Young Adulting

by Christina Benjamin

  I told myself that was a good thing. That meant she wasn’t alone on her birthday. They were keeping her occupied, which would make it easy for me to sneak to and from her front door undetected.

  There was a small part of me that just wanted to leave well enough alone and drive away, but I’d spent the better part of last night researching the perfect gift for Izzy and as I picked up the small gift bag from the seat next to me, I couldn’t help thinking I’d nailed it.

  I needed something that said I cared, but not too much—just as a friend, like she wanted. But I also wanted to find something that showed her that I saw her and didn’t take for granted how special she was. It was a tall order, but Izzy was worth it.

  So without giving myself time to change my mind, I opened my car door and strode up to her front door. I was just about to place the gift bag on the doormat when the door swung open and a cloud of smoke punched me in the face.

  I took a step back, coughing as the smoke cleared enough for me to see Izzy’s startled face.

  “Henry? W-what are you doing here?”

  We gaped at each other for a moment, me stuck awkwardly holding a pink gift bag, Izzy clutching her half open door for dear life.

  “Izzy, open the door all the way! Carolina’s trying to kill us,” one of her roommates called.

  “We don’t cook turkey in Russia. How do I know it would catch fire?”

  “Um, anything catches on fire if you leave it in the packaging!”

  I couldn’t help smiling at their antics. “Sounds like Thanksgiving dinner isn't going as planned.”

  Izzy flushed. “Oh, um…well, it might have been a bit of a stretch thinking we could pull it off considering the only thing my roommates have used the oven for is to reheat pizza.”

  “Do you want some help?” I offered.

  “Oh no, that’s okay—” Izzy stammered trying to retreat into the smoke-filled house. But Kendal had other ideas. She saw me and came running.

  “Are you kidding?” She gave Izzy a vicious case of side eye. “We need all the help we can get. Get in here, Hollywood.”

  Kendal grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. And that was that.

  I guess I was joining them for dinner. But from the looks of things, we were going to be ordering in. I quickly helped the girls open all their windows and turn on the ceiling fans before we all gagged on the stench coming from the flaming oven.

  Carolina battled the flames without an ounce of fear, but the silk tea towel she was waving at the blaze wasn’t going to do the trick.

  “Baking Soda!” I yelled over the melee.

  Izzy blinked at me. “What?”

  “I need baking soda to put out the flame.”

  “I don’t think we have that.”

  “Oh, wait, I think I saw some,” Ashley yelled, running to the pantry and returning with an ancient looking bag of flour.

  “No, that’s flour. It won’t work.” I looked around the tiny apartment full of panicked girls. Spotting the bathroom, I dashed for it, soaking a large towel that was big enough to smother the flaming turkey. But just as I was returning to the kitchen, I saw Becca chuck the entire bag of flour into the oven which was now a pit of flames.

  “No!” I yelled, but it was too late.

  The flour exploded, making the girls scream. I dashed through the cloud of white and smothered the blazing bird. Breathing hard, I turned around to see five stricken faces, each of them completely covered in flour.

  The scene was so hilarious I burst into laughter.

  One by one the shell-shocked girls dissolved into a fit of giggles too until all of us were doubled over in hysterics.

  When we finally caught our breath, we began the chore of de-flouring the kitchen. I rolled up my sleeves and did my part.

  “I don’t think I like this American holiday,” Carolina said, picking clumps of flour from her hair.

  “Well, it’s more fun when you eat the turkey instead of setting fire to it,” Izzy explained.

  “I don’t know,” I teased, “This is definitely the most fun I’ve ever had at Thanksgiving.”

  “Speaking of,” Izzy asked quietly as we continued to clean. “Why aren’t you spending Thanksgiving with your family?”

  I shrugged. “Malta was more pressing than family time for my parents.”

  Izzy’s kind brown eyes softened. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I’m used to it. My family isn’t really big on…well, family, I guess.”

