He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

PARTY AT MY HOUSE! WHOEVER WANTS TO COME CAN BE THERE AT SEVEN PM ON LEAFSGREEN STREET, HOUSE NUMBER 82!” I say and everybody looks up at me and cheers.

  All of them are saying “Party at Mia’s house!!!” I laugh and turn to see Aria’s expression. She’s happy, which makes me happy. Now everybody is so going to be there. I make my way back to the office so I can return the megaphone, hoping that no one notices that I stole it from them. I put the megaphone on the right place on where I found it and leave right away. It’s lunch and Aria has vocal to go to. I sigh and say and hug her goodbye. I hate it when she has vocal, then I’m alone for the lunch period.

  “Why don’t you hang out with someone?” She says whispering into my ear. Aria knows that I only hang out with her, and she only hangs out with me.

  “Aria, you know that the only person I hang out during lunch is with you.”

  “Well then why don’t you hang out with Lucas?”

  “What makes you think I want to hang out with the new hot kid?” I say. My cheeks go red as I imagine how calm I feel around Lucas. The way he touches my cheek makes me shake throughout my whole body.

  “Mia, don’t be rude. I see the way he looks at you. Besides, he’s new. Who do you think he’s going to hang out with? He knows no one.”

  “Ok you are right, but still.” I say still hugging her. What makes her think I want to hang out with him? I mean I do like hanging out with him, and I do want him to touch my cheek again, but still. I am not that desperate.

  “But, Aria.”

  “No buts, just please go hang out with him. He looks sad.”

  “What do you mean he looks sad?” Aria lets go of me and points to where Lucas is. He does look kind of awkward and sad. I guess I should go up to him and hang out with him for lunch. As I make way to Lucas I see a curvy body. Hair touching her back and the curls bouncing when she walks. I began getting mad and I know Aria knows why. She touches my shoulder asking me to calm down, but I know I’m not going to. That little dog walking up to him is making me clench and unclench my hands. I begin thinking about Lucas, and Amanda comes in and takes him away from me.

  I walk to him hearing Aria calling my name but I am not going to stop. I block out her voice and walk over to Lucas. I see how awkward he is around her, and when I walk up to them his eyes light up. Some boys love it when Amanda comes up to them and talks to them, but somehow Lucas isn’t one of those guys. Amanda sees me and makes that disgusting face. I ignore it and begin facing Lucas and trying to help him get out if this stupid bubble.

  “Hey Lucas, where were you? I thought we were going to go out for lunch?” I say at Lucas. He begins to get confused but then after a second he knows what I’m doing and goes along with it.

  “Oh, yeah I forgot, Mia. We should go now or we won’t have any time to eat.” He says and winks at me. I turn to see Amanda looking confused and angry. Her face is making me laugh but I keep it in. I just smile at her, telling her to back off. She walks away and flips her hair at me.

  “You're welcome.” I say turning to see his face.

  “Thanks. I wanted to call for backup as soon as she approached me.”

  “I know. I saw it in your eyes.” I say as he comes closer to me and touches my hand. His touch makes me warm inside and out. The way he touches me is different than the way Jackson touched me.

  “You did, didn’t you?” He says.

  “Yup, so how about it? Do you want to have lunch with me?”

  “What do you think?” He says still holding my hand.

  “I think that you may starve to death if you don’t agree and just have lunch with me.” He laughs and lets go of my hand. My hand now is craving for his hand. For his warmth. I know Aria is behind me because I can almost hear her smiling.

  “Yeah I guess so.”

  “So, you want to come or not?”

  “Oh yeah.” He says with excitement in his voice. I turn behind and see Aria. I wink at her and run up to hug her. She whispers something in my ear that makes me smile.

  “Have fun!”

  As we leave the school I stop and wonder if we are going to walk or take the car. I also wonder on where we are going to go to eat, but somehow Lucas knows where he wants to go. I follow him and see that he stops in front of a black Mercedes. Is he rich or something? I stop thinking about that and find myself thinking about going into a stranger's car. I mean, I kind of know Lucas, but I have never ever been into a guy’s car. I have only been in Aria’s car since she picks me up and takes me home. I have also been in Jackson’s car, but only for like 10 minutes. Lucas’ car is much nicer than Jackson’s but it still doesn’t make me less frightened of riding in a stranger’s car.

