not seen his artwork for the gallery, and he wants to take you on a date.
Did I miss anything?”
“I’m
glad I can’t see you right now because I’m inclined to hit you. And I can’t go
out with Haden, he’s my best friend,” I protest.
“ I’m your best friend. And do you have
feelings for Haden?”
“Honestly?”
“Yeah.”
“I
haven’t thought of him like that in a long time but—” I feel shy
admitting that out loud, but it’s true.
“But
now you’re starting to,” he finishes for me.
“This
is Haden we’re talking about. I can’t date him, and now things are going to be
so weird. Say we dated, everyone would feel awkward around us, and if we broke
up, it would ruin what we have.”
“Lai,
I hate to break it to you, but this is it, kid. This is senior year. In less
than eight months we’ll graduate, and three months after that we’ll all be
spread across different colleges. If you don’t take chances for fear that it
will change what we have, then you don’t give us enough credit.”
And this is why he’s my
best friend.
“Why
me?” I ask. “Why not some other girl?”
“You’re
kidding, right?”
“No,
he’s been on a dating hiatus for years. All this time I thought he was gay
because he didn’t have a girlfriend. He never showed interest in any of our
classmates.”
“Sure
he did,” Joey argues.
“Who?”
“You,
Laila,” he states in that tone that he knows drives me mad. “He’s had a thing
for you forever. I mean, at some point we’ve all had a crush on you, but we
outgrew it. Not Searle. We said a long time ago that you’re off limits because,
like you, we didn’t want to ruin anything. But he never moved on.”
“Yeah,
about this ‘off limits’ thing: what is that about? Why didn’t you ever tell me? That’s ridiculous!”
“We’re
guys, Lai. You know we’re idiots, what can I say? Besides, telling you would’ve
defeated the purpose, right?”
“He
kissed me,” I say in a rush.
“About
damn time,” he laughs.
I’m
grateful that I can vent to Joey because he’s always told me what I need to
hear, not what I want to hear. Well, until now.
“Do
you think we’d be good together?”
“Damn,
you need a girlfriend,” he teases. “Yeah, sure, I think you’ll be great.”
“I
gotta go,” I tell Joey, feeling suddenly out of breath.
“Just
think about it, okay?”
“Yeah,
I don’t think I can think about anything else,” I confirm before ending the
call and tossing my phone to the side.
I
lean back until my head hits the stack of pillows behind me, and let everything
that’s happened tonight settle. Joey confirmed what Haden said about having a
thing for me for a while, but I’ve never noticed it.
Have I?
Haden
has always been my quiet champion. He doesn’t always agree with me, but I know
he has my back. But that’s what friends do. Right?
I’ve
seen him looking at me, but I’ve never considered the looks anything more than the
silent conversations we have always had.
But
he has always been the one waiting for me after school or tagging along to my
swim practices when he’s free. Then there are the jogging trips we make a few
nights a week. Those are the times where he opens up and shares his life with
me.
I
walk over to my closet and pull out the yearbooks for the last three years and
thumb through them and find his inscription from freshman year:
You are the coolest girl I know.
No matter where life takes us,
always know that I’m here, waiting.
Love, Haden
P.S. If any guy breaks your heart, I’ll
break his face.
“No
way,” I say out loud, completely shocked. I’ve read the inscription before, but
the meaning is completely different now.
I
skip tenth grade and go to junior year to see what he wrote:
Laila, I’m glad to have you in my life.
One more year together before everything
changes .
Let’s make our last one the best.
I’ll always be here for you. Forever.
I love you.
Did I miss anything?”
“I’m
glad I can’t see you right now because I’m inclined to hit you. And I can’t go
out with Haden, he’s my best friend,” I protest.
“ I’m your best friend. And do you have
feelings for Haden?”
“Honestly?”
“Yeah.”
“I
haven’t thought of him like that in a long time but—” I feel shy
admitting that out loud, but it’s true.
“But
now you’re starting to,” he finishes for me.
“This
is Haden we’re talking about. I can’t date him, and now things are going to be
so weird. Say we dated, everyone would feel awkward around us, and if we broke
up, it would ruin what we have.”
“Lai,
I hate to break it to you, but this is it, kid. This is senior year. In less
than eight months we’ll graduate, and three months after that we’ll all be
spread across different colleges. If you don’t take chances for fear that it
will change what we have, then you don’t give us enough credit.”
And this is why he’s my
best friend.
“Why
me?” I ask. “Why not some other girl?”
“You’re
kidding, right?”
“No,
he’s been on a dating hiatus for years. All this time I thought he was gay
because he didn’t have a girlfriend. He never showed interest in any of our
classmates.”
“Sure
he did,” Joey argues.
“Who?”
“You,
Laila,” he states in that tone that he knows drives me mad. “He’s had a thing
for you forever. I mean, at some point we’ve all had a crush on you, but we
outgrew it. Not Searle. We said a long time ago that you’re off limits because,
like you, we didn’t want to ruin anything. But he never moved on.”
“Yeah,
about this ‘off limits’ thing: what is that about? Why didn’t you ever tell me? That’s ridiculous!”
“We’re
guys, Lai. You know we’re idiots, what can I say? Besides, telling you would’ve
defeated the purpose, right?”
“He
kissed me,” I say in a rush.
“About
damn time,” he laughs.
I’m
grateful that I can vent to Joey because he’s always told me what I need to
hear, not what I want to hear. Well, until now.
“Do
you think we’d be good together?”
“Damn,
you need a girlfriend,” he teases. “Yeah, sure, I think you’ll be great.”
“I
gotta go,” I tell Joey, feeling suddenly out of breath.
“Just
think about it, okay?”
“Yeah,
I don’t think I can think about anything else,” I confirm before ending the
call and tossing my phone to the side.
I
lean back until my head hits the stack of pillows behind me, and let everything
that’s happened tonight settle. Joey confirmed what Haden said about having a
thing for me for a while, but I’ve never noticed it.
Have I?
Haden
has always been my quiet champion. He doesn’t always agree with me, but I know
he has my back. But that’s what friends do. Right?
I’ve
seen him looking at me, but I’ve never considered the looks anything more than the
silent conversations we have always had.
But
he has always been the one waiting for me after school or tagging along to my
swim practices when he’s free. Then there are the jogging trips we make a few
nights a week. Those are the times where he opens up and shares his life with
me.
I
walk over to my closet and pull out the yearbooks for the last three years and
thumb through them and find his inscription from freshman year:
You are the coolest girl I know.
No matter where life takes us,
always know that I’m here, waiting.
Love, Haden
P.S. If any guy breaks your heart, I’ll
break his face.
“No
way,” I say out loud, completely shocked. I’ve read the inscription before, but
the meaning is completely different now.
I
skip tenth grade and go to junior year to see what he wrote:
Laila, I’m glad to have you in my life.
One more year together before everything
changes .
Let’s make our last one the best.
I’ll always be here for you. Forever.
I love you.
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