Chapter 12
Marcela
“
A lright!” Professor Grum claps at the front of the room. “Tonight is perfect for some stargazing. Not a cloud in that wonderful sky.”
Theo and I begin to pack our things into our bags, since the lesson is being moved outdoors.
“Bring your belongings and follow me,” our professor instructs. We all stand, following her out of the building and around the darkened pathways of campus until we reach the hill Theo brought me to a few weeks ago.
“Spread out, lay with a friend, and soak up the stars. Tonight, I want you to merely stargaze. Admire the beauty of the sky and see if you can find any constellations. There will be a discussion post on this next week, so be ready to share your findings. Whether that’s something in the sky, or something the stars unleashed inside of you.”
Everyone settles in different spots on the grass, and I’m about to sit when Theo takes my hand, sending a chill up my arm.
“Let’s go over here,” he gestures to a spot a bit farther from the group. I follow him with my hand in his, reminding myself that this is totally normal behavior because everyone here thinks we’re dating.
I set my tote bag down in the grass, thankful that I was dressed appropriately for the cold weather in my oversized pink sweater and thick black leggings. Theo looks just as comfortable in his matching dark-gray sweatsuit that’s molded perfectly to his muscular—wait, no. No thinking anything about his muscles.
I shake myself out of it, attempting to rid myself of those kinds of thoughts as I sink down to the ground.
I’m about to lay down on the grass when Theo says, “Wait.”
I sit back up, looking at him with curiosity as he pulls out a sweater from his bag.
“Did you need me to watch you put on a sweater? Is that part of the … deal? Is that something girlfriends do nowadays?” I whisper.
Theo chuckles, the sound rich and velvety. “Stop being funny. That’s my role.”
He balls the sweater up the best he can, then sets it down behind me. “But no, that’s not why. I didn’t want you to lay your head on the grass. Figured my sweater would be more comfortable than getting bugs in your hair.”
Something shifts in my heart so slightly that I nearly miss it, as I feel his kind gesture nestle itself in there. Hunter would’ve never done something like that. Something so small, yet entirely meaningful.
“What about you? You’re not worried about bugs in your hair?” I ask, pushing the action to the back of my mind and trying not to read too much into it
“Nah, I’m good.” He pulls out a RLU baseball cap from his bag, fitting it on top of his hair.
A smile lifts the corners of my lips as I slightly shake my head and lean back onto the makeshift pillow he made for me.
We’re silent for the first few minutes as we watch the vivid stars above us. They’re so bright, it feels like I could lift my hand up and grab one.
I find myself in awe as my gaze floats from one celestial body to the next. The stars come out every night, as they have for my entire life, yet today is the first time I think I’ve ever sat and truly looked at them.
Isn’t it crazy that they even exist to begin with? That we’re able to see them from this distance?
“How was your day?” Theo asks from his spot beside me, snapping me out of my daze.
“It was good, and yours?” I say, in the most unconvincing way possible.
“Hey,” he says softly, “Talk to me, what’s wrong?”
“My mom texted me today. She wants you to come over for dinner this Saturday to meet her and my stepfather.”
“Isn’t that a good thing …?”
“I mean, isn’t this more than you signed up for?” I glance at him warily.
He shrugs. “Not at all. It’s going to sell the idea to your parents, which is important if they ever run into Ruby or Hunter anywhere.”
“Okay, you do have a point, considering my stepdad and Hunter’s dad are friends. But you’re sure it’s okay?”
“I’d be more than happy to meet them. What time? We have a game at eleven that morning, but I can make it any time after that,” he explains, ready to make time for me in his busy schedule.
His willingness to be there makes my heart skip a beat, because Hunter would’ve never done that.
“Dinner is at six. Do you have any allergies or food restrictions?” I ask, wanting to make sure before my mom cooks an entire feast that he can’t eat.
“I don’t eat meat. Growing up on a farm made me think about animals differently,” he chuckles. “But I’ll eat what I can, or I can bring something vegetarian with me.”
