Char (19 page)

“No.”

As Tristan drives the yacht, I think about what he said. I really haven’t told her why. I am always just mean about it. Then I think about what Aaron said before he left… I really
could
try harder when it comes to my family. I bet if I put in an effort, so would they.

So that will be my goal — to repair my relationship with my sisters and mom… And maybe work on having a better relationship with my dad too.

Tristan drives the boat for a while before we stop. When we head to the deck, it’s then that I realize just how big the boat is.

“I feel like we should have invited more people,” I tell him. “This boat is
huge
.”

“But then we would have had to invite Christian, and I’m pretty sure my little brother has a crush on you.”

“Christian is so not my type.” I’m also not Christian’s type. He likes easy girls, and I am
not
easy.

He laughs. “I’m sort of glad you didn’t know me two years ago, because I was exactly like him.”

“He’s such a player. It’s hard to imagine you like that.” I’ve known a lot of players. Hell, my best friend
is
a player. Aaron’s always been a one-night-stand kind of guy, though I guess he is always up front about it. I’ve never been the girl to fall for the player. That was always Candi. I swear she got her heart broken every other week when she was in high school.

“I was a player too. I have always kind of been a jerk to girls,” he says. “I don’t know why it’s so different with you.”

“Should I be worried that you will eventually dump me, and be a jerk to me?”

“Definitely not. When I told you that I was going to marry you one day I meant it. You’re not just
some girl
to me. Your my girl.”

“How can you know that?” I ask.

“I don’t know. I just do,” he answers. “When I first saw you, I wanted you. But then you talked, and something about you… intrigued me. It’s like the whole world shifted, and you were what I wanted. I’ve never stayed with a girl until two in the morning just
talking
. And I’ve definitely never spent the whole day with one girl. But with you, I wanted to. The more time I spent with you, the more I realized just how special you were. And now… I can’t imagine my life without you. After a month I feel this way. How much stronger is it going to be in six months? Or in a year? All I know is that you’re it for me.”

His words are sweet, and I want to believe them. “How do I know you’re being honest with me? How do I know that you won’t eventually cheat on me?”

“You don’t. And there is
no way
to know for sure. But if you want to be with me, you have to trust me,” he says.
 
“And you definitely can’t let your own insecurities get in the way of something so incredible.”

“So you
really
want this? You and me?”

“I
really
do,” he answers. “And now that I know that you’re not in love with your best friend, I can finally ask you to be my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” I ask. “And what exactly does that entail?”

“Well it means that it’s just you and me. You can’t date any other guys, and I can’t date any other girls. It means that I can kiss you anytime I want, and that
eventually
we will take the next step. But not until we’ve been dating for at least a month. Sex complicates things, and I want you to be madly in love with me before I dazzle you with my mad sex-skills.”

“And what makes you think that after one month of dating I will fall deeply in love with you?” I ask.

“That’s easy. You’re already falling for me. You can deny all you want, but just remember, you’re a really bad liar,” Tristan says. “What do you say? Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

I
do
want to be his girlfriend. And he knows it. But I think it would be a lot more fun if I make him sweat it out. “I’ll consider your offer.”

He steps closer to me. So close that his chest is touching mine. “Fine. But until you say yes, we can’t kiss.”

“Why not?” I ask, leaning closer. My lips are inches from his, but he doesn’t move forward.

“It just wouldn’t be fair. I wouldn’t want my lips to influence your decision,” he says.

“Fine. I’ll be your girlfriend.”

Tristan smiles. “It’s a first for me.”

“What is?”

“To be
in a relationship
,” he answers. “I’ve never had a girlfriend. What happens now? Do we change our relationship status on Facebook, or what?”

I’m Tristan’s first
girlfriend
. I’m not sure if I should be thrilled about being his first, or if I should be worried. “If you send me a relationship request, I will accept it. As far as the rest of it goes, well, it’ll pretty much be the same as before… Except, of course, now we can kiss. And…
other stuff
…”

“Right. And now I can call you my girlfriend, and all the boys at your school will
know
you’re completely off limits.”