  My chest tightens as he opens the trunk and puts his bag in there. He also takes off his sweater since it’s hot. He closes it and opens the passenger’s door for me to go in. He motions in for me to get in, but I don’t move. I don’t know why but it’s scary for me. It’s not like he’s an old guy asking for me to come into his car so he can give me candy or something. I’m 17 years old and I’m scared. I push that thought away and walk over to his car and go into the car. I sit down and he closes the door.

  I take a deep breath and smell the car. The car smells like his cologne. It makes me less scared and calmer. I look around his car, trying to see if he has weapons or something, but he doesn’t. It just looks like a regular car. It reminds me of Aria’s car. Just thinking that makes me less nervous. I sink into the seat and close my eyes until I hear Lucas opening the driver's door. I open my eyes fast and see him sitting down next to me closing the door. He puts on his seatbelt then eyes me.

  “You may want to put on your seatbelt so I don’t get pulled over.” He says smiling at me. I slap my forehead reminding myself how dumb I am. He must think it might be my first time being in a car or something. I put my seatbelt on and smile at him.

  “Now that’s better.” He says. He then puts his keys in and starts up the car. I hear the engine rumbling which makes me shake. He then puts it in drive and starts backing up. He turns around and puts his right hand behind my seat. It makes me get goosebumps for some reason. I take a deep breath and look outside the window. I see Amanda with Jackson looking at us. I see Amanda frowning, which is making me laugh. I then see Jackson’s face in a sad frowny face, which is making me wonder why he’s so sad. He used me. That idiot used me and now he’s feeling guilty. I then turn around to see Lucas looking at me, which makes me flutter inside. I forget all about Amanda and Jackson and just focusing on Lucas. He drives out of the school area, which is making me want to ask where he’s taking me. Maybe I should’ve asked before I got in his car.

  “So, um, where are we going?” I ask crossing my legs and putting my hands in my lap.

  “I’m going to take you somewhere.” He says looking straight. I see how focused he is while driving which is making me safe. But there is a part in my mind getting scared since he won’t even tell me where we are going. I’m regretting this already. I regretted this when I got in his car in the beginning.

  “Well where is somewhere?”

  “Somewhere is a secret.” He says grinning. This is not making me feel safe. Why won’t he just tell me? I mean I know it’s a secret, but just tell me so I don’t have to freak out and like call the police or something!

  “Ugh fine. Don’t tell me.” I say and look outside the window. This is getting boring. I could take out my phone but I feel like he’s going to throw it out of the window. So, that’s out of the picture. I start to think of something to clear the air and so my hand went to the radio. I turn it on and flip through stations. As soon as I hear a good song I leave it on that station. I wink at Lucas and he winks back. I turn the volume up louder since I heard what song it was. The song was ‘Rock a bye’ by Sean Paul and Anne Marie. I start singing to the song and see Lucas looking at me. His eyes light up as he hears me.

  “What?” I say still singing to the song. This song is damn catchy.
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  “You sing really well.” He says as he laughs hearing me sing. I stop singing as the song ends and I look at him. He looks at me then takes on hand off the wheel and grabs my hand. I swallow hard trying to figure out what’s happening. Lucas Jones is holding my hand. This hot new guy is holding my hand. He rubs his thumb on my palm in circles, causing goosebumps all over my body. He then grabs my hand and squeezes it hard. I don’t let go and neither does he. I’m hoping he won’t get in a car crash since only one hand is on the wheel, the other hand is holding mine. I let all my thoughts vanish out of my head and just think about Lucas and the party. I close my eyes and just listen to the music. Lucas then lets go of my hand, which is making me sad because I miss his warmth against me but I realize why he needs his other hand. He turns the car, which is hard to do with one hand and makes way close to a restaurant. Is he taking me to a restaurant? Crap, I hope he doesn’t take me to a restaurant. I mean I’m not even worthy to be taken to a fancy restaurant on a lunch break. I stand up straight in the sit and begin looking at Lucas with curiosity.

  “Please tell me you are not taking me to a restaurant.” I say crossing my fingers hoping he won’t take me there.

  “Why not?” He says smiling at me. I hope we crash or something. Something that won’t let me go into that restaurant. I haven’t even been in a restaurant in like years. I always go to like food courts or fast food places. Not in a restaurant. Now I really wish Aria didn’t have vocal today.

  “Because I don’t need to go to a restaurant, Lucas!”

  “Calm down, my uncle owns that restaurant, I want you to meet him. He’s extremely nice and if I go there for lunch, it’s free.” I think about those words. Me meeting his uncle. His uncle meeting me. I don’t feel good, but I am hungry.

