He was so handsome, and that was all she could think about. It made it hard for her to concentrate when he looked at her. She hated the way he called her Brat. He'd done it since they were in middle school. She looked down at the slippers she was wearing. They were so different, she and Alex. Once upon a time, she thought he had a crush on her. It was probably at that horrible dance in 6th grade when she figured out he just wanted to be friends. He picked her up and she tried so hard to look pretty. Her father enlisted help from the neighbor to help with "girl stuff." They did their best. No one knew about conditioner yet and her hair was always so unruly. He picked her up and they went to the dance. She talked him to death. It's what she did when she was nervous. Everyone thought she was just one of the guys and in some ways, she was. She loved playing football and wrestling and she hated getting dressed up. But there was something about Alex that made her feel funny. Looking back she knew it was because he made her feel like a girl. Feeling like a girl was a new idea for her that was for sure. Once they arrived at the dance, mean Mary Jenkins pulled her aside in the bathroom and told her about the "bet". The boys all bet that she would be "different" if she dressed like a girl. So she knew then they were testing her, fearful their friendship would be gone for good. So she braided her hair in the bathroom and went back to being one of the guys. She refused to allow her heart to hurt because she wanted Alex to like her. They were all friends and that was more important than anything else and they didn't want to lose her.
Even now she shook her head as she thought about it. The entire "group" was disbanded by now. Two of the group members left for the military. One was a teacher in town, one was killed in a boating accident, one was a police officer two towns over, and then there was she and Alex. It was funny that they were the only two who didn't have people in their lives. That alone made no sense. Alex was not only the most eligible bachelor in Dale City, but he was gorgeous to boot. It made no sense at all. She picked the pillow cushion on the seat as she swung lightly. She was no angel. She dated her fair share of men. Most of them were playboys and only wanting one thing from her. As she took her education more seriously, they took her less seriously.
What she wanted was an equal, but who knew if that even existed. Alex was always out of her league anyway, he was rich, refined, and charming, and she was all tomboy and barely had enough money to get through school. Even today he in his designer jeans and she in her slippers with a hole in the big toe. She laughed lightly. They were on opposite ends of reality but they were friends and that was enough for her. She sighed, time to check on her father. She made her way through the house and cringed. It was a mess. She hated leaving him alone for so long. She hadn't been home in two years. It was just too expensive to come home, she needed every penny for school. He said he understood but it was hard for him. He had gotten sick some time ago and it never seemed to go away. He had breathing treatments and on the phone he always told her he was fine, being here now she knew he had been lying. The house was turned upside down. TV dinners and coffee seemed to be a staple for him and he had no one to come check on him. She found a clean spot on the couch in the living room and sat down to start planning her course of action and what she would tackle first. A few hours later she looked around her. It was better than she had expected. She scrubbed every inch of the living room and kitchen. There wasn't a speck of dirt on anything and the four large trash bags on the front porch were a testament to her hard work. She was filthy. Her hair in braids and wearing jeans and a tank top, she was a visible mess. Her father spent the afternoon resting and it wasn't until there was a knock on the front door that she even considered how long she had been at it.