Chapter 16: A December Wedding
I was getting breakfast when Phoenix entered the kitchen, bringing flashbacks of last night along with him. I avoided his stare as I poured my cereal into a bowl, thinking about how his shoulder felt under my head and how his heart hammered in his chest. I poured my milk, red-faced and embarrassed as I tried to suppress my thoughts.
"Morning," he greeted me.
"Morning," I mumbled, even though it was almost noon.
"Happy Halloween," he wished. I slid to the side as he grabbed a bowl from the cabinet, moving to get some cereal.
"Happy Halloween," I muttered, sitting down at the table.
He followed me soon after, plopping down in the seat across from me. "What's on your agenda for today?"
I looked at him, blinking slowly. "I'm probably going to go back to sleep and then wake up and eat, and then go back to sleep."
"That sounds like a fun day," he smiled. "Would you like to do something even more fun?"
My eyebrows shot up as I stirred my cereal. "Like what?"
"Spend the day with me, Brooke, and Piper," he suggested with a hopeful grin. I sighed. Would I rather sleep all day or spend the day with a 7 year old, a 12 year old, and 17 year old that acts 12?
"Okay," I muttered.
"Sounds like a plan," Phoenix nodded.
"What sounds like a plan?" my brother grumbled as he came moping down the steps.
"Grace and I are going to take my sisters trick-or-treating," Phoenix explained and I immediately wanted to kick him under the table. He probably has no clue how my brother feels, though he should. I mean, he's Leo's best friend.
My brother looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Oh, really, Grace?" he asked.
I stared down at my bowl, avoiding my twin's stare. "Yeah, I have nothing better to do."
"So instead of possibly hanging out with Cam and Alice, you choose to hang out with my friend," my brother interpreted as he closed the fridge, with the milk carton in his hand.
I was left without words so I decided to say something I probably shouldn't have. "He's my friend too, you know?"
My brother spit out the milk, which he was drinking straight from the box, all over the floor. "Excuse me?"
"Yeah," I muttered. "We're friends."
"Okay, but only a few months ago, you were begging mom and dad to stop letting him spend the night," my brother expressed. I looked at Phoenix, whose eyebrows were furrowed. I shrugged at him, making a face.
"But we're friends now. Shouldn't you be happy? Now you don't have to hear me complain about him," I responded.
My brother gave me a ticked off look as he mopped up the mess he'd made.
+ + +
At six o'clock, after I got out of my shower, I received a message from Phoenix. He was asking if I'd like to head to the mall with him to get something for Brooke's costume. I responded that I would, mostly because if I stick around any longer, I'd have to hear more of my brother's complaining. He keeps hinting at possible reasons why Phoenix and I are hanging out more and it's starting to get annoying.
Speaking of the devil, I left my room and he was exiting the bathroom. When he saw that I was all dressed and ready to go, he scoffed. "Have fun hanging out with my best friend."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Just go to work, Leo," I responded.
"We both know why he's hanging out with you so often," he insisted as he followed me down the steps.
"Because we're friends now?" I suggested to my brother as I reached the landing of the first floor.
"Just know that I don't approve of my sisters dating my friends," my brother expressed. "And Phoenix knows that too."
I rolled my eyes at him and he shook his head at me. "Get out of here," I responded.
"What? You don't believe me?" my brother asked as I neared the front door. "Just wait until he tries to kiss you!" I slammed the front door, surprised to see Phoenix's car idling in the front.
"Hi," I greeted him quietly as I reached him. He opened the door for me while smiling. Jogging to the other side, he got in the car. "So what does Brooke need for her costume?" I asked, trying to mask the emotions I was feeling. My brother suggesting it makes it even more real. Phoenix likes me, and I'm here with him, hanging out and flirting with him, aware of his feelings for me. Does that mean I like him?
"Bunny ears," he informed me as he drove off down the street.
I nodded, watching as we headed toward the mall. We were probably going to be going to one of the many concession stands dotting the second floor. When we arrived, I walked alongside him towards the shop, getting onto the escalator. As we were going up, a group of girls were going down and I noticed them staring at Phoenix, giggling and smiling.
"They think you're cute," I told him quietly and he shrugged.
"I don't care," he told me as he stood facing away from them. I watched as they passed us, approaching the ground as we moved toward the second floor.
"They were pretty," I told him.
