The Bloomer Legacy: 5.4 The Cousin’s Girlfriend

~ Note: This chapter will be narrated by Liv ~

My world turned upside down just a little bit when Diane came over that day.

“Guess what,” she squealed. “Newton and I had a date!”

Holy cow plant. My stomach was in a knot. This shouldn’t be happening… Newton has been obsessed with this girl ever since he met her. This is meant to be good.

“No way,” I tried to stay cool. “How did it go?”

“Well for starters, he was late! Could you believe it? I made myself up to look all hot and then he makes me wait for him? Pfft!”

“But then he rocked up with that puppy smile of his, and he just looked so adorable as he does, you know.”

“Eww, that’s my cousin you’re talking about…”

“Sorry! So he was all like, apologetic, and he kept complimenting me all evening and stared at me like he really wanted to make out…”

“So we did! A lot, actually. He’s a pretty good kisser, your cousin.”

My throat felt all tight and dry.

“That’s awesome,” I managed to force out.

Diane leapt into a hug. Her body felt all warm and soft. Plum, plum, plum.

“You’re the best Liv, none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for you!”

Extra plum.

But of course I couldn’t just hear about it all once.

“Oh Liv, I had the best date with Diane,” Newton exclaimed.

“I was so nervous getting ready that I actually was a bit late, but she didn’t seem to mind. You know, because she’s so amazing. And she looked so beautiful, you wouldn’t believe…”

“So I was trying to put my best moves on her… What am I saying! I don’t have moves… but it worked anyway!”

“And by the end of the night, she agreed to be my girlfriend! We even took a selfie to always remember the moment. Here, wanna see?”

“I’m really happy for you,” I formed my lips into a forced smile.

He looked at me curiously: “Aww, are you jealous, Liv?”

Mega Plum! “Of course not,” I choked.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll meet someone you like soon too!”

Yeah, that is not the issue. Plum my life.

I needed to hang out with different friends. Thank plumbob for the Agustins.

“Hey guys, I was wondering,” I ventured. “Have you guys ever had a crush on someone your friend was dating?”

Liam’s eyes nearly popped out of this head: “Are you kidding? That’s totally unacceptable. If I actually had a girlfriend and one of my mates had a thing for her, I’d be livid!”

“Yeah it’s pretty much a no-no, isn’t it,” Josephine agreed. “The friend sort of has dibs by dating the person first, don’t you think?”

Alice peered at me curiously: “Who are you even talking about, Liv? None of us three are dating anyone…”

“It was a hypothetical question,” I grumbled.

I’m a terrible person. They’re completely right, of course. My cousin found the girl of his dreams, who happens to be my friend, and I can’t even be happy for them. What the plum is wrong with me?

There was only one person that I could talk to. Aunt Yenn was fiddling with her rocket, as usual these days. I know her though. Soon enough, she’ll drop it for painting, or gourmet cooking, or playing the trumpet.

“Hey aunt Yenn,” I waved at her. “Could I talk to you for a moment?”

She turned to me immediately: “Sure, what’s up?”

Why can’t I just be as nice as her?

“So… the thing is…” Ugh. I can’t even tell her, can I? “Have you ever had feelings for someone you shouldn’t? Like, romantic feelings, I mean.”

She looked flustered. Great. Now I’ve made her uncomfortable.

“Well Liv, I’m no expert when it comes to love. Far from it, really,” she replied. “I’ve only been in love with one person.”

Ethan, of course. And they’ve lived happily ever after.

“But what I do know is that when you first start having romantic feelings for someone, there’s no way of telling if they’re right or wrong for you. And that’s pretty scary. Because all you can do is trust your gut,” aunt Yenn continued.

“To be completely honest with you, the more I’ve learned about love, the less I understand it,” she smiled pensively. “But I can tell you this; you can’t control who you fall for. Feelings can grow stronger, or fade away; but you can’t manufacture them at the power of will, or make them simply go away at the snap of your fingers.

So who ever it is that you have feelings for, don’t beat yourself up about it. Time has a way of mending things; if this person is the one for you, I know you’ll end up together. But if they’re not… Well, you’re pretty amazing, so you’ll probably find someone even better.”

This is why I live with my aunt. She is the best.

I hope she’s right about what she says. Personally, I think she knows everything there is to know about love, her and Ethan have the best relationship I’ve seen.

I mean, the rocket leaves behind hearts when they’re both in it for crying out loud.