Before we even walked into the house we could hear the faint sound of the music. Before he could open the door I turned to him. "You can't do it. Not tonight." He raised his eyebrow at me. "This is her last musical at this school, her last party, your last party. Let's just enjoy tonight." I sighed. "Separately."
He smiled and kissed my forehead. "Maybe not too separate."
I smirked. "You're the worst."
"What?" he laughed. I pushed him away and walked through the door. Everyone was drinking and mingling. It wasn't long before someone handed me a blue plastic cup. Aaron and I went to our different groups of friends as usual. Frankie was the first one to approach me, she was extremely under the influence. "Hey!" She ran up and hugged me.
"How you doin' tiger?" I practically lifted her off me, having to support her with my shoulders.
"You know," She slurred too close to my face. "Everyone's been talking about you and Aaron." She took my cup and started drinking from it.
"What have they been saying?" I brought her over to the couch and we sat down.
She shrugged. "I just heard that Claire wants to fight you." She let out a loud belch. "She thinks you're a huge slut." She laughed at the word, as a 12 year old might.
"Why would she say that?" She wasn't of much use. She was already falling asleep on my shoulder.
"Someone saw you making out with Aaron back stage after the show." The girl who played Nessa was standing over the couch. She spoke in the most condescending tone.
I stood up and laid Frankie down on her side. "When?"
"Today, I think." She eyed me from head to toe. "I suggest you stay away from Claire. And Aaron, for that matter." I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the advice." I said sarcastically. I would of left right then if Frankie didn't say "I feel sick." I quickly lifted her up and brought her to the bathroom. I stood on my knees next to her, holding back her dark curls. She kept telling me how great of a friend I was in between vomits.
"How long?" I turned around to find Claire standing in the door way.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't lie to me. How long have you been sneaking around with my boyfriend?"
I turned back to Frankie who was now sleeping on the bathroom floor. "Your "boyfriend" has a name you know, Aaron I believe it is." I stood to face her. "And I have no idea what you are talking about." She was much taller than me.
"Bull shit. You two were making out on stage right!"
"Prove it!"
I could tell she was flustered and her yelling had gathered a crowd. "I think it would be best if you leave."
I saw Aaron running up behind her. "Sounds great." I figured I could take Frankie's keys and drive to my house. I only had a permit, but I was only a few blocks away.
"What's going on here?" Aaron asked, trying to lighten the mood.
Claire turned towards him. "Did you kiss her?" This was the first time I had ever heard any tone of insecurity in her voice. It was kind of nice.
He ran his hand through his hair and looked around the room. He looked at me, and I just slightly nodded, not completely sure what I was agreeing to. "Can we talk? In private?" He asked her. She nodded and walked up the stairs and into a bedroom.
I found Frankie's keys and walked with her outside. I was more than ready to leave. I brought her home to find her angry mother waiting for her. I had to walk home but I really wasn't looking forward to being there. When I did arrive, I snuck quietly to my room and called Aaron.
"Hello?" He said.
"Hey, how'd it go?"
"She was upset. It was for the best."
"I'm sorry you had to do that."
"Don't be. What are you up to?"
"Just laying down. Dreading next weekend."
"What's next weekend?"
"I have a wedding to go to. It wouldn't be that bad if I knew anyone in my family."
"What do you mean?"
"There's just so many people and I know barely any of them."
"Let me come with you."
"Oh no!"
"What's wrong?" His voice was very concerned.
"My fish died."
He laughed. "Let's go to the wedding together!"
"I don't know. My family is crazy. Plus, it's super far."
"I'll drive. It can be a road trip of sorts."
"Fine. But you can't leave me when my family creeps you out."
"I pinky promise."
"Good." We spent the night talking about how it would be much nicer to live on Saturn together than anywhere else.
*****One Week Later******
I wore a strapless floral sun dress that ended just above my knees with my hair in a side braid. It didn't take much to convince my mother to let Aaron drive me. I almost wanted her to tell me that it was unacceptable and that we would arrive as a family but no, she didn't care, as always.
Aaron arrived and came to the door to pick me up. My step dad was the one to answer the door. I saw Aaron's jaw clench when he saw the man. "Nice to meet you." Jim said. Aaron nodded and walked towards me, putting his arm around my waist defensively. "You look amazing." He whispered into my hair.
"So you're taking my girl to the wedding." Jim said with his hands on his waist.
Aaron nodded. "That's the plan." I grabbed his hand that was on my waist and squeezed it. "I hope that's okay." He looked at my mother for approval but she wasn't paying attention.
"It's fine with me. You seem like a nice man." Jim reached out to shake Aaron's hand and he used the hand that was on my waist to shake back.
Jim gave Aaron the directions and we were off. I loved having the radio on when I would drive with him because sometimes when we weren't talking, he would harmonize with the songs under his breath. Today, I was feeling somewhat needy. I wrapped my arms around the arm he had rested on the gear shift. "Babe I don't feel good." I was late on my period so I assumed it was just delayed cramps.
