Funny The Way It Is

"Funny the way it is, if you think about it
One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
On a soldier's last breath, his baby's being born
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
Somebody's broken heart become your favorite song
Funny the way it is, if you think about it
One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out
Standing on a bridge, watch the water passing underneath
It must have been much harder when there was no bridge, just water
Now the world is small, compared to how it used to be
With mountains and oceans and winters and rivers and stars" Funny the Way it Is by Dave Matthews Band

"I feel like I'm the bad guy. Like I'm a major bitch for not caring." I huffed to Dino as I took the boxing mitts from her. It was Thursday and I joined her working out at her dad's boxing class. It was brutal, but a great work out. It also let me blow off some of my frustration. Amber wanting to reach out to Rocky paired with Trevor questioning my original decision to end our friendship made me feel guilt. Not guilty enough to reach out, but enough to beat myself up.

I was taking it out on the punching bag, then the mitts Dino held out to me. Dino, being super observant, ask me what was up. I told her, figuring she would have no problem giving me her opinion. I needed the opinion of someone who was outside the situation, so I welcomed it.

"You're not a bad person. You're just protective of yourself. It's understandable given the circumstances." Dino told me as she pulled on her gloves and I strapped on the mitts.

"Trevor pointed out I was able to forgive Sammy when she was going through her shit, why wasn't I able to do the same with Rocky?" I said, holding out my hands for her.

"You and Sammy went to war with each other;" Dino emphasised with a right hook that left me contracting my muscles tighter. "It's harder to move on from that because it wasn't mutual. All you were trying to do was support Rocky and she attacked you where she knew it would hurt you the worst." Dino explained.

I didn't know what smashed into me harder: her fists or her words.

"You're right. I still felt guilty even though we're not friends. Amber told me she's going through a rough time though." I admitted.

"Because you care. You would be a major bitch if you didn't." Dino smiled. "You can hope for the best for her but it doesn't change that your trust is broken. Pray for her, but other than that, it's probably good you ended the friendship until you both have time to heal." Dino suggested.

I smiled back at her. "I think I will. Thanks for listening."

"No problem."

After our workout, we headed to the locker rooms to shower and change.

"So what's new with you? How's school?" I asked as we walked out.

"Hard but I'm not going to complain if I'm a nurse practitioner before I'm 28. I wish I would have took the summer off though..." Dino said. A huge smile crept on her face.

"What is that about?" I asked, smiling too.

"What do you mean?" She tried to hide her smile. It didn't work.

"What would you rather be doing? Or who?" I teased.

"Why does it have to be a guy? Maybe I'm just happy." Dino bristled.

"It doesn't have to be a guy, but I know that's an 'I met someone look'. If it's a girl, do you." I said.

Dino chuckled. "It's a guy and I'm not doing him. We're just talking."

"About doing it?" I joked.

"No, getting to know each other. Old school. So old school, we haven't exchanged Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, none of that."

"How do you know he's not crazy?!?" I exclaimed.

"You can tell by Facebook?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Touche."

"He's so honest and sincere. The first conversation we had he told me how he was done looking for love because it just never works out from him."

Ew. I would have ran if a guy told me that. How depressing. "Awww, so he hit you with the feel bad for me routine?"

"Probably but I feel the same way sometimes, like I will never find the right guy. He wasn't trying to pick me up, we really just talked. I had to ask for his number. We've been enjoying each others company and it's been great so far. We're just seeing where it goes. " Dino clarified as she walked with me outside.

"Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed." I promised her before I gave her a hug and we split to go to our cars.

"Not necessary if there's no expectations." Dino countered.

I laughed. "Still crossing them." I said, holding my fingers up.

She smiled and waved at me.



That evening when I got home, I was flipping through Facebook and saw all the pictures Serena and Ethan posted of Six Flags. There was a picture of him and EJ on the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis ride. The comments lead to a debate about Superman vs Batman. Ethan was a Batman fan. It was funny seeing him get in an intelligent debate about which fictional character was better. I smiled as I went through comments. Then, of course, I had to add a comment too.

Me: Wow, here I was thinking your superhero growing up was Mike Brady. Nice to see you were into childish things too, even if Batman sucks #TeamSuperman

My comment earned likes and disagreements about it being "childish" until Ethan finally chimed in.

Ethan: That's the last time I confide in you. In fact, that's the last time I tell you anything now that I know you're a Superman fan. #Unfriend

I busted out laughing at his comment. It made Trevor look up from his laptop were he was working on Kenji's site with J-Mike,

"What's so funny?" Trevor asked.

"Ethan's unfriending me because I picked Superman over Batman." I told him.

