by Lia London
“Is it time for our game?” he asked. Would she remember?
“Sure.” She watched out the window. “No cheating.”
When the sky lit up with a branch of lightning, they both closed their eyes and held their breath, a challenge they’d started back in grade school. They couldn’t open their mouth or eyes until the thunder rumbled.
Milo peeked. Jill faced him, eyes closed and face placid. Beautiful. He leaned in, not breathing, until his skin tingled with her proximity. A few millimeters more and he could—
BOOM!
Jill jerked with surprise and her nose smacked hard into his chin. “Ow! Sorry!” She pinched her nose. “Man, that hurt!”
He rubbed his chin, grunting with frustration. “Oh, whoah. Jill, you’re bleeding. Your nose!” I broke her nose! I was going for the kiss and broke her nose.
“Oh, crap!” Cupping both hands over her face, she hurried to the kitchen, rapping at the closed door with her toes until Mabel slid it open.
“Good gravy, what happened to you?”
Milo deflated into the couch. “Lightning struck.”
Maybe the cosmos wasn’t giving him a second chance. It was telling him to give up.
Jill passed the next two weeks with almost no contact from Milo while he went for an extended rafting and hiking trip with one of his brothers. Why hadn’t she thought of something like that? Instead, she filled the time organizing her closets and attending client parties with her parents where she had to fend off many an intoxicated suitor twice her age. Around Monmouth, the local store owners and cashiers all recognized her and chatted her up about being on TV. She feigned enthusiasm but gave no hints of what they should expect from the show.
Sitting in a salon chair by the window, she watched people pass on their way to Main Street Park, the gym, or the bank.
“Can I give you bangs? Please?” Lindsey begged, snipping at the air with her thin scissors. “I think it would frame your face so nice.”
Jill blinked, trying to pick something to look at. “Um. Yeah, that should be fine.”
“Heat getting to you?” Lindsey spritzed Jill’s head with water. “It makes me all fuzzy-headed. Can’t hardly think straight.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“So whatcha doing with your summer besides being a TV star?”
“Actually, we’re done with the filming until late September unless something unexpected comes up.”
“How exciting! I hope you win!” She combed Jill’s hair forward over her eyes and made a few parts. Twisting and bunching the rest of the hair out of the way, she swiveled Jill to face her.
“Yeah.” Maybe I should win. I’ve got nothing else to do. Milo’s all but gone.
“So, who’s hotter in person? Slick Patton or Jay Walker?” She clipped as she talked. “Because that Jay is a talker and real cute, but Slick. Mm-mm. That upper body of his! Too bad he’s so mean, though, huh?”
“Yeah.” How can I try to win if I couldn’t care less?
“So, which one do you like best? Which guy?” She spun Jill to face the window again.
“Milo!” Jill shouted reflexively. He was just outside, crossing the street towards the park. Without thinking, she bolted out of the chair and ran out the door. “Milo!” She waved and ran after him across the street.
He turned, eyes wide, and broke into a chuckle. “That’s a new look for you!”
Jill fingered the bangs, cut only over one eye. “Oh. Yeah.” She fumbled to undo the hair clips. “I’m getting a haircut.”
“Nice dress.”
She glanced down at the smock. It just covered the hem of her shorts making her look like she was wearing an inverted doggie-no-bite cone. “Gaaah!” She swished it around to the back and put her hands on her hips.
Milo tossed back his head and laughed. “It doubles as a superhero cape. Awesome!”
“Oh, shut up!” She smacked him playfully on the arm.
The physical connection stilled her instantly, and tingles rushed up her arm from the point of contact.
His voice came softly. “Long time no see.”
“Yeah.” Why was it so hard to breathe?
Milo’s lip lifted in a gentle smile. “Anything fun planned?”
“Not really. I’ve just been sorting through my closets, following your mom’s suggestion. Figured it was time to donate some of my clothes and stuff.”
His eyebrows jumped up. “Wow. Somebody’s about to get some nice outfits!”
“Yeah.” When did I get to be such a terrible conversationalist? “I’m almost done.”
“Need any help?”
Jill’s heart skipped. “Maybe you could help me bring the bags over to the Salvation Army. It’s kind of hard to carry them on the Harley.”
“Santa Jill?”
“Yeah.”
He grinned. “Tell me when. I’ll be there.”
“How about now?”
Milo brushed the new fringe of short hair over her eyes with his fingers. “Don’t you need to finish this first?”
“Oh!” She swiped at the hair with the back of her hand. “Yeah, that’d be good, huh?”
He pointed off across the green expanse of the park. “I was just heading over to our workout corner. Why don’t you come find me when you’re done?”
Jill beamed, infused with hope for a new beginning. “That’d be great! I’ll be there soon.” She posed like Supergirl flying. “Don’t fight any crime until I get back!” Feeling lighter, she skipped back across the street and into the salon.
Lindsey stood at her station, her arms crossed. “Jill, that ate up all our appointment time. I have someone coming for a perm in fifteen minutes.”
“Just finish the bangs. We can do more later.” Jill plopped down into the chair, gleefully tapping her fingers on her bare knees.
