*TOM*
Saturday November 3, 2012
Sunshine burned my eyelids while yells and screams ruptured my ears. Not how I thought today would go, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. Waking up this morning, my fingers instinctively brushed across my lips. There was a grin there, and maybe it was content because I was at ease, because for starters my mind and body weren’t trembling in the after affects of a horrible nightmare. I dreamt last night and it was wonderful. My uncle noticed right away during breakfast and throughout the day while we moved boxes from a client’s house to their new home.
“That grin, son.” He kept saying like a broken record, sporting a cocky grin.
Back in real time, good vibes were gone completely, like a volcano erupting with lava destroying everything around. James was that volcano and his mood changed what should have been an easy afternoon chilling with the boys at Thompsons Park.
Having James around these last few months, there’d been a lot more fights. Which was fun sometimes, but right now I wasn’t in the mood. But I wouldn’t lay all the blame on him right now, this was our territory and these idiots from Pleasant View High were trying to start something by being jackasses with a bone to pick –usually with James.
It was funny in a predictable kind of way. That guy was a genius at pissing people off. But he was a bud and being loyal went without saying. I took my place and our side formed almost instantly, facing the same amount on the other side. We knew our places. And I’m sure from afar it’d looked like a battle of titans, but I judged those guys and they weren’t as big or tall as us, maybe like three of them were okay, the three that were trying to take James on I mean. I remembered awhile back, it was the same guys from O’Reilly’s Park. James started that too, but fought back easily taking on two of them.
I guess they were back for another beating?
Later that evening and without a scratch because no one actually fought, just some shit talk about who the real loser was before going our separate ways, I had dinner with Roy at Brucey’s. While I grinned like a fool, eating chicken nuggets with barbeque sauce, Roy vented about Dana and her jealousy issues, but I was barely listening, my mind was somewhere else.
All right, the cat was out of the bag. I was thinking about Jenna and what she might have been doing right now, or if she was thinking about me?
I wanted to text her, but my uncle told me to play it cool and give her some space, that whatever happened last night might have freaked her out and me texting her a billion times would send her running… again.
Please god, say it isn’t so….
I’d have to wait until Monday or until she texted me first.... but damn – it was hard.
Bro, turn in your man card right now. You’re whipped! And she’s not even your girl… yet.
Roy snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Bro, earth to Tom? Wake up, princess!”
I popped the last nugget in my mouth and smirked at him. “I’m here, sugar plum, there’s no need to cry. Now tell Uncle Tom what’s making you sad and maybe he can fix it.”
“Fuck off,” Roy sneered, throwing a cold fry at me. “I’m here trying to figure shit out and you’re in space, day dreaming about… Jenna Sabini? Bro, count your blessings she blew you off, and stay far away. She’s ice cold.”
They were all idiots. None of them saw what I did, a girl who respected herself and took no shit from nobody. And she was smoking hot. And she loved to swim….
I rested further inside the booth and sighed contently. “Then call me Dr. Freeze, sugar plum. She’s what I want.”
*~*~*
*JENNA*
Monday November 5, 2012
“Good morning, Orlando. It’s six thirty in the morning and you’re waking up to Jane, Lane, and Shane and the top twenty hits from 1998 right here on Light 102.5 FM. Let’s start off six thirty with a tune that’s sure to put the spice back in your life… it’s… ‘The Day I Met You,’ by Repeat Offenders.”
“Baby… kiss you… love you forever… always… the day… I… met… you,” played the clock radio until I slapped that thing off with extreme prejudice.
Enough of the flipping love enchantments bringing pain to my sleepy body on a day where there was no morning swim practice.
I repeat, no morning swim practice!
It equaled more time to sleep!
Anyway… half an hour later… ahem! Jenna Sabini… yeah you, the girl with one pajama pant up her leg, sleeping sideways on the verge of falling from her bed… it’s time to wake up and face the music. Girrrllll, you know what you did last Friday night. WAKE UP!
My eyes popped open to a star-filled sky and for a moment I smiled as the tranquility of my ceiling brought some semblance of sanity back to my life again. But then I remembered what I’d been trying my absolute best to forget. The girl who’d dedicated her teen years to swim team morale and getting As and Bs in her classes had kissed a freaking—
“It didn’t happen!” I kicked my blanket off and stared at the mirror across the room. It reflected a girl who’d never been so confused by… her own actions!
