"Well, well. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Nicole teased when I walked into the kitchen at about half past noon.
I didn't get home until about one in the morning so I let myself sleep in a little. "Nothing." I could tell that she knew I was lying.
"Uh huh. Well since you're out here in the world with the rest of us, would you mind running a little errand for me? I'm waiting for a package and I don't want to miss the postman." She explained.
"Uh huh. A package. Sure." I said skeptically.
She blushes a little and handed me a grocery list. She obviously had the hots for the new mailman, but I didn't wanna get involved, so I just took the list.
Then a thought occurred to me. "Hey Nicole? Do you know anyone named Amera? She's a short curvy black girl about my age."
"Can't say I do. What's her last name?" She asked with a slight grin.
"I don't know. It never came up last night." I explained.
"Ho ho! So you did have some fun last night." She said as her grin grew ever wider.
"Maybe a little. But anyway I've never seen her before, but she claimes she lived just outside of town."
She thought about it for a moment. " That's strange. I'm pretty sure there aren't any houses out side of town for miles. Does she live in a cave?"
"I don't know, but I've invited her out tonight. I hope that's ok."
She shook her head. "Myer, you're eighteen now and this place belongs to you. The only thing I ask is no hanky panky until you're married. I promised your mother I'd keep you on the straight and narrow as much as possible."
"I know, Nicole. And it's not like that with this girl. At least not yet." It was true enough.
A good thing too. Nicole's hanky panky radar is better than Spider-Man's spider senses, believe or not. She once caught Julio making out with a girl under the bleachers from the opposite end of the field during the playoffs. We won that game by the way.
"Well I better get going if I want to get back in time to finish my online courses before Amera gets here." I started out the front door.
"Bye Myer." She watched as I left and the mailman walked up. "And hello handsome."
Knowing I would most likely lose the argument, I didn't bother protesting. Wanting to get some fresh air I walked rather than drove to the market. And who knows, maybe I would bump into Amera along the way.
I was stopped about half way to the store. "Hey Myer." By a young blonde girl in pigtails and wearing a white sweater and jeans. Sabrina Anderson, the richest kid in town. But don't let that intimidate you. Sabrina's actually a pretty well grounded person. Just last May I took her to my senior prom, but it didn't work out so we just remained really good friends. She's now a senior in highschool herself. And she's actually the one who threw the Halloween party last night.
"Hey Sabrina. What's up?"
She gave me a hug. "Not much. I heard you were at the party last night. Sorry I missed you. I was all over the place."
"That's ok. I think you invited half the kids in town." I joked.
She laughed. "I invited all of them actually. But you know how it is on Halloween. Lots of parties. But I stopped you because I hadn't seen you since. . . Well you know." She ment my mother's funeral.
" Yeah. Nicole and Julio had to drag me out of my room and throw me out on the street last night."
" But you're out and about now." She smiled happily.
Then another thing accured to me. "Hey Sabrina, do you know a short curvy black girl named Amera?" She did say she invited everyone in town.
She looked a bit puzzled. "Can't say I do." Then she snapped her fingers. "Wait. Was she the one in the werewolf costume that knocked over the DJ's tray from the table?"
"That would be her." I answered, daring to hope.
"Wow. I have never watched Julio get shot down so quickly. I almost felt sorry for him. Maybe she's seeing someone." She giggled.
I grinned like a Cheshire Cat.
"Wait! You? That's great. I hope things work out for you two. Well I gotta run. My mom wants to see me about something. It was great seeing you Myer."
" See ya around Sabrina." I waved to her as she left.
I made it to the grocery store with no more delays. I was able to gather everything quickly as it was a short list. I was on my way to cash out when I ran into someone unexpected.
"Hello Myer." Amy Madison. I had a crush on this raven haired beauty since I was old enough to have a crush. Her mom was a doctor that got a position at Leafwood Maryland Hospital about six months ago.
Needless to say I was feeling a little awkward right now. "A-Amy?! Hi." I studdered.
"I heard about your mom. I'm so sorry. Have the police found the killer yet?"
"No." I said flatly looking away. I was obviously still a bit upset over it. You would be too if you were asked to identify a lost loved one and saw what I saw. The marks on her body indicated someone who knew what they were doing. Not some random drunk or some asshole who wanted to feel big about themselves.
"Well if there's anything you need I'll be in town for about a week." Then she gave me a hug.
Ok, now I'm feeling a bit confused. So much so that I almost asked her out. Then I remembered Amera. "Hey Amy? Do you know an Amera? Short, black, and fairly curvy?"
"Oh yes." She said after a moment. "I remember. She was at Sabrina's Halloween party last year. I remember she made kind of a fuss over her wolf costume. Getting a bit upset cause everyone kept calling it a werewolf costume."
"Julio and I were both grounded on Halloween last year." I added.
"What did you two do?" She asked.
"We got into a fight." I explained.
"What were you fighting about?"
"Oh I forget. You know. Boys will be boys." Yeah, it was because I wouldn't admit to Julio that I had a crush on her. We ended up breaking my mom's favorite coffee table. Just one of those things that got out of hand.
"Oh. Well I've got to go. It was great catching up. Goodbye." She waved as she left.
"See ya around." I replied. I almost called her back. I wasn't sure what I wanted. Amy was right there right now, but only for a week. And given how often long distance relationships work out. Long story short, I stood there with my mouth open looking like a jackass. Then I checked my watch. I had enough time to cash out, get home, do my online college courses, and maybe get a shower in before Amera shows up.
Upon my arrival I noticed the mailman had just left. I made my way into the house. "Hey Nicole. Did you get your package?" I asked in a mock scolding tone.
She fixed her hair. "Oh! Um. Yes I did actually."
"I'll bet that's not all you got." I teased.
"Don't you have school?" She asked slightly annoyed.
With a mischievous grin I saluted her. "Yes ma'am!" And then I handed her the groceries and went to my room to catch-up on my classes.