“Well something woke you up! Whatever it is, I need a shot of it.” She sprayed another few rounds of water on Jill’s hair and held out her hand. “Gimme back the clips. I’ve got to work fast.”
Milo felt energy pulsing through him that fueled a repeat of his crazy bar work-out at double speed. As he knocked out the last of a hundred pull-ups, he paused in the up position, halted by the vision of Jill running across the shady grass in shorts and a t-shirt, her long hair flying behind her … and the bangs. He lowered himself, his hands still gripping the bar, and watched her approach.
“You look like you did when we were kids with your hair like that!” he called.
“What?” She stopped short, looking disappointed. “Really?”
“Really! I love it!”
She grinned. “Really?”
“Really, really!”
“Okay, now you’re just being silly.” She walked the rest of the way and stopped a few feet in front of him, her eyes flickering to his raised arms.
“Oh, sorry.” He let go of the bar and flexed his fingers. “I’m probably pretty ripe.”
Jill’s smile seemed almost shy. “Well, you’ve certainly been working out.”
Milo forgot to speak as he gazed at her. This feels so right to be together here. Is there hope? “What say I destinkify myself, and we go deliver your donations?”
“Sure. And then Tasty Taco. My treat.”
“Deal.” He tossed his arm around her shoulder in a half hug.
“Ew!” She shoved him away with a giggle. “You really are ripe!”
“You’re the one that said soap stars need great arms,” he teased. “Race you to the fountain.”
They took off sprinting towards the low fountain in the middle of the park and soon had thoroughly soaked each other in a splashing water fight. Breathless and dripping, they squished and slopped their way towards his apartment. His eyes registered her wet t-shirt, but his heart only knew the joy of laughing with his best friend again.
“You need a dry shirt?” Milo had changed out of his sopping wet workout clothes while Jill fussed with her hair in the bathroom mirror.
“Oh, yes, please.
” She noted the paradox of her reflection: a girlish haircut and a very womanly figure in the clinging cotton. “Something nice and loose, if you’ve got it?”
“I’ve got a Scouting Changes Lives t-shirt. Is that okay?”
“Perfect!”
He handed it through the door, and she closed it long enough to change. She paused before putting on the new shirt. “Milo?”
“Yes?” He was right outside the door!
Jill stuffed her arms through the sleeves. “How much skankier do you think things are going to get on the show in the next round?”
“I guess as skanky as you let them. You did a great job of shutting things down last time.”
She pulled her head into the t-shirt and let it fall. “I look like I’m ten years old.”
Milo opened the door. “Not even remotely.”
“Milo! I could have still been dressing!”
“I’m not that lucky.” He winked and sauntered back out to the living area to grab his keys from the seat of his lounger. “Let’s go improve the inventory at the thrift store for a good cause.” He paused with a finger in the air. “Unless the good cause is freeing up space for another clothing run at the outlet malls.”
Jill groaned and followed him out the door. “No more shopping for a while. I have to wait to find out if I’m going to be a Hollywood star or a starving college student.”
Milo smiled as he locked the deadbolt. “Hopefully the latter, sooner rather than later.”
Jill longed to reach out and sift her fingers through the soft waves of hair that fell behind his ears. He glanced up and caught her dreamy look. “You okay?”
“Are you really going to OSU in the fall?”
Milo bit his lip and stuffed his keys in his pocket. “Your idea for me to transfer. I move in a couple of weeks.”
A pall of sadness descended on her. “Oh. Right. Classes start end of September.” She wished she could take back her advice. “Need help packing?”
“I’d love it.”
***
“No, no, no. Not this dress.” Milo opened the last of the garbage bags full of clothes piled on her couch. “Not the red polka-dot one. That’s new.”
“But …”
“Please. It has sentimental value.” He held it close, as if hugging it.
I know. Of my time with you. Jill nodded. “I’ll keep it if you want me to.”
Milo seemed to hold his breath. “Why don’t you put it on?”
Without looking away, Jill pulled the t-shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor. Standing there in only her shorts and bra, she took the dress in her hands. He didn’t let go right away, and for an electric second their fingers touched, binding them even more fiercely than their gaze.
Jill’s heart beat against her ribs as she slipped the dress over her head. Milo helped her pull it into place, his hands stopping at her waist as she let the skirt portion fall. Jill licked her lips, feeling an exhilarating shudder of heat rush through her. His eyes were so intense.
He lifted his hand to her cheek. “That’s my Jilliet.” Gently turning her away from him, he slowly raised the zipper all the way up her back, bringing with his fingers a surge of longing that almost overpowered her. She could feel his breath on the nape of her neck and closed her eyes, ignited to her core with desire.
“My beautiful Jilliet.” His whisper was as sensuous as a kiss, and she melted backward into his chest. His arms came around her, holding her tightly. “I missed you.”
She turned her head, her lips parting, ready to—
The SpongeBob theme song blasted from the pocket of her shorts. “What?!” She fumbled under the skirt, frantically trying to extricate her phone from the back pocket of her wet shorts. “How can you be calling me if you’re standing right there?”
Milo took a step back, his hands on his head. Was he breathing heavily? “I don’t know.”
