We wrapped up the day with a BBQ at the Harper's. That was how Mia wanted to celebrate, and I couldn't complain. I was getting BBQ chicken, burgers, and grilled corn.
Okay, my only complaint was about Mia breathing down my neck, trying to get me to open up about what happened with Katrina earlier.
"Tell me!" Mia whispered harshly while poking my side with her plastic spoon.
"Knock it off." I glared at her in mock anger because let's be honest. Mia wasn't someone who could seriously make me angry. "I'll tell you later," I whispered back.
I would tell her now, but she was doing that adorable pouting thing because she wasn't getting her way. And I was enjoying it too much.
"Is everything okay over there?" my mom called from the patio table.
We both turned to her and nodded. "We're fine," we replied in unison.
I went back to scooping copious amounts of potato salad onto my plate.
Mia put her plate down next to the cornbread. "We talked about James the instant it happened, but you won't talk about Katrina."
I let out a sigh. "There's not much to say." I moved on to the coleslaw. "She wanted a bigger commitment, and I couldn't give her that." This was me trying to tell her the truth while also leaving out a massive part of that conversation.
"Like what?"
I glanced back to make sure our family wasn't trying to eavesdrop before I lowered my voice. "She said that she wanted us to think about the long haul. Whether it be a long-distance relationship or marriage after college," I had muttered the last few words.
"WHAT!" Mia blurted out in shock. "HOW COULD SHE ASK YOU THAT?"
"How can who ask what?" Mom butted into our conversation.
"Yes. We would also like to be a part of the conversation that has had you two pretending to grab seconds for the past five minutes," Mr. Harper said.
"Sorry," Mia whispered guiltily, realizing that her outburst had put the family in the middle of our chat.
Well, now that I had everyone's attention. "Katrina and I broke up." Before they could ask, when I told them. "After the graduation ceremony. It was just, that both of us knew at that moment that it wasn't going to work out for us. So we ended it."
"I'm sorry, honey," Mom frowned.
"It'll be alright, son. With a face like that." Mr. Harper pointed and gestured to my face with his fork. "You'll get a bunch of girls in college."
"Right? He's so handsome," Ava, Mr. Harper's girlfriend, added.
"Exactly," Mom quickly agreed.
"You know, I met Mia's mom in college and," Mr. Harper paused, scratching his head. "Maybe my story isn't the best example since we eventually... you know..."
Mia nodded, then turned to me. "You know what I think you should do?"
"What?"
"You should stop dating for a couple of years." She smiled evilly at me.
I stared at her blankly. She was using my own words against me.
"Okay, okay. I wouldn't go that far now," Mr. Harper saved me.
"Why not? Obviously, he sucks at it. This relationship lasted, what? Three months?"
I snickered. Grabbing my plate, I went back to sit down.
My mom rubbed my shoulders. "It'll be fine, sweetie."
"Can we change the subject now?" I asked, stuffing my mouth full of potato salad.
"Sure," Mia said, taking her seat next to me. "Let's talk about our new apartment." She squealed with excitement, tapping her hands on the table.
Our parents put their money together to lease a two-bedroom apartment close to the university for Mia and me. It was two hours from home, and we were excited just to be independent and do whatever we wanted, like eating leftover pizza for breakfast and ice cream for dinnerâjust kiddingâkind of.
We're supposed to move in August, the week before classes begin.
Since Mia and I had both been saving up from our part-time jobs, she's been spending a crazy amount of money shopping online for house stuff. I've told her to stop because we don't have to buy everything all at once, but then she gave me that puppy dog pout, and I just let her do whatever she wanted.
We both felt incredibly grateful for our parents getting us this place, so when they asked to help us put money towards a few pieces of furniture, we declined. Mia and I wanted to use our own money. I wasn't sure how this would work out, but we'll figure it out together.
I mean, as long as we have food in the fridge and somewhere comfy to sleep, I know we'll be fine.
#
When I got home, I showered and changed into something more comfortable. I was going over to Mia's for a movie night while her dad left to catch a last-minute flight to Texas for a convention.
"Grey?" Mom knocked on my door as I slipped my black t-shirt over my head. "You have a visitor."
