Memory Lane
Alex smiled as she recalled the day she first met Sean. She had just come home from school, and was walking up the steps to her porch when she noticed a pair of unfamiliar shoes by the door mat. Mom must have another visitor, she thought to herself. She unlocked the door and went into the kitchen.
"Mom? I'm home." She said. But instead of her mother greeting her, it had been a guy her age. He was in a striped polo shirt, and a nice pair of khakis. She immediately registered him as a prep, and wanted to roll her eyes at him. But knowing that her mother wouldn't approve of her unfriendly behavior, she decided against her actions.
"Oh hi, umm is my mom here?" she asked instead.
He smiled a breath taking smile, but instead of having the intended effect, Alex was irritated. "Umm yeah, she just went upstairs to go do something. Umm.. my name is Sean, I just moved in next door with my mom and our parents are old friends so your mom invited me over to meet you."
"Oh"
The room was filled with an awkward silence, before Alex heard her mom making her way down the stairs. "Alex? Was that you?" her mother asked.
"Yeah mom, I'm in here…" She called back.
"Good, I see you've met Sean. His mom and I go way back, we used to go to school together and they decided to move in next door.
"Yeah so I've heard." Alex knew her retort was rude and uncalled for. "Umm.. so I'm gonna go for a walk, I'll be back a bit later."
"Here why don't you go along with her Sean? She could show you around," her mom suggested. It took a lot of strength for Alex not to turn around and glare at her mom.
"Fine" she said through grinded teeth.
This seemed like years ago now, but she was glad that Sean had accompanied her on the walk with her dog. Not only did he prove that he wasn't a total jock head, but he also turned out to be a really good listener. The walk started out awkward but eventually Alex found herself laughing at the jokes Sean tried to tell. It was a careless laugh, where Alex didn't even realize she was laughing or smiling until she saw Sean staring at her a huge grin plastered on her face.
"What?" she had asked.
"Nothing… it's just… I feel like you're one of those people where you don't laugh for no reason. And I feel accomplished for having made you laugh is all."
She playfully punched him in the arm. "Psh I laugh… a lot…"
"Yeah whatever" he said. She felt her heart flutter a little, as their eyes met, the green of his and the blue of hers mixing together to make a beautiful ocean of friendship and understanding. After that day they had been inseparable. They were always together but never once as more than friends… until today.
They were sitting around the couch, and she was trying hard to work on her calculus homework, but lately she found that her eyes would wander over to Sean who was seated beside her. And when he'd look down to catch her staring she'd pretend that she was just staring off in space.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked her, after he caught her watching him again for the hundredth time.
"Nothing." She said, but from the look in his eyes she could tell that he did not believe her little lie. " Fine! I was just recalling what I thought of you when I first met you."
She could tell that he was curious by the spark of excitement in his blue eyes, but she pretended to work on her homework. "And what did you think of me that first day?" he tried.
"Umm.. How you looked like a total prep that got everything he desired" she replied, and laughed as he mocked hurt.
"hmmm… and were you wrong?" he questioned.
"Nope" she replied trying to keep her expression serious. But instead she giggled when his jaw dropped, feigning shock.
"Fine, I guess I was wrong about you then too" he said matter of factly.
"Doubt it, you probably thought I was the prettiest girl on the planet" she countered, sticking out her tongue at the end.
"No… actually I was thinking that you were beautiful, fun, amazing, and… what?" he stopped when he saw her raise her eyebrows.
"You are such a liar. You don't mean any of it" she said, but her heart was beating faster and she found herself wondering if his was too.
"What makes you think that?" he asked.
"Because I'm not THAT girl. I'm not any of the things you describe. I'm not… perfect" she said looking down at her feet.
He reached over, softly reaching for her chin and willing her to look up at him. "Alex… I didn't say those things to taunt you; I said them because I honestly meant it." He began to lean over, the distance between them getting smaller and smaller. But just as their lips were about to meet, Mike, her older brother, popped in, and she found herself brushing back her hair pretending to have been working on her homework, hoping her brother couldn't see the redness in her cheeks.
"Hey Alex. Sean" He nodded towards him. "I just came in to grab call of duty, me and Nikki are having a contest to see who can survive the battle" He winked. "Chicks, think they can do anything" he said to Sean.
"Yeah" Sean said glancing quickly towards Alex before closing his book. "Uh… I'm gonna go home; it's getting kind of late. Bye Mike, bye Alex" He got up and left, and Alex felt the place next to her being replaced by her older brother.
"What?" she said, a bit irritated since he had ruined the moment.
"Soooooooooo you like him don't you?" he said jokingly.
"NO!" she answered a bit too quickly. Again she felt the sudden flush in her cheeks as her brother mentioned Sean.
"Uh huh, sure whatever you say, Alex. Everyone can see it but you," he said as he got up and mussed her hair.
He walked out, and she tried to work on her homework but her thoughts kept returning to Sean. She smiled to herself as she realized that she did like him and something told her that he felt the same way.
The next few days passed in a blur, she went to school with Sean and things returned to normal. The moment between the two of them was never brought up, and she found herself sad that he didn't try to kiss her again. It was Friday night, and they were on their way home from their weekly dinners with both their families. By this time, she had already forgotten about the almost kiss, instead she was tired and just ready for the weekend. The ride home had been silent, but as they pulled into her driveway, Sean turned to her and decided to break it.
"Hey Alex?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah?" she asked, pulling into her spot below the big oak tree in the yard.
"I think it's time for another shot" he said, and as she turned with a confused expression on her face she felt his lips meet hers. They kissed underneath the night sky, the star and moon the only witnesses of the magic moment. When they broke away, she could feel him smiling down at her, and she smiled back.
"You're still a jerk you know" she said playfully, pretending to pout like a four year old.
"Yeah… but you still like me" he stated, and they both laughed at his attempt to be romantic. As he pulled her in closer to him, she closed her eyes and captured the moment in her memory. She knew that when life knocked her down this would definitely be one of the moments that would help her stand back up knowing that someone would be there for her in the sidelines.