She swiped to answer, breathless with frustration. “Hello?” Jill tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear while she tugged her cold shorts off from underneath the dress.
Milo sighed and turned to the business of hauling the garbage bags of donations out to the car.
“Jill? Oh good. The speed-dial worked. Hey, this is Mabel.”
“Hi Mom, what’s up?”
“Milo left his phone here the other day, and I was wondering if you were likely to see him any time soon to tell him? He’s probably frantic about having lost it.”
Jill let out a soft laugh of frustration. Trust Mabel to ruin the magical moment she had wanted for them all these years. “Sure. I’ll tell him as soon as I see him.”
“Okay, thanks honey.” There was a pause. “Are things any better between the two of you? It’s been a while, and time can heal wounds.”
Milo appeared in the doorway, a question on his face.
Jill grinned. “Yes. They’re getting much better.”
Dropping off the donations and chowing down Tasty Taco didn’t take long enough. Milo glanced at his watch as they approached her apartment door. How could he prolong their time together?
Jill inadvertently came to the rescue. “So, are you ever going to show me your new place in Corvallis, or am I going to have to hire a pack of bloodhounds to search you out?”
“Got time now?”
“Duh.” Her smile teased without malice. “But can we please take the Harley?”
Milo’s toes cringed. “Why?”
“The 99 is so pretty going down that way.”
“So windy and hilly, too.”
She turned a heavy-lidded look of boredom at him. “Your extra weight on the bike will keep me from catching air at the top of each rise. You’ll be keeping me safer.”
“Oh, that’s comforting.” He patted his stomach. “Am I getting fat?”
“No, no!” She answered quickly, then blushed. “You look … good.”
They both seemed to inhale a deep breath at the same time, and it made him laugh. “Oh, all right. But we don’t have to race there and back.”
Jill’s mischievous expression both worried and thrilled him. Rubbing her palms together, she said, “This is going to be so much fun!”
“Wait. What about helmets? I don’t have one.”
“Nice try, Milo.” She unlocked her door with a wicked glint in her eye. “I’ve got you covered.”
“What?” He stood second-guessing himself at the doorway while she retrieved her helmet from the broom closet. When she bent down to look for something in the back, he felt his motors revving and looked away.
“I believe you will approve of this.” Jill held up the coolest looking helmet he’d ever seen, complete with a visor to keep the bugs from plastering his cheeks.
“Do I dare ask why you have a helmet for me?”
She came to him, holding it with both hands close to her body. “I knew you’d come around one day.” She bumped the helmet slowly into his chest, and he instantly felt connected to her through it. “Now listen up,” she said, her voice low and sultry. “If we’re going to be safe, you have to follow my lead. Lean when I lean. Don’t resist or it’ll throw off the balance.”
“Got it.”
“It’s probably going to feel like I’m leaning too far. You have to trust me, and you have to hold on tight.”
Milo swallowed, not blinking away from her gaze. “Count on it.”
A few minutes later, he slid behind her onto the bike. “Wait. You’re doing this in a dress?”
“Closer,” she called, her voice muffled through the helmets. “No space between us.”
He sidled up tight, feeling every inch of his body rush with desire. Without thinking, he moved to kiss her neck, but instead crashed his helmet into hers.
“Ow, what are you doing?” She shimmied. “Head back, everything else tight.”
“Where do I put my hands?”
Jill didn’t answer. She just kicked the bike into motion and took off, her skirt climbing up her legs in the wind.
Mi
lo’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist, letting his fingers expand to clutch more of her. He winced with each sharp turn through town, but when they reached the highway and picked up speed, it felt as if the forced sealed their bodies together. Could she feel his pulse?
Gradually, he sensed the gentle expansion and contraction of her ribcage against his chest. His own breathing fell into time with hers, and he felt as if they were melting into each other. The noise, the wind, and the swiftly passing scenery all faded from existence, and he closed his eyes until he was sure they were one being, flying away together.
Jill’s posture straightened, pushing into him further and taking his breath away, but then he felt her tap his arm. He opened his eyes to see that they had arrived in Corvallis, and now she needed instructions. Holding tight with his right arm, he signaled directions with his left and silently vowed never to argue about riding the Harley with her again.
“You already have the key?” Jill’s eyebrow leapt with pleasure. “Then I want the grand tour.”
Milo’s smile invited her closer. “It’s not much, but it’s mine.” He pushed open the door, and she stepped inside.
“Oh! It’s a studio.” For some reason, his tiny apartment disappointed Jill.
“Rent is crazy expensive here.” Milo’s face was still flushed from the ride. “Some kind of city ordinance about not expanding out into the hills more, so land is pricey.”
Jill nodded. She could see everything but the toilet from where she stood. “Where are you going to fit all your stuff?”
“Well, it’s just me, so I figured I can eat at my desk or in the lounger.” He gestured with his hands. “TV against that wall.”
“And the bed?” Couldn’t he see how much she wanted him?
Milo scratched his head and pivoted a quarter turn on his heel, giving her an eyeful of his still-improving profile. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Maybe I’ll just sleep on the recliner.”