This is about letting go, Jenna, for once in your life. Are you going to let yourself have this?
“Mumbo jumbo, that’s all it is.” My face probably mimicked Annabelle’s after walking into the girls’ change room last August. It made so much sense now… because as my face reflected the result of boys and their stupid ways, I cursed the ability to remember heated touches and soft kisses. My sanity would pay for the lack of sense until the end of time, or at least until the end of senior year.
“Good morning, Jenna.”
My heart started to pound as I glanced up at my dad. He was eyeing me as he drank his double-cream, three-tablespoons-of-sugar coffee. Could he tell? Could my mom tell? I panned over to the refrigerator where she stood, angrily rearranging items inside.
“I told you not to mess with the order, Tony!”
Dad placed his coffee down and gasped in his exaggerated goofball way. “Woman, for the millionth time, it wasn’t me!”
“Oh, please,” Mom shouted, grabbing out a bottle of orange juice and a block of new butter, still wrapped. She held them over her head. “I found these two things next to one another, and this… this is something you would do!”
My parents went back and forth while I laughed at their antics, and just like over the weekend, they were oblivious to their daughter experiencing a monumental, traumatizing, cringe-worthy, jaw-dropping…. Ugh… was it the alcohol?
I didn’t have much, and whatever buzz I’d had barely lasted the walk to Brucey’s, so blaming my actions on my inability to think straight wouldn’t work. My mind was working just fine and I chose to go out with Tom Colleto and let him buy me chicken nuggets.
Back to reality, breakfast went on with my parents finishing their fight with a hug and a kiss, and then Dad dropped me off in front of school where I met up with Annabelle at our usual spot in front of the steps. Being face-to-face with Annabelle was going to be another test.
After the kiss on Friday night, I’d been a nervous wreck for the rest of the weekend. Even training at the Y on Saturday and Sunday hadn’t helped cool off the memories of that night. Annabelle’s eyes narrowed as I approached her, as if she noticed something different about me.
“You okay? You look sick,” Annabelle assessed, scanning me from head to toe. I’d worn blue skinny jeans and a black tank top with black flip-flops. This was usually Annabelle’s uniform to school, and I usually did the whole colorful t-shirt and shorts thing, but today, today these clothes just seemed to pick me.
I shook my head, hugging myself. “I’m fine. You ready to go inside?” She nodded and we headed up the busy cement stairs to the entrance.
How was I going to look at this guy after what happened on Friday? And it’s not like it was going to go anywhere, so why was I worrying about all this stuff anyway? I had way more important things to worry about than Tom Colleto kissing me. I had swimming scholarships to worry about, and whether or not I was going to get one with all the crap being thrown at me.
This girl right here, she had bigger things to worry about than some guy she didn’t even have anything in common with. The cherry on top was that he hated spicy mustard sauce. If that wasn’t game over, then what was?
Spicy mustard sauce! I stopped moving once we were in the hallway. “Anna!”
She stopped and faced me, looking confused. “What?”
My heart pounded like crazy. This was all her fault. If she’d been by my side last Friday instead of locking lips with James, I would have gone to Brucey’s with her instead of Tom. I pointed at her and gritted my teeth. “Spicy. Mustard. Sauce.”
“Spicy mustard sauce?” She looked even more confused as she fixed her ponytail.
“Yeah, spicy mustard sauce.” I rolled my eyes and placed a hand to my hip. It was about to go down. “Dude, you totally ditched me on Friday. I had to go to Brucey’s with Tom. He walked me home and then we made out… errrrr crap.”
Her eyes bulged out and her jaw dropped. “Huh… you did what?”
I could feel my face heating to a temperature way past danger zone. I backed away, knocking into people trying to enter their classes. “Will you look at that, class is about to start, see you later!”
“Come back here—” Annabelle began, but James’s arm came out of nowhere and pulled her away. Saved by Boy Wonder… who would have thought? Whew! That was crazy. Everything was going crazy. I was going to have to do some serious explaining later to her.
What could I say?
It was so out of character for me.
