p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strong style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Author's Note:/strongspan style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;" Okay, so this chapter is a tad short... but the next one should be long and at least relatively decent. :) I hope you guys like it. Review, review, review! (please)/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"Chapter Four – A Few Weeks Later/span/strong/p
p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-family: Georgia;"Kayla/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Over the next few weeks Jai and I hung out a lot, but I still spent quite a bit of time with my friends when they were off work. Sometimes Jai would come and hang out with me while I was hanging out with them. There were always times, alone or not, where we'd end up in time-stopping moments where I thought he'd kiss me again, but he never did. I was trying not to read too much into it, especially since even though he wouldn't kiss me again he still put his arms around me frequently. We also goofed around a lot. There was one day we all spent in the front yard with a very large tote filled with water balloons. It was truly a team effort to accumulate so many and they were so full I was afraid to even emtouch/em one at one point. That was an amazing day. I managed to get the last balloon, and the rest of the group had sat down, so it was just me and Jai one-on-one. He chased me around the yard trying to take it from me. When he finally caught me, him trying to grab it caused the water balloon to break in my hands, soaking me. As revenge, I ran over to a small bucket that happened to have water in it and dumped it on him. In the end, we both ended up soaking wet, but we had a blast./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Today we were going to the arcade. Keegan, Susanna, Eli, and Mel had to work so it was just going to be Jai and myself. This time when he picked me up, I was already dressed and ready to go and he noticed it – but not in the way I thought he would./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Wow," he said in surprise. "You look beautiful! Did you cut your hair?" I blushed. I was wearing a light purple, medium-length sundress and had my hair down. I had chosen to cut it the night before but instead of going to a salon, I cut it myself. It was almost down to my waist, and I had cut it to fall barely past my shoulders. I nodded, answering his question. "It looks great!" he exclaimed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Thank you." I beamed. I wasn't entirely sure why I felt so happy about his compliments, but I did have a hunch that it had something to do with my feelings towards him. I wasn't certain that I was falling for him, but I knew that what I was developing was much more than a crush for sure./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Ready to go?" he asked softly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Whenever you are." I grinned and with that, we left. The entire drive there was silent, which was weird to me. Normally we were both very talkative in the car. I kind of had this odd-ball feeling something wasn't right. I hoped I was wrong, because usually when I'm right it's never a happy event./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"When we got to the arcade, there were several people there. The first thing I noticed available for two people to play was the air hockey table. I pointed to it and looked at Jai, who was standing beside me, asking him if he wanted to play. He nodded and we walked over to it. We played over and over again for what seemed like a few hours. Sometimes he'd win and other times I'd win. Winning wasn't important to me, and it didn't seem important to him in this situation either. The important thing was that we were having fun. Together. When I first got to Australia, I never thought I'd get to hang out and spend part of my summer with Jai Courtney. It was very blissful, but all good things come to an end at some point, and I tried to remember that no matter how much fun we had. By the time we finally got done playing, two hours had passed and in that moment I was thankful the arcade had more than one air hockey table. I didn't want to get in trouble for being a table-hog./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"After that, we moved on to playing ski ball right beside one another. We'd celebrate by hugging each other when one of us made a high-point shot and every single time, my heart about flew out of my chest. I'm sure I probably should tell him how I feel, but instead, I choose to bite my tongue and refrain. It's only one summer and then we'll be going our separate ways anyway, what's the point in me even opening my mouth? When we got tired of playing ski ball, we played a few more rounds of air hockey and then decided we'd go get something to eat. We talked the entire time between bites, chuckling at some of the silly things we noticed at the arcade, laughing at our goofs as well, and simply enjoying each other's company. I kept noticing that he was looking at me, but not in the usual way. It was almost like he'd look at me as if he wanted something more than just my friendship. emA relationship/em? No, no. That's not possible. I must be out of my mind. We're just friends, nothing more./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Nothing more, my ass/span/emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" I heard in my head. emNo. Nothing more. strongNothing/strong. We are only friends./em I thought back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Then why do you find yourself getting flushed or flustered when he looks at you? When he hugs you?/span/emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" I thought about it for a moment. Damn. That little voice was right. Dammit. No. No. I can't think about this. I have to pitch the thought from my mind. I emhave/em to./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey, you okay?" he asked. "You look like you're battling your thoughts." how could he tell?