"Thanks for giving me a ride home."
"No problem."
"I kind of had an ulterior motive behind asking you for a ride, to be honest."
"Oh?" he laughed, "Did you, really?"
"Don't laugh! I just wanted to ask you something I've been wondering for a long time.
His right eyebrow shot up and lingered at the top of his forehead for a good 5 seconds before he said "Go on."
"Well, it's not a big deal, really. It's just that it's been about a year now, and I still think about---Well, I'm going to cut to the chase. What did you think about me in high school?"
"In high school? What is this about? Did you get drunk at that party?" I stuck my tongue out at him, curious if maybe I had gotten drunk through osmosis.
"Just be quiet for a minute and let me talk, okay?"
He put his forefinger against his lips and kept his eyes straight ahead, facing the road.
I knew that if I didn't say it all now I never would, so I let it all out in one hurried breath.
"I liked you a lot in high school. I figured you knew. I thought everyone knew and that I was being painfully obvious. But you never did anything. We flirted and it was so awkward for me but we both just let it fade. I thought we could have had something for a while, as corny as that sounds. You can tell me I'm ridiculous now."
His finger had never left the cushioning of his lips as I was talking, and when I looked over at him his eyes didn't blink. Then in a quick movement he brought his hand down to the wheel and flew across two lanes, so that we were in the farthest one on the right.
"Okay," he exhaled, "we're getting off here."
"But this isn't where my house is!"
"I know, but there's something I have to do."
I looked at him, both shocked and mad, not to mention totally embarrassed. You could literally see my heart pulsating in my chest, a result of nervousness and now anger. He wasn't going to say anything to me after that? Screw him.
"Something you have to do? Just take me home! I live ten minutes from here, and now that I've made the ride more awkward than it should've been, I'd like to get home as soon as possible."
Nothing. Silence. This was getting ridiculous.
"Yo, driver, I sai---"
"Oh, hush, you."
"Did you just hush me? You're not helping your case right now."
He just sighed and took the next turn on the right—the park.
"Why are we at the park now? It's 1 in the morning and I'm pretty sure this is illegal."
"I just needed a place to pull over."
"For what?"
"I'm going to help you get over unresolved feelings," he said as he put the car in park.
"So you think you're doing me a favor right now?" My cheeks were flushing red by now.
"Well, I did say that didn't I? But when I think about it…no. I'm doing myself a favor. I should have done this a long time ago."
I turned to my left and saw him facing me, seat belt pulled across his green shirt, and his hand was reaching out towards my chin. By now my cheeks were barely discernable from tomatoes and my vision was going blurry. He leaned in further and kissed one of my tomato cheeks, then the other, and on my clenched lips, still reacting from my angry outburst just before.
"What did I think of you in high school? I thought of you all the time. "