Chapter 5

                                    

                                              
"You ready for this? You need some tips?" Lorise asked me while we ate breakfast. I glared at her. I spent the night at her house because I wasn't ready for my parents to meet Bryson. My date with Bryson was going to be at 4. 
                          
"It's a good thing we have three hours to get ready 'cause honey we got to do somethin' about that hair." I squinted my eyes at her. "It's the truth! Hurry up so we can get started. It might just take us two hours." I finished eating five minutes after and Lorise began her experiment on my hair.
                          
She put them in nice, tight curls. "Makeup!" She squealed and I ran. She jumped on me. "At least do some lipstick!" She said while struggling to get me to be still. She eventually won when I became tired. 

                          
It was 3:59 when I was finally able to sit down, and it was 3:59 when I heard a car door being shut. Bryson was here. Lorise ran to the window to look. She turned back to me with pleading eyes and her lip poked out. 
                          
"Can I have him?" She said in a kiddy voice. I smiled and pushed her away. The doorbell rang as I got up.

                          
I opened the door to find Bryson looking so cute. He had on a button down t-shirt tucked in slacks. He smiled, that smile as he looked at me in my yellow dress. He had a small flower in his hand. He reached up and tucked it into my hair. He must do this often. 
                          
"Hi," he said simply and that alone had my head spinning. "Hello," I said shyly. Why do I have to be so shy now? 
                          
Lorise wedged her way in. "Hello, nice to see you again." 
                          
"You too," Bryson said. "Take care of my girl. She's a special one!" 
                          
"I already know." He smirked. I was gonna pass out. Could he stop? 
                          
"You don't have to bring her back so soon either." I gave her a warning look. She just wiggled her eyebrows.
                          
*** 
I didn't know what to expect. He didn't tell me what we were doing. He drove for maybe 30 minutes. I'd never been on this side of town. He got out and opened the door for me. I had expected him to do that 'cause he was Bryson after all. 
                          
We were at a park. It was beautiful; the whole scenery. The grass, the river, the trees. Sometimes things are so cliché but there's something about cliché that is still so beautiful.
                          
I had assumed he had come earlier to set up everything because there was a blanket and a picnic basket already out. He sat down and reached for my hand so he could pull me down gently. 
                          
He opened the cooler and poured some lemonade into a cup. I sipped and my taste buds were hit with a familiar taste. 
                          
"Grammy's lemonade!" I said excitedly. "Yeah, I knew you would like that." 
                          
"This park is so beautiful," I said looking around once more. "I love it here. Especially at night." 
                          
"You come here often?" 
                          
"You hitting on me?" He smirked. I laughed. "No, I mean you come to this park a lot?"
                          
"Mm... Maybe every other day." He really liked this park. 
                          
"So, when do you graduate?" He asked. "Three weeks."
                          
"Am I invited?" 
                          
"You wanna come?"
                          
"Of course. I wanna see you walk across the stage." My heart sped up. 
                          
"You excited for college?" He asked and I stayed silent. He looked at me with sympathy. 
                          
"College is not for everyone. If you don't wanna go, you don't have to."
                          
It wasn't about me. It was about everyone else. "Everyone will be disappointed." 
                          
"I won't. Not if you do something good in your life. Something you're passionate about." I instantly thought of writing. 
                          
"Writing," I said softly not paying attention to the fact that he could hear me. "Then do that. I can tell you're passionate and you're good at it."
                          
"You're good at it too. Don't you want to write?" 
                          
"Yeah... But some things aren't for everyone," he said sighing. 
                          
"Why do I have to write but you don't?"
                          
"Because I'm requesting you to." It was silent for a minute. I nodded my head. "Okay," I said in agreement. "But I want you to do one thing," I said. "What?" 
                          
"Listen to your own advice. Do something good and passionate." He smiled, that smile.
                          
"And college, why aren't you there?" I asked curiously. "You want me to leave?" He asked smirking. "No, I'm just asking," I said defensively. 
                          
"I'm just messing with you. I took classes  last summer so I would be able to graduate early." He explained.
                          
We ate the food that he brought. Sandwiches, cookies, and chips. We talked about writing, books, people, our thoughts on life, and so much more. He was so insightful and so charming. He was mesmerizing while he talked. It was like watching a pretty feather float to the ground to see where it would land. 
                          
"These sandwiches were so good," I told him. 
                          
"I like to think that I'm good at cooking and preparing food." He dusted his shoulders. "Nuh uh! You did not make this!" 
                          
"Dang! I didn't know you were there. If you know so much, tell me who made them," he said and I laughed. "I'm just messing with you," I said mocking him. 
                          
He was funny too. Very silly. I caught myself liking him more and more as the date went on. I didn't realize how long we were talking. It was 8:30 and the sun was setting. We walked around the park and stopped on the bridge. The sun had set and all the stars came out. 
                          
"This is beautiful!" I said gazing up. I could see why he loved to go there. I could feel him smiling that smile at me. "So, this is what you do every other day." 
                          
"Yeah, I never get tired of this." My arm was linked with his. "I just wish I was out here with someone on those nights. I hate loneliness," he said to me. I wanted to say right then that I would be more than happy to come, but I calmed myself. 
                          
"Everything is always better when you're with someone else," he said looking at the sky. "You ever bring anyone else here?" I asked curiously. "No, you're the first. Feel special?"
                          
"Yeah," I answered truthfully. I liked being with him in that moment. I liked that it was just us two. He said that everything is always fun with someone else, but it's better when it's with a certain someone else. 
                          
"My parents, my sister, and I would come here. We'd have a family picnic and eat grapes." I smiled at that. "Where are your parents now?"
                          
"I don't know. They're really adventurous. They could be anywhere. They're  known for sneaking around." 
                          
"They sound nice," I said. 
                          
"You should see them in action." We laughed. "I want a relationship like my parents'," he said.
                          
"Are you staying here in town?" I asked hopeful. 
                          
"Yeah, would you miss me if I wasn't." I pretended to think. "Probably not." 
                          
"Playing hard to get?" 
                          
"If I was?" I asked curiously. He pulled me closer. "I'd have to try harder." I really thought my heart had stopped.    
                          
We stared into each other's eyes forever. Once we stopped staring, nothing else seemed to look the same.