What the actual fuck is going on right now?! He ran off... he just got up and walked away... crying!

What the fuck did I do this time? I finally accept his offer of going out for ice cream and all of a sudden he runs out on me?

I run my hand through my hair for what feels like the twentieth time since he abandoned me on the pavement outside the ice-cream shop. I head back inside and just sit at the table...

Well, I guess this (whatever the fuck this was) ended before it even started, right?

I pay and head home. Right now, I need a hot shower and a junk food and Netflix binge with Kelly. Yeah, she'll sort me out.

I'm just out of the shower as Kel knocks on the door. I wrap a towel around my waist and go to open the door. With her usual bright smile, she waves the pizza boxes in front of my face before giving me a peck on the lips and strutting past me to the kitchen. "Make yourself at home, I'll throw some clothes on", I call after her.

"Sure babe, but it's not like I haven't seen it all before", she replies with a wink before getting beer out of the fridge and setting everything up on the kitchen counter.

One hour later, I'm full of beer and pizza, and Kel is up-to-date regarding my love life (or rather, the serious lack thereof).

"Soooo... let me get this straight", she starts after about five minutes of silent contemplation. Oh good, here comes Kel's brilliant analysis... hoo-bloody-ray. "This is the same oh-so-stunning-young-man-who-shockingly-turned-out-to-be-a-fourteen-year-old-teenager you wouldn't shut up about after Jeff's engagement party last year, yes?"

I glare at her. You better be going somewhere with this, crazy lady.

"The boy whose messages you kept ignoring for months and months, yeah?"

I let our an impatient huff but she carries on.

"The same boy who made you call me in a panic during one of my business meetings because he'd brought his crashed bike in and asked you out for ice cream?"

"The same boy who has been coming to your shop every single day for months just to watch you work and ask you out over and over again? That very same boy who, and I quote, 'brings a ray of fucking sunshine into the shop' and whose 'daily visits are the highlight of your day'. Yeah? That boy?"

I'm chewing the side of my cheek, still staring her down. I finally sigh and nod.

Yep, seems like a pretty apt summary.

She just stares back at me with a raised brow and what happens next is so unreal, I don't understand what's happening until she's done.

"You... sappy... piece... of... shit! You... are... so... into... this... boy... and... you... just... fucking... let... him... walk... away?!", she yells at me, slapping me on my arm with her empty pizza box between each word. Crazy lady.

"Jesus, Kel! Cut it out", I snarl snatching the box from her grip and tossing it away.

"I know, OK! I'm fucking head over heals for the kid and there's nothing I can do about it, literally. I shouldn't feel this way. I barely know him. And, Kel, he's fifteen for fuck's sake. He's illegal. I shouldn't even have agreed to that fucking date, Kel!"

The smug look on Kelly's face stops me mid-rant. "Just tell me already, Kel", I sigh in exasperation as I bring my head down onto the kitchen counter with a loud thud.

"So you admit it was a date? Interesting. But that's beside the point right now. The kid turns 16 in a couple of weeks, yeah? At this point, he's fair game, yeah?"

"Kel, I'm not sure where you're going wi-", but she cuts me off again before I can finish.

"I'm not telling you to jump his bones the minute he turns sixteen, Lexy. But are you really willing to give up the one and only person who has ever made you feel, really feel, without a hint of a fight? Fine... give him time, give him space... just don't fucking give him up altogether, you hear me?"

"Kel, it's not just his age. Something happened during that date. He's always so happy and smily... and less than twenty minutes into our date, he ran off... crying. He wouldn't talk to me and I honestly don't know what happened".

Kelly lookes at me like I was stupid or something. She obviously already has everything figured out but, as usual, I am going to need her words of wisdom when it comes to feelings, relationships, social interaction in general.

"Lexy, hon, from what I understand, you were having your own little panic attack inside your head during that date as well. I can only assume he was going through something similar? Or maybe you just had one of your stony caveman facial expressions going on and intimidated the poor kid so badly he freaked out", she says putting her hand on mine with a warm smile.

"Now, Lexy, I think my job here is done. I believe you promised me a Netflix binge, so if you would please escort me to the couch, kind sir...", she giggles, grabbing my hand and pulling me over to the couch.

I don't know exactly what I am going to do about the whole Jimmy situation but I damn well I know that Kelly will have my balls if I fuck this up... again.

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