Chapter 16
That Goofy Texting Face
CHARLOTTE
The next morning, I was awakened by Tracy hitting me with a pillow.
“Hey, sleepyhead, get up. You said you had to be home early today and it’s already nine,” she said.
“Ugh, I’m up, quit hitting me,” I groaned.
“Why are you so tired? We went to bed pretty early, and you’re usually a morning person,” she asked, looking confused.
“Maybe I didn’t sleep well or something,” I said, avoiding her question.
“Well, let’s go make breakfast before the bear across the hall wakes up,” she said, pulling me downstairs.
In the kitchen, she handed me some bacon and eggs to fry while she put
biscuits in the oven.
Mars
Morning Lover, how was your evening?
Jupiter
Are you punishing me? It’s too early.
Mars Dude, it’s almost 9:30, that’s not early. Oh, is someone hungover?
Jupiter
Something like that Mars
Best way to get over a hangover is to drink more
Jupiter I like the way you think, my man. Let me go find some booze Mars Haha. You do that. I’ll be on a little later than planned. I slept late
Jupiter
No prob, I slept late too, clearly
Mars Clearly. OK, gtg. TTYL lover
“You’re making that goofy face again. When will you admit you have it bad?” Tracy asked me.
“I do not have it bad, he’s a friend,” I insisted.
“Yeah, sure. I hope I’m there to rub it in your face when you two start officially dating,” she said.
“I love the smell of cooking bacon,” I said, changing the subject.
“I think everyone does.”
A few minutes later, we heard “Mmmm, bacon” from the doorway. We both laughed, turning to see TJ looking at us with a puzzled expression. I guessed his comment didn’t warrant our laughter, considering he hadn’t heard our previous conversation.
“Tracy, Charlotte, morning ladies,” he said, walking further into the room.
“Morning,” Tracy replied, and I just turned to smile at him. I may have talked to him last night, but something felt different about today, so I still
wasn’t completely comfortable.
“Anything I can do to help?” he asked.
Tracy glanced at me before replying, “We’re just about done. Why don’t
you just get some plates down?”
“Sure thing, sis.”
I couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was as he stretched to reach the plates. Tracy must have caught me staring because she smirked at me when I turned back around. Darn her. She gave me a look as if to say, “Quit staring at my brother,” and I gave her one back, denying I was staring.
“What’s up with this weird silent conversation you two have going on?”
TJ asked.
“Nothing,” Tracy quickly said.
“Okay, weird, but whatever,” he said.
With that, we all made our plates and sat down at the table to eat.
“Did you two sleep well?” TJ asked, making me blush. What was he doing? Tracy didn’t know that I had been up in the middle of the night playing games with him.
“I did,” Tracy said, giving me an odd look when she noticed my face. I just smiled slightly and continued eating.
“What are your plans for today?” he then asked.
“Just to take Charlotte home and then hang out around here,” she said.
They continued talking some more, but I stayed quiet. After we finished eating and cleaning up, Tracy and I went up to her room to get dressed for the day.
“So, what was up with you checking out my brother?” she asked as soon as we were in her room.
“What? I wasn’t checking him out,” I defended.
“You totally were. And you were blushing super red when he was talking to us. Do you have a crush on my brother? What about your text buddy?”
“I don’t like either of them, seriously,” I told her.
“Sure,” she said, sounding skeptical.
“Well, if you do decide you like TJ, please let me know. I promise I’ll be okay with it. I know you aren’t like my ex-friends.”
“Well, thank you,” I said.
“I think your brother is attractive and nice, but I don’t really know him well enough to like him, and I don’t really have the capability to get to know him. Besides, I don’t really think I’m his type.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, but I guess we’ll table that discussion for now. Do you want to come over and spend the night again in a few days, since we’re off school for the break?” she asked.
“Sure, that sounds fun.”
“Okay, want to go up and shower? I know you need to get home soon,” she told me, ushering me out of the room.
I was walking down the hall toward the bathroom when I realized I didn’t have my hairbrush. As I turned around to go back for it, I bumped
into TJ. He instantly reached out to steady me.
“We have got to stop meeting like this,” he said, chuckling.
He was so incredibly attractive!
I craned my neck to meet his gaze, given his towering height—not to mention my petite stature. The moment our eyes locked, I was entranced once again. Why did he have such a profound impact on me?
