My Journey to Adulthood

Chapter 8

  "Good afternoon, Josie."

"Good afternoon doctor."

"It's been a while hasn't it."

"Yes, just over 2 years."

"Wow, you look great."

"Thank you. I did see you briefly earlier this year when you treated my brother. I understand if you don't remember. He was nervous and I wanted to be there for him, along with Mum."

"That's nice of you. How is he doing?"

"Good. He's definitely happy with his body. He can be a bit of a pain at times, but I know how boys that age can be."

"That's fair. How are you doing?"

"Good, just graduated high school, hoping to get into medical science next year. I'm hoping to get a contract with the National League team soon. I'm still a training partner, so that's something. Otherwise, everything seems to be working properly, not that I've tested everything yet."

"Fair enough. Let's get the tests started."

Year 12, my final year of high school, my final year of official childhood. It's been a year. David and I are still friends, even though we broke up early last year. He's dating a nice girl he met through a friend from his RPG guild. Milly and Nate are still going strong, I'm sure they're regularly spending nights together, good for them. Stacy is with another boy, this one has been the longest so far, over 6 months. I think he's good for her. I did feel bad for Maddie though when their relationship ended. She's found a cure girl at the public library. They've been to each other's school balls; I think they might be looking for a place together for next year.

The school ball was a fun night. I went single, with Milly, Stacy, Hannah, Maddie, and their partners. Mum was so excited in the lead-up, I was too. We found this beautiful rose red dress, off-the-shoulder, ball gown style, that was just beautiful. It was a dress like I'd dreamed about since I had been to the wedding as a child. Mum got my hair and makeup done professionally, and we went to Milly's place as we were taking the limo together. Mum took so many photos of all of us together, and me by myself or with my family.

Walking into the ballroom was amazing. The decorations were very tasteful, they included the school colours with silver, balloons as centrepieces, and black cloth with bands covering the chairs which matched the decorations. The lights were low, with coloured spotlights moving over the dance floor, and music was playing. As we walked in, I saw Logan in a very sharp black dress jacket, bow tie, red shirt, and a beautiful red A-line floor-length skirt. They looked amazing and seemed very comfortable. Looking around the room I saw Arthur, looking very sharp in his suit. He had been single for a few months. Piper was with her friends and her current partner, who looked stunning along with Piper. We quickly found our seats and then went to mingle.

"Hi Arthur, you look very handsome tonight."

"Thanks, Josie, you look amazing. The colour really suits you."

"Thanks," I looked down and blushed a little. "Have you been doing well?"

"Yes, it's been nice to be on my own for a while. I enjoyed spending time with Anne, but I'm enjoying being on my own as well."

"That's good. It's nice to be single sometimes. I do miss some things about having a boyfriend." This time he blushed.

"Yes, having a partner is nice too."

Just then the head of the year group asked us to return to our seats.

"Do you want to dance," said Arthur. He walked over to me after everyone had finished eating. My friends had gone to dance but I didn't want to, I was enjoying watching them and relaxing.

"Sure, I'd love to," I took his hand and we walked to the dance floor.

After a couple of songs, he said, "I'm glad you came tonight, I've been wanting to dance with you for a while."

"I'm glad you asked me. To be honest, I was thinking about asking you to dance too."

"Really. That makes me glad I asked."

We danced for a song longer, "you know, I've had a crush on you since middle school," he said smiling at me.

"I kind of figured. I had a crush on you too."

"I'm talking about early middle school before I went to the clinic."

"Oh, I didn't know that. I'm sorry if I didn't return it then. I didn't know exactly who I was."

"I know, I think I would still have liked you if you were a boy, but I'm so glad you're a girl."

I looked at him surprised. I knew he liked me, but I didn't think it was that serious. "I'm glad I'm a girl too. I will admit I always thought that you were handsome, even before the clinic."

He smiled at me, "I always thought of you as a nice person and a great friend. You were so caring, intelligent, kind, and pretty. I always thought I was lucky to have you as a friend."

"And now?"

"Now, well, I think I want to be more than friends."

"Really," I smiled at him, a little stunned but happy he said it.

"Yes, really. I've always wanted to be closer to you. You were my best friend for a long time, now I'd like to be more."

I looked at him, a little stunned. "I used to think that would be amazing. I've thought about it for a long time. I'm just worried about losing you as a friend if things don't go well."

He looked a little disappointed and held my hand. "I've been afraid of that too. I think that's why I've never said anything to you. I'm not worried about that as much anymore. I always felt jealous of your boyfriends, even when I had a girlfriend. At times I would wish my girlfriend was you, not that I didn't care about them, but they're not you. I want to be with you, and I'm willing to take the risk. You're worth it."

I looked at him, his eyes said he was serious, hoping I would agree. "I, uh, I don't know. A part of me, a large part, wants that, more than anything. I'm still scared though. I don't know what I would do without you."

"You won't be without me, not for a very long time."

"How can, you be sure?"

"Because I never want to be without you either."

I looked at him, he looked so sincere and hopeful. "What if it doesn't work out?"

"Then we will know. As much as it might hurt, I'll always want to be your friend."

I looked at the floor, biting my lower lip. I didn't know what I should do. My heart was saying one thing, my head was telling me to be careful and not get carried away. I didn't want to look at him while I thought, he was so handsome that I didn't want my body to take over.

"I think, I think I want to find out," I said looking up at him. "I want to be your girlfriend; I want you to be my boyfriend. I want to have a relationship with you."

His eyes lit up, "you, you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, I do. I have for a long time." I moved closer to him, gently placing my hand on his cheek, and guiding his head to mine. We kissed on the dance floor, long, passionate, something we've both wanted for a long time. This kiss was the best I'd ever had before. It was with the man I'd had a crush on for years. Once we parted, I could see our friends all looking at us, smiling, some cheering.

"Wow, that was the best kiss ever," I said.

"The best kiss so far," he said back smiling.

The rest of the night is a bit of a blur. We danced, took photos, talked with a lot of people, kissed a little more. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life. Leaving was hard but we both knew we would make plans and see each other soon. I'm really happy that I was able to kiss and fall in love with my childhood best friend.