Skip ahead to next week; Friday
"Thank you for dinner." I say getting up from the picnic table, Braxton following me. He had invited me over to meet his father and eat dinner with them. I follow him in to the kitchen and he stops to talk to me.
"I'm not sure you should spend much time around him." He says quietly in my ear. "I sort of see what you mean." I put my dishes in the sink, just as his dad comes in. "Braxton your mom just tried to call you." He hands him his phone. "Do you want help with the dishes?" I suggest as Braxton leaves the room to call his mom. "Sure, uh, yeah okay." I start washing the dishes and Braxton's dad dries them and puts them away.
"So you and Braxton. You're like, a thing?" He asked. "Yeah." "He really likes you." "I can tell." I laugh.
"How about tomorrow night we go somewhere." Braxton suggests. "Like where?" "I don't know yet. Why don't I pick you up around six?" "Alright."
I look out the window of his beaten up old Ford F-150, corn fields fly by. Finally, we pull off the road to our spot, the middle of the cornfield we fell asleep in just last Thursday.
"So, what do you want to do. Like after high school?" He asks breaking an awkward silence. "I'm going to the Air Force Academy, remember?" Wait, you got in?!" He asks with shock. "I got my acceptance letter this morning!" "Ahhh!" He shrieks and hugs me. "I leave September 5." "Well then we have to make this summer the best you've ever had." He kisses me and we lay down in the bed of his truck.
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"Okay help me out here, I have no idea what to wear." I say to Alicia and Kate, who were sitting on my bed. Alicia stands up and goes in my closet. "How about this." She holds up a floral skirt and white tank top. "Uhmm..." My eyes widen at such a frilly outfit. "I don't think she likes it." Kate laughs. "Move, I'll pick something." She goes in my closet and soon emerges with a red sundress and a pair of cowboy boots. "Try this on." I gladly do so. I slip in to the cotton dress and it fit me good. I stood in front of the mirror and my friends smiled and nodded.
"Okay, now for your hair." Alicia takes out a curling iron and plugs it in. While we wait for it to heat up, she does my makeup.
"Open your eyes as wide as you can." Alicia says. "I can do my own makeup." I state. "No, let me do it." "Fine, perfectionist."
She finishes my makeup and curls my hair.
"Thanks for helping me guys." I say pulling my boots on. "Hey you've helped us plenty of times." Kate smiles.
"Another date with Braxton?" My dad asks as I start to walk out the door. I smile, "Yes." "Don't be out too late. And I don't want you spending this much time with him." "Why not?" I ask, well aware of the answer. "Teenage boys shouldn't hang around teenage girls." I make a noise that signals how irratated I am and walk outside.
"Hey beautiful." Braxton says, opening my door. I give him a kiss.
"So where are we going for dinner?" I ask.
"How about something we've never had?" He suggests.
"Have you had Thai?"
"What's Thai?"
"How about we have Thai then. I'll drive."
We switch places, and now I am driving.
The waiter hands is our menus while we sit at a table along the wall. "What can I get you to drink?" He asks in a thick Asian accent. "I'll just have water." I say. "Me too."
We look at the menus and share a look of confusion. "What the heck is Pad Thai?" Braxton asks. "That's a good question that I do not have the answer to."
We enjoy our foreign meals and go outside to the truck. "What should we do now?" He asks.
"How about we go to your house?" I shrug.
"I don't know...my dad's there."
"Well my dad is at my house and he doesn't like you."
"That's reassuring. Thanks." He laughs. "Okay so not one of our houses, how about a movie or something?"
"What movies are playing?" He asks.
I take out my phone and ask Siri for movies.
"Looks like Insidious, Pitch Perfect 2, Spy, San Andreas, Jurassic World- how about we don't see a movie." I put away my phone.
"I agree. Maybe we could go downtown?" He sounds hopeful.
"And do what?" I ask.
"I don't know, shop or something?" He shrugs.
"You mean you'd actually let me go shopping while you supervise me? You're crazy!" I laugh.
"Okay so no shopping but let's go downtown anyways." I agree and we get in the truck.
"I hate the city life." I state as we sit in gridlock traffic downtown.
"Me too. Why did you let me suggest we go in to the city where there's people."
"It's not just the people, it's the fact that none of them know how to drive and they're all rude and it smells like hot garbage here. It's like a smaller, less famous version of New York City." I say.
He shakes his head and looks at me. "Is New York at least fun?" He asks.
"Yeah it was super fun but there's just too much going on, it gave me anxiety to be in a crowd like that."
"You have anxiety?"
"I have a lot wrong with me that you don't know about."
"Like what?"
I sigh. "You can tell me." He urges me to talk.
"I don't think you would care."
"Of course I do, I love you."
"I love you too."
He puts his arm around me and hugs me, as I explain my life issues to him.
"You know what? Let's get out of here." he turns off the main road and on to the freeway.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"To our spot."
We lay in silence for what seems like forever.
"I can't wait until school is over." He says.
"Neither can I. I just want to leave this damned town."
We continue to say nothing for a while.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
And just like that, we were both asleep.
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Shoutout to Hannahfruetel because she's just that awesome and she helped me name some of my characters and stuff so yeah.
