"There's my girl!" Mom yelled as soon as I stepped into the kitchen. Before I could react, I felt my mom's hands wrap around me, pulling me into a tight hug.
"Mom," I choked out. "I can't...breathe."
She pulled away and smiled, cupping my face. "Oh, can you blame me? My daughter is eighteen-years-old!" She wiped at her face and sniffled and I felt my heart warm. "You're a grown-up, now. Oh, this is too much for me to handle."
She sat down and grabbed a couple of tissues.
I laughed and sat down next to her. "I'm a grown-up, yes. But don't worry, I still get excited over little things."
Mom smiled and rolled her eyes. "I packed your lunch. I hope you don't mind having birthday pancakes."
"Mind? I don't mind at all!" I said, springing up, my hands flailing around. I checked my watch. "It's my birthday and I have a math quiz in thirty minutes. I think I should get going. Bye!" I bent down and kissed her cheek. I grabbed my bag and raced out the door, my mom's sobs about my date today the last of what I could hear.
Today.
It was today.
I decided to walk to school. I felt too happy. In fact, I was in a really good mood that I actually said hello to Ms. Walker. Of course, she shrugged me off and continued smoking.
Smoking. Dylan.
My mind jumped to the photo I observed yesterday at the carnival. Surely Dylan and the mystery girl had chemistry. I mean they looked in love. They were in love. The way he was looking at her...I had never seen him look at another girl that way at school. Or at all. In fact, he didn't really care about any of the girls. When I told him about Abby, he shrugged me off. It didn't seem like he was interested in anyone.
But there was something between him and the girl.
And he told me he didn't believe in love. He told me he was never in love.
Did he and the girl have a messy break up? Was he still in love with her, even though he disregarded the idea of being in love?
Questions raced through my mind and I stopped and shook my head.
It was my special day.
I had a date with my crush.
I didn't need to play detective. Maybe Dylan just didn't like the concept of being in love. Who was I to change that? He was stubborn and bitter. Maybe that was just him.
It wasn't my business to interfere with his love life.
"Aubrey!" Tymon and Amber yelled.
Here it came.
Another bone-crushing hug.
"Oh, my gosh, you're eighteen!" Amber screamed, attracting the attention of some students.
"Our little girl is growing up," Tymon sobbed.
I laughed. "Thanks, guys."
Wow.
I was actually eighteen.
Getting to the locker, now, was pretty hard. Amber and Tymon wouldn't let go of me so I basically had to drag them with me. It wasn't easy and we did receive lots of unwanted attention – something I laughed at.
"Guys, I'm not going to run away," I laughed. "I need to get my math copybook and review. I have a quiz in a few."
"Fine," Amber groaned, letting go. "Gosh, it just feels surreal. You're like a little kid to us, Aubrey."
"It's hard to let go," Tymon commented, smiling at me.
"We're all eighteen, now," I said. "Everybody eventually grows up." I stopped and swallowed, putting loose strands of my hair behind my ear. "But hey, I'm still that person who gets excited over carnivals."
"You always will be," Amber said.
"Indeed."
We exchanged smiles and goodbyes and then I turned to my locker. I hummed to a song I loved and dialed in my combination, flinging my locker open. These lockers were quite old and rusty and required pressure to gain access.
"Copybook, copybook, copybook..." I muttered to myself, scanning the locker. "Aha!"
I pulled it out and shut my locker, turning around, only to stop and yelp.
Dylan raised an eyebrow and I pushed down the curiosity I had about him and the girl. It's none of your business, Aubrey. He'll only get angry.
"Do you have the chemistry book with you? I forgot it at home and the teacher is a freaking screw," he said, folding his arms. He also decided to ditch the jacket, although I knew he always had it with him.
"But I just closed my locker!"
"Then open it again!"
I rolled my eyes and went through the whole process again. I grabbed the book and shut the locker. "Here," I said, handing it over. "Why are you in such a bitter mood? I'm not surprised, but still."
He heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his black hair. It had gotten curlier and it was evident he was running his hands through his hair a lot. What had gotten him so nervous and worked up?
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he snapped. "I need to get to class."
I brushed him off and grinned. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"No," he replied, turning around. And then was he on his way.
Guess not.
"Hey, Aubrey."
My head snapped up, my eyes locking with warm, brown ones.
"Dallas! Hey!"
He grinned. "Happy eighteenth!"
I blushed. "Thank you."
"I just wanted to...you know...make sure that we're still on for tonight."
"Yeah. Sure. Of course we are!"