  I continue looking through the window hoping that his uncle will like me. But why do I care? It’s not like I’m dating the dude. I play with my hair noticing that there are some knots in there. I really don’t want to meet his uncle looking ugly. I look for my bag, which is under the seat, and pull it out. I unzip it and search for my makeup bag. I basically started putting on makeup in the beginning of grade 12 so I could look more mature and less like a girl who doesn’t want to put on makeup. I honestly hate makeup but it’s the kind of thing which makes you less ugly, so to me, it’s magic.

  I finally find my makeup bag and pull it out. I unzip it and pull out my mascara. I pull out the sun visor and begin putting it on. I sense that Lucas is looking at me. I don’t care, I am so not meeting his uncle looking like a snob. I make quick dabs with the mascara on my eyelashes and then pull out my lip gloss. I put some on my lips and rub my lips together so it spreads.

  I turn around to see Lucas’ face but he is looking at the road, just driving. I know he was looking at me, but he doesn’t want me to know that. I put them back in my makeup bag and put it in my bag. I put the sun visor up and try to fix my hair. My stupid blond hair is making me wish I cut it because it’s so freaking hot outside. I take my hair tie off my wrist and tie my hair into a loose bun. Now that’s better.

  “So, are we here yet?” I ask putting my hands in my lap. I honestly don’t know what to do with them.

  “Now you sound like my little brother and sis.”

  “You have two siblings?”

  “Yeah, is there something wrong?” He says still looking straight ahead.

  “No, it’s just. You’re lucky. I don’t even have a sibling.”

  “I’m lucky? You are luckier than me. If you want a sibling, you can just take one from me. Don’t think they are all just fun. They annoy you, and barge into your room without even knocking. I mean I could be without any clothes and they will just barge in any time.” I laugh and I try to cover my mouth. I must sound like a pig.

  “Don’t do that.” Lucas says which makes me confused.

  “Do what?”

  “Don’t cover your mouth when you laugh or smile. You’re beautiful when you smile or laugh. Cover it up and you lose that spark that makes you be you.” He says now looking at me. Those words really touch my heart and it makes me want to cry. I never cry, but somehow, he’s making me. I am not crying.

  “I don’t cover my mouth all the time.” I say trying to prove a point. I always laugh with Aria and never cover my mouth.

  “You do with me.” And just like that my heart suddenly drops. I always cover my mouth in front of boys. I do it with Jackson, I do it with my cousins, and now I’m doing it with Lucas. I swallow hard and try to look out the window. It’s not working, it’s not calming me down. I know I might just cry, but I can’t cry! I don’t cry. Ever. And I am not going to let some boy let me cry after years and years.

  “No I don’t. You may think that but I don’t.”

  “Mia, please don’t be mad. I just wanted you to know that you don’t have to cover your smile or laugh just because of someone. Just because of me.”

  “Are we there yet or what?” I say trying to change the subject.

  “Yeah, we are.” He says grinning at me. Damn his smile is the only thing that makes my heart flutter. Luckily, Lucas is not like Aria who takes twenty minutes just to find one spot, he finds it in a second. He opens the car door for me which is so gentlemen-like, I give him a curious face as he helps me up.

  “What?”

  “Why do you always open the door for me? Are you those guys?”

  “Those guys meaning that they were raised with manners and always have to treat a lady with respect?”

  “Um.” I say not knowing what to say after that beautiful speech. I think he just shut me up.

  “My dad told me if I don’t treat a lady with a respect, he might just disown me.”

  “Wow really? Do you mind if I meet your dad too? I would love to tell him other stuff on what to do for a lady’s respect.” I say, smiling at him as he shuts the car door and locks it.

  “I think that if you meet my dad, he’s going to treat you more better than me. And he might just ask questions to make sure I was a good gentleman to you.” He says putting his hands in his pocket smiling at me.

  “Wow really? Sounds like he treated you with respect.”

  “Yeah, he’s a good father.” He says motioning me to walk with me to the restaurant. I check my phone and it’s only 11:45. Crap. It’s only been fifteen minutes. To me it felt like years. I catch up to him and I know he is wondering what I’m doing on my phone. I could text Aria but I know she’s going to kill me if I text her or call her. She’s probably singing right now or checking her vocal cords. Why did Aria leave me for this? I put my phone in my back pocket and see Lucas holding a door open for me.