"And again, I don't care," he replied.
I raised and dropped my eyebrows. It must be nice to be so attractive that when people think you're cute, you don't even bat an eye. I followed him towards the first stand, looking around at the people surrounding us.
"Those guys think you're cute," he informed me as he nodded towards a group of guys walking in our direction. I snorted and shook my head. "They do. They were looking at you."
"I look at a lot of people; it doesn't mean I think they're cute," I told him.
"Trust me; I know the difference between looking at someone and looking at someone," Phoenix explained.
"Of course you do," I responded as I looked around.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he inquired as he glanced at me.
"A lot of people think you're cute, so of course you'd know the difference," I told him.
"Are you one of those people?" he asked me, earning a confused look from me.
"Are you asking me if I think you're cute?" I inquired and he nodded with a smirk on his lips. If I say no, then I'd be a liar, but he might think I like him, and I'm not sure if I do. And if I say yes, things might get awkward. With a sigh, I looked at him, wrinkling my nose as I assessed his face. "Yeah, I guess."
"You guess?" he asked me with raised eyebrows.
I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess," I repeated and he laughed, shaking his head. "I mean, does it really matter what I think? You've been with all these girlsâ," I started but he cut me off.
"I've never had a serious relationship Grace," he told me. "So who are all these girls you're talking about?"
"Rebecca?" I piped, unsure of whether or not that was her name.
"Becky?" he asked me and I nodded. "I went on one date with her and it didn't work out."
"Yeah, but I mean, you've been with your fair share of girls," I responded.
"What do you mean been with?" he asked. My face was growing red and I was beginning to get flustered.
"You've kissed them, I don't know," I replied and he laughed, staring at me.
"I've only kissed two girls in my life," he corrected me. "And you were one of them."
"It was one time!" I groaned. "And it meant nothing!"
"In your mind, you haven't had your first kiss?" he asked me as we drifted to the next concession themed with Halloween costumes.
"No," I retorted. I looked at his back as he searched for the costume accessory we needed. "Who was the other girl?"
"Why do you want to know?" he asked me, whipping around.
"I don't," I replied with a shrug, running my hand over an array of hanging furry costumes.
"Then why'd you ask?" he inquired with furrowed eyebrows as we moved on to the next concession stand.
"I didn't," I answered.
He smirked at me and turned around, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Andrea Simmons."
I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to remember her. "Who's that?"
"She was here in freshman year but she left," he confessed.
"You two were together?" I inquired curiously.
"Not really," he answered. "Her friend, Chyna, was interested in Leo, and he liked her. She wasn't allowed to date one on one so she had to bring Andrea and Leo brought me. We saw a movie and Andrea and I kissed before we left. And we went on two more dates, and we kissed those times, too. She was a really bad kisser."
"Like you're a good kisser," I snorted as I rolled my eyes.
"Says the one who's only ever kissed one person," he responded, earning a shove.
"That didn't even happen," I told him and he rolled his eyes.
"You say it didn't but I know it did," he confessed. "But if you don't believe me, I'd be glad to show you my skills."
"The ears," I piped as I held up a pair of bunny ears. He smirked at me, shaking his head as he grabbed the ears from my hand. My face reddened as he turned to purchase them. I began rubbing my face to try to rid it of its redness. It wasn't working. The heat only kept coming as I thought of kissing Phoenix. My stomach tensed and clenched and I wanted to bury my face in the fur costumes decorating the stand we were beside. That's it! I reached out and grabbed a horse mask, shoving it on my head. Phoenix turned around, his eyes widening as he noticed the mask on my head.
"Should I buy this? I think I should. I mean, we are going trick-or-treating. What's a trick-or-treater without a costume? Not a trick-or-treater, that's for sure," I rambled and Phoenix stood there with a small grin on his face.
"As much as I like the mask, I like your face a tad bit more," Phoenix explained and just as my face was starting to cool down, the blood rushed to it again and I frowned.
"Hey! You wanna wear the merchandise, you have to buy it! So either put it back or make a purchase!" the guy at the mini register snapped and my eyes widened.
"Yeah, Grace, put it back or you're going to get us in trouble," he snorted and I began pulling the mask off of my face, feeling my hair lift with it. Phoenix reached out and fixed my hair, patting it down like I was a dog. He accidentally touched my forehead and his eyes widened. He placed his hand on my head before touching my cheek. "Your face is really warm."
