Boy of the Week

by Emily Camp

  He patted the seat beside him. “You’re making me nervous.”

  I cracked a small smile, still unsure, then eased down by him. He was already eating.

  “Aren’t you going to wait for them?” I asked.

  “Don’t know how much time they’ll have.” Then he looked toward the double-doored entrance and waved. My heart fell to my stomach. They were here. What was I supposed to say? Merry Christmas? Being stuck at work didn’t seem very merry to me. However, I did have time to think about it because they went through the line and collected their meals before joining us. I didn’t get a good look at his mom, but from here she looked tall. Must be where Jack got his height.

  Finally, they slid in the booth across from us. His mom wasn’t only tall she was beautiful. Her hair was the same dark color as Jack’s and her skin the perfect light tan and smooth. As if it was airbrushed. But yet I couldn’t see a makeup line.

  “Merry Christmas, Kacey.” His dad said. Even though Jack hadn’t introduced us, he knew who I was.

  “You too, Dr. Landry.” I felt my face flush. Why was I so nervous?

  “We’ve heard a lot about you.” His mom grinned as she buttered a roll.

  “Mom.” Jack gritted his teeth. The same pinkish tint from earlier spread over the freckles on the back of his neck. “You said you weren’t going to embarrass me.”

  “How’s that embarrassing you? I’m just stating a fact.” And she gave the same stone-faced expression that Jack had given me many times during our tutoring sessions.

  “I hope it wasn’t anything bad,” I smiled and said, “… uh, Dr. Landry?”

  She smiled and held up her lanyard. Like mother, like son. “Dr. Stephens. I kept my maiden name. Could you imagine how confusing two Dr. Landry’s would be?”

  Jack’s dad smiled and ran his hand over her back proudly. “It comes in handy when I don’t want to claim her.”

  She giggled and nudged him, “Stop.”

  Wow, they were really in love. After how many years? I would say that Jack was lucky having both parents together, but then they seemed to always be here. At least I had my mom most evenings and holidays. Working at a bank she was off work almost every day I was off school. Sometimes that was annoying ,like when I just wanted the day to relax and she would make plans for us.

  “Thank you for having Jack over today.” She turned to me. “We hate to have to be here, but we’ll celebrate next week.”

  “It wasn’t a free invite. We did put him to work.” I looked over at him.

  They both laughed, his mom winked at him.

  He’s eyes widened and he shook his head just slightly. What was that?

  “We’re just happy Jack has a friend,” his dad said.

  “You are just friends, right?” His mom asked.

  “I told you that already,” Jack said.

  She smiled at me and opened her mouth like she was going to say something more when the intercom went off.

  Dr. Stephens please report to … I didn’t hear what was said because I was too busy watching the disappointment take over Jack’s face.

  She looked down at her watch, frowned. “I hoped I’d have more time.”

  His dad ran his hand up and down her back. “Call up and ask what they need.”

  She shook her head. “I have a patient that’s not doing well.”

  “On Christmas? That’s heartbreaking,” I said. This put things into perspective for me. Even though this was my fourth Christmas without my dad at least everyone was healthy.

  “It is.” She was back to her serious mode. She stood up, leaned over the table and gave Jack a kiss on the forehead. “Merry Christmas, see you when we get home.”

  “Merry Christmas, mom.” He said.

  She turned toward his dad. “Can you save that for later?” She pointed to her food.

  “Of course.” He slid out of the booth.

  “At least I got a few bites in to hold me over.” They kissed. Then she walked away.

  Dr. Landry slid back into the booth and was able to finish the meal with us without being called away, but the atmosphere was different. The conversations seemed forced and Jack wasn’t as happy as he had been when we first arrived.

  ***

  I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed when we pulling into my driveway. The drive had been quiet. He kept his car running but put it in park.

  “I got you something,” he said.

  “I didn’t get you anything.” There was nothing more awkward than someone buying me a Christmas gift when the thought of getting one for them never even crossed my mind. I mean yeah, I considered Jack a friend, but not a close enough friend to buy him a gift. What would I even give him anyway? A new lanyard?

