An Ordinary Me Read online

  Autumn had already been kissed, and I mean kissed a lot. She was in a rush to do all her firsts unlike me, who wasn’t in any rush. I was taking my time and didn’t want any of my firsts to be taken away from me unless it was perfect. It had to live up to that image in my head. I hadn’t really ever pictured my firsts seriously. You know, the firsts, my first hand hold, and my first kiss (not on my cheek). My first make out, and on and on. I have the image in my head that it will be with someone I was in love with. Not necessarily the one I would marry, but someone I would always remember. Autumn thought I was crazy but she supported me. Sure, she teased with her wise cracks though. My mom and dad had a wonderful marriage and I would not settle for anything less.

  We finally made it to some empty seats in the student section. “Is this seat taken?” I asked the guy sitting next to where I was standing not really paying attention to his face. We didn’t have many spots to choose from, and it really didn’t concern me who I was sitting next to as long as he was clothed. Some of these idiots had their shirts off and paint all over their chests. Ick!

  He turned around and smiled then patted the seat. “No. But it is now.”

  How in the hell… A familiar face, my hero, Garrison. Holy crap. I hadn’t seen him since dance earlier today. How did I get so lucky to get to sit next to him?

  He was wearing our school team shirt but had the sleeves torn off. His arms were bigger than the little scrawny arms that the sophomore guys had. He sat kind of close to me, and I wondered what it would be like to feel his arm around my shoulders. I had never had a guy put his arm around me before. Garrison looked even better tonight than he did the first two times I saw him, and yes, I was counting. He was just as gorgeous but in a totally different way than Cannon. Not that I was comparing them… but Cannon was the only other guy I had ever had these feelings for. Garrison was the definition of perfect and the best part about it was he didn’t know it, unlike Cannon.

  Autumn was on my other side standing up hugging other students whom I didn’t recognize. She had never met a stranger. None of them looked our age but yet again, Autumn didn’t look our age. She had always hung out with older people. She was the type of person that could be thrown into any situation and could hang, nothing threw her off, a skill I was envious of. She never seemed out of her element. I always felt like a fish out of water when I wasn’t in familiar territory and tonight was definitely not familiar.

  “First game as a student?” He smiled at me trying to get me to talk. I’m not sure if he was sensing my nervousness or if he really wanted to know.

  “First game as a student.” And without adult supervision for that matter. The latter statement I kept to myself.

  “This should be a pretty good one. It should be a no brainer if the players play like they’ve been.”

  “Good to know.” I shake my head at him and smile. Oh my God, his eyelashes. His hazel eyes reflected off of them. Tonight the green wasn’t as distinct in his eyes but the brown is. Either way, they were unique.

  “You’re a Pantherette?”

  “Trying to be, tryouts are next week. And you are a drummer in our school band?”

  “Not for the marching band, but ya a drummer. I’ve been drumming all my life.”

  “It showed. You sounded pretty awesome in the cafeteria yesterday. That was you wasn’t it that winked at me? Why aren’t you sitting in the band section?”

  “Ya it was. I was just filling in though. I’m not in the marching band. Why aren’t you on the field?” He smiled genuinely.

  “Only junior and seniors perform the routine for varsity games.” I smiled back.

  “That’s a shame, you’re really good.”

  I blushed and hoped it wasn’t as obvious as it felt.

  The crowd was crazy as loons as Comal Panthers made a touchdown. Fans were giving each other high fives, yelling, and clapping. They were hugging and celebrating what was already becoming an awesome game.

  Garrison brought me in for a hug out of excitement and when he pulled me in and brushed my ear I about fainted. Thank God he was holding me up. I could see Autumn out of the corner of my eye and she was smiling like she herself had run in the touchdown. She was hugging another guy who I could only guess was the reason she wanted to come. Her hug didn’t end just as a platonic hug though as mine did. She was laying a kiss on his lips. I turned away as if I was seeing something I was not supposed to be seeing, shielding myself.

  Garrison let go of me and sat back down. There was a part of me that felt sad he had released me. I could smell him on my shirt. It smelled of his cologne that was clean and fresh. Addicting…

  “Sorry I probably shouldn’t have done that. We don’t exactly know each other. I was just excited for the team and acted on a whim.”

  “It’s okay. I didn’t think anything of it! It’s exhilarating watching everyone get so excited.”

  He smiled at me but didn’t stop looking at me. I wasn’t sure what he was waiting for but I knew I could feel something between us. I had no clue what it was since I had never felt it before but there was… something, not ordinary.

  The Comal Panthers scored touchdown after touchdown. The sound of the stadium tonight was nothing I have ever heard and I was excited to be a part of it. It was like roars of thunder on a stormy night where you felt that shock in your spine. We stood more than we sat so we could cheer them on not missing a beat. It was an amazing night, especially sitting next to Garrison.