I slapped his hand away, glaring at him. "Yeah, I know."
"And red," he added. "Are you blushing, Grace?" He seemed amused.
"Stop talking," I insisted and he grinned mischievously.
"Was it because we were talking about kissing?" he inquired and I groaned, covering my face.
"Stop talking!" I insisted.
"Remember when we were younger; you said you wanted to have your first kiss on your sixteenth birthday?"
My face began to burn as I felt a cringe attack coming on. "Stop talking," I furthered.
"But instead, it happened when you were eleven," he grinned.
"No it didn't," I whined as I buried my face in my hands.
"I mean, at least it happened then or else you'd still be waiting," Phoenix informed me.
"Shut up!" I hissed.
He laughed at me. "You're so innocent."
"You've only kissed two people; I don't know what you're talking about!" I retorted and he grinned.
"I'm not embarrassed about that fact," he replied. "You are."
"I wouldn't be embarrassed if I hadn't had my first kiss yet. But you kissed me and I didn't have much say!" I responded and he laughed.
"So you admit that I was your first kiss?" he inquired and I let out a frustrated groan.
"Shut up, Phoenix!"
+ + +
"Trick-or-treat, smell my feet; give me something good to eat; if you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear!" Brooke sang happily as she led us down the street.
"You can't say that to people, Brooke," Phoenix reprimanded the 7 year old.
"I'm way too old to be trick-or-treating," Piper complained. She allowed the bag in her hand to drag along the floor, clacking and clonking as the candy collided.
"You're, like, twelve," Phoenix responded. "Oh, wait, you actually are twelve."
She glared at her older brother. "You act like you're twelve!" she replied.
"You do realize you just insulted yourself, right?" he asked her.
"Shut up, Phoenix!" she snapped.
"'Shut up Phoenix,'" he mocked her, crossing his arms as she crossed hers.
"I'm telling mom!" she barked.
"How are you going to do that? On your Polly-Pocket cell phone?" he replied as he pulled his phone from his pocket. "Hello, momâoh, wait, you don't even know the number!"
She reached out and snatched his phone from him, running down the street. His eyes widened as he looked from her disappearing figure to me. Swearing, he began to follow her before looking at me. "I got Brooke," I told him. He nodded and followed after the small girl. I looked at his youngest sister who was smiling into her bag of candy.
"Can I have a piece now?" she asked me and I recalled her mom saying that she wasn't supposed to have any candy tonight.
Smiling at her, I nodded. "Okay, just don't tell anyone."
"Do you want some?" she asked me as she held out her bag. Taking candy from a baby? Well, I mean, she's not exactly a baby.
"Sure," I nodded as I reached into her bag, grabbing a piece of chocolate. How sweet of her.
"So are you and my brother going to get married?" she asked me. I began coughing as the piece of chocolate lodged itself in my throat. After patting my chest, I looked at her.
"What?" I asked.
"Are you going to marry Phoenix?" she inquired.
"No, where'd you get a crazy idea like that?" I asked her.
"You guys are boyfriend and girlfriend, right?" she questioned.
"No, we're just friends, Brooke," I told her.
"That's not what they said," she sang.
"Who?" I asked her.
"You really want to know?" she queried and I nodded. "Let me have another piece of candy."
Is she blackmailing me? She's seven! Where'd she learn this? I snorted when I realized that Phoenix is her brother. Of course she's doing this. "Okay," I agreed.
Watching her reach into her bag of candy, she plucked out another piece of taffy, unwrapped it, and shoved it in her mouth. "Alex, Paige, and Phoenix were talking about it."
"When?" I inquired. Alexandra and Paige are home from college?
"Candy?" she asked and I sighed, nodding. With a grin, she grabbed another piece. "I don't remember the day. It wasn't too long ago."
"Well, what'd they say?" I asked. Grinning, she twirled the bag of candy. "You still didn't eat the last piece!"
"I'm saving them for later," she explained as she pointed to her pocket. "So can I have another piece of candy or do you not want to know what they said?"
I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, sure."
"Phoenix was on the phone with them and he put them on speaker. Paige asked if you were his girlfriend yet and he told her to shut up. And then Alex said..." she trailed and I stared at her.
