“Nice.” I chuckled. “Worried more about the beer than me falling on my face.”
He laughed. “Basically.” He reached down and took the twelve-pack of Budweiser from my grip before trotting the rest of the way down the hill to the landing.
“Eat a dick, JJ!” I called after him.
“I would if you left some for the rest of us.”
I shook my head, laughing at his words.
The truth was my mouth had never been near a dick, and everyone knew it. With all the testosterone around me, I wasn’t sure my sleeping with anyone would fly. My brother would have a heart attack and kill someone, and Josh … well, I wasn’t sure what Josh would do. We never talked about our sex lives much. I knew he had been with girls, but while we talked about everything, that subject was still weird for us.
I paused just before reaching the landing and took in the sight before me. Almost the entire senior class was there. People I had known most of my life, since we lived in a small town, and we were almost finished with high school. Some of us would leave for college. Some wouldn’t. And others, like Josh, would leave us all behind and go into the military.
I couldn’t think about that right then, though. If I did, my day would be ruined, and I would spend the day floating down the river bitchy and sad.
“What did JJ say to you?” Josh asked, stopping beside me.
Now that I had two empty hands, I took my float from him.
“Nothing. I almost tripped, and he wanted to make sure I didn’t drop the beer.”
Josh snorted. “Yeah. I bet that’s all he wanted. Asshole.”
I pulled my shades from my eyes and pushed them into my hair. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. You want your float linked with mine or what?”
“Yeah, the usual.”
Once we reached the small beach area, we threaded a slim red piece of rope between our two float handles and attached the Styrofoam cooler so we could grab drinks when we wanted them. I stood to the side and watched as he pulled his jeans down and tossed them next to everyone else’s stuff. After floating all day, we would eventually end up at the same beach, so it worked.
He pulled his hat from his head, pushed his hair back, and adjusted the hat back on his head. The actions drew my eyes to the muscles of his arms and chest, sending a wave of heat over me that had nothing to do with the sun and everything to do with my hormones.
We walked out in the river, the cold water shocking me and making me shiver, until we were knee-deep. Then we climbed onto our floats, Josh holding mine until I was settled in, and drifted off along with the rest of the group.
I leaned back and relaxed, letting the cool water rush up through the center of my float and rinse away the sweat from my back. It probably would have been better to take my shirt and shorts off, but again, showing my body made me super uncomfortable.
Josh floated with his shorts and shades on, his hands dragging along the sides of his float, making the water ripple at his fingertips. His long tan legs were submerged from the calf down, and every now and again, I would get a peek at his upper thigh when his shorts shifted.
I did the same, my fingers and feet skimming the surface of the water, except instead of facing the sky with my eyes closed as I was sure he was, I took in the scenery. The way the large oak trees seemed to drip into the water from the banks as we passed. The large rocks we navigated, one with a turtle sitting on top.
Around us, our classmates splashed and laughed. A few guys swung from a tree rope and into the deep parts at one of the banks. Still, Josh and I stayed put, gliding along the brown river water without words, knowing that somehow things were about to change.
Not just the end of high school or the fact that he was leaving for the military and I was leaving for college. Something else slid along the glassy water with us. An unspoken thing that made me feel tense and awkward, which I had never felt before with Josh.
“I can’t believe this is almost over,” he said, his fingers dragging into the water.
I couldn’t believe it either. It felt sad and depressing. Even after years of waiting to be done with school, all I could think about was how badly I wanted things to stay the same.
“I know.”
“Think we’ll be okay?”
He turned his head my way, but his eyes were hidden behind his shades. Still, I could see the sadness in his brow.
I nodded, swallowing hard since I knew I was about to lie. “Yeah. I think we’ll be fine.”
“I hope you’re right.”
I hoped I was right, too, but I knew I wasn’t.
Once we walked across that stage and went our separate ways, we would be altered. Living lives the other wasn’t familiar with it and meeting new people the other didn’t know.
We would be strangers.
We floated for an hour, the clouds above us covering the sun and then revealing it while it moved across the sky. When we finally reached the first bank break, I was glad to get up and stretch my legs. Stopping, we worked together to pull our linked floats up and onto the sand.
The first bank break was a small patch of land located right below Jones Bridge, an old bridge that was almost in the center of town. It was higher than most of the bridges that went over the river, which meant it was one of the few no one could fish off. Still, that didn’t stop people from climbing up to the bridge for the thrill of jumping off.
I sat in the sand, the clumps clinging to my wet shorts, and watched as a few of the guys in our group climbed the rock-covered hill to the bridge. Jumping from the side of the bridge was supposed to show how brave you were, but really, it showed a bit of stupidity. Not that I wouldn’t do it. Everyone thought it was dangerous, but it didn’t look all that bad to me, and I happened to know the part of the river below the bridge was deep. It used to be my daddy’s favorite fishing spot on his little John boat.
I didn’t realize someone was standing close to me until they shifted and blocked the sun. Looking up, I sighed when I saw JJ grinning down at me. He held out a Mason jar full of a clear liquid.
“Here. Drink some of this.”