  “That must be hard.”

  My chest tightened. Not only was she far away from her family today, but it was her birthday and here she was worrying about me. How was I not supposed to fall for her?

  I swallowed my feelings and redirected her questions. “What about you? It can’t be easy to be without your family on Thanksgiving and your birthday.”

  Her eyes widened. “Who told you it was my birthday?”

  I winked. “Why do you think I’m here?”

  I watched a myriad of emotions pass over Izzy’s face. I hated seeing the confliction I was causing her. As if she knew I could read her discomfort, she turned away, scowling at her roommates. “I thought we weren’t telling people it was my birthday.”

  “We didn’t!” they replied in unison.

  Izzy looked back at me for confirmation.

  “It wasn’t them,” I said. “I swear.” Standing, I took her hand and drew her away from the prying eyes of her roommates. “Izzy, I’m sorry. If me being here is a problem I can go. I only came by to drop off a gift. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

  She sighed. “No, it’s…it’s really nice to see you.”

  Anxiety uncoiled from my chest and it felt like I was taking my first real breath since the whole paparazzi debacle. “It’s really nice to see you, too.”

  “Would you like to stay for Thanksgiving?” she laughed. “Whatever’s left of it?”

  “How about I do one better and order dinner in for all of us?”

  Izzy looked around the destroyed kitchen. “Even better.”

  The smile that started to lift Izzy’s irresistible lips made my heart skip a beat. So the next words out of her mouth almost put me into cardiac arrest. “Thanks for showing up.”

  “Always.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Izzy

  Our apartment’s makeshift dining room was loud with laughter as we dove into the Chinese food that showed up on our doorstep a little while ago, courtesy of Henry.

  Henry, who was sitting beside me, his thigh brushing against mine in these close quarters.

  Henry, who was here.

  I still couldn’t quite believe it. Was this a mistake?

  Maybe.

  The logical part of my brain was screaming at me that this would only make things more difficult. New memories, thoughtful gestures, seeing him so carefree like this…

  When reality hit once more and I went back to keeping my distance, it would only be harder to deny my feelings.

  I shoved that voice of reason to the side. I’d made my decision when I’d invited him to stay. Reality would be there waiting soon enough, but this was my birthday. It was a holiday.

  Surely that was reason enough to put reality on a hold for the day. “Well, now I know the way to your heart,” Henry said as he watched me polish off my plate. “It’s dumplings.”

  I glanced over to him with a sheepish grin, my mouth full and my heart ready to explode with happiness at the sight of his perfect smile.

  He reached over and brushed a finger to the side of my mouth where I must have had some sauce or something and...the earth stopped spinning.

  I shouldn’t have let him touch me because every time he did—no matter how brief the touch or how inconsequential—my entire body responded like he was hitting me with a cattle prod.

  I shouldn’t have let him look at me either, because the way he was watching me right now, his eyes warm with affection, his lips curved up in that sexy grin…

  My breath hitch
ed and I shifted away to reach for another dumpling that I definitely didn’t need. The carton was on the other side of the ‘dining room table,’ which was actually just the little table we took from the kitchen mashed together with a foldout card table the former tenants had left behind. But it worked.

  It was kind of cozy, actually. I was sitting between Henry and Ashley, who was making us all laugh with a story about her drunk uncle’s antics at last year’s Thanksgiving feast.

  “So what did you do?” Becca asked.

  Ashley shrugged. “We all just stepped over him to get to the dining room for dessert and kept on eating.”

  Kendal shook her head with a grin. “Your family is nuts, but I think I’ve got you beat.”

  She started in on a story from her childhood, continuing what had become a sort of competition to figure out whose family was the weirdest.

  Honestly, it was a toss up at this point. And Henry hadn’t even chimed in with his stories yet. My family isn’t big on...well, family, I guess.

  My heart gave a little squeeze at the memory.