So the tables had turned. Would it be Annabelle’s turn to give me crap for making a bonehead move? The one time my brain turned off and I had my first kiss….
“I gave my first kiss to… Tom Colleto?” I murmured on my way to my locker, shell-shocked as it hit me all over again.
It didn’t make sense.
*~*~*
*JENNA*
On the bright side, we got word that the school board had caved and called in the professionals to come and fix the pipe problems. This was done on Saturday and we got the e-mail from Coach on Sunday saying all was okay. Now that one problem was fixed, on to annihilating another one.
Tom.
It was lunchtime.
I did the whole “Tom Colleto, I need to speak to you in private!” thing while he and his friends were waiting in line. Stacey Two and Latisha were sitting at a table with the rest of the “hot” girls, right next to the baseball team’s table. Our eyes met and they shot off their benches, heading straight for the guys in line. I had a ten-second lead on them and would need every second to do what I needed to do.
Claim or Eliminate.
The restaurant’s door popped open with the lunch attendant holding it. “Next ten,” she yelled.
I felt someone grab me. I turned my head and Tom had his hands on my shoulders. “Come with me,” he murmured, ushering me easily into the restaurant. “We can talk in here too?”
As everyone else who was let through headed toward the hot station and refrigerators, Tom dropped his arms and I turned, tilting my head back, meeting his smiling eyes. Silently, we stood in the center of the room, oblivious of our surroundings.
“Listen, I get it,” I told him, trying not to fidget from nerves. His close proximity had my heart beating like crazy. My breaths quickly turned shallow.
“Get what?” He gave me a side smile that I wanted to kiss away.
“That you’re crazy about me,” I answered, and exhaled. He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. “No… no, let me say what I need to. I don’t blame you. I’d like me too if I wasn’t me. So… yeah.”
“Are you done?” He shook his head, looking at me like I was unstable in a cute way.
I grinned, feeling goofy. “For now.”
His fingertips found their way to my jawline, coarse skin tickling my cheeks, sending deep shivers down my spine that I fought to suppress, but then his arm wrapped around my waist and I was touching fronts with him, my hands holding on to his firm chest, feeling his crazy heartbeat rival my own.
“You wanna be with me?” I asked him quietly, mesmerized by blue eyes that had the power to disarm me in ways I’d been convinced until recently was impossible.
“For a while now,” he whispered, taking deep breaths.
“I’m not supposed to feel like this.” I cleared my throat and kept going. “I thought feeling like this was impossible for me. I’m supposed to be the strong one. I’m supposed to be strong.”
“You think if you’re with me it’ll make you weak?” He grimaced.
I exhaled a shallow breath, feeling sick to the point where I might throw up. “Affected in ways that still don’t make sense to me. I’m not supposed to be like this, Tom.”
“Tough,” he whispered, leaning down and stopping less than inch from my lips. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
His warm breath slowly covered my lips and it made every part of me feel electric. My breathing hitched as I prepared to concede whole-heartedly. “If you must.”
What was happening to me!
He chuckled and leaned in that fraction of an inch, pressing his lips to mine, moving them slowly… kissing me in public, unashamedly. After a few seconds he pulled away, grinning from ear to ear. I matched his expression.
I guess… I’d just claimed?
Yep!
Hey, I’d tried to fend off his advances, but sometimes the body wants what the body wants. My body screamed, “Thank You.”
You’re welcome, old friend. You’re welcome.
I wished liking him was entirely superficial, but it wasn’t. He was an easy person to talk to and spending time with him last Friday at Brucey’s had been a stress reliever. I could get used to doing more things like that with him. It was nice being the center of someone’s focus…. Ugh, gooey feelings.
“Ugh… you’re turning me into a giggly girl in….” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
His face went serious. “In what?”
I cleared my throat, looking down for a second before meeting his amused eyes again. “Ugh, in… happy-happy land.”
“Spend lunch with me?” He brought my willing hand to his beautiful mouth and kissed my thumb with warm lips, which even if I had been at 100 percent, there was no way I could explain how it had me feeling.
Foreign in the best way possible, which I’d happily experience again, but perhaps behind closed doors that didn’t include my fellow classmates.
“What about the swim team?” I muttered, barely coherent.