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yeah, I'm fine." I lied, smiling to make it believable. Definitely couldn't have him catching on, especially considering it would probably scare him off anyway./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"When we got back later that evening, he stopped me before I reached the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Wait," he said. "I need to talk to you about something." the sincerity in his eyes was daunting. What could be so serious unless he's got to leave sooner than intended?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What's up?" I asked, playing cool./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I wanted to, um. Ask you something." I watched him fumble with the words a little bit and it made me wonder what he could be so nervous about./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What is it, Jai?" I encouraged, curiosity in my eyes./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Would you go out with me?" he asked. "On a date." he specified. My eyes gave way to the surprise I felt. Moments passed in silence, and then it hit me. Say something, Kayla. He's going to think you're shutting him down if you don't speak up. C'mon. Dammit, Kayla. Say something. Anything. Perhaps a word beginning with Y. Come on./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yes." I pushed out of my mouth quickly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Really?" he grinned, a surprised look on his face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yes." I returned the same grin. He leaned forward and put his arms around me, embracing me in a hug for what felt like the millionth time that day, not that I was complaining./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Tomorrow evening, 7 o'clock?" he asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""That would be great," I replied, beaming. We released each other from the embrace and he started walking to the car. When he got in and pulled out of the driveway, I went inside./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey," Susanna grinned at me from the kitchen sink. "How was your day?" she asked, washing one of the dishes I assumed was from dinner this evening./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Great." I blushed. "I was asked on a date."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""By who?" she asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Jai," I replied. She dropped the dish back into the sink with a loud clanging sound./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""No!" she looked at her in shock. I nodded. She shut off the water and ran towards me, almost tackling me with a hug. "Oh my gosh! This is so exciting! What are you gonna wear?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I have no idea," I replied with candor./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hang on!" Susanna bounced off to her room. A few minutes later she came out holding a pair of plain black dress pants and a cute red v-neck top. "Try this." I tried it on in my room and then came out. "That's emperfect/em."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"Chapter Four – A Few Weeks Later/span/strong/p
p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-family: Georgia;"Kayla/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Over the next few weeks Jai and I hung out a lot, but I still spent quite a bit of time with my friends when they were off work. Sometimes Jai would come and hang out with me while I was hanging out with them. There were always times, alone or not, where we'd end up in time-stopping moments where I thought he'd kiss me again, but he never did. I was trying not to read too much into it, especially since even though he wouldn't kiss me again he still put his arms around me frequently. We also goofed around a lot. There was one day we all spent in the front yard with a very large tote filled with water balloons. It was truly a team effort to accumulate so many and they were so full I was afraid to even emtouch/em one at one point. That was an amazing day. I managed to get the last balloon, and the rest of the group had sat down, so it was just me and Jai one-on-one. He chased me around the yard trying to take it from me. When he finally caught me, him trying to grab it caused the water balloon to break in my hands, soaking me. As revenge, I ran over to a small bucket that happened to have water in it and dumped it on him. In the end, we both ended up soaking wet, but we had a blast./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Today we were going to the arcade. Keegan, Susanna, Eli, and Mel had to work so it was just going to be Jai and myself. This time when he picked me up, I was already dressed and ready to go and he noticed it – but not in the way I thought he would./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Wow," he said in surprise. "You look beautiful! Did you cut your hair?" I blushed. I was wearing a light purple, medium-length sundress and had my hair down. I had chosen to cut it the night before but instead of going to a salon, I cut it myself. It was almost down to my waist, and I had cut it to fall barely past my shoulders. I nodded, answering his question. "It looks great!" he exclaimed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Thank you." I beamed. I wasn't entirely sure why I felt so happy about his compliments, but I did have a hunch that it had something to do with my feelings towards him. I wasn't certain that I was falling for him, but I knew that what I was developing was much more than a crush for sure./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Ready to go?" he asked softly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Whenever you are." I grinned and with that, we left. The entire drive there was silent, which was weird to me. Normally we were both very talkative in the car. I kind of had this odd-ball feeling something wasn't right. I