by Paige Powers
“Honey I was—.”
I jumped back and stared at my mother at the door. Her eyes were wide, then she smiled. “Oh, I’m sorry sweetie.” I looked down at Jack and he grinned up at me, his hands closer to my butt. I slapped his hands and got off him.
“No, Mom, it’s not what you think.”
“No, no, it’s okay honey.”
I shook my head with my eyes wide.
“No I was just…he was….Jack, go home!” I finally yelled turning around to him. He laughed and sat up.
“She just can’t think right after we kiss. I’m glad I have that effect on her.”
I glared at him as he picked up his jacket and backpack.
“Sorry, Mrs. Taylor,” he said sweetly. He looked at me, winked then smiled at my mom. “Bye!” he ran out the door and down stairs. My mom chuckled.
“He really is a sweet boy. I hope you’re being safe, too.”
I stared at her my mouth open. “Mom! I’m not having sex!”
She sighed. “Honey, a mother knows when her daughter is.”
“Mom, please, you don’t know anything about me.”
She frowned. “Lidia I—.”
“I have homework.”
She stopped, nodded and then left. I shut the door. His car pulled away from my driveway and went down the road. I sighed and laid back on the bed. My pillow had a dent in the top and I smelled it. The aroma was a bittersweet cologne. Jack’s. I licked my lips and still tasted him. Get a hold of yourself, girl! With that, I put the pillow back and started my homework.
Chapter 7
Saturday. One of the best days of the week. No school, just sleep and do nothing. Peaceful sleep. Something I hadn’t gotten in a while. Just peace.
“Yo, Taylor! Get up!” I jumped and flipped around in bed to frown at Jack. He looked at me, raised an eyebrow then laughed.
“Get out!” I yelled. “And who the hell let you in?” He laughed again.
“Your mom did,” he winked. “And she told me to tell you that it’s 3:30 p.m. and that they’re leaving to go out to dinner and visit some friends.” I rolled my eyes.
“Thanks. Now, get out.” I shoved my face back into the pillow, wanting more sleep.
“Gosh, how many hours do you need, Princess?” he muttered. I threw an arm up at him to silence him and he got quiet. I sighed. I felt the bed squeak as someone sat down. I didn’t care, I was so tired. It might have been my mind playing tricks on me but I swore I felt someone stroking my hair; then pushing it away from my face, his fingers rough but gentle. Yeah, I was definitely dreaming!
His blonde hair blew across his face, his perfect smile glistening in the sunlight. “Grant?” I asked, surprised. He stood in front of me. “Hey,” he said and smiled. I frowned. “I wanted to tell you something.” I shifted my feet. “Yeah?” I asked, my heart pounding. “I want you back. I’m in love with you.” I smiled. “Really?” He nodded and got down on his knees. “Lidia I can’t live without you. I want you back. I love you so much,” he was begging. I laughed and nodded. “Yes! I…”
I groaned. No! I couldn’t finish it! I felt something hard under me. It was breathing. What? Breathing? I looked up and I was laying half way on Jack. His eyes were closed. His hand was on my back, our legs tangled together. My eyes widened. Holy cow! I looked at the clock and saw it was 7:00 pm.
“Oh, shoot!” I yelled. Jack jumped up and almost smashed heads with mine.
“For the love of God, Lidia!” he yelled. I looked at him then jumped off of him and shook myself.
“Ewe, ewe, ewe! That was sick! Why would you do that? Ewe! I got Jack coodies!” I yelled, feeling not even the slightest bit dirty, but I wanted him to think I did. He laughed.
“Me? You think I did that? Princess, you cuddled up to me first!” My mouth dropped.
“I..did not! You’re lying!”
He shrugged and looked at me with the corner of his eye. It was the truth. I clenched my teeth. “Ugh, would you get off my bed?! You’re making it dirty! I’ll be back. I’m going to take a shower.” I grabbed my clothes and hurried to the bathroom, locking the door. I breathed deeply. I can’t believe I did that! I don’t remember cuddling up to him. But he didn’t look mad..he actually looked...I gulped. Happy or pleased.
