Tommy's nose has little freckles all over it. I tap the tip of it with my finger. He makes a darling little face back at me. I sip my latte. The milky coffee slides down my throat and brings me warmth. I notice the cashier at the gas station staring at us, which pulls me out of reverie.
"I do NOT want to go to school now," I pout. Tommy smiles a little bit.
"Let's skip it and spend the day together instead," he suggests simply. Usually, I wouldn't skip. But I feel different. High school seems insignificant and unimportant. I grin.
"Let's do it." We smile at each other and dump our empty latte cups into the garbage can on the way out. As I push the door open, he holds my hand. My spine feels electrified.
"Follow me to my house," I suggest. "Then you can leave your car there so that we can drive together." He kisses me on the cheek and gets into his car.
When I get out of my car, the wind blows across my face and I close my eyes for a second. Lets do this. I lead Tommy up the steps to my house. Once inside, his eyes scan the kitchen. "Nice place," he says, and pecks my forehead. "Grand tour, please," he requests with a wholesome little closed-lipped smile.
I begin. "This is the kitchen. This is where we eat meatloaf and play Apples to Apples." He nods appreciatively. I lead him to the living room. "This is where I watch marathons of Say Yes To The Dress." I lead him to the bathroom. "Well... you know," I say. I point to a door. "Parents' room." I point to another door. "Closet stuffed with plastic bags, umbrellas, and mismatched socks." I march up the stairs. "The rest is unimportant. This is my room." He laughs and pushes the door open. I sit on my bed while he looks around. He sniffs a dried rose, looks at old pictures, laughs at my shirine to Yoko Ono. Scans my bookshelf, eyes a lacy bra laying on the floor, looks at the artwork hanging on the walls. I can feel him coming to lots of tiny conclusions about my life and what kind of person I am. Bedrooms are so personal. They are like little worlds, and he has just been introduced to mine. For some reason, I just really feel significance in this moment.
I lay back on my pillow and whisper playfully, "Let's make out now." I don't know what's come over me, but I'm enjoying it. I'm shocked by my words, but not embarrassed. Tommy laughs. I grin and pat the spot on the bed next to me. He climbs aboard and stares at me, propping his head on his elbow.
"Well," I say, waving my hands around, "Let's kiss repeatedly." And we do.
