8.71 Holla Atcha Boy

“Uhhhn, haa, uhhhhn, haa, uhhhn, haaa…yeah…hear that ladies? That’s the sound of no more bird chest and skinny arms for this guy. Holla atcha boy!”

“JULIAN,” Viviana called from upstairs.

“Uhhhhhn, haaa…yes, mom?”

“JEANNETTE IS HERE!”

“Ok! Tell her I need to shower.”

Julian finished his set, hopped in the shower, and went outside to meet Jeannette.

“Heeey, cuteness,” he said and greeted her with a friendly hug.

“Someone’s been working out, I see!”

“Oh yes. I’m trying to reach ‘arm candy’ status for some lucky lady, he he he.”

“Is that so? Who is this lucky lady,” she asked hopefully.

“She’s out there somewhere!”

She was disappointed that he didn’t say that she was the lucky lady, but it also made her more determined to get him to see her that way.

“Hey! Do you want to play chess,” he asked.

“Ummm…are you sure you want to play chess with me? Last time you played chess with a girl, you got some unexpected results!”

“HA! Yeah, true. Well, if I get stuck with you, that wouldn’t be a bad thing,” he said and led her to the upstairs balcony.

She was flattered yet bothered by that statement and had to know what he meant.

“What did you mean by ‘getting stuck’ with me?”

“What?”

“You said if you ‘got stuck’ with me it wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

“Oh. Don’t pay attention to me. I was just talking. You know my mouth runs ahead of my brain sometimes.”

“But what does that mean? You say ‘get stuck’ like you wouldn’t choose me or something.”

“Nooo! That’s not what I meant. I was just saying that if history repeated itself, and we were playing for a chance to be my girlfriend, getting you for a prize wouldn’t be a bad thing! So…it was a compliment?”

“So…what are you saying? You wouldn’t mind if I was your girlfriend?”

“You’re my best friend! We can’t date each other. We would make a terrible couple, right?”

“That’s dumb logic, Julian. Why would you think that? How do you think people end up getting married? I mean, look at your parents!”

“My parents were woo hoo buddies before they got serious.”

“Ok. Well, what about your Aunt Alayna and Uncle Roland? They were best friends first. Weren’t they high school sweethearts?”

“Well…yeah, but…I don’t know, Jeannette. It would be weird, right? I mean, don’t you like how we are?”

She wanted to say no, but he made it very clear that he only saw her as a friend. So, not to further complicate matters, she dodged the question.

“Let’s just play.”