"What?" I asked. "What did Alex say?" She waved around her bag and I glared at her. "Just take a piece of candy, you littleâ."
"And then Alex said that you two are going to get married at some point or another and he told her to mind her own business and that you're into someone else and they started saying that you're going to be Mrs. Carsonâ," she immediately stopped talking and I wanted to scream.
"Just take a handful of candy!" I insisted.
"I'm not allowed to have candy. My mommy said so," she replied in the sweet voice she had before. I stared at her with furrowed eyebrows. I turned around to see Phoenix standing there, breathing heavily.
Before he could say anything about the candy, I looked at him. "Where's Piper?" I inquired.
"I chased her back to the house," he explained as he leaned over with his hands on his knees.
"It's, like, three blocks. Don't you run the length of the football field in practice? Shouldn't you be used to running?" I questioned.
He gave me a flat look. "'Shouldn't you be used to running?'" he mocked me.
"You're doing a lot of mocking for a boy struggling to breathe," I rolled my eyes.
"I'm struggling to breathe because you took my breath away," he smirked as he stood up, running his hands through his hair.
I turned away, feeling my face heat up. I wanted to swear but Brooke was standing beside me. I glared at the ground, scoffing at Phoenix's incessant laughter.
+ + +
"And this is why you don't give Brooke candy," Phoenix told me as we stood in the doorway of the living room. "It's ten o'clock Brooke, you need to go to bed."
"No I don't," she retorted as she danced around the living room. "Mom said I can stay up until she gets home!"
"Okay, then stay awake in your room," her older brother retorted.
She stopped dancing and looked at her brother with narrowed eyes. "You just want to be alone with Grace, don't you?" she scowled.
"If that's the answer needed to get you out of here, then yes," he responded, glaring at the little girl.
"I'm telling mom that you two kicked me out of the living room so you can kiss," she snapped as she stormed up the stairs.
"Why'd you give her candy?" Phoenix sighed as he dropped on the couch.
I walked over and sat down beside him. "She manipulated me into doing it," I told Phoenix.
"She's seven," he responded.
"She's evil!" I replied.
"Tell me something I don't know," he muttered. "But I'd love to hear how you were manipulated by a seven year old."
"She told me some stuff about you..." I trailed, "and Alex and Paige."
His eyebrows rose. "Yeah, like what?" he asked me.
"I just know that you should keep your conversations private," I told him.
Phoenix's phone began to ring and I looked at it, seeing Alex's contact pop up. I reached out and grabbed it, answering it quickly. Phoenix reached for the phone but I jumped up, turning to face him to fend him off. "Hi, Alex!"
"Hey, Grace. Did I accidentally dial your number?" she asked. "I could've sworn I called my brother."
"You did call him. I'm just here with him and I got his phone quicker than he did," I responded with a grin as I batted away his hand.
"You're with him? As in hanging out?" she asked.
"Yeah, we just got back from bringing the girls out trick-or-treating," I told her. "It's so weird that you called; we were just talking about you."'
"I always call at this time," Alex informed me.
"Grace," Phoenix spoke slowly. "Can I have my phone back?"
"No, we're having a good conversation," I told him.
"But you were talking about me?" she asked.
"Yeah, Brooke told me some interesting things earlier," I spoke, staring at Phoenix. "It seems as if I'm a common topic of conversation during your three-way calls."
"Yeah, you are," she told us. "So what'd Brooke tell you?"
"Apparently, Phoenix and I are going to get married and I'm going to be Mrs. Carson," I told Alex, watching as Phoenix's face turned a bright shade of red. I grinned widely, listening as Alex's laughter filled the phone. "Awe, Phoenix, are you blushing?"
"Grace," he groaned.
"Yeah, we picked out the wedding date and everything. How's December for you?" she inquired.
"I love the winter. Phoenix, how would you feel about a December wedding?" I asked him, smirking as he glared at me. "I don't think he'd like it very much. He doesn't seem very happy."
"You two have been hanging out a lot," Alex stated.
"Yeah, we have. I don't know if you told you or not but he finally got the guts to ask me to homecoming," I told her, smiling widely as Phoenix reached for his phone but I kicked at him.
"He did tell me," she informed me.
"He told you already?" I asked. "What did he say?"
The phone was pulled from my hands and Phoenix, red faced and embarrassed, spoke into it quickly. "I'll call you later, Alex." He hung up the phone and shoved it in his pocket.