He gasped loudly, like what I’d said was crazy. “What about the team? You’re sitting with your boyfriend from now on during lunch.”
My jaw dropped. “My boyfriend?”
Woah, how’d we get that far?
I mean… a few kisses and caresses and I was already in a relationship? I opened my mouth to say something but he dived in quickly and pecked me on the lips.
“Don’t,” he whispered, pleading with his puppy-dog eyes. “I like you, Jenna. Have for a while now.”
“You could at least ask me first.” I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. My head was telling me to tell him to shove it and that he couldn’t just declare something like that.
Especially with me.
I was the boss.
I controlled what I was and wasn’t participating in.
“Jenna Sabini?” Tom’s face went straight. “Will you be my first girlfriend?”
Okay wow, news flash, take out a front-page ad, holy cannoli, I did not expect him to actually ask that.
My jaw dropped, but I snapped it back into place. “I’m your first?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
“How is that possible?” I asked.
He smiled. “I guess I haven’t found what I wanted until now.”
“You’re my first too,” I mumbled, feeling dazed. He grinned and touched foreheads with me. I felt as if we were covered in warmth. Everything sparkled and moved slowly around me. It was a moment. You know, one of those moments they talk about in romance novels and movies, where everything slows down.
“Jenna?” Tom murmured.
“Yeah?” I whispered, grinning.
“We should get our food and get out of here; people are staring at us.” Tom smirked.
I eyed the restaurant and everybody, including the lunch attendants, was chuckling and shaking their heads at us. “Yeah, that would be a good idea.” I chuckled nervously.
Tom still had a gentle grip on my hand. We ordered two cheeseburgers. He got fries too. Then he did something that made my heat melt and my mind go haywire. He paid for mine too.
The sun shined, but there were no windows where we were.
Everyone stared at us, which included a nasty scowl from Stacey Two on our way toward the baseball team’s table. Tom sat down on a bench next to James, who had Annabelle next to him. Roy sat across the table with Dana by his side, and Peter sat beside them with Becky next to him.
What the hell was going on?
How’d this happen to me?
I was in a relationship in less than five minutes? That’s what it felt like, because that’s kind of what… damn it… still not sure what exactly was going on. What happened to not being in a relationship during the swim season?
I gazed at Tom as he bit into his burger. He caught me looking at him and squeezed my hand, making me feel warm and reminding me why I’d said yes in the restaurant. This was about taking a chance, for the first time in my life.
Be it good or bad.
Hopefully good.
“So, I was like, bro! Stop trying to hug me!” James laughed, high-fiving all his bros around the table. I went into frozen mode, meeting Annabelle’s amused eyes.
Do not roll your eyes, for the love of God, do not roll your eyes. Just nod. Just nod and act like it’s funny.
*~*~*
*JENNA*
Tom Colleto’s phone number was in my phone. And mine was in his phone.
Is this really happening?
After school, Annabelle followed me to my locker with a stupid grin on her face.
“We didn’t get to talk at lunch.” She giggled as I blanched, opening my locker.
I hissed, “Maybe it’s because you were too busy sucking James’s face off.” I grabbed a few things and stuffed them in my bag. I took out my duffel bag and shut my locker.
“What is your problem?” Annabelle snapped. “Snapping at me for no reason. You said you would be good.”
“This is good.” I smiled bitterly at her. “Gotta go, swim practice.”
“Whatever, Ms. Grumpy! See if I ever ask you anything again!” She blasted me as I headed toward the pool’s change room. I entered it and found it was empty. I tossed my stuff inside a locker and sat down on the bench, burying my head in my hands.
I’d been so mean to her.
I’d have to make it up to her later.
The door slammed open and I straightened as Tina, Dana, and the rest of the girls strolled in. They all had huge grins on their faces.
“Oh, Jenna!” they all sang, annoying me in an instant because I knew what was going to follow.
“What?” I moaned, scowling at the lot of them. Dana and Tina stood in front of me. I eyed them. “Don’t start, it’s not a big deal.”
Dana and Tina each grabbed one of my shoulders.
“We just wanted to say….” Tina began.
“That we’re happy for you,” Dana continued.
Tina nodded. “We’re all in relationships!” she squeaked, letting go of my shoulder and clapping excitedly.