  “Such a kind gentlemen.” I say as I laugh without blocking it with my hands. He smiles back and I know it makes him happy.

  “I know right. So, this is the restaurant.” I take in the restaurant all in one breath. It smells so amazing, and it looks beautiful. It looks like a 5-star restaurant. His uncle must be so rich, owning this place. I didn’t see Lucas pass by me because I must’ve been shocked by the food. I see Lucas talking to this old man whom I think must be his uncle. His uncle is the same height as him but of course he’s older. Lucas motions me to him so I can meet his Uncle. Brain, don’t fail me now.

  “Mia, this is my Uncle Dom. Uncle Dom, this is Mia. My friend.” He says friend like he means it. I see his uncle's face light up as he reaches out to take my hand to shake it.

  “Um hi, I’m Mia.” I say as I shake his hand. Man, he shakes hard. Do all guys shake hard or something? Like what the hell?

  “Hi Mia, I’m Dom.” He says smiling at me. He looks almost just like Lucas. So adorable. I look at Lucas to see his smiling at me with a wink.

  “Ok so uncle Dom, Mia and I only have about 45 minutes, so we were thinking if we could get a seat now.”

  “Of course, Luca.” His uncle says while motioning us across the restaurant to a seat close to the window.

  “Luca? Did he say Luca? Or was
it just my messed-up brain?” I say smiling at him while I sit down. He sits across from me. I kind of want him to sit beside me so I can feel his warmth, but that would just be too weird for him and me.

  “Nope, he said Luca. Of course, that’s me.” He says taking out the knife and fork out of the paper. I do the same, watching his carefully as he does it. The way he does it makes me shake throughout my whole body. Damn, I’m weird. I take a deep breath and take my hair out of my bun. It’s cold in the restaurant because of the AC, so I take out my bun and leave my hair down. My hair is messy and so I try my best to make it not as knotty. I see Lucas looking at me so I stick out my tongue for some damn reason. Man, I’m dumb.

  “Why do they call you Luca?” I say. Now, that’s better.

  “I think it’s because it’s shorter than Lucas and also my uncle always liked calling me that instead of Lucas.”

  “Well that’s cute. I don’t even have a nickname. My name is too short for one anyway.” I say twirling my hair. Man, I gotta stop doing that. He smiles at me, which makes my heart flutter again. I try not to look at him so I don’t blush again. I must look like one of those girls who blush all the time when boys do anything or say anything. I’m ready for someone just to kill me. Damn I’m hungry.

  “So, are we going to eat or what?”

  “Everyone has a nickname Mia.” He says. Did he not hear me or something? I said that I was hungry. Maybe he’s trying to change the conversation into finding me a nickname. I feel like boys never listen to anybody.

  “What?”

  “Everyone has a nickname.” He says putting his fingers through his hair. Damn he’s hot.

  “Yeah sure. Nicknames are for people who have long names Lucas. Not me.”

  “You say that, but I can easily come up a nickname for you.”

  “Ok Lucas, but Mia already a nickname anyway.” I say shutting my mouth fast. I can’t believe I said that. I have only told Aria what my real name is. I mean, everyone calls me Mia. Not one person, not even my own mother calls me by my own name.

  “Your name is not even Mia?” He said coming closer which is making my chest tighten.

  “I, um...”

  “Mia, it’s ok. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

  “No I um, I just never told anybody my name was a nickname. I guess no one asked…” I say as my voice is straining. I must sound like such a baby. I must look like I’m about to cry or something.

  “Mia, it’s ok.” He comes closer to me and reaches for my hand. My heart stops and I feel like I can hear it. I swallow hard and try to say something, but nothing comes out of my mouth. Come on, brain, don’t fail me now.

  “You want to try and guess what my real name is?” I say and see his mouth turning into a big smile.

  “Are you sure?” He says still holding my hand. I hope he doesn’t let go.

  “Yeah, yeah. Just guess.”

  “I may get it wrong. But ok.” He laughs which makes me laugh. He may get it wrong, but I don’t care.

  “Is it…Amelia?” My heart just stops when he says it. He got it. He found what my real name is. I let go of his arms and lean back into the seat.

  “What’s wrong? You ok? Answer me Mia.”

  “You got it.” I say under my breath hoping he didn’t hear me. But I know he did. He figured it out. No one has ever figured it out in one try. Not even Aria, and we’ve been best friends since we were little.