I beamed at him as I reached out and placed my hand on his face. "Your face is so hot," I told him.
"But earlier, you said that I was just cute," Phoenix responded confidently even as red as he was. He walked back to the couch, sitting down. I followed, plopping down beside him.
I stared at him, squinting. I assessed his face; his dark hair was falling down into his eyes, even though he brushed the strands away every few minutes; his pale skin, which was returning to its normal shade; his slightly chapped lips, which he bites a lot; his nose, as straight as a nose could be and as proportional as the rest of his features, except for his larger eyes, the light green color with specks of gold that always managed to send me into fits of anger when we were younger because of the lurking mischief. But now, the green hid something else, perhaps it was feelings for me that I hadn't seen before. Was it always there? I'm not quite sure. But another thing about his eyes was how they were staring directly at me. One of his thick eyebrows rose a little higher than the other as he looked at me. "What?"
"What?" I asked him, shaking my head. I cleared my mind of thoughts that derived from looking at Phoenix. How could a guy that looks like that like me? And how could he have only kissed two people in his life? Is he lying to me? He seemed so sincere when he said it.
"You were staring at me," he informed me.
"Was I?" I asked, though I knew the answer already.
"Yeah," he responded. "What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing," I told him. "Were you being honest when you told me you've only kissed two people?"
"Yeah," he replied. "That's what you were thinking about?"
"Partly," I explained. "Your eyes are green, right?" I said before I could stop myself. What a stupid thing to say. Of course his eyes are green. I know they are and I know he's aware of that.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Can I look closer?" I asked him quietly. He nodded, not bothering with a verbal response.
I moved closer to him on the couch, slowly lifting my hands and tilting his head so I could look at his eyes on a closer scale. He was only inches away from me and I could feel the heat from his body. He stared at me as I looked into his green eyes, marveling at the different shades they held. My eyes slowly trailed down his face, reaching his lips. I stared at them, wondering what they felt like now. They surely don't feel the same now as they did all those years back. I bit my lip as I attempted to focus my attention elsewhere.
I looked away from his mouth and back to his eyes, only noticing that his pupils had dilated. I felt a fluttering sensation in my stomach as I continued to stare at him. I think I'm going to kiss him. I want to kiss him. Would it be weird if I just went for it? I'm just going to go for it. I tilted my head slowly and his hands found their way to my waist, causing a small gasp to leave my mouth, which earned a smile from Phoenix. I moved my head closer, closing my eyes.
"Ew!" Brooke's voice shrieked and I immediately jumped back. Phoenix glared at his sister while she had a look of disgust on her face. "You really did kick me out so you could kiss!"
"What are you doing down here?" Phoenix snapped and she put her hands on her hips.
"I live here too, you know?" she snapped. "And mom's in the driveway."
The sound of the door opening greeted our ears and she smirked. "I'm going to go tell her what I just saw."
Phoenix grabbed her arm and the little girl grinned, earning a sigh from him. "What do you want?"
She smirked as she rubbed her hands together. "I want two bags of candy- one from each of you. I like taffy and gummy worms. Deal?"
"Yeah," Phoenix grunted. They both turned to look at me and my eyes were still wide at what almost happened. And I didn't regret anything. I just wish I would've had a chance to actually kiss him.
"Oh, yeah, sure," I nodded and Phoenix smirked at me. I didn't even have the sense to glare at him.
"Nice doing business with you," Brooke responded before running into the kitchen. "Hi mommy!"
"You okay over there?" Phoenix asked me with a grin.
"I'm fine," I told him.
"Phoenix!" his mom called from the kitchen. "Who are you talking to?" she asked as she entered the living room. She seemed surprised to see me on the couch beside her son. But there I was, sitting with my legs to my chest and my head resting on them. "Grace!"
"Hi, Mrs. Carson," I smiled at her.
"How are you? Are you hungry? Do you want something to drink?" she asked. "Phoenix, did you offer her anything to drink? Or to eat?"
"No, mom, we were busy...talking," he finished while he smirked at me. I ignored him and smiled at his mom.
"I'm fine," I told her.
"Okay, well, I'm going to go put Brooke to bed," Mrs. Carson nodded. "You can stay as long as you'd like, Grace."
"Actually, I was just about to go," I explained as I stood up.
