Read Online Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall - Free Book Online Page A

Boromir’s ass.
    â€œI can’t handle it when he looks up and pushes his hair back from his face,” Kyle says, giggling.
    â€œFrodo,” I say, in a near-perfect imitation of Boromir. I honestly couldn’t tell you if anyone else on earth finds this as funny as we do, but in the grand scheme of things, that doesn’t matter. What matters is that we find it hilarious.
    By the time we finish the first one, we’ve eaten all the snacks we brought down and decide to order a pizza.
    â€œSo where are your parents?” I ask while we wait for it to arrive. It seemed sort of dumb to get into The Two Towers if we were just going to get interrupted by the doorbell twenty minutes in.
    â€œThey took my sisters into the city to see some show.”
    â€œWell that was super nice of them,” I say as the doorbell rings, signaling the arrival of our pizza.
    â€œI love these extended editions. I don’t know why they didn’t just do the extended editions in the movies,” I say.
    â€œI love that you talk about this so authoritatively, as if you weren’t three when the movies were in the theaters.”
    â€œI can have opinions about anything I want to have opinions about,” I reply.
    â€œMy opinion is that Elijah Wood is supercute.” This is the first time Kyle has ever mentioned being attracted to someone who even remotely looks like me. And I’m not saying I look like Elijah Wood, but I am short and dark-haired. It’s just nice to hear about someone besides Chris Evans.
    We make it through the second movie, agreeing as usual that Gimli is the best part and the Tree Ents are weird but cool. Kyle runs upstairs to warm up the pizza and when he comes back down, he sits a little closer to me on the sofa.
    When we finish our next slices and lean back on the couch, our shoulders are touching, and they stay that way for almost the entirety of the third movie. I can barely watch. I can only think about that little bit of contact.
    At least until we get to the epilogues.
    Kyle starts sniffling next to me, so I look over at him.
    â€œI’m sorry!” he says, wiping his eyes and then crossing his arms. “I just really like how they weave all this together at the end. And it’s really about friendship, you know?”
    I hold his gaze for a beat too long and can’t deny the fact that I kind of feel like kissing him.
    He’s just so Kyle-earnest and sensitive and kind.
    I bite my bottom lip, but I don’t look away. I have to close my eyes for a second, though, because it’s all too much. I don’t understand what’s happening.
    I open my eyes and his gaze is locked on mine, like he had taken the opportunity to observe me while my eyes were closed.
    â€œHave I ever told you that I think you look like Elijah Wood?”
    I laugh in surprise and glance away. “You have definitely never mentioned that.”
    We make eye contact again and he still looks a little sad, like his eyes are sort of wet, but he’s also smiling. He surveys my face, and more than anything I want to know what he’s thinking. I want to know what would happen if I leaned in and put my lips gently on his. Of course, my whole body chooses that moment to betray me and I actually do lean in a little.
    He blushes. His jaw drops and his eyes trail away.
    But I recover by making a big production of pulling my phone out of my pocket. There’s a pretty good chance that was the slickest thing I’ve ever done. Because for a second there, it looked like I was trying to kiss him.
    I take a look at my phone and have a text from Ruby.
    Weird.
    Ruby
    Things have gone from bad to worse at my house during the past twenty-four hours. My parents told my sister and brothers about my dad losing his job. I don’t know that they all really understand what’s happening, but I think they can tell by our parents’ expressions that it’s hard times at the Vasquez