Dana dived in and hugged me. “Congratulations,” she squealed. “Finally.”
Finally?
*~*~*
*JENNA*
After practice, I ran to the showers and got in first before Tina could. Her hair-care needs were never a problem before, but now she was taking extra time. The last few minutes of practice I’d felt anxiety, planning my bolt to the change room as soon as Coach blew the whistle. First one in the showers, first one out, I changed into my clothes and left before anybody else wanted to congratulate me on my first relationship. It shouldn’t be a big deal to anyone and the fact that it was disturbed me. They needed real problems to worry about if they had time to congratulate me for something as menial as a relationship.
Once outside, I checked my phone and noticed a text from Mom, saying that she couldn’t pick me up today.
No problem. Walking was good. As I walked down the sidewalk, a car honked from behind, startling me. I turned and faced the car just as it pulled to the curb next to me. It was a blue car, an older model. The window rolled down, revealing… my boyfriend… maybe?
“Tom?” I asked, feeling a million different confusing emotions. Was I happy, sad, or angry that this was happening to me? “What are you doing here?”
I knew he had baseball practice, but their practice ended before the swim team’s did. I was surprised to see him, having thought he’d head home right away.
He grinned, his hair slicked back from probably just showering as well. “Waiting for you, silly. Get in.”
Did he just call me silly?
Was that my new nickname?
This girl right here, she was not, and would never be known as a… SILLY!
I was a serious athlete.
If he wanted to give me a nickname it should have been warrior or champ or something powerful like that.
But not… silly.
“Hey, it’s going to rain soon, get in before you get soaked,” he stated, and it made me feel warm inside. He cared if I got soaked, even though my hair was already wet.
“I’m already soaked. I just showered. I’ll probably take another one when I get home.” As I told him this, the smile on his face went away and was replaced with a serious look.
It made me feel funny.
What did I say?
The door lock snapped up and I didn’t hesitate getting in. No walking home for me. Hey, this boyfriend thing might not be so bad after all, if it came with perks like this. I’d never have to walk anywhere ever again. Was this how Annabelle felt? James had a car, so he probably drove her everywhere she wanted.
“Thanks,” I said, buckling my seat belt after placing my bags in front of me.
“Anytime,” Tom said.
“Do you remember where I live?” I asked.
He started the car and drove away from the curb. “Yeah, I do. But I was hoping we could hang out a little before I have to take you home.”
“What do you want to do?” I asked, hoping he wasn’t thinking of taking me to his house to make out. “I’m not going to your house and making out with you,” I blurted angrily.
He burst out laughing. “No. I was thinking more along the lines of getting some frozen yogurt.”
“Oh,” I mumbled. “I guess that would be okay.”
Tom chuckled, eyeing me like he thought I was so funny. “Zero to sixty, huh?”
He didn’t have to explain that to me, because I got it.
“And don’t you forget it.” I smirked back.
We drove to Yogurty’s in silence. Well not exactly in silence. The radio was on and we let the music speak for us. When we arrived at Yogurty’s, it was empty except for the cashier. After we filled our bowls, the bill came to exactly twenty dollars. It shocked me how expensive it was, but then I glanced down at Tom’s bowl and realized why. His bowl was over packed, bordering on the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I pulled out my last twenty-dollar bill and before I could hand it to the cashier, Tom nudged me out of the way and handed her one. He grabbed both bowls and took a seat in a booth.
I joined his side. “Why did you do that? You already paid for our lunch today. It’s not fair.”
“Yes, it is. A gentleman always pays,” he said.
My heart was a puddle of water. He was so nice. I looped my arm through his and leaned into him, kissing his shoulder. “All right, but next time is on me. Thanks, Big Tom.”
“You’re welcome, silly,” he said, squeezing my arm with his. We ate in silence and for the first time today, I felt peaceful. Problems at home, problems at school, they didn’t exist there, with us. Whatever we were. I felt like a completely different person. Last week I was complaining about all the relationships around me and how they were nothing but distractions. Now I was in a relationship, sort of, kind of, maybe…?
“I know we discussed this already, but out of fear that it was done in the heat of the moment, are we actually boyfriend, girlfriend?” I blurted out, and he choked. I grinned and patted his back. “Don’t choke, now.”