After my shower, I changed into a short skirt and a pretty dark purple top, blow dried my hair and did my makeup. I went back into the room and Jack was still lying on my bed with his eyes closed. I didn’t want to wake him but then I wanted to jump up on the bed and scare the crap out of him. I put my clothes in my hamper and bent down to pick up an earring that had fallen.
“You have a great ass, did anyone ever tell you that?” I jumped and turned around. Jack was watching me. His hands behind his head, his hair sweeping down in front of his eyes. I rolled my eyes.
“No, but thanks,” I said sarcastically. “Get up. We need to go,” I ordered. He sighed and got up. He ran his hand through his hair once and then put on his shoes. I turned around and grabbed a pair of high-heeled sandals and sat in my desk chair to put them on. “Do we have an escape plan?” I asked. Jack laughed as he tied his shoe.
“I don’t know. We could say that your parents need you back home by a certain time.”
I nodded.
“Sounds good to me.” We both got up at the same time. I looked him up and down. He was wearing a nice pair of dark jeans with an ivory shirt plus his black leather jacket. I snorted then got my purse. This was going to be an interesting night.
Chapter 8
“No! Stop it!” Jack yelled at me. I growled.
“It hurts that way!” I grabbed his hand and put our fingers together then made sure my arm was over his. Because the other way my arm got cramps. And he knew that. We were walking to the movie theater, still fighting. “Jack! Cut it out!” I yelled. He smirked. I grabbed the back of his head with a fist full of hair.
“Ow!” he yelled and grabbed mine.
“Let go,” I warned and pulled harder. He grunted.
“Not till you do,” and he pulled just as hard. I whimpered.
“Fine!” I finally let go and then he did, too. I held the back of my head and rubbed it. He did the same. “You’re such a girl,” I muttered.
He shook his head.
“You’re such a boy.”
I scowled at him. We went to the ticket counter, no longer holding hands and got our tickets, continuing to argue. “Look, there they are,” he whispered. Grant and Kendra stood by the entrance to the movie, gazing into each other’s eyes. Grant had never looked at me that way before. My heart sank. Were they really in love? Did we even have a chance to get back together with them? I glanced over at Jack and could see that the same questions were running in his mind. I took his hand the way he wanted it but didn’t look at him. His fingers wrapped around mine gently. We walked over and put on our best smiles.
“Hey guys!” I called. They turned towards us and smiled. Grant put his arm around Kendra and she put hers around him. I tried to ignore the sudden urge to frown. Grant looked at me with his eyes a little wide. I stood next to Jack smiling. He gulped.
“Aw, I hope I don’t get scared,” Kendra said to Grant holding on and laughing a little. I heard Jack snort but they, thankfully, didn’t hear him.
“I know!” I agreed and held onto Jack’s arm. He looked down at me and gave me a wink and a smile.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ll take care of you,” he said flirtatiously. I smiled and batted my eye lashes.
“Lidia, you’ve always loved scary movies. You were never scared of them before,” Grant said with a small laugh. I looked at him and glared.
“I’ve changed a lot since then Grant.” He cleared his throat and I looked back at Jack. He rolled his eyes. I shrugged and we went into the theater. The credits were playing and there were only about a dozen people in the place. We went to the third row from the top and sat down. Kendra sat beside me with Jack on my other
side. My hands were sweating. As soon as we settled down, Jack and I let our hands go. Sometimes it was awkward with him. I put my feet up on the chair in front of me and Jack did the same. The movie started and I took in a deep breath. So, this isn’t too bad. It felt like old times, when we would go out together. Kendra and I would sit like this. It’s just that this time, Jack was with me and Grant was with her. See, no differences. I smiled lightly. I looked down and saw Jack’s hand on the arm rest. It was long and thin. His fingers looked rough but I knew how gentle and soft they were. Did Kendra know this? Or did she just go out with him because whatever? I heard a giggle after someone screamed in the movie and looked over. Grant was nuzzling Kendra’s neck whispering something. I gritted my teeth together. I looked over at Jack who looked bored but kept looking at the screen.
“Jack?” I whispered and pinched his arm. He looked over at me and sighed. “Kiss me.” His eyes widened from what I could see.
