I put my hand on hers and she tensed up. I wasn’t ready to tell her how much I loved her. How much I cared about her. That I would do anything and everything for her. Not yet. I couldn’t confess to her yet. I mean we’ve only known each other for a few months now. She can’t possibly feel the same way about me.
“Olivia! Dinners ready.” Her mom called us inside.
“Coming mom.” She turned to me and smiled. “I’m sorry for any embarrassing thing they say or do tonight.” She says, making me laugh. “I’m sorry if they scare you away.”
“Oh don’t worry. Nothing will scare me away from you.” I say. She blushed slightly and walked towards the door. We walked inside and took our seat at the table.
“Olivia, I’ve discussed with your mother and she convinced me to let you date him.” My father says.
“Dad, I’m telling you. We’re just friends. Stop making such a big deal out of it. If I’m ever gonna date him, I’ll let you know.” She assured him. “But for now, we’re just friends.” She said if she’s ever gonna date me. I have a chance. Maybe my feelings were reciprocated.
“Alright.” He raises his hands in surrender. I’m just letting you know.” He says. “Now let’s eat.” Throughout dinner, Olivia’s siblings were talking about their lives. How their job was going. Who they thought was cute. Things like that. Towards the end of their conversations, though, they began recalling embarrassing stories about Olivia. They told me about her middle school valentines fail and she blushed profusely, telling them to stop. I thought it was cute to be honest. They didn’t stop. They kept telling me about her insecurities and failed confessions.
“Ok. That’s enough.” She stood up and grabbed her plate. “Thank you for dinner.” She bowed her head to her mother and took my plate and hers to the sink. I followed her.
“Your family is fun.” I leaned against the counter.
“Yeah, well they just need to learn when to stop embarrassing me.” She sighed. “I’m sorry for-”
“Don’t be. I had fun.” I smiled at her and she smiled back.
“Ok good.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, before high school and before we moved, I had a few friends. We always hung out at their houses because I didn’t want them to meet my family. When they finally convinced me to invite them over, my family scared them away. Luckily, we moved so I never had to see my friends again. But it was hard. My family is too much.” She sighed again.
“But they love you.” I point out. “Your family.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She shrugs.
“What do you mean? They look-”
“Shouldn’t you go home now? It’s almost 9:30.” She said.
“Yeah, sure.” She walked me to the door.
“Thanks for staying.” She says, hugging me softly.
“Anytime. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
“Ok, bye.”
“Alright, bye.”