Time had been speeding by me since Jackson kissed me. Two weeks had felt like nothing. Getting up in the mornings didn't take every ounce of energy that I had, and every time my phone vibrated, my heart fluttered and hoped that it was him. More often than not, it was. I guess they're right when they say that time flies when you're having fun.
'How's work?' was all he had to text to make me smile.
'Not so bad. You gonna come get something today? The jelly donuts are calling your name.' I would tease. He eventually did come in to see me at work and met Mrs. Russo. She liked him. Of course, she didn't know about us. She was still set on me being with Charlotte. At least, I think she was.
Since the aquarium, we had gone on a few dates. Mostly it was grabbing lunch or dinner. A few times, we just hung out and watched some movie. Tragically, there was no 'chilling' included. I was left to my fantasies on that front.
There was one point when we went to get ice cream on a whim, and I don't think I had ever been so cold internally and externally at the same time. Jackson's whole body tensed up, and his teeth chattered for a solid two minutes. Luckily, we laughed hard enough to make it go away. Everywhere we went, he would wear that leather jacket that he always had. It was like his trademark.
Another notable time was when we went for lunch before he had to go to work. We were walking through a light flurry when his eyes lit up like they do. A puppy was prancing around in the snow. It was likely the first time it had ever seen snow in its life. After asking the owner for permission, we played with it for a bit. It was very clear that we were both dog people, but I soon found out that we both loved all animals in general.
The winter in New York was warmer than any winter back home with my family.
~
"Hey, so my friend's birthday is coming up soon. I was wondering if you'd wanna come to her party with me. It's 80s themed," he mentioned over hot chocolate one Tuesday afternoon. He had asked the question with a foam mustache on his upper lip.
"Are you gonna keep the 'stache?" I asked him. He wiped the foam from his upper lip and tried wiping it off onto me. I dodged though.
"Yeah, it sounds like fun!" I answered, taking a sip from my own mug.
"Now look who needs to shave," he commented.
"An 80s themed birthday party? Why haven't I done that!?" Charlotte asked when I told her a couple days later. We were sitting on her bed, trying out these new face masks she had found from a hole-in-the-wall store. They were a lime green color with yellow flecks in them. It was kind of nasty to look at, but my face felt minty already.
"Wanna see what I plan on wearing?" I asked as I searched for the picture on my phone.
"Oh my god, yes. I wish I could go! I already know what I would wear," she said, and I showed her.
"Cute! You're gonna make the perfect first impression on his friends," she remarked. I had gone thrift shopping especially for the occasion. A small sense of pride started to blossom in me.
"I'm kind of nervous to meet them actually. What if they don't like me?"
"What are you talking about? They're gonna love you! What's not to love?"
I glanced over and saw my reflection in the mirror. My hair was being held back by one of Charlotte's hair bands, and my face mask was kind of scary. I studied myself for a moment before Charlotte poked her head into the reflection to get a look at herself too.
"We look like Shrek's bastard children," she commented and then laughed at her own joke enough for the both of us. I didn't respond though.
"What's wrong?" She asked me. I looked away and twiddled my thumbs. I kind of shrugged my shoulders. It's something that happens when I get upset or sad or something. I lose my ability to speak. It's not that I go mute or anything; I just don't like talking.
"Nothing," I signed. I learned American Sign Language in high school, and I tended to use it when I didn't want to talk. Back when I was living in Kansas, my mom started to pick up some of the things I was signing, but my dad flat out refused to even try. He just got angry.
"Boy, you know I took French in high school," Charlotte said. That got the tiniest smile out of me.
"Is it your family?"
I nodded. She wrapped an arm around me and squeezed me.
"Listen, Bobby. It's their loss. You are an amazing, funny, sweet person, and you deserve all the happiness in the world. You made it all the way out to this city, and if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere! I know that it can take some time to unlearn some of the things they taught you, but I'll always be here for you. I know what dealing with all this mental baggage is like," she said. Her words were comforting, and I took a deep breath.
"Thanks," I uttered out so quietly that I barely heard myself.
"Now. What do you say we get these masks off and watch a cheesy rom-com? We look like sea monsters," She asked. I nodded, and started to peel the mask from my face. Once exposed to the air, it felt amazing. My pores were able to breathe again.
Charlotte and I spent the night watching some new movie that made us both laugh and cry. It was super basic, but at least the male love interest was nice to look at. The bowl of popcorn didn't even last the first twenty minutes.
~
Friday night was here, and my phone buzzed. It was Jackson letting me know that he was here. I rushed down the stairs and walked out into the sidewalk. I looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Surprise!" Jackson announced, jumping out from around the corner. He took themed parties seriously apparently.
He was wearing a brown coat with a white fur collar, a white button-up underneath it that left the top three buttons undone, and denim short shorts. He had white shoes and knee high socks to go with them. I started to giggle as he opened his arms to present himself. We were actually wearing the same kind of shoes, but my socks were only ankle high.
I, on the other hand, had chosen denim shorts, a matching denim jacket, and a white shirt with a small rainbow embroidered on the chest. We checked each other out for a moment until the novelty of it all sunk in.
"You look SO good!" I said, laughing as he stood there proudly.
"You're looking pretty good yourself, mister. I like the touch of gay, too," he said, poking my rainbow. I just shrugged.
"You ready, John Cusack?" I asked him. He rolled his eyes.
"Only if you are, Tom Cruise," he shot back.
"Ooh, I think I win that one," I said, and with that, we were on our way to his friend's place.
Strangely enough, we didn't get any weird looks on our walk there. It just seemed like a normal thing. When we finally got there, we could hear classic 80s music blaring from outside the door.
"Ready to party like it's 1989?" Jackson asked.
"Hell yeah," I responded, and he opened the door.
Everyone was dressed so awful that it was great. There was tons of denim on denim, feathered hair, and bright colors. Solo cups were everywhere you could look full of who even knows what. I saw that every inch of the kitchen counter was filled with different types of alcohol. The current song was We Built This City by Starship.
