It's the tenth time this morning that Teshia has mentioned and listed what I've "put her through" with getting tested. I admit that cheating wasn't the best move but I owned up to it and she said she forgave me. Why keep bringing it up?
"I'm just staying until your Juneteenth gathering is over tomorrow." My mom brushed me off as I tried to explain my circumstances. "It smells amazing in here!" Before I could get deeper into the kitchen, I saw a pair of crutches leaned again the wall and my first thought was Ryan must've broken his leg off.
"We have your beautiful friend, Nova, here to thank for that." Her face came into view and she smiled at me with a wave and a fresh green bean in her other hand. "So glad you came. You can help clean the greens." She pointed to a bowl filled with a leaf I've never seen before.
"Uhm... what on earth is going on here?" I was the only one asking important questions. "Why is Nova here? Nova, why are you here?"
My mom slapped my arm with a disappointed expression. "Don't be rude! She's here and she's welcomed." That didn't answer my question. "Your dad told me about UCLA hosting a fundraiser for Juneteenth shirts just a few days ago. I asked who was the leader and Nova's name came up. I remembered her all too well and invited her over to give me some ideas. She took it one step forward and planned the whole vegan friendly meal!"
"I started going vegan a while ago," Nova chimed in.
Great. Everyone is going fucking vegan. "Hell, I'll clean a green or two." I took the bowl off the counter and placed it in the sink. "Nova... how do I?"
"You want to remove the leaves from the stem. No one wants to eat a hard stem. Then run them under the water until the water isn't green anymore. You're done after. I'll cook them to save the drama." She continued to snap the ends off green beans then join in on a conversation about Betty Crocker that my mom took interest in.
If this couldn't get anymore awkward.
"So what's got you crashing here tonight? You and Teshia not getting along?" My eyes darted to my mom who didn't care for private conversations then to Nova who quickly averted her eyes as if she wasn't looking to be nosy.
"Disagreement on things. You know women and needing their space." I waved my hands a bit to add extra effect. "It's just until tomorrow. I have to help cook for our Juneteenth celebration. Which reminds me." I looked up at Nova as she looked over at me. "I've been wanting to invite you. Teshia has this whole thing planned out and I know she's excited to meet my friends."
Nova's smile reminded me of an older lady who just seemed proud of me for some reason. "Kit, you sure haven't changed. You used to invite me to all these parties and gatherings. Sometimes just pop up on a whim."
"Like he's done today," my mother muttered off to the side.
"And I always said yes." She then flicked a green bean butt at my chest and it fell in the greens pot. "Text me the address, yeah?"
"That's on my to do list for today."
We spent the next few hours preparing enough food to feed a million neighborhoods with Nova asking us to taste it every five minutes because she feared she would go overboard. I'd eat anything she made with no complaints. It's the first time I've had her cooking so why would I turn it down.
This much standing and socializing was of course too much on my mother. She slipped out to pick the twins up an hour early which was a relief because she was starting to pour my personal business.
"Well I love your mother. Me and my mom go to Andre's football games every season. Mothers are always in such a rush to catch up."
My heart started beating wildly in my chest when she turned her head to look around and her hair went with her. Her body always looked amazing but this time she wore herself with more confidence. I knew that Nova had fallen in love with who's she become. I liked the old Nova but I love this new-
"You know I thought we were never going to meet again. I heard you went to school on Oregon and by that time I was already accepted into UCLA. Things were so different when I made that choice. Moving with my dad senior year and there was no... messy blue haired guy in front of me that I anxiously wanted to smooth his fly away. No... silver haired lesbian who cracks dirty jokes in a quiet classroom. No mean girls who I've witnessed ruin self esteems since fifth grade. I was in another city and... I was alone."
"You know I would have left Oregon on a first class flight to see you-"
She jerked her head away as if I said something that hit her chest and I'm sure I did. "I didn't want you to do that. I wanted to get away and be unknown. Life next to Kit Richardson was so overwhelming. I was scared that if I did break and text you then I would never grow into who I was supposed to be."
"I wasn't stopping you Nova. I just wanted to be your friend!"
"And I was walking on egg shells with you. If I do what you said then I'm doing it wrong and if I don't do it then somehow you get the backlash from Har-" I swear we both stopped breathing at the thought of that name. "I keep thinking that maybe I should have just been left alone. Maybe I would still have half of Edith."
Why does she miss Edith so bad? The girl had already proven to be a massive problem starting train wreck. She proved it when she tricked me into believing we actually hooked up. Just another way to make her teenage fantasy's come true. "How are you supposed to have half of someone when the whole of them is gone?"
She looked at me and I looked at her. We both knew I was right. Edith wasn't the girl she bragged about when I first met Nova. I'm starting to think she never was. "This is who I grew to be..."
"And that's who she's grown to become too," I sighed. "You got to leave her alone. I know we're not all the perfect people. There's shit I forgave Harvey for that I should have never even let slip past me. But we're adults now. We don't need them. We need..." Should I say it? Should I confess myself right now?
Damn it, Kit. You have a girlfriend.
"To let the past go. Sometimes that's harder than looking towards our future." When she agreed I knew I said the right thing. It should have been the only thing on my mind. But I couldn't get over what was given up.
YOU ARE READING
Just A Girlfriend (BWWM) ✅
Teen Fiction"It was always you. I was confused and I made some mistakes-" "And I moved on." - Kit is a college dropout who returns to his home town where he struggles to find his place in life. Right with him is Teshia who he reunited with in college but she is...