"Do you want me to get you something?"
I shook my head and stuck my nose into his shirt. "No it's probably just cramps." My voice was muffled from the fabric. I just couldn't get comfortable.
"How has Jim been?" His voice was odd, but gentle.
I adjusted my body and faced forward. "I haven't talked to him."
"Let's run away." He suggested.
I closed my eyes. "Where should we go?"
"We could go anywhere." He was serious. "We could leave New York. We can go to Chicago, and you could write." I had mentioned when we first met how moving to Illinois to write had always been a dream of mine. "I could take us to Ohio, or anywhere."
"Is that why you wanted to come to this wedding? So you could kidnap me and take me away?" I only held onto his arm tighter.
"Not at first. Then I saw Jim, and I looked at him, and I realized that I have never hated anyone more in my whole life. Then I thought, why should I have the person I value the most be under that persons supervision."
I sat up abruptly and grabbed my stomach. "Pull over."
"What's wrong?" He asked worriedly.
"Pull over!" He obeyed my request. I jumped out of the car and threw up on the side of the road. It wasn't much considering I didn't eat breakfast, just bile mostly. Aaron ran over and rubbed my back as I stood hunched over trying to gather myself. "Go away, I don't want you to see me all gross."
"I like your gross." I turned my head and scowled at him. "It get's me going." He teased.
"I hate you sometimes." I said as I stepped into his warm embrace.
"We could go home. We could watch movies in my basement."
"As fantastic as that sounds, I should probably make an appearance at this wedding."
"Okay. So we will make an appearance at the reception and go hide out in a hotel room."
I looked up and smiled. "Sounds lovely." He kissed my forehead before climbing back in the car. I snuggled his arm and tried to sleep my way through the car ride. This got me a front row seat to him singing along to anything that came on the radio. The reception was in a Holiday Inn banquet hall. We had gotten mildly lost so it was already dark when we arrived. "Thanks for being wonderful." I said as we walked hand in hand to the front door. "Anything for you."
Dessert was being served when we arrived. We found two empty seats at a table filled with people I didn't know and sat down. An older woman at the table recognized me. "Charlotte is that you?" She said excitedly. I nodded and stood up so she could hug me. "I haven't seen you since you were in diapers!" She smelled of strong cologne which only made me more sick. "It's me Aunt Sherry!" I pretended that I recognized her. "Who is this that you are with?"
"This is Aaron," he stood to shake the woman's hand. "He's my date for the evening." I smiled at his politeness as he greeted the whole table.
"Is he your boyfriend?" A different women said. Now, to understand what I said next, I must make it clear that she did not ask this question politely, she said it in the most arrogant tone.
"No, actually." I said as I sat down. "Aaron here is incoherently gay." I saw him choke on his water in the corner of my eye. The woman scowled at the two of us. I grabbed his hand under the table. I quietly explained that we were going to get asked this question a lot so we might as well have some fun with it.
After we ate our dessert, we decided to go visit my sister at a nearby table. It was the first time I had seen her since the incident. I hugged her tight. Another woman I did not recognize came up and hugged me. "Baby Charlotte!" Aaron came over and greeted the lady. "Who is this young man you have with you?"
"We met in prison." He said. "Well, I was in prison. Charlie here was my pen pal." He grabbed my hand and smiled at me. "We've been lovers ever since." The woman awkwardly sat back down. My sister, Dom, Aaron, and I walked together to watch the first dance. "He's not really an ex con, right?" Jess asked.
"Oh no, this is Aaron. He's in theatre with me." He shook both their hands. "He's an actor." Dom and him immediately started talking about golf. When the DJ announced it was an open floor, I took my sisters hand and brought her to dance.
"How are you doing?" I asked.
She smiled weakly. "I'm holding up." She looked over where Aaron and Dom were talking. "Dom's been really great."
"I just wish there was something I could do." I loved my sister more than anything in this world.
"You've done enough by just being you." We hugged tightly and swayed to the music. "So tell me about Aaron. Is he your boyfriend?" She teased.
"He's really amazing. I've never met anyone like him."
"Is he in your grade?"
"No, he's a year older."
"What are you going to do when he graduates?"
"We have all year." She was silent. "I don't want to talk about it." When the song was over we walked back over to our males. I wanted to dance with Aaron but I spotted my mother and Jim on the dance floor and wanted to avoid them. We walked around, being greeted by almost everyone in our path. He was introduced as an aging backwards man, a prince from a foreign land, and even someone I met in the hotel lobby.
I spotted my grandma who was sitting alone at a table watching everyone dance. She was 93 and only really spoke gibberish. "Hi Nana!" I grabbed Aaron's hand and ran over to hug her. She smelled like grapes and it was very nostalgic. "Nana this is Aaron."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." She reached out and hugged him as he said the words.