  I should have sent him away. If I were in my right mind, I would have. But I couldn’t, not when he stood there admitting that he was alone for the holiday because his parents didn’t care. Not when he’d shown up for my birthday.

  Always.

  The air rushed from my lungs as my mind called up the memory of Henry’s voice loud and clear.

  Always.

  One word shouldn’t be so intoxicating, but there you had it. Him telling me he would always show up for me….yeah, it made my chest ache and my head spin.

  I’d missed him so much, and seeing him here tonight, like this—at ease and having fun. It was too much.

  Henry was relaxing with my roommates like hanging out in a cramped apartment with a bunch of random, lonely girls was exactly what he wanted to be doing with his Thanksgiving.

  He leaned back in his seat and rested his arm along the back of mine.

  He was just trying to get comfortable in the admittedly uncomfortable folding chair, but that didn’t stop my lungs from seizing up as I held my breath, temporarily unable to breathe.

  Okay, fine. Part of that breathlessness probably had something to do with the smoke that still lingered in the air.

  And the fact that I was currently stuffing myself to max capacity and was wishing I’d worn leggings with an elastic waist instead of these jeans.

  But even so….

  Always. The word was still echoing inside me, making me feel more content, more...loved than I could ever remember feeling.

  I’d been so lonely without him. So anxious and scared and uncertain and...with that one word, all was right in the world.

  I glanced over to see Henry’s dimples flashing as he laughed at Kendal’s story.

  All was right in the world...for tonight, at least.

  I had another three days away from my toxic office, Leo’s script was as polished as it could be, and while I missed my family and friends like crazy, this dinner was the reminder I’d needed that I wasn’t alone. Against all odds, my eclectic group of roommates had become friends at some point, and I wasn’t even sure when or how.

  “Okay, you win,” Becca said, her eyes filled with tears of laughter as Kendal explained exactly why her father thought taking a flamethrower to the turkey was a good idea.

  “He can’t resist a dare.” Kendal shrugged, her eyes lit with happiness at the thought of her family. This was a side of Kendal any of us rarely saw and I felt a surge of affection for her...for all my roommates.

  “It’s official,” Carolina declared loudly with a shake of her head. “You are all crazy.”

  “What about you, Izzy?” Ashley asked. “Any lunatics in your family?”

  “Oh please.” I leaned back in my seat with a feigned world weary sigh. “Y’all are talking to the queen of crazy.”

  Kendal laughed. “Okay, let’s hear it. Weirdest family member...go!”

  Henry shifted, using his hands to rub my shoulders like he was my boxing coach. “You got this, champ. Show ‘em how it’s done.”

  I cracked my knuckles, going along with his teasing. “Where to start? The great aunt who likes to sing church hymns at the top of her lungs in the middle of the night or the holiday tradition that started sometime when I was in middle school…”

  “What was it?” Henry was smiling at me expectantly and I blinked in surprise when I realized I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him happier or more content.

  He looked like he fit here with us…with me.

  I swallowed a wave of emotion and returned his grin. “Caroling.”

  Ashley let out a choked laugh. “Like Christmas caroling? At neighbors’ houses?”

  I nodded, reaching for the fortune cookies so I could divvy them up. “What can I say? We take Christmas very seriously in my house. We like to get an early start.”

  Carolina shook her head. “Americans are so weird.”

  But her expression said...she loved it.

  Henry

  Three hours later I was full beyond comfort, but I didn’t care. My smile was now a permanent fixture of my face. Between the amazing food, and hilarious family tradition stories from Izzy and her roommates, I hadn’t stopped laughing the entire meal. I could safely say this was the best Thanksgiving I’d ever had.

  Part of me wanted to keep the party going, but Izzy had already cut her birthday cake and opened all her presents, save one. I wanted to give it to her without the watchful eyes of her roommates. So after thanking them for their hospitality and saying goodbye, I let her walk me to her front door.

