A week has passed since my first date with Ryan (No, not a date), and things have been going pretty smoothly. We saw each other every other day, and our phone calls would end at 1 AM or even 2 AM. I still can't figure out his intentions, though, nor his feelings. But I can surely tell mine even though I'm not quite fond of them. I have to admit that I grew to actually like Ryan, and not in a friendly way, but rather more. And although I'm not easily affected by boys, he tends to be an exception.
Ryan is a nice, kindhearted gentleman, unlike all the other boys our age. I'm not here to generalize, but I've seen enough to judge the male species.
Anyway, Ryan came up to me the other day and bluntly asked me out. He said he thinks he has feelings for me and needs to make sure of it. It's a real date this time, and that's what's really been stressing me out the whole day. He'll pick me up around 6 PM tomorrow, and that's all I know.
I haven't talked to any of the guys about Ryan, and, honestly, I don't want to. I'm not yet ready to receive unnecessary protectiveness from them. It happened before, and I don't feel like reliving the same experience.
I was 12 when I had my first boyfriend, Matt, who was a year older than me. I don't remember much about him except for his black hair and blue eyes. Unlike Cody, I was thrilled about dating him. On my second date, which was at a park near our school, Cody fought with him for no reason. I asked him about it later, and he answered, "No one can take you away from me, Nicole."
I wasn't mad, nor was I upset about leaving Matt. But I was glad that Cody cares about me even if he overreacted about it. Still, I wouldn't risk telling him about Ryan; it would just be history repeating itself.863Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiKKIr7F45
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"So Aunt Rosie is coming," Kat starts at the dinner table, serving mashed potatoes on each of our plates.
"Great," Cody declares sarcastically. He was never a fan of that woman. She often starts comparing him with her very "successful" son. I like Aunt Rosie even is she irritates me a little (okay, I mean a lot), and I don't mind her company.
"Cody, I don't understand your problem with your Aunt," Kat questioned from the other side of the table.
"Mom, I'm just not in the mood for listening to how awesome William is, okay?" I kicked his leg from under the table, earning myself a glare from him.
"She's just proud of her son. Is that a crime?"
"Well, she can keep her pride to herself." I kicked him once again.
"Would you stop that?" He whisper-yelled at me. Kat gave us a weird look to which we ignored and kept glaring at each other.
"Well, Cody, it's not like you have a say in this, but I invited her to stay for the weekend."
Both Cody and I were in shock and gave an incredulous look. "No way!" I exclaimed.
Kat shrugged, "They're coming tomorrow."
"They?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, William is coming as well," she smiled at both of us before picking up her fork to eat.
"Mom! Why did you do that?" In the kitchen, Cody and Kat stood arguing about it, while I sat on the couch, munching on some Ruffles and watching a comedy series.
Honestly, I don't really mind Aunt Rosie staying, but William? I don't think so. The last time I met the kid was 7 years ago, and I remember he stole my ice cream once. I don't care, but I'm still holding a grudge against the kid.
My phone lit up with a text message on the screen.
Ryan: Can't wait for tomorrow! 😉
I smile to myself like a fool, writing a reply back to him.
Me: I bet u can't. 😏
Ryan: Please, I bet u can't.
Me: Don't flatter yourself.
Me: Now, good night. I'm sleepy. 😴
Ryan: Good night. Dream of me, Shadow. 😉
I chuckled, rolling my eyes as I walked to the stairs. I passed by the kitchen to throw my goodnights at the two, who clearly seemed fed up with arguing. I curled up in bed and under my blanket, smiling to myself again and thinking how stupid I've become.
I woke up early in the morning, took a long, relaxing shower, and had a good breakfast. I felt fresh, new, and really...stressed. Today I'm going on a date with Ryan, and for the first time ever, I'm nervous about what I should wear. The surprise is that I actually care about what he'll think of my appearance. It's like I'm dressing up for him and not for myself.
So I stood in front of my closet and searched through my clothes. I found a cute striped crop top and ripped black shorts. I put them on with a light blue denim jacket and my red converse, and I absolutely loved the look. But then again, Ryan should be the one to love it. God, how more pathetic can I be?
I needed a mind of a man to judge, so I had to go to Cody. I barged into his room, calling his name. Cody was standing fully naked, looking at something on his desk. The moment he heard my voice he let out a yelp and fell on the floor. He quickly grabbed his pillow to hide his lower body, still whining in pain after the fall.
I couldn't help but laugh out loud uncontrollably. And in between the laughs, I managed to say a small 'sorry', to which he simply glared angrily.
"Why didn't you knock?" He yells at me.
"I didn't think you'd be naked," I replied, still laughing.
"God! Turn around," he orders, and I obey with shaking shoulders as I try to stifle my giggles. "Don't look."
As I waited for him to get dressed, I remembered something and starting chuckling to myself. "You know that once when we were little, we showered together—"
"Don't remind me!"
"Alright, I'm gonna turn around now," I did as I said to see him dressed in just boxers. "It took you all this time to wear just boxers?"
"What do you want Nicole?" He sighed.
"How do I look?" I did a little swirl to show him my outfit.
"Are you seriously asking me?" He asked with a frown.
"No, I'm just testing my voice," I replied sarcastically.
With another sigh, he said, "You look nice."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, seriously, you look pretty."
"Well, thanks," I smiled before turning to the door.
"Where are you going anyway?"
"My room?"
"Are you dressed up to stay in your room?"
"I'm just going out." Inside I'm praying he won't ask where.
"Yeah, where?" Who am I kidding?
"Umm, nowhere in particular."
He narrowed his eyes at me and nodding his head slowly, clearly not buying it. But he shrugged it off later and waved his hands dismissively.
I walked to the door but stopped and turned back around to face him, "Why were you so frantic when I entered?"
His face changed color, "I wasn't frantic."
"Yeah, you weren't; you were embarrassed," I gave a side smirk, looking at him mockingly.
"Embarrassed of what?" He raised his eyebrows, and when I peeked down, realization ran across him face then he started laughing. "You think I was embarrassed?" He walked closer to me and looked right into my eyes.
"If it wasn't for the fact that you're practically my sister, I would show you how confident I am," he whispered lowly.
"Sure," I shrugged one shoulder.
"But I can still show you how big it is—"
"NO," as I yelled, I saw Kat walking toward us. "Thanks for the offer, though," I pat his bare chest twice before leaving him.
"What are you two talking about?" Kat inquired.
"Nothing," we both reply simultaneously, and that earned us a weird look from Kat.
"I was just asking him if he liked my outfit," I explain.
Kat nods, "It looks nice. You look nice," and after a short pause, she adds, "as always."
She smiles genuinely and I smile back. And as soon as she turns her head towards Cody, the smile fades and is replaced by a frown. "Cody, how many times should I tell you to not walk around naked?"
"Mom," he groans.
"Don't 'Mom' me. Go put on some clothes," she commands and he obeys silently. I laughed on the inside as he turned into the obedient child he is.
"So, Nicole, what are you so dressed up for?"
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