Taking the jar from his hand, I shook it a little and watched the liquid slosh around. “What is it?”
He chuckled. “Just drink it. It’ll put some hair on your chest.”
I tilted my head to the side and peered up at him. “Do I look like I need hair on my chest?”
At my words, he laughed and shook his head, sending droplets of river water sprinkling over my legs. “I don’t know. Lift your shirt and let me see.”
I was about to stand and dump the liquid over his head when Josh stepped up and slugged JJ in the arm.
“Hey. Chill out, man. Stop trying to see Jenny’s tits.”
The group closest to us snickered when JJ said, “Jenny ain’t got no tits.”
Fire sizzled at the end of my spine, sending a wave of anger up to my brain.
Asshole.
“How do you know what the hell I got?” I asked, ready to stand and punch him in his conniving smirk.
“We’re done talking about this.” Josh pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Well, are you going to drink it or not?” JJ asked again.
I lifted the Mason jar to my nose and sniffed. The smell singed my nose hairs and made me flinch.
Moonshine.
With my eyes locked on JJ’s, I lifted the jar and took a large gulp. Fire rolled over my tongue before streaking down the back of my throat when I swallowed.
“Whew,” I said, trying to remain in control of the burn.
JJ’s grin grew. “Damn, girl!”
“What can I say? I guess my balls are just bigger than yours.”
I knew I was adding fuel to the fire. JJ had already been drinking quite a bit, and his eyes were red and watery.
“You think so, huh?”
I nodded, handing him the jar. “Yep.”
“Prove it.”
“Sh
e doesn’t have to prove anything. Shut the fuck up, J. Leave her alone.”
Josh’s words didn’t penetrate JJ’s glare. He stared me down, daring me, and I never walked away from a dare.
JJ stepped closer, blocking my view of the water, his body cut perfectly yet still smaller than Josh. My eyes dipped over his chest, and he shook his hair out and grinned at me when he caught me staring. “Come on, Jenny. Put your money where your mouth is. A hundred bucks says you won’t jump with us.” He nodded to the bridge over us.
“You’re full of shit,” I said, piling more sand over my toes.
“I’m serious. You jump, and I give you a hundred dollars.”
“You’re stupid.”
“No, I’m just sure you won’t do it. You’re not as tough as you let on.”
I chuckled and shook my head. These fuckers really had no idea who they were messing with. Guess I was about to be as stupid as the rest of them and jump from the bridge like a moron.
I stood, swiping the sand off the back of my men’s swim trunks. I walked up to him, his six-feet-one height towering over my five-feet-two self. Reaching out, I snatched his hand, the sand from my palms sticking to his, and shook it. “Deal. I’ll take twenties.”
I turned to follow a small group of guys headed for the rock-covered hill, but before I got too far, Josh reached out and grabbed my arm, stopping me.
“You’re not seriously going to jump, are you?” His brows were pulled low.
He was worried.
Josh worried about me a lot.
It was what friends did.
“Um … yes.”
“Fuck him. You know you don’t have to do this, right?” His long, slender fingers wrapped around my wrist, holding me back.
“I know. I want to.”
“Don’t be stupid, Jenny. It’s dangerous.”
I pulled my arm free and grinned. “It’s like you don’t even know me.”
“Yeah, Jenny. Listen to him. It’s too dangerous,” JJ said as he passed me on his way to the hill.
“She won’t do it!” someone called out.
I grinned, knowing I was about to be a hundred dollars richer.
“Hide and watch, bitches,” I said, pulling my arm from Josh’s grip and following the group of guys.
Maybe it was the moonshine talking, but my balls were bigger than JJ’s, and I was going to prove it.
2
Joshua Black
Jenny Michaels was going to be the death of me. Either she was going to give me a premature heart attack at nineteen from all the crazy shit she pulled, or I was going to get beat to death when I finally met my match and tried to fight some fucker who wouldn’t keep his eyes and hands away from her.
The worst part was, she was clueless. She was blind to the way guys reacted to her. They openly flirted, and she laughed it off as if they were joking.
They weren’t.
The fuckers were never joking.
Why would they be?
She was the full package. A guy’s wet dream. Hot beyond measure with her flowing dark hair and piercing green eyes with a body I knew was gorgeous hidden behind the comfortable clothes she wore. Baggy or not, I had been around her enough to get peeks of skin every now and again, and I knew what was hiding under those large T-shirts.
What guy wouldn’t want a woman who could wear his clothes better than him, eat wings without fear of barbecue on her face, and watch football like she was coaching the team? There was nothing cuter than Jenny screaming at the TV and knowing the plays before they even got a chance to play it.
She was damn near perfect, yet she was untouchable to me. Years of being her best friend made it so. I wasn’t even sure how it was possible to look at someone you had grown up with and see them as more than a friend, but it happened, and I fucking hated it.
She drove me crazy with her wicked tongue and amazing sense of humor. She wasn’t afraid to be herself, no matter who was involved. She wore what she wanted to wear, said what she wanted to say, and did what she wanted to do, which was exhausting since I was usually the one cleaning up whatever mess she left behind.
