Loving Your Imperfections

Friends Don't Kiss This Way

Mia

I looked at myself in the body-length mirror in our room and sighed. I wasn't much into dressing up completely, so I wore a plain white tank top with a short ruffled black skirt and my high-top black converse. I wasn't much into make-up because then I'd forget and rub my face or something, smearing it like crazy, so I wore only a bit of mascara, and that was it.

My hair was down to my mid-back, so I decided to leave it down. I finished my look with a small chain.

"Ready? Oh, you look so pretty, Mia. Look at you. God, you could go in sweatpants, and you'd still make heads turn. You are so pretty." Kaitlyn says, making me blush as I purse my lips and smile lightly. "Thanks, Kate. You look beautiful too." I say as I admire her impeccable skills in doing her makeup and dressing so nicely.

"Awe, thanks, Mia. Let's go. Bailey and Kenzie are downstairs, waiting already. My eyes lit up as I heard McKenzie's name. Besides Bailey and Kate, Kenzie was my only friend. I love and miss this girl. She returned a few years ago after living in Okinawa with her mom and dad. He was stationed out there serving in the Marines.

"Kenzie's going?" I asked excitedly, making Kate chuckle and nod her head. I grabbed my phone and took off downstairs, yelled her name out, and launched myself at her, making her take a step back as I hugged her tightly.

"KENZ!" she giggled as she hugged me back. "Hi, Mia. Oh my God, I missed you!" She says, tightening her hold on me.

"Ok, ok. You can keep hugging each other later. Come on; we should get going before the guys drink everything in their path." Kaitlyn adds, making us chuckle.

"Bye, guys. Have fun, and please, Stay safe. Kate, baby, I'm counting on you. Keep an eye on the girls. If anything, dad will be patrolling close to that area, so don't hesitate to give him a call. Ok?" Audrey says, making Kate roll her eyes and giggle. She leans forward, kissing Audrey on her cheek and cupping her face. "Mom, stop worrying. The girls will be fine. Besides, Kenz is going; anyone tries to do anything, Kenz will whoop their a*s with her jiu-jitsu skills." She adds, making us chuckle.

Kenz was eight when she got into jiu-jitsu in Okinawa, and she has loved it ever since. She's won a s**t load of trophies in their competitions, and from what I hear, she is one of the bests.

"Anyway, gotta go, mom. Bye, baby Shawn!" She coos to her baby brother, kissing him on his cheek as Audrey holds him tightly in her arms. Shawn is my sister's baby, he's not much older than a month, but he's already so active. I love him. He's the cutest.

"I hope you don't mind cramming up in the back. Nate will be driving us out there," Kenzie says, making my heart drop as we make our way to a big black SUV waiting up front. "Nope, not at all," Kate says, walking happily toward the car while Bailey and I look at each other wide-eyed. "Will you...be ok?" Bailey asks worriedly.

I nod slowly and gulp down nervously. "I...uhm... I'm fine. Let's go." I says, trying to hide my feelings. She sighs, looping our arms together and we walk to the suv. Kate and Kenzie are already giggling and talking to Nate, as they laugh together. But Nate gets quiet, and his eyes lock with mine as I slowly slide inside the car after Bailey has already sat down.

He gets off the car quickly and goes around my side, "it's ok. I got it." He says, as my hand reaches for the door. "Uhm, thank you." I reply, giving him a small smile . If I'm not mistaken, my face must be tomato red, as I feel my cheeks heating. He smiles brightly, and lowers his head. "You're welcome Mia. It's... it's really good to see you. I didn't know you were in town." He adds, making my smile grow.

"Uh, yeah. We just got here a few hours ago."

"Really? That's great. How long are you staying?" His eyebrows raise and the sun hits his face, making his green eyes brighter. "Oh, I-"

"She's staying for the summer, Nate. Isn't that awesome?" His eyes grow wider as he hears Kenzie's revelation. Kenzie and Nate have always been the best of friends. Besides Liam and Jordan, Kenzie has been his closest friend of all. There was a time when I heard my sister Audrey say they were rumoring that they were a couple, which made me a little sad. But if it was true, they deserve each other. Kenzie is the best girl I have ever met, and Nate... well, he's The Whole package deal and more.

"You are?" He says slowly, making my face heat even more. For some odd reason I become mute, and I nod my head in response, making him smile.

"Yes... she is, now can we go? We're already late." Kate adds, making us part from our stare. "Right, uh, yeah... let's go." He says, smiling one last time making me smirk. He closes the door and quickly goes around to his seat.

