No Romeo Story

Chapter Sixteen// Not Nothing

Blake's Point of View

"Christ! Dude what are you doing? You scared the shit out of me!"

I guess it is now safe to say that sneaking into my house on a Monday morning would have been a lot more successful if I had remembered Tom is such a light sleeper, and chose to use the living room window instead of my bedroom's.

"Quiet." I force my finger over my lip with an urge for his silence. Tom stands by my bedroom door as I drag my second leg through the gap in the glass.

I draw the curtains behind me to block the early sun's rays from waking up mom and dad. As the light fades, Tom switches on the light, brightening his expression, but he isn't smiling, at all.

He goes to say something but I instantly shut him up. "Don't speak: they will hear you."

"They are asleep, like I was." Tom's hair is a mess across his face. He blows a lock out of his eyes. With a bushy eye brow he tries to frown at me in the middle of a yawn. "Where have you been?"

Usually Tom would be my first person to tell, about anything really. However on this delicate occasion of wanting to explode like emotional confetti, I don't think discussing the lose of my innocence to my older brother- who was only a virgin till he was fifteen- is likely that he will take it seriously.

Nonetheless, I keep him guessing.

"I was with Emily." As nonchalant as possible, I pull the covers aside from my bed and sit down, removing my sneakers with untied shoelaces. Tom's eyes stay fixed on mine.

"With Emily?" He asks, slowly.

"Yeah."

"At her house?" He pauses. I nod. "You are sick..." He pauses again but this time his neck turns as if standing up is too uncomfortable. "Blake, you can't just stay over at that house. You mad? What, you come back expecting everything to be alright and act as if it isn't a big deal?"

"I wanted to see her, that's all."

From my reflection up in the mirror from where I sit, I can see that my hair is sticking up in all directions. Escaping her house by diving out of the window was my stunt to avoid getting caught by her mom, the suspicion clouding Tom's eyes may have been a factor to consider as he stares at me with cautioned precision.

Then he cracks a smile.

"You did it. Oh my gosh you didn't? You did. You stayed the night. God I can't believe it! Blake!" He jumps five feet into the air.

"Tom, hush!" My fingers claw into the mattress. Unexplainable suspense tenses my whole body. His hands drag down his face before he finally turns back towards me, my eyes hesitant to look up. "What?"

"I'm so proud of you." His voice drops to a whisper.

"Tom, ew. Ok, that is not what you are supposed to say." I thought he was going to tell me that condoms are only 97% safe. "It's nothing."

I clamp my lips shut and walk over to my closet to find a clean shirt. I remove my current shirt and hang it up, Emily's scent is magic on the material. I am never washing it.

"It is not nothing at all. You always told me how special it will be for you."

He isn't lying, he hardly ever does, maybe why I am nervous about him possessing this tender information. Because no matter how many times I deny it to him, it is true. What happened last night is sacred to me and it was perfect, everything I dreamt for.

"Ok, maybe it wasn't just nothing. But whatever happens, do not tell mom and dad."

"Don't tell us what?" The shadow created by the door is replaced with the sleep in mom's eyes, but her sense of hearing seemed impeccable this particular morning. Dad passes behind her on his way to the stairs.