The week flew by fast and soon it was Friday, and I was standing on the porch saying goodbye to my sister and brother in law before they climbed into their taxi and left for their honeymoon.

“Bye Lane! Bye Matt! Have fun in Barcelona.” I hugged my sister. They would be gone for 3 weeks, which meant I had the house to myself for basically the whole month. Laney kissed my cheek before she followed Matt to the car. I waved goodbye to them and by the time they were at the end of the road I had turned to go back inside.

I was an hour into my psychology homework when I heard my stomach growling. I was about to order Chinese when I heard a knock on the door. Cautiously I opened the door and was met with Alex's face. He flashed me a smile and I noticed the 2 grocery bags on his arms. Immediately I took one of the bags and welcomed him in, and we went to the kitchen to set the bags down. Then he turned back to me and slid his hands awkwardly into the pockets of his jeans.

“Um, hi?”

“Hey.” I waited for him to say something else- for example, explain why he had appeared at my house- but he seemed to forget about that tiny detail. I raised my eyebrows in question and gestured to the pile of food on my kitchen counters. “Oh, I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by.”

“With… food?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I know that Laney and Matt don't get back until the 27th, and that you'd be alone, so I decided that I would keep you company for today. And I brought food.”

“Jack kicked you out, didn't he?”

“Yeah. He's having lady friends over.” He admitted and I chuckled.

“Then I guess I'll allow you to stay for a few hours. But only because you brought the food as a peace offering.” I picked up my phone again, hesitating. “I was just about to order Chinese. You want anything?”


••••••

“So you turned 18 last summer? How are you still in school?” We were sitting on the floor, with our backs against the couch and our legs under the table. I was finishing a few assignments while we chatted. All the food he brought turned out to be junk food, so we were munching on s’mores pop tarts and skittles.

“Well I was born in Texas but we moved to California for a year for my sister, and they start school a year later than normal. Then after first grade we moved back to Texas and I just stared where I left off. I've pretty much always been the oldest in my grade.” Alex nodded before telling me a little about his high school experience.

My phone let out a buzz, and I saw that Hailey had texted me. Her boyfriend bought her tickets to a show in June. I was beyond jealous. We had been saving for months for those tickets.

“Ugh, I need a boyfriend who will buy me concert tickets. Or just a boyfriend. Or just concert tickets.” I groaned and Alex laughed. “I haven't been out of the house since February.”

“You know, am basically a free ride to concert tickets. People love me. And I have connections.” Alex told me and I laughed.

“Then maybe I'll have to keep you around. Free concert tickets are a must.” I sat back up and faced my open book. “Anyways, can you help me with this? My teacher is an 80 year old woman with a cat farm in her backward.”

“Aw, Ms. Briggs is still there?” Alex joked and flashed a grin that I returned instantly. “Let's see, so what part is confusing?” I told him and he started to explain.

I wanted so badly to focus on him and my homework, but I couldn't help but notice how close we were, a matter of inches apart. His leg was softly grazing mine. My heart was racing and instead of looking at the book, I was watching Alex's face as he talked. Slowly but surely, my gaze had traveled down to his lips. I barely noticed when he stopped talking and looked at me.

“Are you even listening.” He said with a smirk.

“No, not really.” I replied and shrugged as I continued to watch his face. He still had that playful smirk on his lips.

“That's okay.” I watched as his eyes flicked to my lips and then back to my eyes. I did the same and Alex's hand found its way to my knee. When he steered to lean in I froze.

I don't know why I hesitated. I wanted to kiss him, didn't I? I mean, I was the one staring at him. I didn't even know anymore. Was this moving too fast?

I turned my head slightly and it was Alex's turn to stop. He let out a slight chuckle, but we both knew it wasn't funny. He started to stand up and I panicked.

“Alex, I'm sorry,” I tried to apologize but he held out his hand to stop me.

“No, you're fine. I knew it was stupid. I shouldn't have done that, I'm pushing you.” I knew he was trying to put me at ease, but it obviously wasn't working. He studied the clock on the wall. “I should go. It's already past 11, Jack should be done. I'll see you later, Shelby.”

I followed him to the door, frowning as I did. Before I closed the door behind him, I halfheartedly called out, “later, Alex.”

What have I done?

Notes