  “Really? It’s Amelia? Your real name is Amelia?”

  “I um. Yeah. Yeah, It’s Amelia. How did you…”

  “How did I know? I really don’t know. I guess maybe you look like an Amelia?” I laugh and I hope he’s lying because I don’t want to look like an Amelia.

  “No but really, I think it’s because Mia is a nickname for Amelia.”

  “Um yeah. So, um, you ready to order cause I’m starving and we only have about half an hour now.” I say looking at my phone. Why can’t the time go fast or something? It feels like we’ve been here for a year.

  “Yeah, sure. Hey Uncle Dom! Can we get something to order here or what?” He says cupping his hand to his mouth yelling at his uncle. He motions him to come over here so we can order.

  After ordering our food, the waiter brings it to us and I notice that my mouth is watering. I hope I don’t look like a dog in front of Lucas. I don’t want to be rude, but I really want to start eating. Lucas is still talking but I stopped listening a long time ago. He sees that I’m eyeing my food, which makes him laugh. I shake the thought of the food out of my head. I’m eyeing Lucas now, and he’s laughing so hard he puts his hand on his stomach. I stick out my tongue, which makes him stop laughing and is now trying to act serious. I kind of miss him laughing but then I see his serious face and I start to laugh. If he thinks he looks serious he must be joking. I mean no one can be serious with him around. I mean that face looks so stupid it could make a baby laugh. I start laughing so hard I almost fall of the chair. Then, Lucas starts laughing and I do too. Even our laughs sound so good together. It sounds like a melody, which makes my whole body flutter. I stand straight fixing my shirt. I must look like an idiot. I also fix my hair, which makes my shirt come up. It makes Lucas’ eyes light up which I put down my arms down quickly.

  “Um so...” I say eyeing the food. Can we just please eat. If I don’t put anything in my mouth in one second I’m going to die.

  “Yes, we can eat now.”

  “Oh, thank god!” I say bringing my plate closer and eyeing the sandwich like it’s my baby. I grab it and take a huge big bite, which I know no guy wants to see. But all Lucas does is imitate me, which makes me almost choke. I now think maybe it was a bad idea taking a huge big bit of this big ass sandwich. It takes me forever to chew it and swallow it.

  “Good?” Lucas says eating his hamburger.

  “Good? It’s fantastic! Your uncle is a great chef.” “Well he didn’t make it; the chefs did, but it is his recipe. But thanks, I’ll tell him for you.” He says winking at me. He is so cute.

  “Great, so um.” I say trying to swallow this big piece of sandwich. I’m about choke, and what’s worse is that I’m having lunch with a hot new guy. If I choke in front of him, I will lock myself in my room and never come out.

  “Yeah?” He said still eating his hamburger. Why do boys look so cute eating? Girls don’t, and yet somehow boys do. As I’m trying to think about what to say, I try to think about the party.

  “Just making sure, you are coming to the party, right?”

  “Yeah, why? You want me to come, right?” He says winking and give me a huge smile. Man, his teeth are so white and sparkly. Either he’s a model, or he’s the first beautiful boy I have seen in my life.

  “I’m just asking so I can tell you to wear something hot to the party. Oh, and you can bring anything you want to the party. If you want.” OMG, did I say that? Did I say that I want him to wear something hot to the party? Ugh, I am so stupid. I quickly look down on the floor and I can feel my cheeks rising with embarrassment. I swallow hard now feeling my throat to hurt. Then I hear a laugh. A laugh. Like this boy is laughing. Is he drunk or something? If I said that to a boy I feel like he would think I’m in love with him or something and would ask me to sleep with them. I look up and see him laughing. I raise my eyebrows at him and all he does is laugh harder. Ok, he is drunk.

  “Are you ok?”

  “Not really. You are like the first girl who has said that to me. Ever!” He continues to laugh and I can see his eyes watering. It makes me want to laugh too but I don’t want to act like those girls who laugh at everything a guy does. I roll my eyes and continuing eating. We must look like the oddest teenagers ever. I mean, there’s Lucas laughing like an idiot and there’s me just eating a sandwich, always rolling my eyes at him. Who wouldn’t look at us and say how stupid we look. We must be making his uncle look like an idiot.

  “Lucas! Stop laughing so much. Sheesh.”

&nbsp
; “Why? You hate laughing? Mia, laughing is the best thing in the world. Without laughing the world would look like hell. Why do you think there is peace?”