  It was funny I thought that though, because he insisted that I open the gift while he watched. It was a lanyard. But it was pretty, Vera Bradley, blue and black and white paisley. Quilted with a zipper pouch.

  “Seriously,” I laughed.

  “My mom helped me pick it out.” His grin grew from ear to ear. “I know how much you like my lanyard.” He didn’t have it on today though.

  I pulled the lanyard over my head. “Thanks.” I said. “But I still feel horrible for not getting you anything.”

  “Today was enough.” He said, his voice quieter.

  And I hadn’t thought of it before, but it was for me, too. Other than the second half of dinner and the ride home, today had been fun.

  ***

  The week went by too fast, same as anytime there was no school. Evan and his dad didn’t stay out of town through New Year’s like they’d originally planned. Turned out Greg wanted to take my mom to some fancy party and made sure he was back in time to do it. That meant I was on babysitting duty. Which was okay. I’d been talking to Dylan. He wanted me to go to a party with him, babysitting kept me from having to.

  On New Year’s Eve afternoon, Jack texted me and asked if Gavin and I would want to come to his house. I hesitated, but stupidly asked my mom if it was okay before I made a firm decision. Gavin overheard and wanted to do nothing else. Jack had told him about all the games and Star Wars things he had when he was over here on Christmas.

  So, that was why I was standing on Jack Landry’s front porch at five-o-clock, with my little brother, on New Year’s Eve. I hesitated, taking in a deep breath. I hadn’t seen him since Christmas, which was only a week, but felt like it could have been forever. Gavin knocked before I had the chance.

  The door swung open. Jack’s mom was in a long, black gown. Her hair up in a twist and diamond earrings dangled from her lobes.

  “Kacey,” She greeted me like we were old friends. Holding out her arms for a hug. When the hug was over, she turned to my brother. “You must be Gavin. I think I’ve heard just as much about you as I have your sister.”

  “Where’s Jack?” he scrunched up his nose.

  “Gavin,” I scolded, “don’t be rude.”

  Jack’s mom laughed and opened the door wider for us to come in. “It’s okay. I’m sure Jack told him all about his man cave.”

  As a matter of fact, he did, but he didn’t call it that. And thinking of Jack’s room as a man cave made me think of Jack being a man. I felt my face flush.

  “You have tonight off?” I asked.

  “Yes, we finally have a holiday off and he’s dragging me to a party,” she sighed. Jack’s dad sauntered down in his tuxedo, while adjusting his cufflinks.

  “You wanted to go when I brought it up.”

  “I know. I was a different person when I made those plans two weeks ago.” She slipped her heels on her feet.

  He laughed and kissed her on the cheek. “You’ll have fun once we get there.”

  I spotted Jack behind his dad. I tried not to stare. His eyes met mine and he smiled. I seemed to be getting those for nothing these days. I liked it. I just didn’t know if I liked it too much or not. Jack was casual, wearing grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt. His hair was disheveled, I wasn’t used to
seeing it like that, but it looked good. Okay, now why was I thinking about how good Jack looked?

  “Don’t forget the money for the pizza on the counter. I think we still have the noise makers and party hats in the pantry if you want to use those tonight.” His mom said, I was thankful for the distraction.

  “Can I see your games?” Gavin truly had a one-tracked mind.

  “We better get going.” His dad said, looking down at his phone.

  “Alright, alright.” She turned to me. “Nice to see you again, Kacey. Nice meeting you, Gavin.” She said to my brother, then turned to Jack. “Behave.”

  “Mom.” He had that serious expression on his face that I was so used to during our tutoring sessions.

  “Nice seeing you again, Kacey.” His dad put his arm around Jack’s mom and ushering her out the door. “Don’t embarrass him.” He whispered, but was loud enough for us to hear even though I knew he hadn’t intended for me to hear it.

  “So,” Jack said.

