“I am so proud. My baby is all grown up.”

“Please stop treating me like your child.”

“If you were my child you would have gotten Sonya to be your girlfriend far sooner than this.”

I can hear Olivia’s blush over the phone, “Mylo! C-Can’t you just…ugh, you’re so frustrating!”

“Keep talking dirty to me like that and I’m going to have to stick my hand in my pants.”

Olivia groans and it’s almost sad how it doesn’t faze her so much anymore. She easily ignores my remark to go on and say, “I can’t believe she liked me back. It’s a miracle.”

“Don’t say that. You’re a gem and Sonya obviously has great taste.”

“This is the friend I prefer.”

“Yeah, well, it’s exhausting so that’s all you’re getting for the day. If you want him back I’ll have to charge you for it.”

Olivia giggles; the sound causes me to grin from ear to ear. I’m honestly very happy for her. I knew Sonya had a thing for her, ok, so maybe I was just hoping but still. The two are a cute couple and I know they’re going to make each other very happy. If Sonya does anything to hurt my child I will have to fight her!

She’ll kick my ass but I must keep my word.

“How are things with you and Jace?” Olivia questions because she has been trying to stay in the loop with me about it. She’s obviously still worried and I can’t really help her with that because I sure as hell don’t know what’s going on.

“Same as usual. We text and hang out…there has been no hanky panky so that’s a bummer.”

“Are you ever going to talk with him about how you feel like you’re being pranked?”

“No, I mean, at this point wouldn’t he have broken up with me?”

It’s been, like, two weeks. Surely he would be bored by now…then again, nothing has really happened between us. Maybe I should stick my hand down his pants the next time we meet up? If that doesn’t shock him then, well, I’ll have to try harder and I’m fine with that.

“I don’t know, maybe he’s just trying to get into your pants.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. His sweet ass can get into my pants immediately, actually, I’d prefer that.”

“Mylo!”

I grin ear to ear. She should know her reactions only encourage me. “I am a growing boy. I need constant attention and sexual gratification, don’t judge me.”

If Olivia could strangle me right now she definitely would. She’s grumbling something under her breath, which are probably curse words but there’s no way I can tell. It makes me smile, though. Ah, being annoying is so much fun.

“Fine, I’m done talking about Jace, lets move onto your father.”

“That is a horrible segue.”

“Shut up, he’s home, isn’t he?”

I nod before I realize she can’t see me. “Yeah, got home yesterday.”

“How is that…going?” She sounds unsure how to ask and I can’t really blame her.

It’s not as if my dad and I have a bad relationship, more like we don’t have much of a relationship to begin with. After mom found some other poor unfortunate soul to devour, she abandoned us and my dad became a single father that worked his ass off for me. Sadly, all that work resulted in him not really being around. I never complain because I'm so used to it that now when he is home we just kind of…coexist.

There are no fights because I certainly don’t cause trouble. I get good grades and I’m even going to college. The apartment is always clean. I don't throw wild parties while he's away. I have a job where I make my own money to pay some of my own bills. My car is spotless so what is there for him to yell at me about? Dad simply returns home and enjoys his time off resting while I happen to be at the apartment. It’s hard to explain yet very simple at the same time.

“We had dinner together last night so that was cool,” I answer, thinking over how we basically sat in silence until we finished eating. About the only thing we discussed was my graduation. He said I did a good job and couldn’t wait to hear about my college classes.

We both know we won’t be talking about that but, whatever, it’s what we’re supposed to say, right?

“I still can’t believe he didn’t make it home for your graduation.”

“Why is everyone so uptight about it?” I chuckle, glancing at my door when I happen to hear footsteps walk by. Dad passes by in a second, as if he’d come in to talk to me. “I know it’s a big deal for some people but it isn’t for me. It wouldn’t have changed anything if he were there.”

“That’s the problem!” Olivia argues in an annoyed tone. “You shouldn’t be used to him not being around and you should be bothered that he wasn’t there. The fact that you don’t see the problem is the problem.”

“I’m…confused.”

“I’m not shocked to hear it. God, Mylo, you need to look at this issue seriously and have a talk with your dad.”

I groan. “You sound like my therapist.”

“You probably need a therapist!”

I groan louder and louder until Olivia finally caves. She knows I hate talking about this serious shit, even more so when I don’t see the reason why we’re talking about it. Yet again, she is forced to drop the subject because we both know talking about it won’t change anything or, rather, I'm not going to talk about it so we can't change anything. What can I say, I'm a stubborn jackass.

“Well, I need to get off of here. I told Sonya I’d call her after she got off work.”

“Cute.”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

With that, Olivia and I hang up, leaving me to do what I normally do on my days off. I’m out of bed in a second, tying my hair up before snatching my camera. After double-checking that I have everything, keys, wallet, phone, camera, so on and so forth, I head out of the apartment without bothering to tell my dad where I’m going. He doesn’t ask either, simply waves to me when I walk by.

It has been an especially nice day, all sunshine without the nasty humidity so I can go out and enjoy taking some pictures. I’ve been in the mood to get some good portraits or people shots in general so I head on over to the park. Most people are taken aback when I request to take a few photographs but some are more than happy to do it.

There’s the elderly couple that act like cute lovebirds, a child with their ice cream, a man walking his dog and a woman flying a kite. I get silly poses, friends laughing together or families enjoying their day out in the sun. Sometimes I sit on the edge of the small pond with my camera waiting for any sort of movement that catches my eye. The sun hits the water just right and, if I wait long enough, I’ll manage to catch a fish hovering just close enough to the top that I can catch it. I even manage to get a few shots of a turtle moving slowly out of the water. He's cute. I shall name him Greg!