hoped I was wrong, because usually when I'm right it's never a happy event./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"When we got to the arcade, there were several people there. The first thing I noticed available for two people to play was the air hockey table. I pointed to it and looked at Jai, who was standing beside me, asking him if he wanted to play. He nodded and we walked over to it. We played over and over again for what seemed like a few hours. Sometimes he'd win and other times I'd win. Winning wasn't important to me, and it didn't seem important to him in this situation either. The important thing was that we were having fun. Together. When I first got to Australia, I never thought I'd get to hang out and spend part of my summer with Jai Courtney. It was very blissful, but all good things come to an end at some point, and I tried to remember that no matter how much fun we had. By the time we finally got done playing, two hours had passed and in that moment I was thankful the arcade had more than one air hockey table. I didn't want to get in trouble for being a table-hog./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"After that, we moved on to playing ski ball right beside one another. We'd celebrate by hugging each other when one of us made a high-point shot and every single time, my heart about flew out of my chest. I'm sure I probably should tell him how I feel, but instead, I choose to bite my tongue and refrain. It's only one summer and then we'll be going our separate ways anyway, what's the point in me even opening my mouth? When we got tired of playing ski ball, we played a few more rounds of air hockey and then decided we'd go get something to eat. We talked the entire time between bites, chuckling at some of the silly things we noticed at the arcade, laughing at our goofs as well, and simply enjoying each other's company. I kept noticing that he was looking at me, but not in the usual way. It was almost like he'd look at me as if he wanted something more than just my friendship. emA relationship/em? No, no. That's not possible. I must be out of my mind. We're just friends, nothing more./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Nothing more, my ass/span/emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" I heard in my head. emNo. Nothing more. strongNothing/strong. We are only friends./em I thought back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Then why do you find yourself getting flushed or flustered when he looks at you? When he hugs you?/span/emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" I thought about it for a moment. Damn. That little voice was right. Dammit. No. No. I can't think about this. I have to pitch the thought from my mind. I emhave/em to./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey, you okay?" he asked. "You look like you're battling your thoughts." how could he tell?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yeah, I'm fine." I lied, smiling to make it believable. Definitely couldn't have him catching on, especially considering it would probably scare him off anyway./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"When we got back later that evening, he stopped me before I reached the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Wait," he said. "I need to talk to you about something." the sincerity in his eyes was daunting. What could be so serious unless he's got to leave sooner than intended?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What's up?" I asked, playing cool./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I wanted to, um. Ask you something." I watched him fumble with the words a little bit and it made me wonder what he could be so nervous about./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What is it, Jai?" I encouraged, curiosity in my eyes./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Would you go out with me?" he asked. "On a date." he specified. My eyes gave way to the surprise I felt. Moments passed in silence, and then it hit me. Say something, Kayla. He's going to think you're shutting him down if you don't speak up. C'mon. Dammit, Kayla. Say something. Anything. Perhaps a word beginning with Y. Come on./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yes." I pushed out of my mouth quickly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Really?" he grinned, a surprised look on his face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yes." I returned the same grin. He leaned forward and put his arms around me, embracing me in a hug for what felt like the millionth time that day, not that I was complaining./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Tomorrow evening, 7 o'clock?" he asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""That would be great," I replied, beaming. We released each other from the embrace and he started walking to the car. When he got in and pulled out of the driveway, I went inside./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey," Susanna grinned at me from the kitchen sink. "How was your day?" she asked, washing one of the dishes I assumed was from dinner this evening./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Great." I blushed. "I was asked on a date."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""By who?" she asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Jai," I replied. She dropped the dish back into the sink with a loud clanging sound./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""No!" she looked at her in shock. I nodded. She shut off the water and ran towards me, almost tackling me with a hug. "Oh my gosh! This is so exciting! What are you gonna wear?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I have no idea," I replied with candor./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hang on!" Susanna bounced off to her room. A few minutes later she came out holding a pair of plain black dress pants and a cute red v-neck top. "Try this." I tried it on in my room and then came out. "That's emperfect/em."/span/p