Calm down, you dummy.
"Great," he replied. He can kill a person with such a smile.
The day seemed to drag on but I was finally sitting in my bedroom with Amber explaining to me why I needed to wear a dress for my date with Dallas.
Which was in an hour.
And I was not nervous at all. Nope.
"But I don't want to wear a dress!" I retorted, folding my arms. "Can't I just wear my jeans?"
"Oh, please!" she snapped. "I bet you these haven't been in the washing machine for a while."
I pursed my lips.
"You can wear your converse, though," she said. "Seeing as you're not excited on wearing a dress..."
I grinned. "Sweet."
Amber grabbed the curling iron and smirked. "Let's do this, then."
This time, though, time seemed to drag on fast. Amber fixed me up and I guess that was what distracted me. I almost forgot about my jitters. When Amber was done and I was finally ready, I realized Dallas was going to be here any minute.
"Oh my goodness," I said. "I'm actually going on a date with Dallas." I paced back and forth and fidgeted with my hands. "I'm nervous. I'm scared. I'm excited. Oh, I don't know what to do!"
"For one, you can stop pacing. You're going to create a dent in the floor," she snapped, folding her arms. "And second, you can breathe in and out. First dates always make people feel uneasy. But you need to remind yourself that you're ready and you're going to kick butt."
I grinned. "I'm going to kick butt."
Then, the doorbell rang.
"That's him!" Amber sang. She looked at her watch. "And right on time! Come on, let's go!"
She grabbed my hand and dragged me downstairs and my heart thudded in my chest.
It was happening.
"Oh! Aubrey, you look beautiful!" Mom gushed, flailing her arms around. "Oh! Goodness, my daughter is growing up!"
"I don't know if I approve of this," Dad said.
"Oh, shut up, Lester," Mom snapped.
Inhaling and exhaling deeply, I opened the door. Dallas stood there, a nervous look on his face, flowers in his hand. When he saw me, he smiled.
"You look beautiful, Aubrey," Dallas said.
I blushed. "Thanks. You're not bad yourself."
He laughed.
Then, I was shoved away by my mom. She beamed at Dallas and began to ramble on, while Dad eyed him carefully.
"Uh, these are for you, Mrs. Dawson," Dallas said, handing her the flowers.
"Oh, that was so sweet of you!" she gushed. "Thank you, dear. They're beautiful."
"Take care of her, alright?" Dad said, squinting at him.
"Yes, sir," Dallas replied, smiling. Dad smiled back and we were on our way. When I heard the front door close, I breathed a sigh of relief, content to be away from my excited mother and inquisitive father.
As I walked beside Dallas, I noticed a new car in Dylan and Molly's driveway. I squinted to have a better look but ended up shrugging in nonchalance. I breathed in the crisp air and smiled.
Dallas opened the car door for me and I thanked him, getting into the car. Dallas started the engine and began to drive and I noticed the smile on his face.
"So, where are you taking us?" I asked.
"Ah, but that will ruin the surprise," he teased. "I just hope I won't disappoint you."
"Don't worry, you won't."
"Oh, my goodness, this is beautiful!" I beamed, looking at the wide stretch of the lake.
We were going to have a picnic. When Dallas parked the car and we got out, everything was already set and in order. A red blanket lay on the grass near the lake, a brown basket placed on it. It was odd that it was already set but I wasn't complaining.
The view was beautiful. I was surrounded by nature and I was going to have dinner near a lake with my crush.
"I'm glad you like it," he smiled. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"It is," I breathed. "I love it!"
We sat down and I couldn't stop smiling. Dallas began to pull out assortments of food that ranged from sandwiches to fruits to cake. It was mouthwatering.
I felt so comfortable with him that my jitters were gone.
I could tell this was going to be a nice evening.
It was amazing.
The whole time through the date, Dallas and I ate, laughed, and talked. Our choice of topics varied; we talked about music, movies, school, our futures, and the list went on. Everything kept me entertained and engaged that I wished he and I would stay where we were for a long time.
I didn't feel like going home but the date had come to an end. It was safe to say that my first day went completely the way I dreamt it would be.
It was simply beautiful.
I helped Dallas clean up the mess and put away the picnic basket and blanket. When we were done, I stood near the lake and watched as the night peacefully went on.
Moments later, I felt Dallas approach me and stand beside me.
"One can't get enough of this view," he whispered.
"I know," I breathed.
I was so caught up in the view that I almost didn't notice his warm fingers interlace with mine. But they did and I closed my eyes for a brief second, smiling, and trying to savor the moment we were sharing.
