Getting Over You

meet the family

Ever since the night we met on the beach, Dean and I had been inseparable.

In the mornings, we would go for runs along the beach before going swimming in either the ocean or one of our pools. We'd stay out all night, sitting on the beach and talking until the sun rose. Every day was a new adventure, whether we were staying by the beach or going into town. I didn't think that I would even be getting out of my bed at this point of the summer and there I was, up early every day and out late every night, having fun of all things. 

One day towards the end of July, I woke up and decided to go get ready to meet up with Dean. I took a quick shower and changed into some jean shorts and a white top with my silver sandals. I headed down the stairs and into the kitchen to grab a snack when my sister stopped me. 

"Where are you off to?" Avery questioned. "You're always in a hurry to get out of the house every morning."

Before I could answer, my mom decided to join in on the conversation.

"Avery is right about that, Lana. You've been very busy lately, out all day and we can never figure out what you're doing or where you're going," Mom said. I knew they meant well, especially my mom because she's only looking out for me, so I decided to finally tell them about Dean.

"Well, a few weeks ago, a family moved into the house next-door," I began. "They have a son my age and his name is Dean. We met on the beach a few weeks ago and ever since then, we've been hanging out, going swimming and exercising." 

Avery began to smile while my mother looked relieved. "Well I'm so glad that you made a friend, but I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. Would you mind if we had a girls day today?" My mom asked. 

I felt bad saying no because she did have a point, I was rarely ever in the house. So, I decided to go along with mom's idea, even though I felt really bad about ditching my daily plans with Dean.

"Sure, I just need to go run out and tell Dean that I won't be hanging out with him today," I said. 

"If you'd like, why don't you invite him over for dinner tonight. I'd love to meet him and I'm sure your father would too," mom said. 

At first, I was weary of the idea because even though I knew that my parents wouldn't judge or be rude, I couldn't be sure of my siblings. My brother's been in over-protective mode since Tyler and while I'm thankful that he's always looking out for me, I'd like to live my life for myself, not anyone else. 

"Sure, that sounds like a great idea," I assured. I knew that this night would be uncomfortable because my dad and brother definitely suspected that we were dating even though we weren't. 

I excused myself and headed out back and down the path to the beach, where I found Dean waiting in our usual spot. 

"Hey Lainey," he said with a smile. 

"Hey Dean," I said. "I actually can't hangout today because my mom wants to spend some time with me, but would you be interested in coming over to my house for dinner tonight?" 

I was nervous to hear his response because my situation sounded so lame. I was really hoping he wouldn't think anything negative of me.

"Sure, I'd love to come over for dinner," he said with a wide smile. "When should I come over?"

"Does 6 o'clock work?" I asked.

"Definitely," he responded. "I guess I'll see you then."

He took off and headed down the beach for our usual morning run while I stood there watching him leave. I was really grateful to have a friend like him. He never judged me but instead, he liked me for who I was.