Page 53 of Waiting for Her

“Wow.”

“He doesn’t know I live here.”

“Or that you’ve been watching him all week long,” she guesses.

“Stop being creepy! How do you know things?”

“Me creepy? You’re the creepy one! Staring at him all week long, him not having a clue,” she teases.

“I don’t think I like talking to you today.”

“Oh don’t pout. Explain to me how he’s not seen you yet.”

“Well, I’m kind of around the corner a little bit and the deck has a railing. Since I’m usually sitting when I’m out here, it’s not as if he’s seen me walking around. And it’s not as bad as it sounds, I haven’t been slinking around hiding.”

“Still seems odd but it’s not important right now. Tell me, how are you doing after telling him? And when are you going to tell him the rest?”

“Relieved. And I’m not sure. We didn’t really get into all the details, so he wants to meet for coffee this weekend.”

“Just holler out over your yards and invite him over.”

“You’re such a brat today. Aren’t you like fifty years old or something? You’re supposed to grow up at some point.”

She gasps. “I amnotfifty,” she whispers, but I hear Andy laughing in the background. Even though he couldn’t care less, she’s always been a little self-conscience of the fact that he’s six years younger than her. My laughter joins in with Andy’s when I hear her whap him playfully followed by giggling which tells me he’s tickling her or something equally as intimate.Gag.

“On that note, I also may or may not have accidentally kissed him.”

“What?” she asks, no laughter or teasing in her voice. “You kissed him!” She shouts.

“Put it on speaker!” Andy’s voice barks.

I roll my eyes. Again. Because I’m not even the least bit surprised. He and my mom might not have gotten together until I was already eighteen, but he’s been the best stepdad I could ever ask for. In fact, he never felt like a step parent at all. It was as if our families were always meant to be blended. Our two families became one so seamlessly, it’s hard to remember a time when we weren’t one.

“Hey Bri,” Andy says after she clicks her phone over to speaker.

“Seriously?”

“What? I want to know, too, and this way I don’t have it hear it secondhand from Christine.”

“Explain to me how you ended up kissing him? And when?” my mom demands.

“I feel like you’re asking me to pass you a note in class.”

“This is different—it’s not like we’re being nosey. Who’s been with you from the beginning? Your mother and I, is the answer, in case you didn’t know. We want you to be happy. And, let’s face it, it’s been too long since we’ve seen your real smile.”

Damn.

“The first day…” I begin to have them both shout “The first day?!” but I keep talking, ignoring their outbursts. “After practice, I went to his office, so he could discuss his injury. It was the first thing I wanted to ask him about. He showed me a picture of his pickup and I kind of lost it.”

“And ended up kissing him?” Andy asks.

I don’t tell them I ended up climbing onto his lap, too. Best not to go into too many details with them.

“I was a bit emotional,” I murmur.

“Sounds like it,” he jokes.

“He still doesn’t know?” Mom asks quietly.

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