07

He nods his head as he pulls into my driveway where the lights are still on, which means my parents are still awake and watching TV in the living room where they can clearly see outside. « Well, when you bring it every day, I think everyone notices that you have a slight habit. »

I nod my head. « Yeah, maybe. »

He takes off his seatbelt before turning to me while he bites his lip while he thinks about what to say. « Thank you for coming, it really means a lot to me. »

I smile at him. « I can’t say I’ll ever do it again because sports absolutely suck, but you never know. Thank you for inviting me, that means a lot to me. »

He leans over to me as his hand sets on top of my thigh while our lips meet in a soft kiss. I reach over and set my hand on the back of his neck, lightly pulling at some of his hair. I pull away, scared that my parents are looking through the window with my sister to see what’s going on.

I look up at him while he plays with a strand of fabric of my jeans that’s frayed from the rips. « I should probably get inside. »

He nods. « Yeah, probably. »

He slides out of his car and I watch as he runs around to open up my door for me. He walks me up to the door where I bring us to the corner where I know my crazy family wouldn’t be able to see us. I clear my throat as I grip the hem of his hoodie. « I’ll see you at nine ? »

« Yeah, nine it is, » he whispers before he leans in to give me another kiss that’s just as soft as the rest of them. Every single time our lips meet, mine are chapped and his are the softest I’ve ever felt that always shocks me.

Once he pulls away, he brushes back some of my hair that’s falling into my face. A soft smile plays along his lips while he stares down at my face and rubs his thumb against my cheek. I clear my throat and force my eyes away from his. « Drive safely. »

« I promise I will. Get some sleep and text me if you need anything, » he tells me. Joey and I had been texting for the past two days because Melissa stole my phone to put his number in it at lunch and ever since then, whenever I was bored, he was the one I went to. He was kinda dry at texting and I’m assuming it’s because he doesn’t do it too much, but I was able to get him to open up after awhile.

« I will, » I tell him before giving him one more kiss and then walking into the house where Emilie and Mom were standing by the window in random positions that were probably supposed to seem natural.

« Oh, hey, we were just seeing if the moon was visible tonight, » Mom said as she scratched her head and went to sit back down on the couch that was covered in pillows and blankets while a movie was paused on the TV.

« Oh, yeah ? Is it visible ? » I ask, knowing they haven’t even noticed how cloudy it was tonight so I could catch them in their lie.

« Yeah, it’s huge tonight, didn’t you see it while in the car ? It’s so beautiful, isn’t it ? » Emilie said as she went over to sit down next to Mom who was hugging a pillow to her chest.

« Nice try, you can’t see the moon tonight, so were you guys just being creepy and staring at me or what ? » I ask and they share looks with each other before Mom opens her mouth to say something until my sister opens hers.

« Do you have a boyfriend ? » She blurts out with a huge smile on her face, hoping that I’ll say yes, even though I’m honestly not sure. He never officially asked me, but he also never said we weren’t, so I don’t know what to think. I believe that since it’s his first relationship with a guy that he would want to ask before we do anything too crazy, so I guess not ?

« I don’t think so, but probably soon. His name’s Joey, » I tell them as I sit down on the leather loveseat and pulling a blanket over me since I was cold again from standing outside.

« Aw ! » Mom said as she placed a hand over her chest as she had a big smile on her face. « when do we get to officially meet him ? »

I sigh. « He’s picking me up in the morning to go hang out with our friends at the trampoline place we passed when we went to dinner, so maybe you’ll meet him then, but don’t hope for anything. »

« Aw ! » Emilie and my mom said. Ever since I came out, my mom had asked about every single guy I hang out with because she was hoping I had finally found someone that was actually gay or whatever and wasn’t just hanging out with me for a fuck. While that was how my mom and sister were like, I noticed the way my dad sat on the couch with his phone in his hand as he tried to ignore this conversation as he always did when my sexuality came up.

I roll my eyes at my family’s ridiculousness before standing up. « Alright, I’m going to take a shower and go to sleep. I’ll see you all in the morning. »

They say goodnight while they press play on their movie as I make my way up the stairs to the bathroom where I turn on the water to heat up. I turn around to look in the mirror at my lips that are severely chapped and probably uncomfortable for Joey, even though he never said anything about it. I sigh as I run a hand through my hair and just hope that I don’t do anything stupid tomorrow that could ruin my new relationship type thing.

Kade’s POV

When I wake up, I’m so tired that I don’t even want to move from my comfortable spot under my warm blanket. I force myself up after a few minutes of scrolling through my phone and texting Melissa back because she asked if I was coming with today. I go to my closet and pick out some army green joggers, a dark blue crewneck with white stripes, and some white Converse.

I realize I have some extra time, so I go downstairs to sit at the table with Emilie who’s texting someone on her phone and I’m assuming it’s Amanda from the way she laughs at whatever’s said. I sit there for a few minutes with my sister who’s telling me about how she already doesn’t understand something in her math class.

She stops when she hears Mom talking to someone and we look at each other confused because Dad and our grandparents weren’t home, so we don’t know who it could be. When I hear the deep voice, I immediately know who it is and I shoot up from the chair as does Emilie, who realizes the same thing.

She pushes me back, so she gets there first and I almost fall to the floor, but catch myself on the wall as I try to grab her and pull her back so my mom and sister don’t embarrass me in front of Joey. Emilie and I race to the front door for who will get there first.

Obviously, she does by how tiny she is and how fast. Once we do, Joey looks up at me with a smile while he holds a cup from Starbucks in his hand with my mother standing in front of him. He’s wearing black joggers, a checkered hoodie, and black Vans and he’s pushed his hair back so it’s not hanging in his face.

« Hey, we should go, » I said, rushing over to him to pull on his hand, trying to leave as quick as possible to not let my mom and sister embarrass me too much.

Joey nods, sticking his hand out to shake her hand. « It was lovely meeting you, Mrs. Brooks. I promise that I’ll make sure he stays safe. »

Mom reaches over and kisses my cheek before nodding to Joey who gives her another soft smile while Emilie stands there just watching it all play out. « It was great meeting you, dear. »

I glare at my Mom as Joey walks down the porch steps and she gives me an innocent smile before I close the door so they can’t watch us walk out like some creepers. When I get to Joey’s side, he hands me the iced coffee cup.