"Ethan... as in the guy you used to bone?" J-Mike asked.

I sent him a dirty look. He just smiled.

Trevor turned to me, ignoring J-Mike. "Everyone knows Spiderman is the best."

"You would pick the lamest one." I said.

"He sure did." J-Mike cracked, looking at me.

"One of these days she's gonna rip your head off. Fair warning, I'm not going to stop her." Trevor said.

"I can handle it."J-Mike said confidently. I sighed, exasperated. When was he leaving?

"You know our anniversary just passed." Trevor said, pulling me out of my plotting to get J-Mike to go away.

"Really?" I pondered out loud, counting back the months. 6 months?

"Yep, 6 months. We should celebrate tomorrow." Trevor suggested.

"Wow, a whole half a year." I said, sarcastically.

J-Mike chuckled at that. "I had fuck buddies longer. It's not a big deal."

"I know, it's a milestone, at least for me. My longest relationship." Trevor tried to explain, his checks flushing adorably."Forget it. We can all just go out to a bar-"

"No!" I stopped him. I couldn't believe how sentimental he was being and I had to ruin it by being a bitch.

"It's my longest relationship too. Let's celebrate." I nodded enthusiastically.

"Ok." Trevor smiled at me.

"Jordan and I should join you. I told her we'd do something." J-Mike commented

"I'm fine with it." Trevor looked at me.

Since I didn't want to look even more bitchy, I just nodded.



I didn't let J-Mike's inviting himself spoil my excitement about our date. The fact that Trevor remembered our anniversary was so sweet. I didn't understand celebrating 6 months, but if Trevor thought it was special, I would too. I ordered him a nerdy Apple watch and even enlisted J-Mike's help to get the features and customs he would want. I put the order confirmation in a card as his gift.

I rushed home after work and started to get ready. I took a shower, rubbing myself down with Love and Sunshine Sugar Scrub from Bath and Body Works. I wrapped a towel around my still dripping body and went back into my room to pick out a dress.

I grabbed my phone to call Jordan to see what she was wearing. She told me she had no idea what we were doing either, but was wearing a summer dress and heels. I choose a blue, sleeve-less high-low dress and comfortable wedges from my closet before I went over to my dresser drawer.

I pulled on a white lacy boyshorts and bra set for after our date with Trevor. I went back to the bathroom to slather on lotion and body spray. My girl playlist blasting, I put my hair up in hot curlers before doing my make-up. It was always harder for me to do a natural look, but I knew that's what Trevor liked. I applied a tinted moisturizer, bronzer, one layer of mascara on my curled lashes, gold and brown eyeshadow and dabbled a white liner under my eye. I finished up by adding a shimmer to my nude lip.

I took the curlers out my hair and put the loose waves in a half up half down style. I gave myself one last glance before checking my phone. When I saw that Trevor should be home soon, I rushed out of the bathroom...

...and right into J-Mike!

"What the fuck!" I gasped, trying to cover my bra and panty clad body.

J-Mike's eyes scanned me, before he averted his gaze.

"Sorry, sorry. I needed-"

I didn't stick around for his explanation- I bolted for my room. Trevor was inside, changing into a short sleeved button down and khakis.

"Why didn't you tell me y'all were here?!?" I asked, sharply.

He turned and looked at me confused. "You were in the bathroom."

"Yeah, dressed like this! I came out and literally ran into J-Mike!" I exclaimed.

"Like that?" Trevor asked, stupidly, looking me over his gaze resting on my breasts.

I crossed my arms to obscure his view. "Yes! My dress is in here." I snapped.

Trevor lips curled up in a smile, but one glare from me erased it. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Next time let me know!" I growled, grabbing my dress.

"I will. Promise." Trevor said, shaking his head as he buttoned up his shirt. I put on my dress and wedges I picked out. "You look beautiful. Are those shoes comfortable?" He asked.

"Thanks and yeah." I said, shortly.

He came over to me and held me on my waist. "I really am sorry. I want tonight to be a special. What can I do to make it better?"

I sighed, and tried to let it go and relax. "Nothing. I'm good. Let's go."

We went out to the living room to join J-Mike.

"I liked the outfit you had on earlier but the dress is nice too." He continued, further embarrassing me with his trademark grin.

Trevor grabbed him in a headlock and they play fought while it took everything in me not to lose my cool.

"Can we go? Or are y'all going to stay in and wrestle each other?" I tapped my foot, impatiently.

"Yeah, let's go." Trevor said.

Thankfully, J-Mike didn't say anything about catching me half naked and we drove to pick up Jordan in peace.

Trevor eyed Jordan's white stilettos as she got in the car. "We're gonna be doing some walking if you want to change your shoes."

