A/N: blegh! school stinks. it awful how i've only been a few weeks into it and it already sucks this bad -- this is my escape.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - The "L" Word
How toxic are the fumes from nail polish? Strong enough to somehow kill you over time? I had this morbid thought in my head as I bent my knee to my chin, carefully applying a black tint on my big toe. I crinkled my nose, already getting slightly dizzy from the strong smell. I finished off the rest of my toes, blowing on them to help them dry quicker.
Securing the cap on the small black bottle, I reached over to place it on my bedside table and yawned, lying on my back and raising my legs straight up to admire my artwork. My baggy flannel pajama pants fell down to my thighs.
"Nicely done," I mumbled to myself. I looked sideways as my mom poked her head through my slightly open doorway. She let out a loud laugh as she saw me on my bed that way. I stuck my tongue out, but couldn't help but smile.
"Once you're done up here, you have a visitor downstairs," my mom said as soon as she caught her breath. "Byron dropped by on his way home from work again. I'm kind of glad I didn't let him come straight upstairs." I playfully smirked and let my legs down.
"Do you mind asking him to come up here?" I asked. "My toes are still in that danger zone of mid-dryness. Like, you think they're dry... but really, they're not. And then you end having to do them all over again."
"You are a complete nut," my mom laughed. "But sure, I'll send him up. No funny business though." She playfully raised an eyebrow as she walked out of my room. I rolled my eyes with a grin and sat up, leaning on the backboard of my bed, quickly scanning my room for any embarrassing, unsightly feminine personal belongings lying around.
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and let out a small squeal as I spotted my pink bra on the floor, about half a foot away from my closet. I jumped up on the one foot that I hoped was dry enough and hopped over, quickly picking it up and shoving it into a random desk drawer... just in time to turn around and greet my smiling boyfriend.
Things have been going so amazingly ever since we had The Talk. It's been a week since then and it's been awesome just being able to hang out with friends and not having any weird tension. Blonde Britney was a constant presence now, but there was nothing any of us could do about it. She liked Jeff and apparently, Jeff liked her. We gradually got used to her ignoring us and we were civil – for Jeff's sake.
Byron and I still haven't been able to spend as much time together as we'd like, with his part-time job and my babysitting duties, but I couldn't have asked for anything better. I know it sounds uber-cheesy, but the time we have apart really does make our relationship stronger. Cliché, I know.. but in our case, absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder.
I gave him a quick peck on the lips before closing the door after him, just in case my curious parents got nosy. I then completely forgot about the nail polish and stood up on the tips of my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Hello," I said softly, looking into his eyes and smiling.
"Hello," he replied, grinning. He leaned his forehead on mine briefly, before closing his eyes and giving me a passionate kiss. Our tongues met in a french kiss and I had to smile, thinking back to the awkwardness when it happened the first time.
"What's so funny?" Byron chuckled, smiling and having to break away from the kiss. I bit my lip to keep from laughing and apologized sheepishly,
"Sorry for ruining 'The Moment.' I was just thinking back to the awkwardness of prior make-out sessions." Byron smirked and took my hand as he walked over to sit on my bed. "You know, you don't really have to remind me of that." I laughed and kissed his cheek. Letting a few moments of silence pass, we lay across my bed, his arm around my shoulders and our legs in a comfortable tangle. The smell of Byron's cologne soothed me as I lay my head in the crook of his neck.
"You know, I think I've only been in your room once before," Byron said thoughtfully, staring up at the ceiling.
"Oh. That," I smirked. "I remember that. It was my seventh birthday party and you and your brothers were playing hide-and-seek."
"And I decided to hide in your closet," Byron chuckled. "You should've seen the look on your face when you opened the door."
"Are you kidding me?!" I exclaimed. "Jackie Rodowsky had spilled his fruit punch all over my new birthday dress. If that wasn't upsetting enough to a little girl, I was going to change my clothes in my room with a boy in my closet." Byron laughed. "Dude! It was very traumatizing!" I protested, playfully swatting his chest, only to induce more laughter from him.
"Well, did I ever say sorry?" he asked.
"If you did, I probably didn't hear it above my screams of terror," I chuckled. Byron laughed and his chest heaved down as he slowly let out a deep breath.
"Those were the days, huh?"
"Mm-hmm," I agreed, smiling. We let our thoughts run as a comfortable silence filled the room, and soon, all we could hear was the soft hum of the air-conditioner.
--
I must've fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes, and sunlight was pouring through my windows. I stretched, letting out a yawn, and then realizing that I was alone. My outstretched arm brushed my pillow, where there lay a folded piece of paper. I smiled and rolled over on my chest to read it.
Hey Beautiful,
Sorry for leaving without saying good-bye. You just looked so peaceful that I didn't want to disturb you. I want to let you know that being with you tonight just let every bad thing about my day disappear. What can I say? You have that affect on me. I can be with you in the silence and still feel so complete with you in my arms. I've never felt that way about someone before.
...I think I'm in love with you. Byron.
My heart literally leaped as I read the last sentence. With shaking hands, I re-read the note maybe twenty times over, just to convince myself that it was real.
My God, this was huge. This brought our relationship to a whole other level and it was more than I could've ever hoped for. With my heart racing, I clutched the note tightly to my chest, trying to control my breathing. So this is what it felt like to be so overwhelmingly happy... I just couldn't stop smiling.
On such a wonderful high, I spontaneously jumped up from my bed and grabbed my keys off my desk. Barefooted and with the note still in hand, I raced downstairs and out the door, into my car. I drove a few blocks away to the Pike's and ran up their walkway, ringing the doorbell.
A surprised Mr. Pike, already in his suit, opened the door and I sheepishly asked for Byron. He happened to be walking by the door, with a bowl of cereal in one hand and the newspaper stuck under his other arm. Much like me, he was still in his faded gym shirt and flannel pajama pants, and his hair was all over the place. He couldn't have looked any better in my eyes.
"Char?" Byron asked, surprised, meeting me at the doorway. Mr. Pike walked away, shaking his head and muttering something about how crazy kids are nowadays. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
"I got your note," I said quietly, although unable to wipe the smile off my face. Before he could say anything else, I tilted my face up and kissed him. "So how sure are you about the 'love' thing that you were talking about?" I asked playfully. "'Cause you said you just think you love me. Any progress on that?" Byron laughed. He put the cereal bowl and newspaper down on a ledge and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. He looked into my eyes and with a smile, he said,
"Any girl that would be crazy enough to come and see me this early in the morning, I know I can't help but love." I smiled and we both leaned in, kissing each other intimately.
He leaned away after a minute and softly said, "I wanted you to know how I feel... but I don't want you to think I'm pressuring you to say it back to me. It has to -- "I silenced him by gently placing my finger to his lips.
"Are you kidding me? I think I love you too, you dork."