However, my concentration is interrupted by my phone going off. Curious to who might be calling me, I sit up and pull it from my pocket to find Jace’s name flashing across the screen. It’s not unusual for him to be calling anymore. We’re both off for summer with only our part time jobs to deal. He works at his grandfather's auto repair shop while I have my photography gig, so, on our days off we tend to hang out.

“Hello?” I answer, holding my phone between my ear and my shoulder while searching through the plethora of photo's I've managed to get today.

“Having fun at the park?”

“Yeah, actually-” Wait a second, how does he know that? I turn my head so fast my neck cracks. Wincing, I rub my neck while I look over the area to find that Jace is on the walk trail grinning at me playfully.

I scowl and press my phone back to my ear. “You’re a fucking creep.”

“Wha-”

I hang up before he can finish. My smile is pure evil when I watch Jace pout childishly like I hurt his feelings before eventually making his way over to me. There’s a grocery bag in his hand telling me that he must have gone out to grab something.

“Shopping, are we?” I ask once he’s in range.

“I just felt like getting out of the house then got hungry and went to get a snack. Want some?” Jace holds up the bag of mystery goodies. My stomach growls immediately even if I’m not that hungry, which has Jace laughing.

As if I would say no to free food. Snatching the bag from his grasp, I peer within to find a bag of hot fries along with a few other items that aren’t of much interest to me. I have the hot fries out and open before Jace can blink.

Upon realizing that I’m devouring his food, Jace laughs. “You like hot fries then?”

I’m too busy eating them to respond.

“What have you been up to?” Jace asks while we find a bench to eat our goodies on or rather his goodies that are now mine because he made the mistake of offering them to me.

I hold up my camera. “What do you think?”

“Without me? I’m hurt.”

“Oh, what were you up to then?” Leaning over, I whisper teasingly into his ear. “I thought my loving boyfriend was meant to spoil me on his days off.”

Jace shakes his head at me, smirking a bit as he does. A few girls walk by giving Jace a glance. I swear I see little hearts above their heads until I slam my hand on Jace’s thigh and give it a good squeeze. The boy jumps while the girls gasp and walk off; giggling to one another.

“Mylo!” Jace hisses, looking to my hand that is rather close to a part of his anatomy that I am quite interested in.

“Jace!”

“What are you doing?”

“Sexually harassing you in public and refusing to apologize for it.”

Jace doesn’t push my hand away, which has me wondering if he’s really ok with it. Maybe I inch up a little closer and, damn it, he pushes my hand away.

Pouting, I cross my arms while Jace says with an almost chuckling tone, “Stop it, we’re in public.”

“Implying I can continue when we’re alone?”

“Is your mind always in the gutter?”

“Uh, yeah, I am a hormonal teenage boy.”

“Not all men are obsessed with sex,” Jace sighs.

I snap my fingers at him. “Accurate but, you see, I am.”

Jace can’t contain his laughter. He lets it out, shoulders shaking when he leans forward to bury his face in his hands. Seeing him like that kind of makes my body break out in goosebumps. My cheeks feel a little warm and I swear the sun got a little brighter. What is he, a fucking mutant? Who died and put me in the Marvel universe? If that's the case, Thor, where you at?

Before either of us can say another word though, Jace’s phone goes off. Curious, I glance at the boy who looks to his pocket then retrieves said phone. Instantly, his eyes soften and he’s off the bench, excusing himself without a second thought. My stomach knots together then kicks me in the chest when I watch Jace walk away to happily answer the call.

His voice is low and he’s standing away from me so the conversation escapes me. However, that expression of his is clear as day. The conversation with Cierra returns to me. It seems what she said to be true.

Jace loves somebody and that somebody is likely who he’s speaking with.

I roll my eyes, not that I care about that or anything.

When Jace returns from his phone call he apologizes and acts as if he wasn’t a love struck puppy only moments ago. The boy must notice my annoyance because his hazel eyes widen with concern.

“Something wrong?” He asks like he doesn’t know because he either actually doesn’t or wants to pretend he doesn’t. Either way, it pisses me off.

“No,” I answer with such venom in my tone that it states what I really wanted to say.

“You’re a bad liar.”

“You’d be surprised.”

Jace doesn’t seem to know how to respond. He sits beside me with a furrowed brow like he’s trying to decide what to say. I’m not going to throw him a bone either. He can figure it out himself. I’m not in the mood to play nice...wow, I need to see someone. My mood swings are insane.

To help my mood, I steal more of Jace’s food. I’ve probably eaten half of it while he’s busy trying to decipher the puzzle that is my mood swing. I don’t think it’s that difficult but maybe he is aware and doesn’t wish to admit to who he was talking to or what it was about.

Watch it be like a family member or something and I’m being a piece of shit for no reason. Whatever, I’m always a piece of shit so it’s not like there’s a big difference.

“Are you mad that I didn’t let you continue sexually harassing me in public?”

I choke on the pop Jace bought. Watching me cough up my lungs seems to amuse him because the boy laughs until I whack his arm. Oh, wait, nope, he’s still laughing.

“No! And how is that harrassment? You’re my-” I stop myself before I can finish considering I’m shouting so everyone will hear rather than only us. Jace gets the picture.

“True.” Jace throws an arm behind me, using the hold to pull me into his side.

Feeling my shoulder brush against him, feeling the warmth seeping in through my clothes during the hot summer day makes my skin catch fire. My heart seems to take that as a sign to freak the fuck out. It’s throwing a rave in my chest without my permission. Stop that, you little shit!

“You certainly don’t have an issue admitting that either.”

“Why? Does it bother you?” I tease.

“No,” he grins like he just won a million bucks. “I kind of like it.”

And that is when my heart decides that it’s perfectly ok not to beat properly. Damn, I’m in trouble.