summer boy ~ tal fishman ✓

~43~

I feel sad. I hug him one last time and then he walks away, to his house. 'You sure I don't have to drive you?' I say. He's a few feet further now. 'Positive, I have legs last time I checked.' I smile and wave, before heading inside. 

I turn and head inside. I want to get to my room as soon as possible because I know my mom will be asking questions. The quicker I get upstairs, the less chance she'll hold me to ask questions. 'Julia, come here for a second.' Too late. 

'Yes, mom?' 'You two were pretty close, weren't you?' No beating around the bush, because why would you? 'Yeah, I gave him a friendly hug. Because he was leaving?' I try to put on a duh-face. My mom will probably look straight through that, but oh well. 

She gives me a look of I-don't-believe-you. 'Well, I wouldn't keep that cutie in the friend-zone much longer.' 'Mom!' How does she even know that word? Nevermind, I don't want to know. 'You can do whatever you want, get yourself a boyfriend, but he will have dinner with us. When shall we plan that?' I sigh. She looks straight through my mask.

'Okay, yes, we are dating.' My mom squeals so high she seems like a guinea pig. 'But please don't go asking him awkward questions or go embarrass me during that dinner. I'll go tell him he's welcome for dinner.' 'It's my job to embarrass you, darling.' Now I'm afraid. Great.

'I'm headed upstairs, mom. Please make sure dad doesn't use the gun and the serious talk once he hears this.' 'I most definitely will not tell him that. Let him have some fun as well with your boyfriend. But, I will make sure Tal doesn't die. He's too cute for that. He better be treating you right.' I blush slightly. He is treating me right. But it's really uncomfortable to hear your mom call your crush- wait, boyfriend, cute. I'm so not used to that.

I grab my phone and call Tal. He picks up almost immediately.

'Yeah, babe?' I swear, my heart felt like it literally grew with warmth. I don't know how to explain.  'Did you miss me that much?' he asks, his voice sounding like he was grinning. 'Well, yes. But I didn't call about that. First of all, my mom found out and she's inviting you to the official dinner. And second of all, she called you cute and she promised me not to let my dad kill you.' 'Well, I have to admit I am pretty cute. But okay. Shall I tell my parents? Up to you.' 

'Why would you leave it up to me if it's your parents?' I chuckle. 'I don't know. I don't mind my parents knowing. It was more of a question if you mind them and Adi knowing.' Oh, Adi. Didn't think about him. I'm probably thinking too much about what his family and Adi will think about me because when I zone back in a worried Tal is asking me if I'm still there.

'Yeah, I'm here. I zoned out for a second. But it's sad to rub it in Adi's face that I'm yours.' 'A second? More like an hour.' he chuckles. 'And he should know that he should stay away from what's mine.' I'm internally fangirling right now. I'm his... Reality hits me hard. And I don't mind for once in my life.

I smile. Then I hear my mom calling my name. I interrupt Tal while he was talking about where he was leaving to so I could say he should be quiet for a second because my mom is trying to say something. He does. I smile. He just listens, I don't know why but I smile at that. 

'What's wrong mom?' 'Well, you know we were booking a last-minute trip?' I vaguely remember her saying something like that, yes. I nod. 'Well, your dad just booked an amazing trip to Italy!' I jump up. 'Really?' 'Yes! The only downside is that we're leaving tomorrow, so you'll have to start packing quickly. The flight leaves at 10 AM to Milan. So hurry, you need to be well-rested. And dinner is in about an hour.' 

She closes the door behind her. I had put Tal on speaker, so he could hear everything. I squeal. 'I've always wanted to go to Italy! This is amazing!' Tal chuckles at my excitement. 'How long are you going?' he asks. 'I'll ask my mom, I don't know. But I'm really sorry for interrupting your story about your vacation. Please go on.' 

I can hear him smile through the phone before he proceeds to tell that he's going to Hawaii for two weeks. 'That's great! Do use sunscreen so you won't turn into a tomato, please. 'Wouldn't want to be seen with a lobster out here on the streets.' He chuckles. 'I'll be careful.' 'And don't get eaten by sharks or hungry girls.' 'I'll try not to.' 

Then I gasp. Tal asks what's wrong. 'Wait. That means I'm not going to see you for a few weeks!' I squeal. Tal is quiet. Is he quiet because he thinks I'm overreacting or is it because he won't see me and doesn't like that? I sigh, I'm confusing myself too much. 'But I'm going to be standing on your doorstep at seven so I can properly say goodbye. So you better be awake or I'll leave you for Luna', I say. I can hear his smile through the phone again.

'Or I'll drive you and your parents to the airport.' 'Would you go through that utter humiliation of meeting the parents but then in a car?' 'If I get to see you, yes. And as a payment I only accept kisses.' I chuckle. 'But shouldn't you be packing?' Tal asks. 

'Oh, yes I should. I'm going to put you on FaceTime so I can look at you, is that okay?' 'No problem, I'm just in my room.' I click on the FaceTime button and wait until it's connected.

When I see his pretty face, I smile. Then I place him on top of my bed and grab my suitcase. It's quite big, so I'll probably have enough room for a few weeks worth of clothes. 'Wait a second', I say to Tal. 'No problem, I'll get something to eat in the meanwhile.' I smile at him. 

I open my door and yell for my mom. 'How long are we leaving?' I yell down the stairs. 'We're leaving for about three weeks, honey. And pack a lot of short stuff since it'll be really warm there', she shouts back.

I close the door again and see Tal on my phone. He took his phone with him to the kitchen and I'm looking up at his jawline and neck. Even his jawline is amazing. I open some drawers and place some dresses in the suitcase. Tal apparently is back in his room and he's satisfied with the carrot he grabbed. He looks happy munching on it.

'Shouldn't you be packing?' he asks with a smirk. 'If you weren't that attractive, I wouldn't be staring that long and would be packing instead', I fire back. His smile turns bigger. He doesn't say anything back, he just sat back and he looked at me trying to pack. I grab some shorts. Then I see the dress from vacation. It's one of my favorite so I decide I should probably take it with me.

'Hey, wait.' Tal's voice breaks the silence. 'What?' He points at something, which leaves me more confused. 'That dress. You wore that to the cinema, didn't you? And on vacation. I remember it. It's cute. Take it with you.' My smile turns so big my cheeks are going to burst if I would smile any wider. I fold it and place it in my suitcase.

All of a sudden it hits me that I'm going to be away for three weeks. I stop folding the shirt I was holding. Tal notices. 'What's wrong, peach?' 'One, don't call me that. And two, I'm going to be away for three weeks. I'm going to miss you like crazy!' Tal's face turns from happy to thoughtful. 

'We'll still call. Like every day. Or every other day? Or when we both have time', he says. 'But what about the time difference?' I ask him. He's silent, and he's looking like he's thinking. Probably because he most likely is.

'Julia, we're going to eat! Get downstairs!' I hear my mom yell. I look sadly at Tal. 'I have to go, babe. I'll call you later tonight or something. Bye!' I try to sound optimistic but fail. Tal still seems to be sunken in thoughts when he says goodbye. I sigh once more and then decide to head downstairs. 

The food better be really good because it stopped me from talking to Tal. Who is my boyfriend. Inner fangirl awakes again and I can feel the butterflies in my stomach. My inner fangirl seems to awaken at the sound of Tal's voice or the word boyfriend. Weird information to know.

Apparently, I'm so deep into my thoughts I don't notice I'm nearly walking into a chair until my mom calls my name. Well, this dinner is off to a great start.