Hi! It’s me! Lily!
OMG am I an idiot! I mean seriously an idiot! How the heck did I not get all the clues that everyone was dropping? I should have known, and I was still utterly surprised!
JACK IS HERE!!!!! Well, let me start from the beginning… there was a cloud of gas… well, not that early. HAHA!!
I ran and went to work this morning. It was a cool but sunny morning, and I had to wear that stupid hat again. But I told the owner this time that if any guys came on to me I’d give them what for! He just said to try to keep from causing any permanent psychological damage. I said I’d try. He sighed and told me to go doot.
And, well, it kept happening. Apparently I’m really sexy in a Santa hat. But I just smiled sweetly and commented on the size of the food they were buying. “Are you sure you want to buy something so small?”
Message received.
One older guy with a beard and shaved head was really nice though. He gave me a hundred bucks. Told me Merry Christmas, and to spend it on someone I loved. Awwww. Some people are really nice. They make up for the karens. He got into a blue Cruze but it looked like Santa’s sleigh to me!
Anyway, I got home, and no sooner had I got in the door did LIz text me and tell me to come over, she had something to tell me. So, silly me, I went over to her house. I walked in, and there he was, all smiles.
“Lily!”, he said.
Of course, I calmly and collectedly squealed, ran over to him, TACKLED him, landed on the couch, and kissed the snot out of him. After about a minute I heard a throat clearing, and everyone was staring. Liz’s parents were smirking, Jack’s parents were tapping their feet, and LIz’s mouth was kind of slack. I cleared my throat and disentangled myself from him and he got up too. I grabbed his hand, though. I didn’t let go.
“Ummm,” I said eruditely. “Good to see you.”
“Is this how you greet everyone?,” he smirked.
“Only LIz,” i said, smiling.
Liz ran over and smacked me on the arm. Everyone laughed.
“I’m here until after Christmas,” he said. “I hope I get at least one real date with you.”
“Oh my God I’d love that,” I said, happiness just bubbling out of me and popping as it floated to the ceiling.
Grace spoke up. “Auntie Lily!”
“Grace!,” I said, and ran over and hugged her. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” she said shyly. “You kith Jack?”
I blushed. “I like him.”
“Tho do I. He’th my brother. You kith me?”
I kissed her on the cheek. “I kiss you.” She giggled.
“Let’s go over to your house,” Liz’s mother said. “Your parents have invited us for dinner. And I suspect Dave wants a talk with Jack too.”
Jack suddenly looked a bit uncertain, but I squeezed his hand, and we walked over.
Greetings were exchanged, but it didn’t take very long for Dave and Sabby to sit both of us down, away from everyone else.
“So this is the Jack I’ve been hearing so much about,” Dave said.
“That’d be me,” Jack said, a touch of false bravado in his voice.
Dave sighed. “I was hoping to have this talk a bit later. Beth is only fourteen after all. But, here we are. I only have a few things to say. Don’t hurt my daughter. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Don’t make me a grandfather prematurely. Be responsible. And enjoy being young.”
He gulped and nodded. “I love your daughter,” he said sincerely. “I wouldn’t hurt her.”
“I believe you,” Dave said, “intentionally.” He let that hang in the air.
“I can’t promise I won’t hurt her unintentionally,” he said quietly. “That’s a promise I can’t keep. But she’s an amazing girl. I don’t want to lose her.”
“She is amazing,” Sabby said. “When I first heard about you, I thought she was being a little irresponsible. I’m still not sure how responsible she’s being. But we’ll give you a chance with our daughter.” She frowned. “Lily loves you. I can see it in her eyes whenever she talks about you.” I blushed. “Don’t you dare take that for granted.”
“And doors stay open,” Dave said, quietly. “Sabby told me what you were up to in Orlando.” Now it was his turn to blush. “I understand being young. I was young once. But not under my roof. Understand?”
I lowered my head.
