A few hours later...
Taylor's POV...
After a few hours of spending some intimate bonding time with Joey, he drove me back to my house. We planned to go to the arcade tomorrow after lunch, and agreed to not tell Eleanor about it since we wanted it to be OUR day, despite both of us feeling guilty about hiding this matter from her.
"Thanks for tonight, Joey," I say to him while smiling.
"You're welcome, Tay," Joey says. "I'll see you tomorrow."
I smile at him. "Goodnight, Joe."
In a surprised motion, I gave the cute boy a quick kiss on the cheek, making him slightly blush at my action. I open the door of his car and turn around to see him still smiling, before I walk up to my house.
At Taylor and Eleanor's room...
Glad to say that mom and dad are asleep, which made me thought I could use some sleep too. Upon entering my room, and I close the door shut and thought that I was ready to clean up. Yet, to my surprise, I see my sister sitting on the bed in silence. Her looking down at her short nails to my confusion. Well, I knew she was gonna return tonight, but I didn't expect her to be this early. Honestly, I even thought there was a chance she could be staying over at Fred's place.
"Hey! You're back," I say to her as I try my best to hide the small nervous feeling inside of me. Man, I wouldn't want her to find out that I'm nervous because I just made out with the guy we both loved.
"Yeah," Eleanor says. "I was gonna say the same thing to you."
I chuckled nervously as I remove my cardigan and put it on the chair. I noticed something different about my sister tonight, which made me sense that something's not right. It's odd to see her not smiling like her usual self. In fact, it almost seemed like she has something in her mind, and in my feeling, it's not good.
"Did something happened?" I asks my sister, with a concern yet curious tone.
"Yeah," Eleanor says. "Fred tried to kiss me."
Hearing that, I wanted to drop my jaws at Eli's sudden statement, but I didn't want to make the scene seem dramatic. By that, I forced my lips shut just so my sister won't feel anymore pressure of me being all surprised.
"But I pushed him away," Eleanor says.
I became silence. Other than not expecting that Fred would take the action so fast, I was more surprised when I knew Eleanor declined the kiss. For a second, I wanted to believe she would actually fall in love with Fred, prettymuch like how I fell in love with Joey.
"Why?" I asks her, almost seems like I was too innocent to catch the point, though I'm just being curious.
"It didn't feel right," Eleanor says. "And I didn't feel anything for him."
Hearing that, other than being completely speechless by Eleanor's sudden confession, somehow my heart suddenly felt a lingering guilt knowing that while Eleanor had declined a kiss from the guy who loved her, I was busy kissing and making out with the guy she loved, or should I say, we loved.
"I'm sorry about that," I suddenly say, in a way I tried to make her feel better about the current situation, but on the other side, my words also meant deep down that I was sorry for my actions behind her back. Yet, I don't even have the courage to tell her the truth.
"Well, don't sweat about it," Eleanor says, trying to sound chill. "Fred and I are cool. We're still friends, and I am ok."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," I say. I felt relieve when I knew that she and Fred are still friends, and hopefully, they'll continue to have a good relationship. Even though I've only met Fred a few times, just by looking at the way he stared at Eleanor, I knew he is deeply in love with her, and that Eleanor deserves to be love in a special way he gave her.
"I'm gonna go clean myself up," I say as I make my way to bathroom, not wanting to continue anymore tension of awkwardness.
The next day...
1:30 PM...
At the arcade...
"We're finally back," Joey says as he walks inside the arcade, with his hand holding Taylor affectionately.
"It's so good to be back here with you," Taylor says. She is beyond happy that she and Joey will be going on their "first official date" today at their favorite place.
"I wouldn't want to go back here with anyone else," Joey says as he forms a smile on his face.
"Damn it, Joey Carlson. Do you actually say that to all the girls?" Taylor asks, with a tone that seemed like she's a bit jealous.
"Only to you, and you know," Joey says. "I remember when we were in middle school, you used to thought I was into guys because I didn't have an attraction with girls."
"Damn, you remember that," Taylor says, feeling embarassed when she remembered that she actually thought Joey was gay back in middle school, when he is clearly straight.
"Regarding you, my memories are clear as crystal," Joey says in a playful tone.
Hearing this, Taylor lets out a shy laugh. She found his sweet words to be so soothing in her heart, that it made her believe that she chosen the right guy to fall in love with. What's even better is that she found a lover in her best friend, making her feel most grateful.
"So what do you want to play first?" Joey asks.
"I believe you owe me a dance off since the last time," Taylor says as she glance her vision at Joey with a seductive look, making Joey's cheeks suddenly turns pink as he forms a shy smile on his lips.
"Then let's go," Joey says as he holds Taylor's hand tighter and speeds up his phase, making Taylor giggle as the two enjoy a little running session at the arcade.
To be continue...