“What?” he asked.
“I said, kiss me.” My breath was low. He looked around me and saw Kendra and Grant. He narrowed his eyes at them then turned to me. He surprised me by putting his hand on my jaw and bringing me closer to him. His hand was cold on my neck, but I liked it. I made the first move and kissed him. His lips were warm and just the way they felt yesterday but more….I wasn’t sure. My stomach was fluttering with butterflies and I felt like I was floating. It sure didn’t feel this way with Grant! But why didn’t it? We parted our lips and tongues touched. I gasped a little but put my hands in his hair. His other hand was on my shoulder. Our breathing was heavy and we had to pull back before we couldn’t breathe at all. I bit at my lip as we looked at each other. I didn’t know what to say. We both felt like it was different for each other. I could tell. But I wasn’t going to admit that.
“I think they saw, so that’s all we’ll do,” I said, trying not to sound frazzled. He nodded stiffly and we turned back to the movie.
Chapter 9
“Wow! That was such a good movie!” Kendra gushed as we went back to our cars. I looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.
“Do you even know what it was about?” I asked. She stared at me for a moment, looking like a blow-up doll.
“Um, yeah!” She looked away. She didn’t even know. It was a good movie, but it wasn’t scary.
“So, you guys want to go to the Burger restaurant?” asked Kendra. I looked at Jack and shrugged.
“Sure, Kendra,” he said and put his hand around my waist. It surprised me.
“My baby needs something to eat.” I looked over at her nervously. She smiled, but it quivered.
“Y-yeah of course,” she stuttered. We got back into our cars and went to the restaurant.
“Well, that turned out pretty well,” I mumbled, as we headed to the door and went in. Kendra and Grant followed slowly behind us. Jack laughed.
“Yeah, sure it did. Like it wasn’t awkward or weird at all.”
We reached the restaurant soon after. He opened the door for me and I went in. He held it open for Grant and Kendra. I smiled at him. He came back beside me and Grant and Kendra found a seat in the corner. Jack slid in first and then I went in beside him. Grant and Kendra sat across from us. The place was busy and I figured we wouldn’t be served for a while.
“So how are you two doing?” Kendra asked leaning over the table to us. She sat across from Jack. Grant watched me and I tried not to look at him. Jack sighed and laid a lazy arm around my shoulder. I smiled.
“Great! I just love my Jacky!” I said and playfully knocking him in the side. He grinned. It felt weird doing this. I hated being fake and plastic. But this is how I was going to make Grant jealous.
“Yeah, and I love you too,” he pinched my cheek and I tried to smile but it came out forced. He saw and grinned wider.
“Aww, you’re just so cute!” I said.
“Not as cute as you!” he said.
“Well I have to give you that one!” I wiggled my eye brows and he glared for a moment but then smiled. “So, yeah we’re doing great!” Kendra smiled but it wasn’t real. I saw it before. Grant looked mad but then Kendra put her hand on his lap and patted it.
“We are, too!” she had expected us to ask but we hadn’t. She sighed.
“Hello, how may I help you?” asked a waitress.
“Oh yeah!” Jack slapped my butt and winked at Grant. Grant merely smiled. I laughed and turned to glare at him.
“Jack get out so I can sit down.” I said and smiled. He grinned and stood up.
“I’ll be right back,” Jack said and headed to the restroom. Kendra did the same. I sat back down in the seat and wished I had gone too. This was really awkward.
“So you and Walker,” Grant said nodding. I nodded. This was the first time I had been alone with him since we’d broke up. “You really like him?” he asked. I looked up and narrowed my eyes at him.
“Yeah, I do.” He clenched his teeth.
“I was thinking…” he said looking down. “I thought maybe we could—. “
“Back! Did ya miss me?” Jack said with a grin and his arms open. I smiled.
“Of course!” I giggled and he slid in next to me. Kendra came back and looked at Grant. “My mom said I need to be home in 10 minutes. So let’s go.” Grant stood up hastily and put his jacket back on.
“Awe, ok,” I said and pushed Jack to stand up.
“Yeah, sorry,” she said quickly. Jack smirked.
