The Summer That Changed Everything

Chapter Three - Part Two

She chuckled a little and moved to grab her own fork, not worrying about the contamination of the two cakes. But she saw Jared take his own piece of metal and spear the cake. He then held it out to her. She paused for a minute, assessing the situation. Hesitantly - and avoiding any eye contact - she placed her mouth around the fork, grasped the cake between her teeth, and pulled back. She wasn’t sure whether that was too intimate an action. Did friends do things like this? Would James be upset if he stumbled upon this situation? Butterflies whizzed around her stomach at how close she sat to him, only adding to the confusion. But she wasted no time thinking about the intimacy, the potential consequences or butterflies as soon as she chewed on the cheesecake.

“God, that’s good,” she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. All her earlier confusion flew out of her mind, and instead, all thoughts were replaced with that delightful cake.

“That much is obvious now,” Jared laughed in response, loving how enthusiastic she was about food, and cake in particular. “You can bet that every single cake in this shop tastes amazing.”

“Well, they’re two for two with the ones I’ve tried so far,” Felicity said. Then she looked around the area. “I wonder if they do wedding cakes here. I bet they’d do the most delightful one.”

“A wedding cake?” Jared sputtered, fearing he had missed something. “Is there someone getting married in your family?”

“No,” she waved her hand. “I was just thinking ahead for me... maybe.” Her eyes sparkled with the anticipation of a future she could only dream of.

“Since when are you getting married?” Jared’s eyes widened in shock. His pulse raced; why had she not told him? Why had Layla kept that from him?

“I’m not,” she replied through pursed lips. Another flush spread across her cheeks. “But I love weddings and the thought of them. And it doesn’t hurt to prepare, does it?”

“I guess not. You and Layla both had a weird obsession with weddings when you were younger. But I didn’t realise you were still in that mindset,” Jared sighed. Whilst Felicity rolled her eyes in response. “And who are you getting married to, may I ask? James?”

Felicity’s blush remained, if not intensified. “Well, probably. My parents assume it’s inevitable that we’ll get married, anyway. And we’re going to get back together after this break. So, I guess it’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?”

“What a romantic outlook on things,” Jared replied, crossing his arms over his chest. Felicity scoffed, knowing that he was the least romantic person she had ever met. His body count was more important to him than finding something real. Something in his crossed arms and tense speech annoyed her. Since when did he become so judgmental?

“Well, sorry for being practical.” She defended, her voice firm with determination. “He’s the only person I’ve ever wanted to be with.”

Although that wasn’t strictly true, if Felicity’s childhood crush on Jared was anything to go by. But she discounted that because it was so fleeting, and it meant nothing now, anyway. And she wasn’t even sure it was a proper crush; she only enjoyed spending time with him. At the time, he was the only boy she knew. So she must’ve confused friendship with romantic feelings. He didn’t feel the same way about her then or now. And she was sure of that. But what she wasn’t so sure of was why she cared so much. Her uncertainty about her feelings was a constant source of inner turmoil, and how quickly all of this came upon her, completely unnerved her.

“Is that because you’ve only let yourself love one person, though?” Jared queried. “You haven’t given yourself the chance to figure out what you’d accept in a relationship. What you actually want from a partner.”

“Well, I don’t see an extensive line of boys knocking down my door to date me, do I? So playing the field isn’t really an option, is it? Although I’m not really that type of person.” Felicity half-chuckled, trying to decrease the tension that had manifested between the two all of a sudden.

“Oh, so you’re marrying him because it’s convenient, then?” He scoffed.

“That is not what I meant, and you know it.” She snapped; all jokey pretence had disappeared. “And this marriage is purely hypothetical! I’m only 18! There’s no rush. First, I’m getting my degree, then I’ll figure out what I want to do with my life. And then I’ll see what happens. Why are you getting so arsey about it?”

Silence and tension filled the air as Felicity finished speaking. Jared’s fists were clenched, and his jaw was tight. Felicity’s heart was racing, and she could feel a knot in her stomach. This was heading into argument territory, and she hated it. She had never argued with Jared before. Not once. All their previous disagreements ended with them laughing it off or play-fighting for the bragging rights. They were never usually about anything serious. But not this. Never like this. She wasn’t sure how it had even started. What had caused the raised voices?

Jared fumed in silence. He didn’t understand why anger had consumed him so much, but he could feel it in every inch of him. He wasn’t in a rush to get married either, but something in her blasé attitude towards marriage irked him. Marriage shouldn’t be about convenience or pleasing parents. It should be through love alone. Despite what she thought about him, this was one value he would always keep close. It surprised and upset him that she seemed to care more about wedding planning than the actual person she was supposed to be spending the rest of her life with. He felt she was trivialising the institution of marriage, which he held in high regard, despite what others might have assumed.

Silence filled the air as the tension fizzled between the two. Neither of them expected the conversation to take that turn. So, they didn’t know how to correct the situation. The sudden shift in their interaction left them both feeling disoriented and unsure. Jared took an audible deep breath. When Felicity opened her mouth to say something, nothing came out.