  “Can we go play games now?” Gavin flopped his head sideways as if it were too heavy for him.

  “He’s been waiting patiently all day,” I said, even though patiently was an exaggeration.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Jack’s room was both what I expected and did not expect. He had a large television, and tons of nerdy stuff like Star Wars posters and boxed action figures on shelves. That wasn’t what surprised me, though. What surprised me was the cleanliness. Jack, among other things, was a neat freak. I made a mental note to never let him see my bedroom.

  Nothing was out of place here. Not crooked or askew. On his desk there was a lamp; a pencil holder with exactly three pens, a highlighter and a pencil; all capped and facing up, and a laptop that was open. A sci-fi screensaver popped around the screen.

  I walked for a minute, taking everything in. It smelled like soap. Not like strong cologne mixed with a hint of sweat like Cody’s room. His bed was huge, but worked in this large space.

  Gavin wasted no time jumping on the bean bag chair, getting in position for the game. When I sat down on the edge of the bed by Jack, he looked my way for a second then back at the game. He had a controller in his hand and was playing along with whatever game Gavin had picked out.

  “Thanks for inviting us.” And I meant that because if we were home Gavin would just be playing his game and I’d be waiting for Dylan or even worse, Addi to call me. Both I’m sure were too busy. Not like Addi would call if she wasn’t. I just wondered how she was able to go with Tyler now that she couldn’t use me as an alibi. Did she finally bring him home to meet the parents?

  “No problem,” he said. I wasn’t sure if his elbow touched me on purpose or not. Probably not. I stared ahead at the television even though I had no clue what was going on.

  The doorbell chimed.

  “Pizza’s here.” Jack paused the game.

  Good, I could eat and not think about the fact that I was sitting just a few inches away from Jack on a bed.

  Gavin groaned.

  “I can take your place,” I said. Though what I really wanted to do was look around his room some more. Yes, I was kind of nosey whenever I got the chance.

  I took the controller and knew not what I was doing. Gavin complained the entire time. They must be working as a team or something. I didn’t know this space stuff. I could barely see what the character was doing as dark as it was.

  Soon Jack was back, toting pizza. We paused the game to eat even though Gavin wasn’t happy about it. I wasn’t sure if he would make it to midnight, I thought since we were here, he might because he was so excited about being at Jack’s and there was so much to do here.

  After a while, we turned the game off and watched Star Wars, of course. Which I couldn’t deny, it was neat on Jack’s big screen and the surround sound in his room. I wondered how he got any homework done in here. If I had all this I’d always be watching or listening to something, loudly at that. Not to mention he was a gamer. Maybe not quite to the extent as Carson, but he liked his games, obviously. He knew what he was talking about.

  After the movie, I leaned forward. Sure enough, Gavin was asleep.

  “He’s out.” I sat back down on the bed. One of the most comfortable beds I’d been on. I had gotten comfortable sitting here even if Jack’s knee or elbow grazed me some. We were just friends, right?

  “Wanna watch the ball drop?” he asked, pointing the remote to the television.

  “I can’t believe this year’s over already.”

  “Not yet.” Jack pointed at his watch. “We still have ten minutes.”

  In ten minutes, the year would be behind me. Not the best of my years. I thought back to all the relationships I’d had. I’d stopped counting. That was bad. How could I get my long-term love if I couldn’t decide on which one? Maybe my resolution should be to quit boys.

  On the television the host talked, artists sang. The ball glowed high above the city.

  “Your room is different than I thought.”

  “You’ve thought about my room?” He lifted an eyebrow.

  “No.” I said too quickly. “Just that most boys … most boys rooms have this weird odor that’s covered up by cologne.”

  “You’ve been in a lot of those?” He tilted his head.

  “You know what I mean.” I nudged him, feeling a bit of electricity when I did. That was worse than when he bumped me. I think I was tired, that was all it was.

  “Watch out.” He said pointing at the television. The ball was getting ready to drop. Jack scooted closer to me. I just realized we forgot to look for the noise makers and the party hats. Not that I would want to use the noise makers with Gavin sound asleep. But I wanted to think about something else besides Jack’s body warmth at my side.