  “You think there’s peace because of laughing? Did you hit your head under the table or something?”

  “You're funny Mia. Always own it. Don’t forget about it. You have a talent.” He says looking at me. How badly I want to kiss him, but somehow punch him because I do not make people laugh. I make people cry and my talent is singing and playing the piano. Not making idiots laugh.

  “Ha sure. My talent is playing the piano Lucas and singing. Not making dumbasses laugh.” “You think I’m a dumbass?” He said putting his hands up in defense like I’ve put a gun to his face. This boy is impossible. How do I like him?

  “Well um. Just after your little show I think people can agree with me.”

  “Laughing is not dumb. It’s beautiful. And wait, you sing?”

  “Yeah sure. Wait what?” I say. Ugh I told him a sing. Now he’s going to want proof. Curse my stupid mouth.

  “You sing. You just told me you sing. You told me your talent is singing and playing the piano. I know about the piano, but the singing? You sing?”

  “Um, can we just get the check or something. I’m done.” I say pushing my plate from me. I am done with this conversation.

  “Mia.” He says coming closer.

  “You sing?”

  “Why do you care?” I say standing up and starting to walk away from him. I never tell anybody I sing. Only Aria and my mom know. Not anybody else. I don’t want to prove to anybody I sing. I only sing for me. Myself. Not for anybody else.

  “Mia wait!” I hear Lucas saying but I’m already out of the door. This is it Mia, just leave, leave him in the parking lot. Ugh I wish I grabbed his keys or something so I could’ve left. I check my phone. 12:15. It’s only 12:15? Ugh. I open my phone again and go into contacts. I’m going to call Aria. I’m going to tell her to pick me up so I don’t have to look like an idiot in this parking lot. As I put the phone close to my ear someone grabs it. About to scream, I turn to see who it is. Of course, it’s Lucas.

  “Lucas, give it back.”

  “No, you need to tell me why you ran just because I didn’t know you sang.” He says waving my phone over his head. I keep jumping up to get it but it’s not use. He’s too tall! I sigh and look at the ground.

  “Lucas, we are not going to do this now.”

  “We are. Or else, no phone.” He says coming closer. Fine if that’s what he wants he can keep the stupid phone. I don’t give a shit, he can keep it.

  “Fine, keep it. I don’t give a shit about it anyway.” I say walking away from him and my phone. Thinking what to do, I decide to just keep on walking. I don’t look back and I know he’s going to give my phone back to me. He’s going to chase after me and give me back my phone and then forget about this whole singing thing and take me back to the school. Except that doesn’t happen. I hear footsteps but running ones. I don’t look back until I feel someone grabbing my waist and throwing me over his shoulder. I scream.

  I scream so loud you can basically hear an echo. Lucas has thrown me on his shoulder, which I do not like. Some girls would love this, but me, I’m about to die. I keep hitting Lucas’ back with my fist, which is not working. He has muscle. A lot. I scream his name but he doesn’t do anything. Can’t he go to jail for this? I keep hitting his until he shakes me, which makes me grab his shirt. His hair is blowing in my face and it smells really good. I stop thinking about his hair and begin getting mad again. I try to use my legs, which do nothing. I’m getting dizzy which won’t be good for my stomach since I just ate.

  “Lucas! Let. Me. Go!”

  “No, not until you to tell me.”

  “Lucas, let me go or I will scream louder.”

  “Go ahead, it’s not like I care.” Ugh this boy is so stubborn. Why can’t he just let go of me! If he wants to play, he’s going to get played. Every girl has a smart idea which I’m going to do.

  “Lucas, if you don’t let me go my period is going to get all over you.” I say smiling but with a serious tone.

  “Mia, I don’t care. You are not the only girl I’ve done this to.”

  “You’ve done it to other girls? Ugh, gross.” I say shaking the thought that runs in my head. Him holding other girls who are squealing like little pigs.

  “Gross? I would call it an achievement as a guy.”

  “Lucas let me go. Ugh god! You are just like other boys. Stubborn and always hurt girls.” I say as I’m feeling my throat clog up. Damn it, am I crying?

  “Like other boys? Mia, I am not like other boys. I swear to god. I don’t hurt girls either. Has someone hurt you?” He says with a serious tone. I don’t answer for a long time which I know makes him worried. He lowers me to the ground and puts his hand on my shoulder.

  “Mia, has someone hurt you?”

  “Why do you care?” I say in a whispering voice. Why should he care? It’s not like he’s my dad.

