𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒. ᵒᵘᵗᵉʳ ᵇᵃⁿᵏˢ ¹

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 29.

━ 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲'𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻' 𝘂𝘀.

    𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 through the bathroom window, flowing through the room as I pulled up my shorts.

    I still couldn't wipe the smile off of my face from the night before. It only processed in my mind— the fact that he had kissed me— the morning after, when I had woken up and pinched myself, to make sure it wasn't a dream. It wasn't.

    Standing there in the front doorway of the house, I had watched John B hop back into his van, waving to me as he drove away down the street and out of sight. I couldn't move for a while, simply trying to wrap my head around what had happened, my cheeks tinted dark red.

    When I had stepped back inside, I couldn't help but to lean my head on the door, my teeth biting down onto my bottom lip as the biggest of smiles rose to my face. I had never smiled so big, and for such a long time, ever in my life. The walk towards my bedroom was a daze. I had reluctantly changed out of the expensive dress that I was still wearing, stared at it with admiration for a while, and then hung it up in the farthest end of my closet. With soaking wet hair, I then waited in the living room for my grandparents to come home.

    They had marched in at around ten o'clock, with boxes in their hands. I felt a rush flow through my body when Caroline's face had lit up, her good energy being the cherry on-top for the night. She had came over to me, gave me a hug as usual, and forgot all about their shipment and rather asked me about my day. She questioned why I seemed so happy. She said that I was glowing— more than usual— and that I seemed enlightened, refreshed.

    She had came into my room later in the night, to see that I was still up, staring out my window. She told me that she knew something had happened. So, she sat down on the edge of my bed, and listened to me talk for an hour, about John B— because I simply couldn't hold it in anymore. She only seemed a little bit surprised when I first said his name. A wide smile was on her face as I told her all about when we had gone surfing, to staying at his house, and the boat ride in the morning. She had asked if I liked him. I had blushed and looked down.

    Halfway into it, she started to talk about how her and Daryl had met. I sat with my legs under the covers, knees pulled up to my chest, and my back leaning against the headboard of my bed, listening the entire time. When our chatting had unfortunately come to an end, when she could barely keep her eyes open any longer, she gave me quick 'boyfriend advice' and then told me to take my time— with John B— before saying goodnight and going to sleep. It was refreshing to have someone listen to me talk about a boy, and then give me advice. My mother was never there to do that, nor did I even have a boy to talk about.

    Now, midday, I stood in the bathroom, the sun shining down through the small glass window, cascading along my skin. My damp hair lay over my shoulders as my throat hummed a mindless tune, the sunlight casting a glow on my image in the reflection, while pots and pans clinking from the kitchen were heard in the distance.

    "It's ready, bug!" Daryl's voice shouted from down the hall, as the sound of the sink water running followed after his words.

    "Coming!" I called back.

    I quickly pulled my head through the basic t-shirt, slipping my arms through the sides, before shuffling to grab my towel resting on the counter top. My fingers gripped around the shower curtain, and with a strong jerk, it rolled closed and the bathroom door was being opened. When I shut the light, Caroline was stepping out of her bedroom door down the hall with a smile plastering over her face when she saw me.