"What? Who?" The only person I could think of visiting me was at home, waiting for me to come over.
"Katrina."
Just as she said her name, I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket.
I looked at it.
Katrina: Can we talk, please? I know you're home.
I went downstairs and walked out front. I found Katrina leaning against the hood of her bright yellow VW bug.
"Who are you right now?" I said first, breaking the silence first.
She had no clue what I was talking about.
I clarified. "Are you Dr. Jackal or Mr. Hyde? Because I don't think I could handle a repeat of earlier. I'm pretty sure you gave me whiplash." They say you saw someone's true colors after dating them for over three months. They weren't kidding.
"I'm sorry," Katrina started. "I shouldn't have given you an ultimatum. I shouldn't have said those things about you, and I shouldn't have said those things about Mia."
She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I was jealous. I always have been from the moment you introduced us. You just don't know how you look at her when she's around you or how you talk about her when she's not."
I opened my mouth to say something.
"No, let me finish, please." Katrina's eyes pleaded with mine.
"Okay," I said.
Katrina told me how excited she was when I asked her to be my girlfriend, how she loved spending time with me but that it didn't always feel like I was present, living in the moment with her. She spent the last few months hoping that things would change eventually, especially after telling me that she thought she was falling in love with me. When she heard that Mia had broken up with James, she felt like she wouldn't get the chance to have the kind of relationship that she wanted with me, so she freaked. She wanted to see if she demanded more of a commitment if I would stay or leave her. She already knew the answer, but she had to try anyway. She admitted that she felt a little broken-hearted over it.
"I'll accept that hug now if you don't mind," she told me afterward.
I leaned in to hug her. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you."
"Nah, you weren't a horrible boyfriend." I chuckled with disbelief. "You bought me flowers on my birthday. You took me out on dates and paid for everything. You always opened the doors for me and texted me, 'good morning.' Then you always made sure I got home safely after school. And you always always let me vent about my day to you over the phone for hours upon hours. You never complained and told me I was annoying. I can't tell you how many guys would make the time to listen to me."
Katrina eased out of my arms. "But, even after all of that, you always felt more like a good friend than an actual boyfriend. Why did you ask me out anyway?" she finally asked.
The answer for that was lost on me. I wasn't exactly sure myself. I mean, Katrina seemed cool, she made me laugh sometimes, and she was pretty.
"Is it because I'm the complete opposite of Mia? You hoped that when you were with me that you wouldn't think of her? Or was it because you needed a distraction from the fact that the girl of your dreams was dating someone else?"
What? No.
"No, no. It's nothing like that," I tried to convince her.
Katrina crossed her arms, staring at me with a straight face. "Isn't' though?"
I shook my head. "No. We're just friends."
"But if you could be something more?"
I cut her off. "I wouldn't. I'm not in love with Mia."
Katrina smiled at me. "I never said you were Greyson."
Shoot. "Listen, I do love Mia but not in the way you're thinking."
"It's fine, Greyson, really. But what's not fine is you pretending you can stand by and watch her be with someone else that's not you."
My heart clenched at the thought.
Let's say I did have feelings for Mia. Just hypothetically speaking, I would never tell her because I knew she didn't feel the same. I would make things weird, and I didn't want that. I never wanted that for us.
I bit my bottom lip, contemplating what I should say next.
"You can be honest with me, Greyson. I swear I won't run over and tell Mia everything when you're done."
I dragged the palms of my hands down my face.
"Okay, I see that you may have internally accepted your feelings for her, but you are nowhere close to voicing them aloud. So I'll just tell you this, Mia needs to know that you feel the same way she does."
"What?" I laughed out the word nervously. Then took a sharp inhale, exhaling with a short puff of breath.
"Call it a girl's intuition." Katrina gently punched one of my shoulders. "Anyways, I'm going to head out now. I'm glad we could clear the air between us."
All I could do was nod as I watched her hop in her car.
I saw her wind her window down. "And Greyson?"
"Hmm?"
"I hope everything eventually works out between the two of you. I think you guys would make a great couple, for what it's worth. I don't think I've ever seen two people so in sync with one another. Bye." Katrina winked before reversing out of my driveway and waving goodbye.