Kinda-Sorta-Maybe Nerd-Boy Ch. 03

Tonight was no different. I fought for the strength to do something. But then the light went out in Kendra's bedroom and I let out a long sigh. I lay down on top of the covers and closed my eyes.

There was a knock at the door. Every now and again one parent or another would come in to ask how my day was. "Come in."

And Kendra walked in. I thought for sure that I was dreaming, but then she closed the door and sat down on the bed next to me, her hand on my leg. "Hey, Jase." Her tone was easy going, just like old friends. But there was a tension in her voice.

"Hey Kendra. Haven't seen you in awhile."

"Oh it's only been what... four, almost five months? I had to think."

"That's a lot of thinking."

"Yeah, it is. How have you been?"

"Not good."

"Why not?"

"Because you're avoiding me."

Kendra screwed up her face at that. "Not because Amanda dumped you?"

"Fact is, I've had some time to think too."

"And?"

I sighed, a long, drawn out breath under which I felt all of my anxiety and nervousness flowing out from me. It really was now or never. I had nothing left to lose. "The only person I miss is you, Kendra. I miss what we had together. And I wish every day that we can find a way to be friends again."

Kendra smiled. "No more dream girl?"

I smirked at that. "Been there. Done that."

"So when you see Amanda in the fall..."

"I don't know if I can be friends with her or not. Maybe I'll still talk to her. But I do know that the crush is over. The dream is gone. I'd like to think I've grown beyond it. Dreams are just dreams. The reality is that she's not right for me."

"I told you that three years ago."

I held my hands up. "Okay, okay. You were right. I was wrong."

"And don't you forget it."

"So can we be friends again?" My eyes lit up with hope.

Kendra didn't answer for a long while. She just turned and looked out my window, fidgeting a little in a very unladylike manner. The longer she sat there, staring out the window the more nervous I got. With every passing second I felt my heart twisting itself deeper into a knot. At last she spoke.

"I'm not perfect and I never will be. And you already know that. You have to accept me flaws and all. There is no easy 'happily ever after.' I'm just real."

"I know."

Kendra turned and scooted closer to me. Her face was right in front of me, her eyes a hard glare deep into the back of my skull as if she could extract the truth of my words directly from my brain. Then at last her expression softened. "The answer is 'no'."

"No, what?"

"No, we can't be friends again."

My heart flipped over, threatening to sink into my stomach. But she wasn't finished. Kendra leaned in, pressing her lips softly against mine. It wasn't a lightning bolt or a sudden shock into my head, but there was a definite electrical buzz that passed between us as our kiss deepened, and then her whole body was on the bed pressed against me. This was one of those moments when two people became one. Her heartbeat matched mine. I felt her inside of my head. Kendra wasn't my dream girl. She wasn't perfect. But she really cared about me. She wanted to get inside of my head. And she was more real than any dream.

When we finally broke for air. Kendra just looked at me through heavy-lidded eyes. "I don't want you to only be a best friend. Let's give this love thing another chance."

-THE END-