  “Why do I care? If someone hurt you I’m going to kick his ass Mia.”

  “Why?” I say because it doesn’t make sense. Why would he care? He only met me today. It’s not like we’ve been besties since we were kids or something. He comes closer and I realize I’m not even breathing. He brings his hand up to my face and take a piece of hair and puts it behind my ear. He then touches my lower lip which makes me tremble. I don’t want this to happen. I never had a conversation with a guy that is about me. I’ve never even had one with Jackson. We just got straight onto kissing, not even one normal conversation on why we should be together. He just kissed me and hurt me.

  “Because I care about you Mia.” He says in a whisper that takes my breath away. He then comes closer and kisses me gently on my mouth. I then put my arm around his neck and deepen the kiss. He then kisses me harder with more want. He puts his hands on my waist and lifts me up a little bit. My feet are not touching the ground, which makes me feel like I’m flying. I kiss him harder wanting more and I know he wants that too. His hands go under my shirt and around my back. All my thoughts just vanish by the way he kisses me. I need to let go. I have to let go. This kiss will go just the way Jackson did to me. I can’t risk that, but I know that Lucas really likes me. I mean, he did say he would kill anybody who would hurt me, which proves his devotion to me. Whatever, Mia, it's not going to last long. I have to let go but I just can’t. What the hell is wrong with my head? Lucas is kissing me deeper and it’s making it hard to let go. I try to let go until he does. Oh, thank god.

  “Wow.” He says putting his forehead close to mine.

  “Um wow is right.”

  “So, the party?”

  “Yes?” I say blushing at him. I am in deep crap. How the hell am I going to get out of this one?

  “Am I going to see you in a hot dress there or what?” I blush and my whole body feels hot. He wants to see me in a hot dress. He will see me in one because of course, Aria just had to buy me a hot small tiny dress for me. It’s going to make me have trouble breathing all night but if it’s going to make all the boys go bonkers, including Lucas, then I will so wear it.

  “Who knows. You’ll find out at the party.” I say winking at him. He leans in and kisses me again. It’s a short one, sweet and kind but I know that if he kisses me more it’s going to be hard to let go. I know it was hard for me to do that. He lets go and I blow a piece of hair out of my eyes. I must look hot doing that because his eyes light up.

  “Ok, so I guess we should go, right?” He says pointing to the car. As much as I don’t want to go back to school, I kind of need to or else my mom would kill me.

  “Yeah I guess so.” He takes my hand and his touch feels so known to me. I hope he won’t leave me like Jackson did. Well, Jackson didn’t exactly leave me but he did leave a hole in my heart. I hope Lucas likes me enough to not hurt me like Jackson did. He opens the door for me and I smile at him and go in. This feels so normal
for me now somehow. I guess after kissing a guy everything seems so easy and calm. Not hard.

  He comes into the car and turns the key in. He then turns back, putting a hand behind my chair and backs out of the spot. I take a deep breath and let it out. I know Lucas hears it and so he reaches across to hold my hand. His fingers make swirls in my palm and I shiver. I sit back into the seat and try to go over on our kiss earlier. The way his lips press against mine and how hard yet soft he kisses. I love how he wasn’t like Jackson. The way he was calm and slow with the kisses, yet only pushed only when to see if I wanted to. And I so wanted to. I stare out the window but then get bored because all I’m thinking about is Lucas kissing me. And touching me. He’s still holding my hand, making circles with his finger on my palm.

  I shiver and I know that makes him grin. I turn to look at him but he’s not looking at me. He’s just looking straight, driving. I mean I know he has to be careful when he drives but all I him to do is to look at me in the eye, and smile. I love it when he smiles at me because it makes me hot through my whole body. I check my phone and it’s only 12:20. Ten more minutes and lunch is over. I know Aria is going to want to know what happened, which makes me not want to tell her because she gets a little bit out of hand if I tell her that he kissed me. She’s going to want to make sure he’s a good guy and that I can’t go to his house or something so we don’t do anything stupid. I mean, my own mother doesn’t even act like this.

  I laugh under my breath, thinking about what Aria’s doing right now. I know she finished vocal early, she told me earlier, but I know she wanted me to go to lunch with Lucas. She must be sitting down close to the doors checking her phone every other second waiting for me to walk through those doors. Lucas is still holding my hand and all I can do now is just look out the window and dream. Close my eyes and just dream on what’s going to happen next.