  “Three … two … one.” The ball was down. I took in a breath, ready to shout, ‘Happy New Year’ when Jack’s lips hit mine. Soft and minty. I just sat there. Eyes wide open. Well, that was … unexpected. I did not want to feel like this with Jack. Warmth and butterflies.

  He sat back, taking in my shocked expression. “I’m sorry …” he pointed to the television, where they were still zooming in on kissing couples in the midst of the street and confetti falling around them. “It’s what you do … on …” He stood up, averting his eyes. “I’m … uh … I should take you home.”

  “Is that what you want to do?” My heart sank.

  “Don’t you want to leave?”

  “Not yet.” What if we became more than friends? I didn’t have the greatest track record. I shook my head. Why was I even thinking about this? Why did he kiss me? “Is that okay … or do you want me to go?”

  “No.” He said quickly as he picked up our cups from earlier.

  “Jack.”

  He stacked the cups. I wasn’t sure why I was going to keep pushing it, but I needed to know.

  “Jack.” I said a little louder.

  “Yeah?” He cradled the cups in one arm and picked up the pizza box with the other.

  “Why’d you kiss me?” I pointed toward the television.

  “It’s tradition.” He spoke quickly again, not looking at me. I wasn’t prepared for the disappointment those words brought. I realized I had wanted him to want to kiss me. To want to be with me, but he didn’t see me like that. Why would he? I was just a girl who needed tutored.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  It was dark by the time Dylan and I pulled up to Cody’s house. I knew it was going to be weird, I could feel it. Everyone was outback. Dylan waltzed in the backyard with his snowboard tucked under his arm. The snow was coming down in big white flakes, sticking wonderfully to the hill behind Cody’s. Greg had been keeping my mom occupied, and, thankfully, Gavin as well. So, I didn’t have to babysit.

  It had taken me a while to find my cute overall snow bibs earlier. I was thankful my mom got me a new scarf, gloves, and a hat. They had multicolored stripes.

  We made the trek to Cody’s backyard. The music was already blasting from his B
luetooth speakers and a fire crackled in the firepit.

  “Hey!” Cody held a black-gloved hand up. As if it wasn’t just weeks ago he ripped my heart out. We made our way toward him. There were a few people gathered around the fire. I spotted Addie almost immediately. She looked at me then turned, not even acknowledging me. She had on the purple scarf I gave her for her birthday last year. Did our friendship mean nothing to her? She made her way to Tyler, who was laughing it up with a group of guys.

  I always loved sledding, but I wasn’t sure I could do this today.

  Dylan high-fived Cody. “Where’s Serena?”

  Did he have to bring her up? Just another person I didn’t want to see.

  “We broke up,” Cody said.

  “What?” Dylan’s arm was heavy around my shoulders.

  Cody tossed more kindling into the fire. “Eh, she wasn’t that great anyway.”

  He looked up at us. “You back together?”

  “Yeah,” Dylan answered before I could. Actually, we weren’t, this was just supposed to be friends hanging out. I guess Dylan forgot about that.

  “I’m going to get some hot chocolate.” I said pointing toward the giant water cooler on the table. This was too much. I had dated guys and went back to them, but I knew going from one best friend to the other and back was pushing it. I was not comfortable with Dylan telling people we were together when we hadn’t even talked about it yet. I picked up a styrofoam cup and filled it. I looked up to see Tyler and Addi on a sled. She giggled as she sat down in front of him. My heart sank.

  “Hey.” It was a voice I was relieved to hear. I excitedly looked up.

  “What are you doing here?” I turned to Jack. He wore a black and white beanie over his head and a black coat. His cheeks were already pink from the cold.

  “Sledding just like everyone else.” He pointed toward the hill.

  “Did you go down yet?”

  “I tried a snowboard.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s harder than it looks.”

  “Have you ever gone skiing?” Greg took us last year.