48. Happiness

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My friends are quick to interrogate me about my date during Monday's lunch. Only Abigail, Hazel, and Juliet sit with me today. Isabella prefers to only sit with us a few days a week. I am relieved though because I would feel embarrassed sharing these details with Isabella, especially because at one point, I had wished for us to have the same experience.

"So...how was it?" Hazel asks.

"It was fun," I answer simply.

"Come on, Callie, you have to give more details than that," Hazel complains.

"Is that a new lockscreen?" Juliet notices when a notification pops up on my phone.

"Give it!" Hazel exclaims, reaching for it before I have time to do anything else. They pass around the phone, letting out their oohs and awws before returning it to me. I grumble, feeling embarrassed by their remarks on how cute of a couple we are.

"Where will you go on your next date?" Abigail asks.

"The bedroom," Hazel teases, which only makes me feel more embarrassed, especially with the way Aurora and I were kissing each other in her car after we left. The others shoot Hazel glares, but she very much assures me she's just joking. I don't mind. This is just how Hazel talks after all.

"I don't know what we'll do next. We haven't decided on anything, not even a day," I admit. "I'll ask you guys for suggestions when they're needed, but we both have busy schedules so..."

"It's funny seeing you so embarrassed, Callie," Abigail admits, laughing some.

"Did you two kiss?" Juliet asks.

"Yes," I state simply, wringing my hands together.

"With tongue?" Hazel asks, continuing to speak in her teasing tone.

Quiet.

"Yes..."

Everyone pauses at that response, clearly not expecting me to reply in sincerity to Hazel's comments, and I think to myself why I even bothered to confirm that detail when I could have easily lied.

"Holy shit, Callie, you're crazier than I thought you would be!" Hazel exclaims. "Sweet, innocent Callie, doing something like that?"

"I don't know why you're surprised. We've given each other hickeys before," I tell Hazel. She is even more surprised at this comment.

"What the? Did you two really just go to the pumpkin patch this weekend?" Hazel asks.

"Yes, really, that's all we did—"

"Callie has slept over at Aurora's house before," Abigail adds.

Hazel nearly shrieks. "Callie!"

"We didn't do anything! That was months ago, when I was still a junior!" I argue. I want to wring Abigail's neck after sharing that piece of information, but I know she was only doing it for the sake of torturing Hazel and amusing me.

Thankfully, the bell rings before I am forced to answer any other embarrassing questions. My friends seem satisfied with the stories they've gotten from this weekend, so they take off pretty quickly. I'm starting to wonder if I should stop having them live vicariously through my romantic life. It's all they want to talk about sometimes.

"Why'd you have to go and tell Hazel about the sleepovers?" I complain to Abigail.

"Sorry, sorry. And I'm sorry she was bothering you about that kind of stuff. She's just messing around," Abigail assures me.

I can't admit to Abigail that I actually didn't mind Hazel's teasing too much, that, in fact, there's been something, a wanting, desire, whatever one might call it, inside me for a while now that I'm not sure will subside anytime soon. Because the longer Aurora and I date, it only seems to get worse. I always feel guilty thinking about it.

"Callie?" Abigail asks, noticing I've zoned out.

"Oh, shoot, I have to get to class. Talk to you later," I say.

Later that afternoon, after I've walked home and finished up a little bit of homework, I find myself needing a study break. The air is nice and cold now that October has set in, and I figure I'll talk Fry on a walk before the sun sets.

I walk him our regular route from the summer. He seems quite content as the autumn wind blows against his golden fur. We turn the corner to walk down Aurora's street when I see her parents unloading groceries from the car.

I think about turning around, but I'm not sure what picture that would paint. After all, they've already caught sight of me because Aurora's father has lifted his hand in a wave.

"Callie, how are you?" he ask as I approach.

"Good, just out walking my dog," I say, as if it were not already obvious. I feel even more awkward around Aurora's parents these days now that we know we're dating. 

Fry is eagerly pulling at his leash and wagging his tail as he greets Aurora's parents. Aurora's mother happily pats him, squealing some as jumps up and tries to lick her face.

"Ah, sorry! He's very friendly!" I assure them.

"What's his name?" Aurora's father asks.

"French Fry," I admit meekly. They both find that name humorous.

"How was the pumpkin patch this weekend?" Aurora's father asks.

"Oh, it was fun! Lots of people, but they had some good caramel apples, and we at least bought some little pumpkins," I explain.

"Oh, that's right. Aurora put hers on her nightstand. We'll have to grab some at the grocery store next time, Tom," Aurora's mother says to her husband.

"Um, is Aurora home right now?" I ask quietly.

"Afraid not. She's at work," Aurora's father answers.

"Oh, okay," I state.

"Do you need to tell her something?" Aurora's mother asks.

"No, not at all! I just figured I'd say hi if she was here!" I exclaim. Fry is tugging at my leash, and I realize he wants the walk to continue.

"Stop by some other time, maybe when you're not walking your dog. I'm not sure how much the cats would like that," Aurora's mother says, laughing some at Fry's whining to get a move on. "I'll let Aurora know we saw you."

"Oh, you don't—I was just walking my normal route. I wasn't trying to really see her or anything," I say. I hate what comes out of my mouth more and more as the conversation progresses. "Uh, Fry's getting pretty restless so..."

"Have a good evening, then!" Aurora's mother exclaims. She gives a wave as I head off, and I lower my head in embarrassment. It was so much easier to talk to them months ago, when we Aurora and I weren't officially dating. Thankfully they don't treat me any differently. In fact, they seem to treat me with more kindness these days.

Aurora calls me later that night to ask why I was at her house.

"I wasn't at your house, I was walking Fry, and your parents had just come home," I argue.

"How was that conversation?" she asks.

"Oh my God, it was so embarrassing," I say. "And then Fry slobbered all over them. They'll never let me in your house again."

"Oh, stop. You know that's not true. They like you," Aurora assures me.

I still let out a groan.

"Uh, speaking of my house, I want to have a sleepover with you again sometime. It's been so long since our last one," she states.

"Oh, uh...okay. When?"

"I don't know yet. My schedule's getting busier, but let's try to find a date at some point, before the year ends."

"Okay. Do you want to go out anywhere this weekend?"

"I might be able to grab a coffee, but that's about it. You could always invite me over to your house," she suggests.

"My parents will nag us the whole time," I complain. "But...if you wanted to watch a movie or something then we could maybe do that. They're not going to let you stay over. I'm not even going to bother asking."

"I figured. Well, let's plan on that, then. We can figure out the details later. I still have a lot of homework to do, so I'll talk to you later. Night," she says.

"Good night," I reply and hang up the phone. How come Aurora hasn't been acting like an embarrassed mess? Why is it only me, I feel like? It's unfair, I think, that she still continues to exude that perfect attitude, even when we're dating. I let out a sigh and plug in my phone, hoping to get some rest before another long day of school.

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