Along with those things, she never listened. These were the things I loved and hated the most about her. She was one of a kind, and I was lucky enough to watch her bloom into the amazing creature she had become.
Beautiful.
Smart.
And so headstrong I wanted to strangle her some days.
It was the most irritating shit ever, yet it filled me with pride.
“Seriously, Jenny!” I called out after her.
She didn’t turn back, instead stomping her way up the side of the hill as if she was queen of the fucking bridge above them.
“She’ll be alright, man. We’ve all done it,” Tony said, tapping me on the arm.
He was right, but that didn’t matter.
“It’s different,” I snapped.
He chuckled, took a swig from his beer, and stepped away.
I didn’t care that I was being a dick. I didn’t like people telling me what I should and shouldn’t worry about when it came to Jenny. It was a game to them and all in fun. But for me, it was the girl I cared about more than I would ever admit putting herself in danger.
I prayed she would chicken out as she reached the top and realized how high it was, but I knew it wouldn’t happen.
Rocks rolled down beneath her flip-flops, and she pulled them from her feet and threw them down toward the sand below. She had no problem keeping up with the guys, even with her dainty feet bare to the rough rocks.
Her long men’s swim shorts reached her knees, and her T-shirt, which was wet on the back from floating, clung to her ass and her shoulders. Her long ponytail was wet at the end, weighing it down and keeping it from bouncing.
She was strong, but she couldn’t do everything.
When was she going to realize she wasn’t one of the guys?
Sure, she could play alongside us, but the fact was she was still a girl.
Smooth skin.
Delicate beneath her tough exterior.
And so fucking tempting it made me feel sick.
She would kill me if I ever said it out loud, but Jenny was all woman, even if she wanted to play with the big boys.
I held my breath as she climbed the steep rock-covered hill up to the road. They paused on the side of the asphalt as a group of cars flew past them before continuing to the bridge that went over the river. Once they were standing on the edge, JJ reached out and put his hand on her back. I held my breath and swore if he pushed her, I would kill him, then I got angry all over again when I realized he was smiling and rubbing her back soothingly.
I didn’t like his hands on her.
As a matter of fact, I fucking hated it.
So, when she reached out and pushed his arm away, relief filled my chest.
It was around freshmen year when I started noticing things about Jenny. Her boobs were the first thing. At first, it was weird. There were no more chest bumps or titty twisters. We stopped making jokes about the girls at school and their boobs. Although, once Jenny grew them, I stopped noticing the breasts of the girls at school altogether, yet I had a hard time keeping my eyes away from her chest. My focus went to shit. Whether I was playing a football game on the field or we were together kicking some ass on my PlayStation, I would catch myself checking her out.
It was also around that time I began to warn the guys to stay away. I had too much going on around me with school and the farm and football to worry about them sniffing around her like a bunch of dogs. The last thing I wanted to worry about were my friends chasing after my best friend, and that was what she was.
My best friend.
Even with my brain packed with memories of our lives over the years, I could no longer deny that my feelings for Jenny had grown into something different.
Something wild.
Something so fierce it scared me.
Jenny was different from the rest. She wasn’t the
princess type who wore makeup and fussed over her hair. Half the time, she wore men’s shirts. Her style consisted of cutoffs and T-shirts, but in the South, that was a yearlong wardrobe. Most of the time, those clothes had dirt on them or grease from the garage, but something about a girl who wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty was attractive.
She could handle the guys and knew how to put us in our place. She was adventurous and brave. She was funny with a filthy mouth. She could change a tire with her eyes closed, thanks to her dad and Devin, who were motorheads. And on occasion, when she would drink, she had no problem whatsoever drinking every one of us under the table.
When the other girls were too afraid to jump from the rope swing at St. John’s River, Jenny was the first to jump on. With her eyes closed and her ponytail swishing in the wind, she would smile until the rope was high enough to let go and fly.
The other girls would stand on the shore too worried about how they looked in their bikinis and re-applying lip gloss as though they were at the club instead of a dirty river. Not my Jenny. She went to the river to have fun, splashing around with the guys in a sleeveless T-shirt and a pair of sweat shorts that left a ton to the imagination.
Finally, her and the guys reached the edge of the bridge. The fall had never seemed so far away. I had jumped off the side a few times, and I wouldn’t lie, it was a long way down. Jenny waved down at me, wearing a huge smile on her face.
My heart paused for a beat as JJ and our buddy Robbie jumped first. I prayed she wouldn’t do it, but I knew better. Jenny wasn’t one to back down. I swallowed hard, trying to control my nerves as she stepped closer to the edge, her toes dangling over the side.
Then she jumped.
She was falling feet first into the river, her long body looking like an arrow shot into the darkness of the water. Her arms were at her sides, her eyes closed, and her face toward the sky. Her ponytail flew above her, swishing in the wind from the fall.
She hit the river in a great explosion of water, and I sucked in a breath that I held until she broke the surface. It wasn’t until the crowd around me exploded in joy that I realized how silent the moment had been for me. They cheered her on as if she hadn’t put herself in danger, but not me. I was beyond pissed.
Thick & Thin (Chubby Girl Chronicles Book 3) Page 2
