Phil
Even after getting cockblocked by my own mother, I felt happy. Finally, things were coming together for Kelly and me.
When Kelly started dating Nicklas Ericcson, I figured it would take her about a week to realize what a dick he was and turf him. But either he had reformed or—more likely—he had her conned, because they kept on going out.
So, I decided to take things into my own hands. It was only Kelly’s innocence that made her think he was so special. She never had any experience with guys before. If she wanted electricity, I could generate enough to light up the whole North Shore.
Making out with Kelly had been fucking incredible. She was even hotter and more into it than I could have imagined. In fact, it seemed like once we got started, she couldn’t stop. I knew we would be great together, and now that Kelly got that too we would finally go out. I could hardly wait to see her again.
I caught her before English the next morning. I had been hanging around in the hall waiting for her to show, and she tore in two minutes before class was going to start. She stopped up when she saw me, with a guilty expression.
“Hey, Phil,” she said softly.
“Kelly.” I got right to it. “So tell me, was there enough electricity for you last night?”
“Not electricity,” she said.
“No?” I asked, not believing her. You could tell by her face that she was pretty emotional.
“More like… lava, hot lava. It was different.”
“Different being better, right?”
“Well—” she paused, and a voice interrupted us.
“Ms. Tanaka, Mr. Davidson? Will you be joining us for class today?” It was Mr. Fox, our English teacher.
“Yeah, we’re coming,” I said. Kelly was blushing as if he knew what we were talking about. As we entered the classroom, I whispered in her ear, “We need to finish talking. Meet me at the caf door at lunch.” She nodded.
At noon, we left school property and walked out to a picnic table in Myrtle Park to talk undisturbed. Kelly pulled her lunch out of her knapsack, and I had bought some fries and a hamburger in the cafeteria.
“So last night was awesome, right?”
She nodded, but didn’t look up at me. Her hair fell around her face so I couldn’t read her expression. I moved closer and pushed her hair back. She looked up at me, her eyes wide.
“Phil, I’m still going out with Nicklas. Aren’t you going out with Anika?”
“Nope, we split.” About five seconds after I found out you were into dating, Kelly.
“I know that last night was—” She shook her head and didn’t finish the sentence. “But it’s all pretty confusing. Nicklas is a nice guy. It doesn’t feel right to dump him just because you came along.”
“I was actually here first. You were supposed to go out with me.”
“I know you think I owe you, but it’s not like you were waiting around for me. You’ve gone out with a lot of girls.”
“But you’re different, Kelly.”
“Yeah, I am different. I’m a cheater and a bad person.” She looked really upset, so I tried to put my arm around her. She shook me off. “Don’t, Phil. Please.”
It was so frustrating to be so close and not be able to break through to Kelly. “People break up all the time, it’s not a big deal.”
“You would know all about that, wouldn’t you?”
“Please. We’re good together.” How could I convince her? “What we have is really special. I’ve never felt this way with any other girl before, ever.”
She looked up at me, wondering. Her face was so expressive, and I could see the conflict in her. “What we have is kind of scary,” she said. “It’s like falling into a big pit. I don’t feel like I have any control over myself when I’m with you.”
This was the best news I’d had in a while. I wanted her so bad, and she wanted me too. I pushed her a bit. “That’s what a real relationship should feel like. You can use my cell if you want to call Nicklas and give him the bad news. The sooner the better.”
Kelly’s brown eyes flashed. “You’re not the boss of me. I won’t dump Nicklas just to please you. Maybe I don’t want to be your flavour of the month.”
Shit, I had pressed her too hard. Kelly could be scarily stubborn, especially if she thought she was doing the right thing. And she was loyal to a fault.
I tried to backpedal. “I’m sorry. I’m not going to keep repeating that we’re different, but will you think about it? Please, Kel.”
Kelly started packing up her lunch. She stood up and spoke gently. “I’m so sorry, Phil. It’s all pretty confusing to me, and I really don’t know what the right thing to do is. But I do know that last night should not have happened, and I’m going to pretend it didn’t.”
“C’mon, last night was huge. You can’t pretend it away.”
“I can try,” Kelly said. She left, and I was alone. I hoped eventually she would be back, but how long would it take? I groaned out loud. We had been so close, and now—nada.