"Thanks for helping me with my date tonight," Sophie sighs with relief. I can sense she's anxious about tonight.
"No problem. I think it's cute you go crazy for this guy."
I never got to experience going nuts for a guy or getting nervous on dates. I had one boyfriend, and I only dated him out of boredom. Maria had a boyfriend at the time who she was always with, and I was getting lonely. It lasted about four months, and nothing serious happened between us. We mainly had make-out session since I didn't have much of an emotional connection for sex. I'm not waiting for marriage to have sex; I just don't want to regret giving up my virginity until I know for sure. Jared and I are still friends; we mutually agreed to end our relationship considering he grew feelings for his biology partner, Robin, and I only saw him as someone to kill time with.
"Ha, like you don't go loco for a guy you like."
"No, because I only like one guy in my whole life."
And it wasn't Jared.
It was back when I was younger, the first time I visited Australia with my family. There was a little boy who'd I played with but never saw him again. That was probably the most I ever connected with a guy, and we were only kids. Crazy, I know. Every time I think about how love should feel that memory pops into my head. I wished I remembered his name; it's like every day the details are fading from my mind. I can barely remember his face. The house used to be my grandmas, and she was the only one watching us back then while the rest of the family watched Renee's violin playing. The person who would know his name would be Grandma, but I can't ask her.
"Wait, are you a virgin?" She mutters curiously, but I can tell she already knew the answer, just asking for clarification.
"Yes, why is that much of a shock to you?"
"Because you have this whole badass attitude and just thought you had done a lot of things before." By her raised brows and pitch, I could tell she's surprised.
"What things do you think I have done?" I scoff.
"I thought you had sex, done drugs, or got a secret tattoo somewhere." She looks down at her nails while she talks.
"I haven't had sex yet, and I smoke weed from time to time. I have a tattoo on the back of my shoulder, and again I'm here because I took my dad's car for a joyride in the middle of the night and crashed it."
I told her a story about how I got caught by a cop for drinking after a Halloween party, and he had to take me home to tell my parents. I leave out the part about making fun of him because I thought he wasn't a real cop and puking in the back of his police car.
"That is insane. Can I see your tattoo?" She begs. I chuckle at that's what interested her the most.
"First, let's get you ready for your date. We don't keep Micah waiting."
I'd love to talk about everything I did back at home, but it will only make me homesick. Plus, I don't want people thinking of me as some crazy chick who gets in trouble. It's hard enough being the new chick, but having a bad reputation on top of that makes it difficult to fit in.
I help Sophie with her makeup, and I grab my Morphe pallet and a few Mac lipsticks to think of colors that will compliment her tan skin. I learned that Sophie is half Korean and half Brazilian yesterday when I met her parents. Her father was born in Australia because they moved from South Korea for business. He met Sophie's mother on a spring break with his friends and fell in love instantly. Sophie has a balanced mixture of both her parents while I look more like my mother than my father. I got Hart's family nose, and that's about it.
Adding a neutral brown with a dash of orange will add some warmth to her eyes. Finishing off with a coat of mascara and natural fake lashes, nothing too dramatic, before applying a burnt sienna lip gloss. It has slight undertones of orange, which ties in well with her eye shadow. Heading my way to her closet, I pick out her outfit, which consists of a white shirt, a taupe leather jacket, black jeans with a few holes, and adorable ankle boots. After I finish curling her dark brown hair, she takes a look in the mirror.
"Oh my god, you are a miracle-worker!" She gushes, admiring herself in the mirror.
"No, I'm not. You don't even need all this; you're gorgeous without it," telling Sophie the truth. I don't know what's in the water over here, but everyone I have met has flawless skin.
"Well, you don't either." I waved her off.
Suddenly, there's a knock on her front door. Right on time, I thought, looking at the clock marked seven o'clock. We rush downstairs to greet him, swinging the door open, revealing a nicely dressed young man. His hair is dyed black on the top and bleached blonde on the bottom curls, which contrasts with his burgundy button-up shirt and dark washed denim jeans.
"Wow, Sophie, you look like a princess," Micah compliments, not taking an eye off her. Sophie's cheeks begin to heat up while I smile with delight at their interaction.
"You kids have fun, but not too much fun, alright." I stare at Micah.
"What, I'll have her back at 11."
He genuinely seems scared of me for a second, which made me giggle, and he relaxes a bit too. As they were walking down the driveway, I grin as a mother would when her child leaves for their first date. After they left, I cleaned my makeup from her room and went back to the house. As I'm walking in, I hear Kiera on the phone in the kitchen.
"John, she's doing just fine. Yes, she has, if she does anything, I'll let you know," she tells my father goodbye and hangs up.
I walk into the kitchen casually as if I wasn't eavesdropping. My stomach growls as I look at all the food she made, and it's an ample amount for just two people.
"Isn't this too much food for just the two of us?" She chuckles and turns towards me.
"Well, yes, but it's not just us two. I invited the Cross' over for dinner."
"What! Why?"
I don't want to have dinner with the neighbors. I was hoping I could take a nice relaxing bubble bath and binge reality tv shows until I fell asleep.
"Because it's a friendly gesture for the neighbors, and you get to meet new people, maybe even make friends. Now go clean up before they arrive. And do something with your hair; it's a mess."
I groan and stomp upstairs.
I take a shower letting the warm water trickle down my skin. My thoughts consume me; I'll be having dinner with Jake and his family. I met Lucas the other day, and he's delightful, just like Jake said he was. I can't deny he is handsome, but I could sense there's something deeper lying underneath. His eyes have this dimmer in them; maybe it's just my imagination, though. I straightened my hair because it was almost becoming an afro—due to the humidity caused by the hot shower—which isn't the style I wanted for tonight. It wasn't perfectly straight because I'm in a hurry. The time I get dressed, the doorbell chimes indicating they're here.
"Jamie!" Kiera calls.
When I go downstairs, I notice Kiera is talking to Mr. and Mrs. Cross. As I walk down the steps, I can feel Lucas's eyes on me; it's most likely because I look different with straight hair than my naturally curly hair.
"Whoa, what happened, curly sue."
Jake strides towards me, pulling me an embrace. His cologne was more potent than the other day. He does clean up nicely. It's weird not seeing him in jeans and a band t-shirt.
"I just straighten my hair." I shrug, not making a big deal out of it. I don't straighten my hair often, but it seems like I should have put in more effort in my appearance for tonight.
"I can see. You look amazing, but I quite liked the curls." I can still feel Lucas's glare, but it's more towards his brother than me.
"Hey, little brother, stop flirting with her and introduce me." I start laughing.
"Jamie, this my older brother Braden."
They honestly have some excellent genes because everyone one of them is captivating. Even If I were a couple of years older, Braden wouldn't be my guy. He's charming but way too friendly. He'd find a new girl soon as he gets bored with me.
"Nice to meet you," I hold out my hand for a handshake. "Pleasure is all my beautiful," he kisses the back of my hand, and I hear a grunt coming from Lucas. What's his deal?
"Okay, enough chit chat dinner is this way," Kiera starts to lead us to the dining room.
The amount of food placed in the center of the table was ridiculous. I see that she used the silver wear my family uses for Christmas. My mother sent Kiera the same set a few years ago. I felt my mouth water looking at the glazed ham presented perfectly with parsley and a few lemon slices bordering the meat.
Mrs. Cross stands to make a toast. "Thank you, Kiera and Jamie, for having us for this beautiful dinner and being good neighbors, cheers."
We all sit down, and I'm next to Lucas and Jake on my left. Braden was across from Lucas while his parents sit on his right and Kiera at the end closest to them. I think tonight is going to be a better night than I thought.