Normal by Francine Pascal Read Free Book Online Page B

to get the words out. It was time to tell herthat he didn’t want to wonder anymore. He didn’t want to wonder exactly where they stood or where they were going. He wanted the whole thing—the entire package. Jake and Gaia. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Completely committed and together. Fighting, walking, eating, sleeping. Together.
    And sex. Yes, he wanted that. He wanted that very badly. But the point here—the real point here . . . was love.
    Jake was in love with her. And he simply needed to know that she was in love with him. Which he was very much starting to believe she was.
    Or maybe she wasn’t? She was so goddamn awkward, serious, and complicated, he still honestly wasn’t sure. “This is my boyfriend, Jake.” Those were the simple words he wanted to hear coming out of Gaia’s mouth. But did she want it or not? The only way to know was to ask. To ask her point-blank.
    So why had he spent the last who-knows-how-many hours with her walking and hanging out all over the Village, doing everything but? They’d talked about every other conceivable topic. They’d eaten hot dogs from Gray’s and fake ice cream. She had rested in his lap on park benches and given him light kisses on the stoops of brownstones. She’d held his hand almost the entire time they’d walked, which, from what Jake understood, was a pretty un-Gaia-like thing to do. Of course, they were supposed to be heading up to her Seventy-second Street apartment to pack upall her things and move her down to that boarding-house, but neither one of them had really wanted to get to that. It seemed like they’d both just wanted the evening to go on like this for as long as humanly possible, without ever calling it a night.
    But he still hadn’t asked her. He still hadn’t found the right moment to lay it on the line. And it was only getting darker and darker. And he was only starting to feel more and more like a chicken. Less and less like a man.
    And as it got on past eight, they had found themselves coming nearly full circle as they strolled onto the darkened pavement of Washington Square Park. Which was fine with Jake. Because it somehow seemed like the most appropriate place to ask. It was her place, Jake knew that. It sort of represented her somehow. Urban and beautiful. Gorgeously light when it was light and incredibly dark when it was dark. And maybe now Washington Square Park could be the place Jake and Gaia remembered as the exact spot where they officially started going out.
    Jake finally shook off his pathetic hesitancy and grabbed hold of Gaia’s arms under a huge overhanging tree, planting her still on the ground so he could look straight into her eyes and cut the crap.
    â€œGaia.”
    â€œJesus, what?” Gaia’s eyes widened with surprise at the force of Jake’s hands around her arms. Jake loosened his grip a bit. But not much. This was too important.
    â€œGaia, listen,” he said quietly. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me here. I’m avoiding my ass off. So just listen.”
    â€œJake—”
    â€œNo, listen.” The wind had kicked up through the park, carrying that uniquely New York sound that combined distant traffic and a far-off industrial whir with the rustling leaves of the trees. The huge expanse of white noise surrounding them only made their voices seem closer.
    â€œYou know,” Jake said, “every day I’m zoning out completely through all my morning classes, just staring at the clock. I burn freaking holes in that thing, trying to force the hands to hit twelve so I can break for that stupid cafeteria and find you.”
    â€œI know,” she said, puffing out an embarrassed little laugh. “Me too. It’s sick, isn’t it?”
    â€œNo, it’s not sick. There’s nothing sick about it. The same way there’s nothing sick about the way I want to find you after school. And stay