OXYGEN

44 - Someone I Used to Know

Stealing one glance at our entwined hands, Audrey raised a brow. "Something tells me you're not exactly friends," she observed.

Before anxiety could take a bite out of me, Forrest tossed her an easy smile. "Good job – you figured it out."

"I knew it!" Ivy exclaimed behind us. I would have laughed had it not been for the expression on Audrey's face. She seemed almost bored, maybe even unimpressed.

"Well, it's nice to see you've finally found someone new." She spoke like I wasn't even there. "Have a good day, Forrest."

What did that mean?

He didn't reply. Instead, we just watched as she sauntered off, her heels lightly hitting the concrete. Forrest kept his face void of emotion while I allowed my confusion to show. "What's going on with her?" I couldn't swallow the question down.

He frowned, and I could almost sense the thoughts shooting through his mind. "I'll talk to you about it later."

Before I could press on, Ivy stepped in front of us with her arms crossed. She looked a little too smug honestly. "Well, well, well," her face broke into a grin, "what do we have here?"

Forrest rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ivy, we're not even official yet."

Furrowing her brows, she pouted. "Well, why not? How long have you two been sneaking around?" I tried not to smile, but I couldn't resist. She had no idea that we'd just met earlier in the week.

Fortunately, neither one of us had to answer because Forrest's parents came over. "Hello, you three," Marites wore delight on her face, "June, you're coming with us for lunch, yes?"

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Great!" Ernesto commented. "Now, we can get to know you more. I don't know why Forrest took so long to tell us about you."

I wondered what he told them; it seemed like they were all under the assumption that we'd been secretly together for a long time. "Well, I look forward to getting to know you too." I smiled, feeling a little awkward.

Minutes later, it was decided that Forrest's parents would ride together to the mall while Ivy rode with her brother and me. Forrest didn't really find the idea appealing but caved in due to Ivy's persistence. "I only met June once," she argued, "I know you want some alone time, but you need to share her."

Soon, I found myself back in the Corolla, and I was amused. Ivy was relentless when it came to whatever she set her mind on. And right now, it was set on me and Forrest.

"I just can't believe my brother finally has a girlfriend again," she raved. "June – no offense, brother, but – I like you more than all his past girlfriends."

"Oh, really?" I was too touched to remind her that we weren't official yet. I eyed Forrest, and I knew he could feel me staring. "Why is that?"

"Well," she began, pausing to think, "you seem a lot more sincere. And look at us right now. This is only the second time I'm seeing you, but for me, it feels like we've been doing this forever. Also, the way Forrest talks about you – well, maybe he doesn't realize it, but the way he talks about you is different."

"Oh great," Forrest muttered, "Do you see now why I wanted to keep it a secret? She's probably going to start planning our wedding already."

"Wait, what?" My eyes widened. I twisted my head back to face Ivy. "Wedding?"

Her lips formed into a smirk. "What kind of flowers do you want?"

Forrest and I burst out laughing. "Let's just calm down," I said, amused yet a little concerned, "Ivy, I'll let you know when I need a wedding-planner."