“Actually, they already knew it. Christian told them on my first day that I was your girl, and that if they touched me that you would come kick their ass.”

“Well, he’s right.”

“And you get to tell all the beautiful college girls that you’re very unavailable,” I tell him.

“They already know I am. I have no interest in anybody but
you
. And I haven’t since the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“I think you’re crazy. I also think that you will definitely get bored of me.”

“I am crazy,” Tristan says. “Crazy about you.”

I laugh. “Wow, that was cheesy.”

“You made me this way, and don’t worry about me getting bored. I could spend all day just staring at you,” he says.

“Then
I
would get bored.” I fake a yawn.

Tristan puts his arm around my waist. “I think I could definitely
entertain
you.” He puts his lips on mine, and my heart accelerates. I decide then that I will
never
get tired of reacting this way to his touch, and I hope the feeling never goes away. I have a feeling Aaron is right… It
is
different with Tristan. It isn’t like it was with Landon. Landon may have broken my heart, but it was easily repaired. If Tristan broke it, the damage would be irreversible, and for a moment I wonder if it’s
really
worth the risk. This feeling, no matter how amazing it is, scares me. Every kiss and every touch is more intense than the last. And everyday I give him just a little bit more of my heart. It’s then that I realize that maybe I am falling for him. Which equally excites and frightens me. Love after a month? Is it
really
possible? Maybe it’s just lust, and I’m confusing the feelings. I wouldn’t be the first confused teenage girl.

Tristan backs away from me for a second, and I look him in the eyes. They look darker, and I can see the insanity in them. The way he looks at me, I wonder if he feels the same.

No.

That would just be crazy.

I just
really
like him. And
only
like. Definitely.

I
think
.

7pm

Legal.

After spending all day on the boat, Tristan and I head back to NYC. I’m sad that the weekend is over.

On the boat, we had a picnic lunch and we kissed…
a lot
. But nothing more. He is very much sticking to his
no sex
policy. Something about wanting to let the sexual tension “build up”, and how it will be that much better if we wait one month. So I agreed. One month. Mainly because he’s probably right. And one month really isn’t that long. I waited three with Landon, so why not wait one with Tristan?

On the way back, Tristan sends me a relationship request on Facebook. I accept, and immediately after I get a ton of texts from Layla.

Layla:
OMG! I totally knew you liked him!

Layla:
He’s SOOOO HOT! I can’t believe he’s your boyfriend!

Layla:
Are you bringing him to homecoming? Because you’d totally be the envy of every girl there!

Me:
Chill. Yes, I like him. Don’t call my boyfriend hot.

“Are you coming to homecoming with me?” I ask Tristan.

“Well I’m certainly not going to let you go with somebody else,” he answers. “So yeah, I’m going.”

Me:
Yes to homecoming.

Layla:
OMG! OMG! OMG! Totally having a panic attack!

Me:
Just breathe. LOL. See you at school tomorrow.

“Are you sure homecoming won’t be lame to you?” I’m pretty sure high school homecoming will be completely lame to him.

“I’m positive,” he answers. “You’re in high school. I knew that when we started dating. Obviously you still want to do all the senior stuff. I went to homecoming my senior year.”

“Will you
actually
dance with me?” I ask him, remembering my junior year homecoming with Landon. He wouldn’t dance with me at all. I had a completely miserable time. The only thing that made it tolerable was dancing with Aaron, but then Landon was mad at me the rest of the night for it. Looking back, I don’t know why I stayed with him. We were obviously completely wrong for each other, and I just didn’t see it. Part of me wonders if I will ever feel this way about Tristan. Something inside me says
no
, but I obviously thought the same thing about Landon too. Or maybe I didn’t. I think part of me always knew we weren’t meant to be, but I just never admitted it to myself. Maybe it’s the part of me that wants to believe in the magic of true love.

