“Always, love you.” He kissed my forehead goodnight.
“Love you too,” I said, closing my eyes. I fell asleep with the scene at the ice cream shop replaying in my head.
James
“James come on, we’re going for ice cream,” mom said, coming into my room, I lay on my bed still upset from what June had said.
“I don’t want any,” I told her, not making any attempt to move.
“Well, you’re still coming, so get up and let’s go,” she ordered, leaving. I got up and sulked all the way to the car.
“Cheer up, grumpy gills,” June said, smiling. They were all smiling, weird. It was most strange that June was smiling, even after the massive fight we just had, we had never fought like that before, she sure seemed fine by it now. I walked into the shop and wanted to walk back out but it was too late, mom had already opened her mouth.
“Mickey! Fancy running into you here,” she said not sounding surprised at all. I wanted to die on the spot. Mickey looked surprised as hell, she even shuddered when she saw me, happy birthday. Great, I thought.
“Hi.” She smiled at them all, never looking at me. Ouch. I couldn’t believe they did this, I knew they missed her; I missed her but they didn’t have to make it creepy. When dad made that comment about us being inseparable, it made everything worse. We all remembered, I really wanted to disappear now, it was my fault and everyone knew it. Mickey looked very sad, making me feel even worse, she tucked her long brown hair behind her ears and swallowed hard. Mr. Lesage came, scaring me and breaking our awkward tension, he passed Mickey her Oreo Avalanche, it was her favourite and she took the spoon but didn’t dig in, instead she waited and continued to look at us.
I was hoping that they wouldn’t join Mickey and her father and I was scared of mom’s answer. She was the one who was in charge here, dad always listened to her, as long as she was happy, so was he. They loved each other like crazy and it always made me feel bad for people whose parents were divorced when mine were so happy and in love. I was shocked as hell that Mr. Lesage spoke about Mickey’s mom, everyone knew it was a sore topic for her, she looked hurt, angry, and surprised all at once. Mom said that she would love to join them like nothing could make her happier and Mr. Lesage looked all too pleased as well.
Mom and dad left to order our ice cream leaving me, June, Mr. Lesage, and Mickey. June pushed the tables together, I sat in front of Mickey while Mr. Lesage spoke to June and I. I wasn’t paying attention though, I was too busy watching Mickey. She looked pretty, her brown-blue eyes concentrating on her ice cream, every once in a while her beautiful eyes would dart to me but then she’d quickly look away, it made me want to laugh at how juvenile it all was and the fact that she had some ice cream stuck on her bottom lip. I tried to look bored and angry to hide the fact that I was enjoying this immensely. I was secretly happy they all set it up, just like old times. Mr. Lesage said something and left, I didn’t know what because I was too busy observing Mickey, and her full lips, unlike Laura and Ali’s thin ones. I wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips, not just a peck but to actually kiss them for real, the way I often dreamed I would. June said something about helping mom and dad, leaving us as well. This was getting better and better by the second. Mickey licked her lips, removing all traces of the ice cream. An action that turned me on and she wasn’t even trying. I’d never once felt turned on by Megan, Ali or Laura, and boy, did they try. How could one little tongue movement make me more turned on than anything ever? I felt my hormones kicking in and it felt weird, like I had to do something to get her attention.
“We’ve been set up,” Mickey accused, looking angry. She looked so cute when she got angry, her bottom lip pouted, her eyes got all fierce and her eyebrows creased.
“Yep, I’m surprised they didn’t do it sooner. Two years is long to wait,” I told her, trying to sound bored as I crossed my arms, hoping she’d notice the muscles and how visible they were instead of invisible as they used to be.
“It hasn’t been two years,” she said oblivious to my arms, looking annoyed, that hurt even more. Did it not seem that long to her? Had she moved on so easily? I was about to get very depressed but then she corrected me, catching me off-guard. Mickey surprised me, she knew how long it had been down to the exact month. She counts, does that mean she misses me as much as I miss her? I hoped so.
She asked about me being with Laura, trying to sound casual but she looked a little pissed. Are you jealous? I thought hopeful but I knew Mickey didn’t get jealous. Great, now she thought I was low for dating Laura, I didn’t even like Laura so I guess it was kind of low of me to ruin her friendship with Ali. I was trying to be a jerk when I made that comment about her eating her ice cream, I felt bad after I said it, but it wasn’t like I could take it back, I was committed. Mickey rightfully threw her ice cream bowl at me, it landed with a cold splat across my chest. I could see her mentally slapping me, as a fire blazed in her aqua-earth