We take off and finally arrive.

I stood by the pool feeling despondent. I sigh, gripping the side of my shirt and wiping the nervous sweat off my palms by rubbing them against the side of my skirt.

Bailey and Kate were inside, getting drinks, while Nate had been taken away by Jordan, his best friend, leaving me alone with Kenzie as she talked in Korean to a friend back home on the phone.

There were so many people here, making me feel out of place. Why did I even come? I could be at home, in bed, with a good book and a nice cup of coffee.

Instead, I'm here. My eardrums blasting at the sound of loud music, guys hooting and howling as they play beer games and mess around.

I can see a lot of girls giving me stares, making me feel more uncomfortable than I already am.

"Here, girly. Got you a nice cold one. Peach flavored, right?" Kate says, handing me a bottle of southern peach Jack Daniel's. I smile and take it off her hands, and take a big swig from the bottle to calm my nerves.

"Thanks, Kate. I needed that," I replied, making her giggle. "You're welcome." She says, handing a similar bottle to Kenzie who winks back and holds the bottle up, as a gesture of gratitude. "Wanna meet my friends? Come on, I'll introduce you guys." She says, taking Bailey's hand and pulling her towards the group of girls that were in Kaitly's cheer squad.

I look at Kenzie who seems unbothered and gestures for me to go, she instead goes and sits on an empty chair giggling and continues to talk with her friend on the phone.

I had no interest in meeting the cheerleaders, so I decided on going inside to use the restroom from all the nerves I was feeling. But as I made my way, a guy bumped into a group of girls, making one of them spill their drink on my shirt. I gasped as I felt the cold liquid on my stomach. Luckily she had missed higher, or that would have been more embarrassing.

"I am so sorry." She says, trying to clean me up. I stop her hand and tell her it's fine, though, honestly... I was a little upset. I made my way inside and went to look for the restroom. Luckily, it didn't take me long. I went inside and sighed, closing the door behind me.

I looked around and saw small face towels, so I grabbed one and dabbed the wet area, trying to dry it. I had even forgotten all about wanting to pee from how nervous I was, trying to dry the shirt.

My eyes turned as I hear knocking, "it's busy!"

"Mia, it's Nate. Are you ok? I... I saw what happened, and I just wanted to make sure you were ok!" He says making me jolt the door open. I pulled him in by his shirt and closed the door behind him, making him startled.

"I'm fine. Luckily, It's just a little bit of seltzer water." I say as I continue to dab my shirt. "Uhm, ok. Do you need anything?"

"Nate, what is this? We both know you're still with Andrea. Please, don't"

"What? Who told you that? Mia... Andrea and I broke up months ago." He says, disbelief and chuckles.

"Oh, really? I don't buy it. She's still posting pictures of you two going everywhere." I say, a bit irritated. Andrea is a nice girl, and though I am a bit jealous of her dating him, I would never come between them.

"Mia, I mean it. We broke up months ago. You can ask her. But we're still good friends, which is why you still see us posting pictures together, that's all." He states. But I was still doubtful.

"Please don't tell me you're jealous of my relationship with Andrea. Are you?" He adds making me roll my eyes. Even though I don't live in this town, I keep in close contact with them, including Nate now and then. But I won't lie, there's always been a spark between us.

Which is why I needed to stay away because I didn't want to hurt Andrea. "No, Nate. I wasn't, but Andrea is a nice girl. I would never cross her if she was still dating you."

"Are you saying you.., like LIKE me?" He asks cockily, making me roll my eyes. "Nate, stop it. I"

He cups my face, lifts my face towards him and plants a kiss on my lips. I can't help but melt in his arms. His lips are full and soft, and his kiss feels so good. I automatically part my lips, giving him access to explore my mouth. Our tongues mold beautifully, making the butterflies swirl like crazy inside my stomach.

But then I freak out. I pull away, gasping for air. "Nate...please...don't. We can't." I whisper as he rests his forehead against mine. "Mia,"

"Friends shouldn't kiss this way, Nate. You know that."

"Mia, please, you know how I feel about you." His husky voice adds, making my heart ache.

"I'm sorry. I just... I just can't." I say, as I feel on the verge of crying. I step past him, open the door and walk out of the bathroom.

Until I can work on myself first, I'm not sure I can be with him. The last I want is for him to find about my panic attacks and my depression. It's dark shadows that I have to work on alone. I want to go back in there, kiss him again and again, but I just can't. And it hurts not being able to, but I just can't.

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