It all felt surreal.
But it was reality and I loved it.
"I'm glad you agreed to this date, Aubrey," he said.
I smiled. "I am, too. Thank you for tonight. It was really nice."
He laughed. "I almost forgot something." He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a navy blue box. "I got you a little gift."
"You shouldn't have!" I exclaimed. He laughed again and handed the box to me. I blushed and opened it.
"Oh, it's beautiful," I breathed, looking at the gold necklace. "Gosh, it's...it really is. Thank you so much."
"May I?"
I blushed as he picked up the necklace. He walked behind me and I felt his fingers gently push my hair to the side.
(At that point, I really wanted to tie my hair.)
(I know, I'm quite an idiot, but can you blame me?)
He carefully put the necklace on, pushing my hair back when he was finished. He didn't come back to stand beside me again, so I turned around and looked up at him. Dallas looked down at me (since he was taller than me) with his hands in his pockets.
There was a lot of smiling involved tonight, if you haven't noticed.
I touched the necklace with my fingers. "It's beautiful."
You already said that, Aubrey.
Dallas stared at me, his eyes roaming mine. They looked black at night. His lips twitched into a smile.
"Yeah," he breathed, his hand brushing my cheek. My heart began to race and my palms began to sweat.
He leaned in a little and I didn't object. He noticed it, too. Dallas grinned and leaned in further until our foreheads touched. We were so close now. I could feel our shaky breaths merging together and we stayed like that for a while.
"Well, this is really nice—"
I felt his warm lips connect with mine in the most gentle and romantic way. My eyes immediately fluttered shut, my body tingling in excitement and happiness as I felt his hands cup my cheek, his thumbs tracing imaginary lines and circles. The kiss was brief and short, but enough to leave me mesmerized. When we pulled away, Dallas leaned his forehead against mine, his nose brushing mine, something I found really cute.
"Now would be the right time to ask you if you want to be my girlfriend, right?"
I laughed. "Yeah."
"So, is that a yes, or did I mess up?" he said and I could feel him smiling.
"It's a yes," I breathed.
Grinning, my hand gently gripped his wrist, and we stayed like that for a while. My brain had stopped functioning. All I was really able to focus on was that my crush would now be considered my boyfriend – the fact that he and I kissed.
And goodness, I loved it.
"I'll see you on Monday?" Dallas asked.
"Yeah," I smiled. "Yeah, definitely."
He leaned over and kissed my temple, his thumb skimming my jaw.
Don't squeal, Aubrey.
"Thank you for tonight," I said. "It was really sweet of you."
"Don't thank me," he said. "I loved every minute of it."
We exchanged goodbyes and I got out the car. I waved and watched his car disappear. I looked around. There was no one in sight and Dallas was now out of earshot.
I grinned.
And then I squealed.
"Do you usually do that?" a voice asked.
I whirled around and grinned. "Only on special occasions."
"So, I take it your date went well," Dylan said, exhaling a white cloud of smoke.
"Yeah," I said, skipping up to him. "How was your day?"
He shrugged and looked down, placing the cigarette back in his mouth.
"Whose car is this?" I asked, gesturing to the one he was leaning on. I leaned against it, too, and folded my arms.
Dylan took out the cigarette, exhaled, and sighed. "My dad's."
My mouth formed a small 'o' and I thought for a second. Lately, Dylan seemed to be nervous and worked up. I did recall a phone call he had. Whoever he was talking to did not make him happy.
Could it be because of his father?
"Oh," I finally managed to say.
"Yeah."
Dylan put out the cigarette and placed it in his pocket. He took out his car keys and unlocked the car – his and not his father's.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to drive around."
"Can I come with?" I asked. I didn't feel like telling my parents, including Amber and Tymon, every single detail about the date I had. And the fact that I had my first kiss. And the fact that I was dating somebody now.
That could wait till tomorrow.
"Go home, Beatles girl."
"I don't feel like it," I shrugged. "So can I come with?"
"When have I ever objected?" he sarcastically asked.
I grinned. "That's the spirit."
We got into the car and I made sure to put on the seatbelt.
"I have a story!" I beamed. "Seatbelt, Dylan."
He heaved a sigh and put on the seatbelt.
"Thank you," I said. "So can I tell you a story?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"I'm going to tell it anyway."
"I know."
"Oh? And how?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling.
"Because I've gotten used to you," he muttered. I grinned and began to tell the story.
I figured he needed some sort of distraction.