  Autumn and I stayed the entire game and I had the most fun I had in my entire life. Sitting next to Garrison had my stomach in knots but for a good reason. He was giving me attention that I wasn’t used to but yet surprisingly loved. Several times he had grazed my hand and I had hoped he would hold it, a feeling I wasn’t familiar with. I barely knew him but felt there was this force pushing me towards him as if we were magnets.

  When the game was over, he walked with us to the parking lot to wait for my parents. He had asked if I needed a ride home, but I refused knowing I wasn’t allowed to ride with teenagers. My mom had lost her brother in a car accident when he was a teenager only a block away from the house. He was in the car with a group of his friends. They had left a party and they were dropping him off. He ironically was the only one that was sober.

  I wasn’t going to break a rule the first night I was being trusted. I respected all my parents’ rules but this one I knew was not something I was going to challenge.

  As I was waiting with Garrison, Autumn and a guy named Ryan, Cannon came walking by with his arm around a girl who looked like she belonged in college. She was not only beautiful but she looked perfect. Like the perfect all girls want to be. From her blonde hair to her perfect body to her perfect makeup and hair.

  “Hey, Reese, you need a ride?” Cannon asked me.

  “No thanks, I’m waiting for my parents.”

  “You sure?”

  “She said she has a ride,” Garrison answered.

  Cannon walked toward us and right in front of Garrison. “I wasn’t asking you. If I wanted your response I would have asked you, douche bag.”

  Cannon was puffing his chest out, and Garrison was standing his ground not intimidated in the least bit.

  “Screw you, Cannon. Keep walking!”

  “Reese, are you still coming to the party next week?” Cannon asked clearly trying to piss Garrison off more.

  “Ya, if I can.”

  “Cool.” Cannon winked as if he was trying to claim ownership of me and walked off towards his car and not a minute too soon. I could tell Garrison’s mood was changing. He looked mad or upset, not sure which but whatever it was Cannon was the cause of it.

  Garrison turned to look at me.

  “Is he your boyfriend?”

  “I don’t have a boyfriend. I’ve never even dated.” Out the side of my eye, I could see Autumn kissing Ryan.

  “So Cannon is just a friend?”

  “Yes, he is just a friend. We grew up next door to each other.”
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  “Be careful with him.”

  “Why?”

  “Let’s just say Cannon knows his way around. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  I didn’t have an immediate response. “Thanks for looking out for me but I don’t think it’s necessary.”

  He either didn’t know what to say or wasn’t going to try to convince me. Garrison stood beside me quietly. I know he was just trying to make sure I had a ride home.

  My dad pulled up and rolled down his window to show me he was here.

  “Well, that’s my dad, I gotta go.”

  “Bye, Reese.”

  “Bye, Garrison.”

  “Hey, Reese…”

  I turned around. “Yeah?”

  “I really enjoyed tonight. Here’s my number if you ever want to talk.” He handed me a small piece of paper.

  “Thanks, Garrison. I’ll definitely take you up on that.”

  I open the car door and waited for Autumn to pull away from her crush and meet me at the car. She got in the car wiping her lips and I rolled my eyes. Gross. Dad didn’t seem the least bit shocked but if that was me, it wouldn’t have been ignored.

  “Hey, baby girl. Did you have fun?” There was a part of me that still loved when Dad called me that. It always made me smile.

  “Yeah, Dad, I did.”

  “Who was the guy you were standing with?”

  “His name is Garrison.”

  “Hmmm…” I expected more questions but he was quiet.

  We were silent the rest of the way home but I knew I wanted to find out what Garrison meant about Cannon. Or did I want to know? And I was positive I wanted to text Garrison, more than anything in my life.

  Reese: I really enjoyed tonight and sorry for Cannon. I hope you drive careful. TTYL when you get home safe, if you want.

  Reese: This is Reese BTW.

  Garrison: I know who it is. And I most definitely will text you when I get home.

  Later my phone goes off and I spend the rest of the night texting him.

  Garrison: What did you think of your first game as a student?

  Reese: I loved it, sitting next to you.

  After I sent that I thought better of it. Oh well… nothing I can do now.

  Garrison: Really? What did you love?

  Reese: Where do I start, it was so intense as a student, totally different than just a fan. BTW I don’t know if I thanked you for being the only guy to help me when I made a complete and utter fool of myself tripping.

  Garrison: Ya you did. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Damsel in distress. We will always have a story to tell on how we met right? LOL.

  Reese: Hahaha. I’m glad you got to see me dance so you know I am not a total klutz.

  Garrison: You’re anything but…

  Is he flirting?

  Reese: But….