“OK well, bye,” I said and waved. She waved but frowned. Both of them walked out and we watched them get into their car and drive away. What was Grant going to tell me? Jack, gently starting gliding his hand down to my butt. I slapped it and threw it back at him and then went out the door.
“Aw, come on!” he complained. I rolled my eyes and got into his car.
Chapter 10
About a month later
One whole month and a week later, Jack and I were still trying our best to make Grant and Kendra jealous; but it didn’t matter what we did, nothing seemed to bother them. Once in a while they would break but then they would act as if nothing happened. But we weren’t giving up. Jack and I would still rant on to each other and fight but it was better. But, we hadn’t kissed since that night.
“Oh, would you just shut up!” Jack complained as we entered my house.
“You shut up! I’m the one who has to deal with you!” I yelled. He threw himself down on the sofa dramatically. “Drama queen,” I muttered. He grinned.
“Get me something to eat,” he ordered, grabbing the TV remote.
“What do I look like? Your slave?” I questioned, putting my hands on my hips. He looked me up and down and was about to say something but I put a finger up. “Just don’t answer that.” He laughed. I went upstairs to change out of my tight clothes and put on a pair of my loose jeans and a tank top. I put my hair up in a ponytail and went back downstairs. I cooked grilled cheese and got two beers from the fridge. My parents wouldn’t be home till late, so why not? I went back into the living room and slapped his plate down onto the coffee table. He looked up at me with his eyes wide. “What?” I asked frowning. I pushed his feet and sat down. He kept looking at me strangely.
“Oh…nothing,” he forced his eyes away from me and I kept frowning as I bit into my sandwich. I handed him a beer and he raised an eyebrow. I shrugged and opened mine. It tasted awful but I really didn’t care. We were watching an old rerun of Smallville. I loved the show.
“So, you watch this?” I asked taking another swig of my drink. He nodded.
“Yeah, it’s cool.”
Five beers, 4 episodes of Smallville and 4 hours later and we were loopy. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe Chloe would reject him like that!” I yelled as my hands flopped by my sides. Jack and I were lounged on the sofa with our heads almost touching and our bodies hanging slouching.
“But Clark was being an ass! He deserved it.” I rolled my eyes.
“But she is his fri
end she should be okay with whatever Clark decides.” Jack sighed.
“It’s just the way it is,” he said. I frowned. Our words had slurred halfway through our second beer. Wow, who knew you could get buzzed off of that! It was dark out and I didn’t know when my parents would be home. Jack blew out a breath and I looked over at him. My mind was foggy again. My body over took me before I could even control it. I sat on my knees and looked down at Jack. He looked up at me then saw something in my eyes. His eyes got serious for a moment then turned drunkenly happy. He grabbed my waist and yanked me down on top of him. I gave out a shriek giggle and started kissing him. Our legs got tangled together and I ran my hands through his hair. I didn’t care if I was drunk! This was good! And even though I didn’t exactly feel drunk, he didn’t know that. So the next day, if he asked why I kissed him I would say I was drunk, not that I actually might have feelings for him and wanted to kiss him so badly. And he was, too. So he’d think we both were and didn’t mean to. Yes, it was perfect! And he was drunk. The way he was holding me, the way he was kissing me, was like nothing before! He was definitely drunk! Our tongues came together and I moaned. He kissed my neck and I smiled, my eyes closed. Man, this felt so good! I was hot. He kissed down my throat to the middle of my chest where a freckle was. He kissed it and I felt lust for him. Or more than that? Then his phone vibrated. We both jumped and he pushed me off him. I grumbled and stood up. He grabbed his phone, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Yeah?” he asked out of breath. “Mom!...yeah...what’s wrong..?” Worry started to build in my stomach. He clenched his teeth. “Yeah, I’ll be there…it’s okay...yeah I’m coming home.” He stood up and looked at me while putting his shoes on. “Listen, I got to go.” His words were crisp and clear.
“Why? Is something wrong?” I asked. He shook his head.
“No. Well, I’m not sure. But I have to go.” He wobbled a little.
“Wait, should you really be driving?” He half smiled at me.