This wasn’t my usual timidity; it was an entirely different level of discomfort.
Realizing I’d been gazing at him for an extended period, I quickly averted my eyes, my cheeks flushing a deep crimson.
“Hey, I thought we’d moved past the silent phase,” he said, gently
lifting my chin with his finger.
He touched my face!
Hold on. His other hand was still resting on my waist from when he caught me. This felt incredibly intimate. What should I do? Pull away? His touch was comforting, and he was undeniably handsome. I was so conflicted, and now I was blushing even more.
“Don’t worry, I’ll eventually crack that shell of yours,” he said, grinning
warmly at me before he sauntered off.
Wow!
After that, I hurried back to Tracy’s room to grab my brush, then headed for a shower. I needed some alone time to regain my composure.
Once I was dressed and ready, Tracy drove me home. I had a few tasks to complete before I was due to meet the guys online.
· · ·
“Hey, guys,” I greeted. I was relieved to have finished everything and managed to log in a few minutes early.
“Yo, we missed you last night, dude,” Plut responded.
“Didn’t you go out?” I asked.
“Nah, Nep was the one who went out, but Jup and I played for a bit
before he also left,” Plut explained.
“Ah, my bad,” I apologized.
“I’m not sorry. You guys were gaming. I was hanging out with some girls,” Nep interjected.
“Hey, what does it mean when a guy touches your face?” I asked the guys.
“Well, I can’t speak for when a guy touches another guy’s face, but when I touch a girl’s face, it’s usually because I’m into her,” Plut answered.
“I agree. Then I touch other places,” Nep chimed in, always ready to overshare.
“Wait, did you meet a guy? Does your boyfriend know? Jup will be devastated.”
“Very funny. No, I didn’t meet a guy, just wondering. And you both know Jup is just a friend. Speaking of, where is he?” I asked.
“As the designated boyfriend, shouldn’t you be the one to tell us?” Plut
retorted.
“Fine, I’ll text and ask.”
Mars Hey, lover. Your favorite guys are wondering where you are Jupiter Tell them I’ll be there in a minute. Just got out of the shower.
Mars
Oh, lover boy fresh out of the shower?
Jupiter Wow, those idiots have corrupted you
Mars Nah, I just enjoy getting a rise out of you.
Jupiter Just remember, payback’s a bitch. Wait till we’re together in person
Mars Can’t wait
“Jup said he’ll be joining us soon,” I informed the guys just before I saw his avatar log in, finally as his real character, not some random one his sister set.
“Hey, Jup, your lover’s cheating on you,” Nep said the second he noticed Jup had logged in.
“Nep!” I yelled.
“What? It’s still too early for you to be this weird, Nep,” Jup replied.
“Mars likes someone,” Plut replied.
“No, I don’t—I don’t think. Well…um…how do you know if you like someone, anyway?” I asked.
“For someone of your experience level, I’d say a good indicator is if it gets hard,” Plut replied, making Nep crack up laughing.
If it got hard? If what got hard? Oh, maybe he was talking about my anxiety and how it got hard to talk, breathe, even exist. It had to be that.
“Dude, I have massive social anxiety; it’s always hard,” I said. When none of them replied, I figured I’d elaborate.
“I mean, like, take my first day of school. When I first went into the office, it was so hard, like, I couldn’t even talk, and it didn’t get better all day long.”
There was silence for a little longer before Nep finally spoke up.
“It’s always hard?” he asked.
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“Even with us?” Jup asked cautiously. He was so sweet to be concerned about my anxiety.
“I mean, when I first met you guys, it was hard—but now I know you better, I’m over it,” I replied.
“Well, that’s a relief. I was about to question our friendship,” Plut replied.
“It won’t be hard when we are together, right?” Nep asked.
“As long as it’s just us, I think I’ll be okay. No promises when we are around new people, though. But I think being with you guys will help, to be honest,” I said.
“Mars, um, maybe you should talk to a doctor about your issue. I don’t think that’s normal,” Jup said sweetly.
“My parents tried that years ago, but it was too hard to even talk to the doctor. My dad has me on some medicine now, but I don’t think it makes it any better,” I replied.
“Anyway, enough about my issues. We don’t have a ton of time left to finish getting the ticket pieces. Let’s play.”