“Kissing is okay,” Sabby said, looking like she was sucking on a lemon. “But you know the line. Don’t cross it.”
We both nodded. Dave slapped his knees. “Well, now that that unpleasantness is out of the way, I’m grilling dinner. Jack, you want to help?”
Beth chose just that moment to come downstairs. “Who’s this?,” she asked curiously.
“Beth, meet Jack,” I said. Oh no.
Her eyes lit up. “You didn’t tell me he was so HOT!”
“Well, he is.”
“Ah, the famous Beth,” Jack said sagely. “I already like you.”
“Why?”
He stood up and walked over to her, and lifted her chin with his index finger until he was staring directly into her eyes. “Lily’s told me all about you. You don’t back down, and you don’t apologize.” He booped her nose, and she blushed. “I respect that.”
Sabby spoke up. “You might not respect it when she’s cussing you out and telling you exactly what she thinks about something you care about.”
“Yes, Lily told me about your temper,” he smirked, not leaving her eyes. “But I’ll take my chances. After all, who knows. Someday you might be my sister too.”
She eeped and ran back up to her room, blushing.
“I might regret that later,” he said softly. “But she’s still pretty cool, at least from how you described her. I think she’ll be alright.” He walked back over to Jack. “You were saying something about grilling?”
“Aren’t you the confident one,” Dave said bemusedly.
“Or I’m good at faking it,” Jack said. It was starting to get dark, but they got Liz and Jack’s fathers, and they all went outside to do man stuff. Like grilling. Grace went outside too and was running around the backyard with David. David’s good with four year olds! Who knew?
I went to the kitchen with Sabby, Liz, Jack’s mother, and her mother to help her make all the fixins, It was a bit crowded but we got it all done. David’s came inside to set the table. Grace had a bit of trouble with the meet but her mother cut it up for her and she was having a grand time.
After dinner, Jack and I went up to my room while the adults chatted. Everyone seemed to be getting along. As promised, the door stayed open. Jack sat on the edge of my bed along with me.”
“There’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said. “I’ve known you for about a month and I want to know if… if you want to be my girlfriend.”
My heart leaped into my chest. I reached over and kissed him softly. But then I pulled back.
“Oh, Jack, I want to say yes. I want to say it so bad. But… I think we need to talk about some things first.”
“Well, it’s better than no,” he said, looking a little hurt.
“Oh no!,” I said. “Not no! Never no! It’s just…” I played with my hands in my lap. “Do you remember what Sabby said? When we were in Orlando?”
“She said a lot of things,” he said. “She’s very wise.”
“She is,” I said. “But what I had in mind was when she said that every relationship comes with a price. Jack, if we start on this path, we’re both going to have to give things up. We’re going to have to make some decisions together and we’re going to have to make some choices together.” I sighed. “I just want to make sure that both of us are willing to pay that price.”
“You’re taking this seriously,” he said, a somewhat unreadable look on his face.
“I don’t want to get hurt,” I said softly. “Maybe it can’t be avoided. But I want to give this the best chance.”
He blew out a breath. “Well, I’d have preferred you to say ‘yes, yes, a thousand times yes’ like in those cheesy novels,” he smirked, “But you’re probably right. Let’s decide this week. But I might try to woo you.”
“‘Woo’ me?”
He smiled, reached over, and kissed me. I melted.
“Woo you.” He let me go, and I must have had a dazed look on my face, because he took my hand and pulled me up. Not letting go of my hand, we both went downstairs and joined the adults (and Beth and David too) in conversation. We played some fun games too. I’m sooo shocked, but David and Grace got along so well! It’s like he was made to be a big brother!
I think Jack made a good impression on everyone. Sabby told me he was a nice boy, and Dave didn’t say anything, which I guess is a good sign. I know he reads this, so I’m not going to say anything about what we’ve talked about before I talk about it, with him. A boyfriend is a big thing. A long distance boyfriend is a bigger thing. I don’t want to mess it up.
But oh my God I missed his kisses soooo much.