Chapter 11

We just arrived at the mall. The car ride was..quite amusing. Samantha's mom was driving, she was on the passenger seat and I sat in the back, behind Mrs. White. Samantha connected her phone to the car and Taylor swift was all we heard. While Samantha has a beautiful singing voice, that girl can scream lyrics like crazy. But it was nice to see her be so happy and carefree.

"So where do you two want to go first?" Mrs. White asks curiously, on which Samantha looks at me. "Book store?" She asks me with her best puppy dog eyes and I just can't help but crack a smile at that. "Sure." I answer softly and a big grin appears on her face. But then she does something I didn't expect. She grabs my hand and pulls me with her. I can hear her mom chuckle as she follows us but I can't concentrate on anything but her hand in mine.

Samantha doesn't let go of my hand, even when we're in the store. She just lets it go when she goes to grab a book. To my surprise she takes out 'Delilah Green doesn't care', which makes me smile. "Good choice, good choice." I comment while crossing my arms. That makes Samantha chuckle. "I saw you read it in school and I was curious." She answers with a shrug, shyly smiling at me. "You know it's a gay book, right?" I tell her and she nods. "I know." She replies with a small smirk.

They makes my heart skip a beat. Maybe I do have a chance..

*****

We've been in the mall for a while now and decided to buy bubble tea before we leave. "I'll go buy them. What do you guys want?" Samantha asks as she turns to look at me and her mom. "Uh..I'll take a black milk tea with kiwi boba." I answer with a small shrug and she raises her eyebrow at me. "I'll be getting a sip of that." She mumbles, which makes me laugh. Then she turn to her mom. "Mom?" "I don't want one, but thanks, honey." Mrs. White tells her and Samantha nods at that before walking up to the counter while her mom and I stay behind.

"I'm glad Samantha found a friend like you. She has been very happy lately." Mrs. White speaks up, which makes me look at her almost immediately. "Really?" I ask surprised, not being able to hide a big grin. She nods. "She can't seem to shut up about you." She tells me and I immediately turn red at that. She talks about me? "Can I ask you something?" Mrs. White suddenly asks and I nod in response.

"Are you and my daughter dating?" Her question leaves me shocked. My eyes are widened and my mouth is dry. "Oh- um..we're not dating, just friends." I answer shyly, blushing even more now from embarrassment. "And you're okay with being just friends?" She asks while raising her eyebrow. I look down for a second. "Uh..well..I guess? I mean she doesn't like me in that way, so it's all we could be." I mumble with a small shrug, giving her a weak smile.

"You never know what will happen. But just so you know, if you two ever get together I'll be your biggest fan." Mrs. White tells me with a smile, making me smile as well. Right then Samantha comes back with our bubble tea. "Ready to go?" She asks and we both nod. She then hands me my drink. Our hands brush against another again. It almost felt like it was on purpose.

So we make our way to the car. But when we get into the car Samantha doesn't go to sit in the passenger seat. She goes to sit in the back, next to me. "You're not sitting in the front?" I ask surprised as I put my seatbelt on. On that she raises her eyebrow. "Do you want me to sit in the front?" She asks and I quickly shake my head. "Good." Samantha says with a grin. But then she suddenly scoots onto the middle seat and puts her seatbelt on.

I look at her surprised, raising my eyebrow at her. But she just gives me a smirk before taking a sip of her bubble tea.

Merry Christmas everyone! 🫶🏻