Don't Call Me Baby

4 | REVELATIONS

"Archer Finn, stop bringing yourself down!" I begin, and furrow my eyebrows further. This seems to amuse him, because he smiles a tiny smile. "You're not a bum, and you definitely have a lot to give to this world and to give to me. You're strong, ambitious and smart. Do you think I missed the fact that you won first place in the essay competition? Or the fact that you had one of the best scores on our SAT's?" I stop for a second to breathe in, because my throat feels as dry as a desert at this point. "What I'm saying is that you have such great potential and you shouldn't waste it on acting like a bum. You're better than that. No, wait, you can be better than that and you can't change my mind about it!"

"So you're saying you searched for my name on the list when the scores of the exam came out?" He asks with his brows raised. He looks impressed by my stalking skills. His sudden interuption in my rant, especially having him ask me exactly this question makes me turn an even brighter shade of red, if that's even possible. I can't believe he's so good at embarassing the heck out of me.

"Yes, yes I did search for your results because I was curious." I admit and for some reason he enjoys knowing that. We fall silent out of nowhere and neither of us has the guts to speak about the elephant in the room, which is when and where he started liking me back.

Oh, and the fact that our relationship is screwed before it even began because I'm leaving this place in a week.

"You were so cute at the science fair, you know." He begins silently, as if almost unsure if it's alright to talk about his feelings. I've come to realize he's quite reserved when it comes to what's close to his heart. "I think that's when I first got my interest for you. I never thought someone could be clumsy enough to have their project explode in their face, yet still look cute in failing chemistry."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're kind of making fun of me?" I ask with a warning glare and he laughs, shaking his head. If Archer is right about something, it's that this chemistry project was indeed tragic. My grade was even more tragic, but that's another story. Never thought someone would fall for me, because I'm bad at science. Who knew Archer Finn was such a weirdo?

"Hey, Archer. That's a bit of a third-grade-playing-spin-the-bottle kind of question but what is your type?" I can't. The curiosity got the better of me.

He snorts but caresses my cheek as if trying to reassure me that childishness is a part of my charm. "Honestly? If I'm looking to bang, I just want a pair of boobs and a nice ass." He admits and I blink the thoughts of my non-existing chest out of my mind. "But if I'm looking for more than that..." Archer takes his sweet time thinking and rethinking the answer to this but ends up giving up. "I don't know, Birdie. I haven't looked for that in a while." As my heart skips a few beats because he called me by my nickname, he yawns and rubs his eyes with his arm, obviously trying to shun the sleep away.

It might sound bad but knowing Archer Finn, I don't really want this night to end. He isn't exactly the most loyal and persistent boyfriend around so I wouldn't be too surprised if he decides to drop this tomorrow morning.

In fact, that would be such an Archer move that it would feel natural.

It's not healthy to know all of this and still want to kiss the heck out of him, right?

Well.

I grab his band tee in my hands and the fists form around the material, bunching it and making Archer lean in even closer. I kiss him like there's no tomorrow and although he's at first too surprised to react, he doesn't take long to get back in track and kiss the breath out of me, as well.

We kiss.

And we kiss some more.

And I don't seem to get enough of his lips, while he doesn't seem to get enough of mine.

"You kiss pretty well for being so inexperienced." Archer mumbles out, trying to catch his breath after our hour long make out session.

"You'd be surprised to know that I'm not as inexperienced as you might think."

His eyebrows look like they're about to fly out of his face. "Really?"

I laugh. "Yeah, really. I haven't had a bunch of boyfriends and I haven't done the thing, but I've kissed my fair share of boys."

"Well would you look at our little player." Archer mocks me and we both explode in loud laughter.

Great, now a have a new quality of his to add to my list of things I like about Archer Finn: he can easily make me laugh.

"Now on a real note." He runs his arm through his hair, moving it out of his eyes and shimmying his way closer to me. I have to pretend I'm not pressed against him.

And I mean all of him.

"When are you really flying to Cali?"

"Wait, you know I'm going to California?" I ask incredulous. "How'd you know that?"

The ends of his mouth twitch up into a short smile. "Being the popular guy in school had a lot of perks, you know. I didn't have to do a lot of asking and searching to find out most of the things I know about you."

Now it's my turn to be surprised. "What do you really know about me, Archer Finn?"

"For starters, I know you have a middle name: Margaret, but you thought it sounded too granny-ish and decided to completely cover up it's existence. I also know your favorite food is melon and your favorite animals are dogs. I know you own a dog yourself, which is a labrador retriever and is called-uh- I forgot." He smiles sheepishly and once again looks like a sweet young kid. I just want to pinch his cheeks.

"His name's Jeffrey."

"Whose name?"

"My dog."

"Oh. But wait-"

"Huh?"

"Did you name your dog Jeffrey so you could make a meme out of him?"

"What are you talking about?"

"My name Jeff?"

"No, Archer. Just no."

We let the silence fall between us and nothing but our breaths are audible in the dimly lit bedroom.

"Hey, Jordan- When are you leaving?"

"In a week."

"Then I have a week to love you. All of you."