“I will definitely dance with you,” Tristan answers, then pauses for a second. “Does it matter that I am a really bad dancer? Because I am. But I
like
dancing. I just don’t want you to get mad if I step on your feet.”

“I definitely don’t mind if you step on my feet,” I tell him. And it’s honestly the truth. “I’m not the
best
dancer either, but it is fun. Just to act crazy, and have fun.”

“When I was in high school, I only dated college girls,” he tells me. “I brought a college junior to my senior homecoming. Now that I’m in college myself, I am dating a girl in high school. There is something seriously wrong with this.”

I laugh. “You’re right. I obviously need to bring an older guy so I can keep up with you. Have any older friends that want to take me to homecoming?”

“Not funny.”

“It was to me.”

“I’m excited about homecoming with you,” he says. “I can see where it would be a lot more fun going with somebody you actually care about. Too bad I didn’t know you when I was a senior.”

“I was like fifteen and a high school sophomore. I doubt you would have given me a second glance then. Especially considering you took a college girl,” I tell him. “You probably would have been all into Candice.”

“Maybe. I did tend to go for a certain type of girl back then, and if she is anything like she is on TV then she would definitely have been my type.”

“I never thought she was like that,” I tell him. “But recently she has been… different — posing naked, the sex tape… She’s not the same girl that she used to be.”

“Is it weird seeing your sister like that?”

“I guess it was at first. I was sixteen when Candi started playing on
Shores of Malibu
. It’s a reality show, so I expected her to be…
her
. But we watched the first episode, and she wasn’t the Candice I knew. She was different. My mom explained to me that it was a role she was playing. Then things started changing. She became too busy for family dinner. And she started posing naked. But no matter what happens, she’s still my big sister. And I will always see her as the girl who cut my hair when I was five… the girl who played dress up with me…. and the girl who beat up Brad Pickens when I was in the second grade for calling me fat.”

“I don’t like this Brad Pickens kid.”

“It was the second grade,” I tell him. “He’s actually a pretty cool guy now. He plays the drums in Landon’s band.”

“Landon… the guy who cheated on you?”

“Yep.” When he says Landon’s name, I realize it doesn’t hurt. Maybe it should. I dated him for a year, but it feels like a lifetime ago. I realize it’s because I’ve moved on. I was a completely different person then.

“You know, I have a feeling that your sister is the same person she was before,” he says. “Maybe she’s just caught up in this whole…
lifestyle
. It’s easy to lose yourself.”

“I know. My mission is to remind her who she is.” And I will. When she comes for my birthday it will be the best sister hangout ever. “I’m excited she’ll be here for my birthday.”

Tristan smiles. “I’m excited for your birthday too. You’ll finally be
legal
.”

“Well, I’m definitely okay with breaking the law.” I scoot closer to him. “I’ve never had sex in the back of a limo before.”

“It’s really bumpy, and awkward,” he says. “Plus, I’m kind of liking this waiting thing. The build up is going to be awesome. And teasing you… it’s the absolute best.”

“Right. Well, the teasing thing can definitely go both ways.”

“Good.”

The rest of the drive to the city, Tristan and I spend talking… and kissing. But mostly kissing. I think he may just be right… The build up is going to be awesome. I just hope that he isn’t disappointed with me when we finally do it.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

8am

Pathetic.

Nothing is worse than going back to school after a holiday. Seriously, why can’t it be summer vacation
all the time
? Labor Day didn’t last long enough. Of course, the fact that I won’t see Tristan today makes it worse. Tuesdays are evil.

When I get to school, Layla is waiting for me by my locker. Her hair is straightened, and she’s wearing make-up. She looks really good.

“Oh em geez, Char! You and Tristan!” She’s way too excited about this. “Tell me all about it. How did it happen?”

“We were on his dad’s yacht and he asked me to be his girlfriend. I was skeptical, but he talked me into it,” I tell her. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal? Most girls would cut off their right arm for
one night
with Tristan. You will have numerous nights.” She let’s out a squeal. “I knew you were a good choice for best friend. Now tell me, is he as good as everybody says?”