  The idea of letting go of Izzy’s hand pained me. Already, the dull ache was beginning to take up residence in my chest again. But I didn’t want to push my luck with her. Tonight had gone so much better than I’d dreamed of and I knew it was better to end things on a good note.

  “Did you have a good birthday?” I asked her as we paused just outside her front door.

  “Actually, I really did. Definitely one I won’t forget.” She laughed softly. “Thanks for coming by, Henry. It was really thoughtful of you.”

  “Of course.” I held out the pink gift bag that I’d been guarding all night. “You can open this now.”

  Izzy’s eyes widened with excitement as she shook the bag. “What is it?”

  “Open it and see,” I said, hiding my anxiety with a practiced grin.

  I watched Izzy dig through the white tissue paper and fish out the small notecard inside the bag. My cheeks heated as she read it out loud.

  “Dear Izzy, every great Hollywood screenwriter has something in common, so on your nineteenth birthday I bequeath a secret rite of passage upon you. Follow this map and carve your name in history as you take in the view and remember how far you’ve come. This is only the beginning for you. Don’t ever doubt you belong here. Happy Birthday, Izzy. May all your dreams come true.”

  When she looked up at me her eyes were misty. It took everything in me not to just pull her into my arms right then and there and kiss her like I’d been wanting to all night. But this wasn’t about me. It was about Izzy, and seeing the joy in her eyes was enough right now.

  “Is this a scavenger hunt?” she asked, examining the map I’d drawn on the notecard.

  “Of sorts.”

  “How did you know I love scavenger hunts?”

  I stuffed my hands in my pockets, rocking back on my heels. “You must’ve mentioned it.”

  She did, but to Leo, not me…in one of our long-winded correspondences where we’d gotten off track and somehow ended up talking about our shared love of escape rooms, which she said spawned from her love of the scavenger hunts her parents planned for her as a kid.

  “Can we go?”

  “Now?” I asked, hoping the shock in my voice didn’t make her change her mind.

  “Yeah, unless…”

  “I don’t have plans,” I blurted out, not caring that I’d just come across as a desperate fool.

 
If she’d noticed, she mercifully didn’t call me on it. Instead, she grinned brightly and said, “Let me just grab a jacket.”

  A few minutes later we were cruising with the top down toward my favorite place in the world. Izzy was lip syncing the words to the song playing as she let her hand ride the wind outside the passenger door.

  My heart squeezed, and I wished I could freeze this moment in time. Everything felt perfect. Driving up Mulholland Drive, the girl of my dreams beside me with a smile on her face.

  What more could I want?

  But just then, Izzy turned to me, her blonde hair lashing across her beautiful face in the wind. She laughed and it was like sunlight itself poured straight out of her directly into my soul.

  More, I realized. I wanted so much more. And I wanted it with her.

  I promised myself I wouldn’t tell her. Not today. Not on her birthday.

  But this stupid secret was the only thing stopping me from kissing her and telling her exactly how crazy I was about her. And when she looked at me like that, her smile pure joy, her shimmering eyes made of truth serum, I was afraid everything would just come spilling out of me.

  I gripped the wheel tighter as we took the turn into Griffith Park. Maybe bringing her here tonight was a bad idea. The bench at the top of the trail had always been my spot. It was where I allowed myself to be vulnerable and that wasn’t what I wanted to be right now.

  With Izzy, I was afraid even a steel fortress wouldn’t protect my heart if the truth drove her away. But it was too late now.

  She pointed to the trail map we passed as we parked. It matched the map I’d drawn in the card. “I know where we’re going!” She practically squealed with delight. “This is the best birthday gift ever!”

  Well, I couldn’t be mad about that.

  “I swear you’re a mind reader, Henry. I’ve been wanting to visit the Hollywood sign since I got here.”

  That was another thing I knew courtesy of Leo. My insides twisted as I realized my perfect gift was perfect, but it should’ve been from Leo.