"Beauty is pain. I'll be alright." Jordan said with a smile.

"You look gorgeous." J-Mike complimented her. Jordan giggled and I kept my eyes in front of me at the sound of them making out.

Thankfully, we arrived at Trinity Groves before they started going at it in the backseat. Trinity Groves is an entertainment district in West Dallas. It is at the base of Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge on the Trinity River. It was relatively new as the bridge open in 2012 but I've never been. It still amazed me how many different parts of Dallas I hadn't been to yet.

Trevor and I held hands as we explored. We stopped to take pictures of the bridge. We also took a group picture in front of a BIG sign. Not sure why it was there, but it was Texas so I didn't question it.

 The bridge was nice but it was the restaurants that got my attention. There were many of them with varies cuisines. I was excited to see what Trevor picked out.

"We're doing a food crawl. I heard about a couple of places, but let me know if something looks good." Trevor told us.

That was so much better than one restaurant! I was thrilled. We started our dinner with traditional Spanish tapas and cocktails at the huge bar at my first choice of restaurant. Next, we went to a Asian and Latin fusion restaurant Trevor heard about and sat down to have dinner. We shared duck fat fried rice, ahi tuna nachos and cilantro tilapia. I was the only one who adored the combination, so we had gourmet hotdogs on a patio at the next place afterwards. Lastly, we headed to the place Trevor heard was a must try: a cake bar! We all got slices of the cakes they hadn't sold out yet: hummingbird, carrot, old fashion chocolate and key lime. Every one was amazing. Flavorful and dense with wonderful frosting. I sent out a silently apology to my Aunt Patty for enjoying a cake as much as I loved hers.

It was honestly one of the best dates I ever been on. Even Jordan commented how Trevor catered the date for me.

"Good job Trevor! Thanks for letting us tag along, even though I know this was planned for Lily." She said after we stopped to take more pictures with the bridge in the background. It looked so pretty lit up at night.

"I know. Thank you baby. After 6 months of dating, you know me so well." I agreed, playfully, pulling out his card. "Happy anniversary."

"Thank you Lily." He said, opening the card.

"6 months? It feels longer than that." Jordan commented.

"Time flies when you're having fun and I've loved every minute of being with you. Happy 6 month anniversary." Trevor read, smiling. He then read the order confirmation for his watch. His mouth dropped open. "You didn't!"

"I did. It should be here soon and you can count down to our real anniversary." I teased him.

He chuckled and pulled me in for a hug and a kiss. "Thank you Lilypad. I got you something too." He said, before kneeling in front of me.

Now it was my turn for my mouth to drop. I gasped at him, my pulse quickening and my heart feeling like it was thumping a million beats per second. I was frozen as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet black box.

"Will you accept this as a token of my love and dedication?" He said, opening the box. My eyes were focused on his: his blue eyes were sparkling, mesmerizing.

I nodded, speechless, unable to find my voice.

"Was that a yes?" He asked pulling out a small charm. I was in a daze as he put a charm with the letters "L" and "T" on my bracelet. Trevor got up from one knee with a laugh. I finally understood he was playing with me as J-Mike and Jordan dissolved into laughter.

"That was hilarious!" Jordan laughed, uncontrollably.

"You got her good!" J-Mike joined in.

"Were you expecting a ring? After a whole half a year?" He asked me, wrapping his arm around me, using my own words to mock me teasingly. He kissed me on my temple while I willed myself to relax.

"No..." I said, struggling to pull myself together. I felt a myriad of different emotions. Overwhelmingly, I felt embarrassed. My checks blushed as I tried to block out our surroundings. I didn't want to look around and see who might have been watching. It was humiliating enough. "but normally that's what you get when a man gets on one knee." I took a deep breath and focused on the simple beauty of the charm he got me. It was small, but at least gold plated.

"Do you like it?" Trevor asked me, with a small smile.

It took everything in me to force a grin. "Yes." I really did. Would have loved it if he didn't present it to me the way he did...

"Y'all look great in this picture." J-Mike complimented Trevor and me, showing the picture he took of us. Trevor was on one knee, holding my hand and I was looking down at him, wide eyed deer in the headlight look. I felt like an idiot.

"Make sure you send that to me." Jordan giggled as we walked back to the car.

Trevor slowed down so we were behind them. "Are you ok?" He asked, concerned. "You know the proposal thing-" He started.

I forced another smile and cut him off. "I'm fine. It was funny. Everything was fun. I had a blast." I lied. I gave him a quick kiss to convince him.

Hopefully, one day I could look back on the night and laugh. Right now, it wasn't happening.