“Oh no, my mom will be offended if you do that. I’ll just let her know and she’ll adjust the menu. A lot of Costa Rican food can easily be made vegetarian if it’s not already,” I tell him, not wanting him to feel like a burden.
“Alright then. My stomach and I are looking forward to Saturday. What time should I come pick you up?” he asks, once again surprising me with his kindness.
“They live about twenty minutes away, so five-thirty is good.”
“Perfect,” he says, then adds, “Is there anything I should know that will score me some points with your parents?”
“My mom is the sweetest woman ever, so honestly just being yourself will make her like you. She’s a sucker for trashy reality TV shows, and loves collecting salt and pepper shakers. We have so many in the cupboards from our travels over the years, and random ones she’s found in antique stores.”
“She sounds awesome. I’ll be on the lookout for some cool shakers from now on.”
I pause, not sure what to say about my stepdad. While I want to warn Theo about how he gets when he starts drinking, I am not ready to share that part of my life.
“Chris, my stepdad, only really likes to talk business. He’s also into betting on horses, the stock market, and things like that.”
“Sheesh, that’s going to be tough since I don’t know much about business. Don’t you worry. I’ll up the good ole Theo charm and win him over,” he says reassuringly, as if it will be that easy.
I’m not worried about them having nothing in common. I’m worried about my stepdad showing his true colors.
“He can be a bit … abrasive. Don’t take it personally, okay?”
“Everything will be alright, Celly. Don’t even stress about it,” Theo’s voice is steady and calm, unlike the tension coiling through my body. He must sense it, because his fingers gently brush against mine.
“Thank you,” I say quietly as I wrap my pinky around his, breaking my own rule. But it’s only our pinkies, so it’s not really touching, right?
His pinky squeezes around mine. I do it back—an unspoken we’ve got this communicated in that gesture. We lie there quietly for a few minutes as we stargaze. Slowly, my entire body relaxes, the stress of Theo meeting my stepdad fading away temporarily.
“Hey, what do you think about Friday night for our first date?” Theo says, interrupting the quiet air around us.
“W-why do we need to go out Friday?” I squeak, the reality of needing to actually go on dates settling in.
“It’s a tradition for the team to go out before every home game and Hunter will probably be there. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to show them that you’ve moved on and you couldn’t care less about them.”
“You’re right,” I sigh, dreading the fact that I’ll have to be around Hunter and Ruby. “Friday works. Text me a time and I’ll meet you there.”
“ Ah, ah, ah, ” he tsks. “What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn’t pick you up?”
“Are you sure it’s not a problem?”
Theo pauses for a moment, before turning to face me. “Did Hunter not ever pick you up for dates?”
My heart aches as memories of my relationship flood through my mind, of all the things he didn’t do for me that I wish he had.
“When we first started dating in high school, Hunter made an effort. But once we went to different colleges, things started to change. I was the only one making the trip to see him, and when I would get there, we usually only hung out with his friends. Dates slowly stopped happening,” I press my lips together as the realization sets in on how crappy of a boyfriend he was. “You know, I always wished he’d get me flowers. But he never did. Not even for Valentine’s Day, because he thought it was forced .”
I look over to see Theo staring at me with a mixture of sadness and anger.
“Sorry, I’m oversharing.”
“Don’t apologize for that, I love listening to you talk. Especially when it helps me understand you better, okay?” His voice is so gentle, it makes my chest squeeze and I nod.
“I’m sorry he treated you that way. He’s an idiot. You deserve the world. You know that, right? Never settle for anything less. Ever ,” he says.
I move to unlock my pinky from his, but quickly note a sense of alarm on his face. I don’t move, keeping my hand in his. His brief panic turns into a smile, his dimple popping out. He knows me, without having to say a word.
One of the things I’m beginning to love about our friendship is how easily he understands me.
I’ve never had that kind of connection with anyone.