple minutes later with a big box in her hands.
“What’s that?” I asked curiously.
“This” she beamed. “This is stuff from my childhood memories” she smiled running her hand over the box affectionately. She took off the lid and scooted closer to me.
We went through it; mom had stories to tell for every sentimental value in that box. We must have been rummaging through that box for about over an hour. There were old pictures of her and her and some of her friends from the past. Delilah and Eric’s mom were in a lot of them, along with Dad and Auntie Olive. There were a lot of pictures of her and dad.
“Aw mom you were so cute” I cooed holding up a baby photo of her. She was wearing a light yellow sundress and was hugging a boy the same age as her. They must have been 2 in this picture.
“Mom who’s this?” I asked referring to the boy she was hugging.
“Your father” she said smiling down at the picture. I gawked at her. That was dad. I knew they knew each other a long time, but I didn’t know it was that long.
“Mom how long have you known dad?” I asked staring at the picture.
“Literally my whole life” she beamed, love and happiness shining in her eyes. “It’s funny because when I see you and Eric together, it feels like history’s repeating itself” she laughed. I gave her a confused look.
“Your father and I were very close. Best of friends. We did everything together, I can’t remember a moment when I was ever separated from your father’s side” she smiled fondly.
“When did you and dad start dating?” I asked interested.
“Last year of high school” she smiled.
“Wasn’t it weird, at first? I mean dating your best friend, wasn’t that weird?” I asked trying to imagine what it would be like to date Eric. The thought sent butterflies to my stomach for some reason.
She laughed and shook her head. “It felt right, like we were meant to be together forever. It was funny because at first I was in denial about my feelings” she said giving me a quick glance smirking a little like she knew something before continuing. “Darrell would joke about us being a couple. People always thought we were together, and whenever someone would ask, he would never deny it. Instead he’d wrap his arm around me and grin broadly and say ‘yep she’s my one and only’” she laughed at the memory. “It was annoying at times cause I would never get dates because Darrell made it his mission for no guy to ever ask me out” she chuckled shaking her head.
“You mean you never got to date anyone because of dad?” I asked shocked.
“No, I dated” she laugh shaking her head. “It’s just guys always assumed that me and Darrell were together so they’d never ask me out.”
“Bet that pissed dad off” I laughed. “Why do best guy friends have to be so over protective” I asked referring to Eric. That sounds like something Eric would do to protect me from getting hurt I guess. She laughed and nodded her head.
“Yep, but he just wasn’t only being protective” she smiled. I gave her a confused look yet again. She smiled and pushed the box aside turning to face me completely. “The reason why your father would never deny us being together, or was jealous of every boyfriend I ever had, was because he wanted to be with me. He was always in love with me, I was just too blind to see it” she sighed.
“Seriously?” I gawked probably for the fifth time. She nodded her head laughing.
“Yeah, your father would try to hint about his feelings, but I took it as a normal thing he would do.” My heart started to pound like crazy as mom’s words swam around in my head. Eric’s been on my mind through this whole conversation. A part of me, a very teeny tiny part was thinking, more like hoping maybe Eric had feelings for me and that’s why he was like this all of a sudden. The flirting, the comments, maybe he was hinting at something. Maybe Eric and I would end up like mom and dad. I wanted to laugh at that thought. Eric would never look at me the way my dad looks at my mom. When I see them together it was obvious how in love they were. I wanted that. I wanted happiness and comfort like they did.
“So how did you guys start dating?” I questioned. She chuckled and shook her head slightly at a memory.
“Finally your dad couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted me to know that he was the guy for me, so he asked me out. At first I thought he was just joking around like normal, but he was serious. He told me he had feelings for me for quite some time and wanted me to give him a shot. He said one date and if it doesn’t go well, then we’d forget about it and got back to normal. I could see the pain in his eyes when he said forget about it, and I knew that’s not what he wanted at all. So I thought what could it hurt to go on one date with my best friend, so I agreed. Our first date was the carnival. I had so much fun, and it was even more fun because I was with him. I finally let myself realize I actually had feelings for him too. And when he first kissed me, it was magical” she sighed closing her eyes smiling.
“Awwww” I joked. She reopened her eyes and threw a pillow at me playfully.
“Thanks mom for sharing your childhood with me” I smiled.
“Anytime baby girl” she grinned.
We started to pack up the things we took out of the box. It was getting late, and dad would be home soon.
“Mom, dad did date though right. I mean he couldn’t just have sat there hoping one day you would say yes to him?” I said as I put back the last item back into the box. Mom closed it and I picked it up for her, she shouldn’t be carrying heavy things with her condition.
“Yeah, he went on a few dates, but he said no matter how hard he tried he could never get over his feelings for me. I really was his one and only” she blushed slightly. I smiled at how cute that was. After we put away the box we went on with cleaning up the rest of the mess we made.
“I got to ask mom, why bring out that box and share your memories of you and dad with me now? Not that I didn’t appreciate it, because it was fun going down memory lane with you, but was there a reason behind all of it?” I asked raising an eyebrow. The thing about both my parents is they never do something randomly without there being something behind it.
She smiled slyly and shrugged.
“Thought it would help you to be more insightful on life” she smiled cleaning up the coffee table.
“Meaning” I questioned folding my arms waiting for her to explain. She looked up and smiled.
“Open your eyes to what’s in front of you baby girl. True happiness and love is right next door” she said placing a kiss on my forehead. I rolled my eyes. What the hell is that suppose to me. I hate it when she goes Yoda on me.
Mom and I were finish cleaning up the mess that we made when we had the popcorn fight when dad walked into the living room and whistled.
“Looks like you girls had fun” he chuckled. Mom and I smiled giving each other winks and laughed. Dad stayed and helped us finish clean the mess.
When we were done a yawn escaped my lips. I stretched and rubbed my back. I was tired from all that fun I had today. My mom noticed and a small smile appeared on her face.
“I’m going to bed. I’m beat” I announced.
“Alright baby, thanks for a wonderful day today” she kissed my forehead and smiled. I smiled at her and kissed her cheek.
“I had fun mom, we should do this again sometime” I told her. She smiled her eyes sparkling.
“I would love that honey” she beamed. I gave dad a kiss goodnight and heading up stairs.
When I was almost at the top of the stairs I heard my dad chuckle and mom playfully slapped him. I sat on the stairs to see what was happening. Dad had his arms around mom’s waist.
“I know you think it’s weird that I, being a 38 year old woman was acting like I was 17 again but I had the best day of my life. Spending time with my daughter was the best” mom smiled happily.
“I’m glad you had fun beautiful. And yeah you are weird” he said smirking causing mom to hit him again. “But that’s one of the many things I love about you” he grinned pulling her into his arms. I smiled as my mother and father hugged each other.
“Who knew I would marry my best friend and get the happily ever after I’ve always dreamt of” mom mumbled into dad’s chest.
“I did” he beamed kissing mom lightly on the lips. “Because I never gave up” he finished before kissing her again more passionately this time.
I smiled as I got up quietly turning around hoping they didn’t hear me as I headed to my room. Once I got there my head was spinning out of control from the information I learned about my parents tonight. Mom and dad were best friends like me and Eric. Why was it that I wanted things between me and Eric to end up just like mom and dad?
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Author’s note: I thought I would make this chapter light and entertaining. Hope you enjoyed it. Comment, and vote :)