  Garrison: Do you not know how beautiful you are?

  Reese: Stop teasing me, Garrison.

  I’m blushing…

  Garrison: I’m serious, Reese.

  Reese: I’m ordinary, Garrison. I’m not a second take type of girl.

  Garrison: What’s wrong with ordinary anyway? I would do anything to be ordinary.

  Reese: It’s just not special. Like Autumn she has this “look at me” sign on her.

  Garrison: Autumn’s pretty, but she knows it. I don’t know who told you that you weren’t special. You are one of a kind. I know it and we’ve only been friends for what 2 weeks?

  Reese: 1 week and 5 days, 12 hours and 15 minutes.

  Garrison: Not that you’re counting…

  Oh God I sounded like I was in elementary school…

  Our conversation was easy, and we were up all night texting back and forth. He continued to say sweet things that made me smile throughout the night. There was a big piece of me that started to fall in love with him that night. It was a feeling I had never felt before, completely different than the feelings I had towards Cannon. This felt real.

  When I fell asleep, he was the last person I thought of. I had the biggest smile on my face, and my heart was full. I dreamed of him all night and just as he was coming in to kiss my lips, while holding my face and whispering to me, “You’re not ordinary, Reese. You are anything but,” I wake up to my little sister Natalie, shaking me to get up.

  1 week later

  Reese

  My parents never allowed me to ride with teenagers but this year, they are finally letting me. Well, with Autumn anyway. Autumn has officially gotten her license. Can you say freedom? They probably wouldn’t have let her drive me anywhere unless they knew how awfully slow and careful she drove. It took us almost thirty minutes to go a ten minute distance. To be honest, she probably wouldn’t have even gotten a driver’s license if she could have walked everywhere. She was feared when she got behind that wheel and not exaggerating a turtle could beat us. She got a used two door Honda and she called it the “smurf”. It had that old stinky sock smell and had blue seats. It had no A/C or heater but the windows worked great. What more do you need? I was only allowed to ride with her to the mall and to school. We lived pretty close to the school though so I had planned on walking most days anyway.

  Today we are going to go wander the mall and I was excited. It was our first trip without our parents dropping us off. Neither of us ever had a lot of money, so we usually cruised the mall, buying a pretzel for us to share and a Dr. Pepper for each of us. We go and try on clothes but are rarely able to buy them. Sometimes we try on things we would never wear and laugh at each other.

  This mall trip was just her and I. Most the time we were meeting someone she was interested in or some of our other girlfriends.

  We sat at the food court today and Autumn dropped a bombshell on me. If fact, I almost choked on my food and spit my soda out. She had to hit me on the back to dislodge the pretzel that got stuck in my throat.

  “I’m thinking of going all the way with Ryan.”

  I asked trying to catch my breath, “Why? Already? You’ve only known him a couple of weeks.”

  “He has been asking me and I just feel it is right. I think you feel when it is right.”

  “But… Autumn… What makes you think it is right? Don’t you think it should be special? I’ve had in my mind it would be… perfect. Meant to be.”

  “I don’t know. It just feels right. Reese, you almost live in a fantasy world. That’s not how it is in real life. I don’t get why you think everything should be special. It’s not realistic. When he touches me, it gives me a feeling I’ve never had before. It’s a feeling of needing satisfaction of not getting enough of him. It’s hard to explain. Ryan is a totally different than any guy I have ever dated. He always says the right things.”

  I smirked. “Probably because he has said all the right things to lots of girls…”

  “Whatever, Reese. Anyway, what do you know? You’ve never even had a serious boyfriend… You haven’t even kissed a guy.”

  “Autumn, thanks for the reminder.” I snorted at her. “I’m well aware of what I haven’t done. I just don’t want you to do something you will regret.”

  “Once you have a least rounded the bases with a guy we can talk about this. I probably shouldn’t have brought it up to you anyway.”

  “I don’t know why you did. You knew what I was going to say.”

  “What’s up with Cannon anyway? You still going to go to that party? I hope so ‘cause I’m planning on going with you.

  I couldn’t tell her I was actually planning on canceling. I wanted to go to my first high school party but I don’t know…Cannon was losing his luster.

  “Oh wait… I know what the problem is. Garrison?”

  “Yes, I’m interested in Garrison, but I’ve always had something for Cannon. Not sure what it is but it’s something. Garrison warned me about Cannon. He said to be careful. It’s just kinda sticking in my head.” I paused for a minute. “Not to mention Cannon was a total ass to me the first day. Yeah, he was nice to me asking me to the
party but it was almost like something else was up.”

  “God forbid, Reese. Stop reading into everything. It’s probably nothing. You’re beautiful and I have always told you that. There is nothing wrong with liking or dating more than one guy to see who you like better.”