As a Friend

Chapter 3

"Okay, how do I look?" I ask Kat as she does her makeup in my over-the-door mirror.

"Hot!" she encourages me and I analyze my outfit. Dominic picked it out for the most part but I refused to try it on for him so we weren't sure how it'd actually look on me. The white flowing, tank top hangs off my chest loose enough so that I feel comfortable but also cute and the ripped skinny jeans hug my legs nicely. Dominic advised me not to wear my best shoes so I took out my old, beat up white converse from high school. I tie my hair back in a half-up-half-down look and put on a pair of earrings.

When Kat finishes getting ready, she herds me to the parking lot where her car is. We get into the older buggie and head towards the off campus apartment. When we arrive, I'm satisfied. It's not nearly as busy as Dominic said it would be. There are only five cars in the front yard and two in the driveway. Making it now eight cars, we pick a spot in the front of the house and she leads the way inside. As we're walking up the steps, I check my phone and find a message from Dominic.

Dominic: Are you there yet?

Me: Yes.

Dominic: How do you look? Did you take a picture?

Me: No, but Kat said I look hot.

Dominic: I believe her. Boys will try to talk to you. Flirt back if you want. But don't do anything you don't want to do. Text me if you want me to pick you up at any time.

Me: Thank you, will do.

Dominic: Have fun. Be safe. Don't be like me. Unless you want to. Use condoms. Text me if anything happens. Love you.

Me: Shut up.

We're just friends. He's saying that he loves me as a friend. That's it. That's all. Just friends. Besides, he's out here telling me to sleep with guys. That's obviously a sign of friendship. I shove my phone in my pocket and make it a goal of mine to forget about his words. Kat begins introducing me to her friends, who introduce me to their friends, and so on. Eventually, I've met everyone in the apartment so Kat takes me to the kitchen to get a drink. "See anyone cute?" she wonders with a mischievous smile and I shrug weakly. She probably wants to toss me onto someone else so she can reconnect with her friends guilt free.

"I mean, I guess that boy- what's his name? Jason?" I nod in his direction. Kat glances over and offers up an amused chuckle.

"Jaden. It's funny; he has a twin brother named Jason," Kat explains. "Want me to hook you guys up?"

I think about Dominic's advice. It doesn't hurt to try, I guess. Besides, I don't want to make her feel like she has to babysit me. "Okay."

"Alright, I'll be right back," she says with a smile as she goes to talk to Jaden and his friend. I suddenly feel nervous. What if he says no because I'm ugly? I look up to see if it's too late to call Kat off. It is. She's laughing and talking to him. I squint and try to watch his reaction; he isn't vomiting in disgust so that's a good sign. I continue to stare and rather abruptly, she turns around and points at me. My eyes widen and I immediately spin around towards the fridge and let out a weak yelp as I do. Wow, how embarrassing.

"Hey," a deep voice says behind me. I peek over my shoulder and find Jaden, the boy I called cute, standing a few feet away. He's leaning casually against the counter with a red solo cup in his hand and a friendly smile on his lips.

"Hi," I say quietly. I run my hand through my thick, curly hair in an attempt to smooth it down but it probably only frizzes it up more.

"Nova, right?" he prompts a conversation. A boyish grin spreads across his face and I admire the way his dark skin is complemented by the red sweater hanging off his broad shoulders.

"Yeah, November, but you can call me Nova," I reply, swallowing heavily. "Jaden, is it?"

"Yeah, it is," he answers before glancing back at his friends, who are now all staring at their phones. "So how do you know Kat?"

"We, uh, we met in a school club," I admit after a second of thought. Saying math club would make me sound nerdy and that's the last thing I want him to think. "What about you?"

"We went to high school together," he says calmly before shrugging a little. "Kind of."

"Kind of?" How do you kind of go to high school with someone?

"She was a freshman when I was a senior." I try not to act shocked. So he's a senior in college now? Jeez! Judging by his laugh, I assume I'm not that good at hiding my surprise. "I'm a bit older."

I shrug it off in an attempt to act nonchalant. "It's all cool." That's such a dumb thing to say. Who says that?

"So...do you want to dance?" he proposes and I stumble over my words. I don't know how to dance! Dominic didn't say anything about dancing! That's because the only dance he's ever done is the horizontal grind. Why would you think about that? I nearly gag in disgust at my nasty train of thought.

"Sure," I agree nervously. "I don't really know how to dance though."

"Good thing I'm a dancer." He seems satisfied with himself for having that skill set. He puts down his drink and nods in the direction of the living room, where a majority of the people are standing. Not many people are dancing but then again, there aren't many people here.

He teaches me a basic dance and how to maintain it through any tempo. It's basically rhythmical grinding. I try not to think too much as I dance with him and instead, wait for the song to end. As someone who isn't a fan of physical contact, I can determine that dancing is not for me. Luckily enough, the person whose phone was in charge of the music gets a phone call. Jaden, as smooth as he is, laughs and leads the way to the couch. I follow when I figure there isn't much else to do.

He makes small talk, laughing at the corny jokes that I make even though I know they're not funny. It's hard to tell whether he has a bad sense of humor or a strong urge to get in my pants. The answer is made clear when he puts his hand on my thigh. "You're really cute," he says bluntly and I give him a half smile.

"Thanks." This is awkward. Very awkward. "I guess you are, too."

His laugh is genuine this time. "You guess?" he wonders.

"You are," I clarify before shrugging. "I just feel like you already know that."

I start to think about all the experiences I've missed out on in high school. All the things that everyone else did: making out and relationships and everything. Though I've never outright wanted to do any of that, they've always been in my mind. Maybe if I liked someone and they liked me back, I'd have done them. But that didn't happen. So now I'm starting to think that maybe I should do it just to experience it. Who knows if I'll get another opportunity to? I look at Jaden, whose eyes are locked on mine. He's talking but I'm not exactly hearing him. He's cute. What have I got to lose?

I exhale and scoot closer to him. "Huh?" I lean in to him. I hope this works. I've seen it done in movies and it usually gets the ball rolling. I probably look like an i***t though because the music is playing but it's not too loud that I can't hear him. Maybe he'll interpret my closeness as me just being hard of hearing. I hope he takes the hint or else this is going to be weird. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he's going to go for it.

It suddenly occurs to me that I have no idea what I'm doing. According to the movies and books, it just happens and you go with it. You're supposed to feel sparks, right? Another damning realization hits me: I don't want my first kiss to be with some random boy that I don't know! I couldn't even tell you this boys last name. As he's about to close the gap between us, I jump back.

"My phone's vibrating!" I grab my phone from my pocket and shake my head. "I have to take this."

He looks both confused and irritated as he leans back on the couch. "I'll be here when you get back," he grunts followed by a sigh. I nod as I press the phone to my ear and leave the house. As soon as I'm out of his view, I shove my phone in my pocket and repress the urge to groan.