The Songs in Our Hearts: A Young Adult Romance(61)

MICAH: ;)





He had sent the text messages almost an hour ago. I scrolled through them feeling a little thrill of happiness wash over me. Micah had actually been thinking about me. I quickly began to type out a reply.





CHARLIE: I’m here. Sorry! I was busy handling Josh’s friends.



CHARLIE: And I was busy playing Uno with them too.



CHARLIE: It got pretty intense over here.





A moment later…





MICAH: SHE LIVES!!!!!!!!



MICAH: I was banking on the idea that I’d have to come over



MICAH: and perform my new Victor skills on u.



CHARLIE: Chop me up and try to bring me back to life?



MICAH: Yup. Exactly lol



CHARLIE: Didn’t you learn your lesson the first time, V? LOL!



CHARLIE: I mean, if the monster didn’t work out, I won’t have better results either.



MICAH: True, true. Guess it’s a good thing ur alive.



CHARLIE: Miracles!



MICAH: Wanna go see a movie with me?



MICAH: My dad left me some cash for gas and something to do while he’s at work.



MICAH: Guess he felt generous.



MICAH: There’s a new pirate movie out. Wanna go?



CHARLIE: Is this a date?



MICAH: Strictly friend-date lol



CHARLIE: What’s the difference?



MICAH: Pretty sure one involves either kissing or the boy paying.



MICAH: And the other one…doesn’t?



CHARLIE: Ah. Gotcha. Well, I’m glad we figured that out.



CHARLIE: Now I can say yes without confusion.





Damn it. Why did I play along? How was I ever going to get out of this self-created friend-zone if I kept this up?





MICAH: Great, I’ll be over in a few.



CHARLIE: All right! I’ll be waiting!





“Teenage Dream” (Acoustic)

Glee Cast





I TOSSED MY PHONE ONTO the bed and jumped to my closet. I tugged my comfy-around-the-house clothes off and changed as quickly as I could into a pair of jeans and one of my nice, lace-decorated blouses. I was just twisting a bit of my hair away from my face when I heard Josh shout my name.

“CHARLIE! MICAH IS HERE!” I could only imagine what Josh and his friends were thinking. Maybe they were surprised; though, from the sound of things earlier, it was expected. Did Jennifer and Rachel feel the same way? Were they expecting me to come back to school one day with a smile and news of finally beginning a relationship with Micah? Jennifer was always encouraging me to spend time with him. And in my state of denial, I hadn’t bothered to confide my inner-most feelings about Micah with her. Maybe it was time I tried. After one more glance at my reflection, I slipped out of my room and down the stairs. Micah was watching Josh and his friends play another round of Uno. Despite their alleged boredom with the game, they must have decided to give it another go.

“I’d put that card down,” Micah said as he pointed to one of the selections in Josh’s hand.

“You can’t do that!” J said. “That’s cheating, man.”

“No, it isn’t.” Josh laid down a Draw 4.

“I hate you guys.” J glared at them. I peeked over J’s shoulder and pointed to one of his choices. He grinned at me.

“Look who’s cheating now,” Ben said as he laid down a card. J lifted his hand, flipping Ben the bird. That was my queue to leave.

“Ready?” I asked, turning my attention to Micah. He shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded.

“Yeah, it starts in about a half-hour. Let’s head out.” Micah gave a nod to the guys. Josh winked at me.

“I’ll tell Mom and Dad when they get home. No worries,” Josh said. I replied with an appreciative grin and followed Micah out the front door.

When he turned the car on, I recognized the melody coming from his stereo.

“This is such a good song!” I eased forward to turn up Queen’s “Under Pressure” as Micah tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm.

He drove through the streets to our small hometown movie theater. It was super old. Every time I saw it, I was reminded of Back to the Future, and the 1950s. There had been rumors of a newer establishment being built in the area, but the Grand Lakes Ritz was a family favorite. It was too much a part of our history for any of us to let it disappear.

Micah parked the car, and together we walked into the brisk hue of twilight, toward the Ritz. As we turned the corner, a huge poster of the pirates movie loomed in the corner near the ticket booth. At least it looked cool.

“I’ve been waiting to see this for ages.” Micah grinned. “I figured you’d see it with me.”

“I’ve seen the first one. I think it was called Pirates of the Lost Barbados Cove, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the one,” he replied.

Micah started to pay for the movie, when I suddenly remembered his text from earlier. I placed a few dollar bills on top of the ones Micah had laid on the cashier’s counter. I avoided his glance as I stepped back. It wasn’t until we were taking our seats that he mentioned, “I was going to pay for your ticket.”