The Girl I Loved Once

Chapter 9

I'm in my car, driving down the street and thinking about everything that happened today. I was so engrossed in my thoughts, but when I pull into my driveway I see Lara Jean, and all of a sudden my focus is on her and that sparkly bike. I start to get out of the car "Look who's here, my adoring girlfriend." I say as I step out and close the door. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" She says. I open the passenger side and grab my backpack. I swing it over my shoulder and sit down on the steps, and insinuate for her to sit next to me. "So what's up? I said. "Let me guess, you're here to back out on me right?" I say smugly. In one hundred percent sure that she's pulling out. "I just wanted to go over the game plan with you. Get our story straight before people start asking questions." She said while she sat down next to me. I raise my eyebrows. She's a in. "Oh ok. Makes sense. So...how did we get together?" "Well," she said while she put her hands on her lap. "when I got in a car accident last week, you happened to be driving by, and you waited for Triple A with me, then you drove me home. You were really nervous the whole time, because you've actually had kind of a thing for me since middle school. And I was your first kiss so-" I cut her off half way through. "You were my first kiss? How about I was your first kiss? That's more believable." I say. She give me a angry look, but continues on."This was your big chance, so you took it. You asked me out that day and we've been together ever since." I'm about to go along with it, when I remember the fib that Gen made me go along with to save face that we hooked up that weekend. "I don't think Gens gonna buy that." I say "Peter, the most believable lies are the ones that are the least bit true. I did get into a car accident; you did stop and sit with me; we did kiss in middle school." I shake my head. "It's not that.."
"Then what?"
"Gen and I hooked up that day."
She sighed, and I know I have to go with the story, otherwise Gen will tell. "Ok, spare me the details. My story still works though. After the accident, you couldn't get me out of your head, so you asked me out as soon as Gen dum-I mean you and Gen broke up." She shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat. "since we're on the topic, I'd like to set some ground rules." I laugh. "Man you really know how to zap the fun out of life, ok, shoot, what rules?"

"Well, I don't want you kissing me again." I laugh. "Trust me, I don't want to either, my head still hurts from this morning. I think I have a bruise." I push my hair back. "Do you see a bruise?" I say. Lara Jean leaned closer

"No but I can see a receding hairline."

My heart skipped a beat. "What?" I start to feel my forehead. It didn't feel like it was too far back, but I couldn't see it until I looked into a mirror. "Calm down, I'm only kidding. Do you have paper and a pen?"

"You're gonna write this down?" I say. "Yeah it'll help us remember!" I roll my eyes and whip my backpack around and rummage through it. I'm careful that Lara Jean doesn't see the script, but when I glance over she's looking at her palms, so I can relax. I finally find my Spanish notebook. I rip out a piece of paper, and  hand it to her She writes the word Contract on the top, then writes No Kissing. I quickly say "Are people really gonna buy it if we never touch each other in public?" I look skeptical, and she quickly jumps in. "I don't think relationships are just about physicality. There are ways to show you care about someone, not just using your lips. I smile and think What about that dick... She can tell what I'm thinking and immedietly says "Or any other body part." I groan. "You've gotta give me something here, Lara Jean. I have a reputation to uphold. None of my friends will believe I suddenly turned into a monk to date you. How about a hand in your back pocket? Like in, what's that movie called? Sixteen Candles?" She looks impressed that I know what she's talking about. "Yeah... You're right." She quickly writes down Peter is allowed to put a hand in Lara Jean's back pocket. "But no more kissing." She says. "You're the one who started it." She sighs. "The thing is...I've never had a boyfriend before. I've never been on a real date or walked down the hall holding hands. This is all new for me, so I'm sorry about the forehead thing this morning...it's just, I wish that these firsts were happening for real and not with you." She says. I get it. A quick, fleeting,, thought passes through my head, what is we made this real, but I dismiss it quickly. "Huh. Ok, let's save some stuff then."
"Yeah?"
"Sure, we'll save some stuff for you to do when it's the real thing and not for show." She smiles, and I continue. "Like, I won't pay for stuff. I'll save that for the guy who really likes you." I'm joking, of course I'm gonna pay for shit. "I wasn't expecting you to pay for stuff!" She says. She's annoyed, but I decided to press on. "And I won't walk you to class and buy you flowers" she looked mad. "I get the picture. So, when you were with Genevieve, what things did she like you do do?" I stare off into space for a second and think. "She was always bitching about me writing her notes."
"Notes?"
"Yeah, at school. I didn't get why I couldn't just text her. It's immediate, it's efficient. Why not use the technology available to us?" She smiles. That must be a girl thing, wanting notes. "I'll write you a note a day." She smiles. I can tell that pleases her. She writes down Peter will write Lara Jean a note a day. I chime in, "With down that you have to go to some parties with me. And write down no rom-coms!"
"But you just referenced Sixteen Candles!"
"Doesn't matter."
"Who said anything about Rom-coms, anyway? Not every girl watches rom coms?"
"I can tell that you're the type of girl who likes rom-coms."
She sighs and rolled her eyes, but wrote down No Rom-coms. Then she proceeded to write down NO ACTION MOVIES! I angrily grabbed the paper and wrote NO FOREIGN FILMS and then I wrote Lara Jean will make Peter her wall paper. "And vice-versa!" She pulled out her phone "smile!" She said as she took the picture. I smiled warmly. Then I pull out mine. "Not now," She said "My hair is sweaty and gross." She's fishing for a complement, but I won't give it to her. "Good point." I should have said something better. "Can you also write down that under no circumstances we can ever tell anyone the truth?" I whip out my impressive movie quote to impress her. "Like the first rule of fight club!"

"I've never seen that movie."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course you haven't." I wrote it down and underlined it. "What about an end date?" She says.

"What do you mean?"
"I mean how long are we gonna do this for? Two weeks? A month?" She says says. I shrug. "For as long as we feel like."
"But-dont you think we should have something set-"
I cut her off. "You need to relax Lara Jean. Life doesn't have to be so planned. Just roll with it. Let it happen." She sighs. "Words of wisdom from the great Kavinsky!" I wiggle my eyebrows. "I like that." She rolls her eyes. "just as long as it's over by the time my sister comes back from college. She'll know I'm lying." I lie back. "Oh, we'll definitely be done by then."
"Good." She says we both sign the paper, and she gets up, gets on the bike, and petals off.