"Hello Aaron." She said with a smile on her face.
"He is the most amazing person I have ever met. I like him very much." She hugged me again.
"He is very handsome." She whispered in my ear.
I looked up at him. His hair was tousled slightly and the top two buttons on his light green shirt where undone. "I think so too."
"Everyone grab that special someone and join me on the dance floor." The DJ announced. I kissed my Grandma on the cheek and bid her a farewell. Aaron took my hand and led me to the floor. We were in the position of a ballroom dancer but much more compact. I stood on my toes so my head could lye on his shoulder. The song was slow, but the words were very sad. I wonder if the DJ knew that.
"I think we should go back to the room soon." I suggested.
"You think so?" He spoke into my neck, sending chills throughout my body. "Hey Char?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think I would be moving too fast if I told you I loved you?"
I lifted my head. "You're not getting lost in the allure of the wedding scene are you?"
"I'm not sure." He leaned down and kissed me.
"I love you too." And I did.
We walked to the front desk to check into a room. It was pretty crowded so they didn't really look into the detail of Aaron's ID to find that it was fake. I helped pay with for the room with the very little amount of money I had. I really didn't feel that sick anymore, just comfortable. Before we made it to the room, I remembered something. "I didn't bring pajamas."
"I might have something in my car." I followed him out to the car to find that all he had was a rolling stones t-shirt. I grabbed it and we raced up to the room. I jumped and laid on the bed and Aaron laid next to me. We laid on our sides to face each other. "I've never been in love before."
"Neither have I. Not like this. I'm unconditionally in love with you." I rolled on top of him and kissed him, deeply, deeper than I had ever before. We had only been dating for a week but we had been together so much longer. He rolled us over so he was on top of me. He kissed my neck as my fingers fumbled to unbutton his shirt. He pulled my dress over my head. I noticed how my black bra did not match my purple underwear. He took off his pants to reveal his blue plaid boxers. I sat in his lap with my legs wrapped around his waist. I grabbed his face. "Aaron, if we are going to do this, I need to know that you have been real with me. Is there anything that I should know?" I starred into his endless blue eyes. "I stepped on a frog once." I pulled his face down, kissing him once again. It was the first time that someone did everything in their power to bring pleasure to me. It was also the first time I wanted to return the favor.
When it was over, we hid under the sheets. "What are we going to do when you go to college?" I played his hands, avoiding his gaze.
"We will deal with that when we have to." He rested his hand on my cheek and brought his lips to mine. Without pulling away, he spoke softly. "Don't think about it."
I pushed away the hair that had rested in front of his eyes. "I don't like thinking about it." I curled in closer to him. and fell asleep.
The next morning, I woke up feeling sick again. I quietly got out of bed and went to throw up in the bathroom. Luckily, Aaron was a deep sleeper and did not get up. I decided I would go down to the gift shop to see if they had some ibuprofen. I put on my dress and walked to the convenience store. When I was looking on the shelf, I saw a pregnancy test. Since I was late, I decided that I might as well give it a shot. I bought the test and went back to the room.
When I arrived back, Aaron sat on the bed with a sheet covering himself. He rubbed his eyes and spoke with a groggy voice. "Come back to bed."
"One second." I ran into the bathroom and followed the instructions on the box. When I was done I put the stick on the sink, washed my hands and crawled back into the fluffy white bed.
Although I was worried for the results of the test, I tried not to let it show. I still had ten minutes before I would know. "Good morning beautiful." he said as he pulled me closer to him. "How did you sleep?"
"Great, and yourself."
"It was glorious." I saw his eyes starting to close again.
"Sleepy Aaron is my favorite Aaron." I declared. He adjust himself so his head was lying on my chest. "Do you think your family really thinks I'm an ex con?" he asked.
"I really hope so." He got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. I didn't think anything of it until he walked out holding my pee stick. "Char, care to explain?" I saw the small pink plus sign and my heart sunk to stomach. "How could it even know so fast? I mean this was only the first time! We used protection!" I walked over to him, tears fighting to be exposed. I rested my hands on his bare chest. "But I will be there for you. No matter what you want to do"
"It's not your baby. It's Jim's" Saying it out loud made me sob uncontrollably. I collapsed into Aaron's arms.
"Oh babe." I sat in his lap on the reclining chair in our room. He softly moved my hair out of my face and rested his lips on my forehead. "I hate that you have to be brought into all my shit. I wish everything would just be about you and me, and nothing else." my voice shook.
"Don't say that. I will do anything you want me to, to make this better for you. You want to keep the baby, I'm there. You want to put the baby up for adoption, I'll find a couple. If you want to-"
I couldn't let him finish. "I can't have this baby." Was all I said.
"I will take you sometime this week." I ran my hand up and down his arm until we both fell asleep again.