Page 50 of Taking Care of You
Not wanting to give in too easily, I fix a confused look on my face. “Something like what?”
She looks like she wants to choke me out and laugh at my expression in equal measures. She settles for poking me in the chest. “Don’t play with me, Jakoby. Did you kiss Ethan today or not?”
I laugh at her, grabbing my chest like her bony little finger hurt me. “Where did you hear that?”
Instead of answering me, she pulls out her phone and pulls up a message. She turns it toward me and I read it. I’m not sure which friend sent her this, but it says,Ethan and Jakoby were tonguing each other down in the English hallway.
I look at her flatly and it’s her turn to laugh. “So, were you tonguing each other down in the English hallway?” she asks.
“No. He pecked me on the lips. Once.” I don’t mention that he did, in fact, tongue me down in the Science hallway, but that’s not what the text said. “It’s not a big deal. We’ve been dating for two months. It’s about time we kissed, don’t you think?”
“Datingfor realfor two months?”
“No. Just…two days?” My voice goes up at the end like a question.
Crystal squeals and hugs me, practically pulling me onto her seat. “I knew it! I knew it! Oh, Koby! I love you two together. You’re fucking adorable and he really likes you. I could tell weeks ago.”
I groan and Crystal gives me a long look. “What is it?” she asks. “Spill?”
“Okay, but can we go inside? It’s fucking cold out here.”
She chuckles and we climb out, walking to her front door.
Her dad is in the living room and he greets me warmly. “Hey, Koby. Where you been? Haven’t seen you around here in a while.”
Before I can open my mouth, my aggravating best friend says, “He has a boyfriend now, so he’s always with him.”
Her dad sits up more on the couch and gets a serious look on his face. “Do we need to have ‘the talk’? The mechanics are the same, even if I don’t like men.”
“Oh my God, Mr. Parker. No.” I laugh a little but I am beyond embarrassed. Not because he says he doesn’t like men, but because he’s trying to give me ‘the talk’ at eighteen. That ship sailed a long time ago.
Sitting back, he still eyes me intently. “Well, you be safe. Make sure he or you always have protection. And communication is important. Don’t let anyone try to talk themselves into your pants, son. No means no.”
Crystal scoffs. “We get it, Dad. Thanks.”
Laughing, Mr. Parker says, “He gets the same talk as you, baby girl.”
She grabs my hand and we walk back to her room.
Even though I pretend to be disgusted and over her dad, what he said means a lot. My parents didn’t deem it necessary to give me the talk. I had to learn on my own.
Mr. Parker is a great guy, doing the best he can to raise a daughter on his own. Crystal’s mother ran off when she was a kid and he’s been raising her by himself. He’s doing a wonderful job; Crystal is a sweet, kind, and compassionate person.
Thinking about that makes me sad. I have both of my parents, but I’ve been raising myself for the past six years. I’ve been waking myself up for school, doing my own laundry, cooking for myself. I’ve been doing it all. Crystal has one parent that works full time that has done more than his fair share for both a mother and a father. They might not live in the most glamorous neighborhood, but he does the best he can. I love that about him.
Sitting on Crystal’s bed, I tell her how Ethan and I admitted our feelings for each other. Starting with my mom trying to swing on me, to him taking me to the pier and letting me cry my eyes out. Then me begging him to kiss me, which made me groan. Crystal puts her hand over her mouth and looks to interrupt, but I hold my hand up and she lets me finish.
I tell her how he didn’t answer me and I thought I’d ruined our friendship, then I tell her about him coming to the room when I was ready to apologize and he kissed me.
When I’m finished, her hand is still over her mouth, and she’s staring at me with wide eyes. The silence stretches out and it starts to get a bit uncomfortable.
“Say something,” I murmur. Crystal is not one to have nothing to say, so her silence is a bit unnerving.
She moves her hand to her heart and shakes her head. “Koby, that’s about the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. Not the bit about your mother, I hate that she did that, but how he came to you. It’s like a fairy tale. God, I love this for you.”
“I love it for myself,” I murmur. “Crys, I never thought I’d meet someone before I went off to college. I thought when I got to Cali, I could be who I wanted to be and find the right man to be with. But I met Ethan and now…we’re together? It’s…”
“Overwhelming?” she supplies.