"Okay, dear, it was nice seeing you," she smiled at me. "Walk her home Phoenix."
Phoenix, who was already standing beside me, looked at his mother and sighed. "I will, mom."
We approached the door and he opened it for me, following me outside. We walked down the steps to his house and I could feel his eyes on me. "What?" I asked.
"Do you regret it?" he asked me. The only thing I regret is not leaning in quicker.
"No," I shrugged. "I was kind of the one that initiated it."
"I know you were," he chuckled. "I would've kissed you once you leaned in but I was waiting for you to go for it."
"You should've," I told him.
"I'm happy I didn't," he announced and I looked at him quickly. "I forgot about our bet. You know, when you said you'd never want to kiss me, so I said that I'm not going to kiss you unless you ask. You didn't ask, so kissing you would've broken the bet and I would've lost."
"You're not still on that, right?" I asked him. I mean, how awkward will that be? Will you kiss me, Phoenix? There's no way I'm doing that.
"Yeah, I am," he grinned. "But don't worry, you only have to do it for our first kiss."
I scoffed as we approached the porch of my house. I felt the urge to kiss him but I saw Leo in the windows, peeping out. I know he can't hear me because I remember the many times me and him would try and listen to Avery's conversations with her boyfriend on the porch. We couldn't hear a single thing.
I looked at Phoenix and sighed. "Leo's in the window," I told him.
"I saw," Phoenix chuckled.
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I told him. "And I'll just text you."
"I'll respond," he told me, waving. I gripped the doorknob, turned, and went inside.
Leo practically jumped from the window to scold me. I saw Phoenix grinning at me in the window behind Leo, blowing a kiss before turning and walking back towards his house. I'm guessing Avery saw it by the look she gave me.
"Were you in his house?" my twin asked me.
"Yeah," I told him. "I was helping him watch Brooke and Piper."
"I'm sure you were," he nodded with narrowed eyes.
"I was," I responded. And I also tried to kiss him but that's none of your business, Leo.
I walked past him, rolling my eyes when my sister got up to follow me. Once we reached my room, she closed the door and crossed her arms. I pretended like I didn't notice and began taking off my shoes. "So what happened?" she asked.
"Nothing," I shrugged. "We just hung out."
"He blew you a kiss," she stated and I shrugged.
"That's Phoenix for you," I responded.
She looked at me and smirked. "Your pupils are dilated," she announced. I shrugged, not sure what to say to that. "You're shrugging a lot."
"No I'm not," I told her.
"You kissed him, didn't you?" she inquired.
"Almost," I responded, trying to be casual about it. I turned to look at her and her eyes were wide.
"Really?" she asked and I nodded. "So, did he make the move?" I shook my head and she slowly grinned. "So you like him?"
I shrugged, looking into my dresser, trying to avoid eye contact. "I don't know. I wanted to kiss him and if Leo wasn't in the window, I would've. At his house, we got interrupted before I could. But I wanted to."
"Who interrupted you?" she asked.
"Brooke," I told her.
"So do you like him?" she repeated.
I sighed loudly. "I don't know! He's cute and he's nice, but I don't know! If I end up liking him to the point where I want to be with him, Leo will probably threaten to disown me and stop being his friend and I don't want that. And I don't want him to have to be treated differently by our parents because we're dating. He won't be able to stay the night anymore and if he even looks at my room, they'll make him leave."
"So many obstacles," she said as she smiled. "But love conquers all."
"First of all, I don't love him. Second of all, I don't even know if I like him," I told her.
"You won't allow yourself to like him," she replied. "If you just forget about Leo and mom and dad, things will be fine and you'll fall for him in a week, trust me."
"Yeah, it's not that easy," I told her.
"Yeah, it is. That boy treats you like a queen and you don't even see it," she explained. "He opens doors for you; he pays for your food; he gives you rides; he compliments you; he never insults you or degrades you; he'll do anything you ask in a second with no hesitation. I wish a guy liked me that much." I didn't have much of a response. I never looked at it like that. She noticed this and sighed. "Just don't make him think that you like him and you're into him if you're not going to at least try to make things work."
"Okay," I responded quietly.
"Goodnight, Grace. I'm sure you're tired from all your kissing," she smirked as she opened the door to my room.
"We didn't even kiss!" I groaned.
u