My head fell back and I chuckled, a deep in my belly kind. But before I could open my eyes, two hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me forward. Just as my eyes were about to open, his lips pressed over mine, taking them hostage.
Oh, okay.
There was no room for talking. His kissing technique wouldn’t allow it. He also tasted like cherry cheesecake, dark chocolate, peanut butter, and jelly frozen yogurt. What a combination.
After a bit, he pulled back. “Does that answer your question?” he murmured.
I blinked repeatedly and cleared my throat. “Not really.” I slapped his shoulder. “I told you I wasn’t going to make out with you.”
He ate another spoonful of a new combination of frozen yogurt and gave me a cheeky grin. “Sorry,” he offered.
I shook my head at him and grabbed my spoon, dipping it in my bowl. “Sure you are.”
*~*~*
*JENNA*
Thunder struck and rain poured right after we left Yogurty’s and got into his car, just missing the first drop of rain. Tom turned on the car and dialed the radio, settling on a station playing old-school music. I wiped sweat off my forehead and fanned myself.
“Sorry, the A/C’s broken,” he said, opening the window a little. I copied him and lowered mine too. It was still hot, but a few drops found their way in. It was good enough.
“It’s okay,” I said, adjusting the seat as well. We listened to fifties music. Ten minutes later, Tom turned to his side and looked at me, all relaxed. I felt the same. This was nice. I could do this more often. Maybe after the swim season.
“Tell me something about yourself?” Tom asked, adjusting his seat back. “Something nobody knows.”
I exhaled and began. “I think every swim meet will be the last one I ever swim in.”
“Like they’re all championships?” Tom suggested.
I nodded. “Yeah. Athletes leave it all on the table when they know that’s it. They fail in that competition, there’s no coming back and trying again, so you have to try your absolute best.”
“And if you aren’t successful?” he asked.
“Then it’ll be like I failed.” I sighed. “Ruining everything I’d worked for.”
We were silent for a few minutes, until Tom began chuckling. Damn it, his smile was so cute.
That’s it, there must have been an alien invasion, landing on my house this past week and using my body as a vessel, making me do these… ugh… cutie-pie, sparkly eye, warm kisses… things.
Yep… a total alien invasion.
I gulped. “It’s happening so fast.”
“I guess we connected.” He shrugged with another blasted cute smile.
Why was he doing this to me!
“At lightning speed,” I added.
“No other way but,” he continued.
I shook my head slowly. None of this made sense. “It’s not common.”
“Isn’t it though?” Tom wagged his eyebrows, grinning slyly. “Think of every famous couple throughout history.”
I cringed. “That’s a little cheesy.”
He chuckled. “Damn it. Thought that line would have worked.”
I chuckled. “Nice try, but I’m immune to sappy stuff like that.”
I was trying to act cool. I couldn’t give everything away.
“Sappy stuff?” He suppressed his grin and picked up my hand, kissing my palm. “How’s that for sappy?”
Air got caught in my throat. “It’s okay,” I squeaked.
My response brought out the sneaky grin. “How about this, then?” He licked my palm, shocking me.
“Ew,” I yelped, pulling my hand away and slapping his shoulder as he howled, laughing. “That’s gross. And it definitely wasn’t sappy. It was slimy, that’s what it was.”
“Sorry.” He smiled timidly. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “It must have been a misunderstanding.”
I rolled my eyes and put on my seat belt. “Suuuure.”
“So, are you actually my girlfriend?” Tom asked, close to home.
“How about if say I won’t kiss anyone else while we’re together?” I suggested, motioning him to pull over.
He parked the car in front of my neighbor’s house and turned it off.
“And how about if I say I’m actually your boyfriend and you’re actually my girlfriend,” Tom stated.
I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “Okay,” I said and quickly pecked him on the lips. I pulled back, but only a few inches. “I like our quiet moments, by the way.”
He smiled. “Well, I love our quiet moments.”
I let go of his shoulders and exhaled. “All right, I’m going now.”
“If you must,” he said, kissing my hand once more.
“Ugh,” I grumbled, making a face when what I really wanted to do was giggle. “Bye, Big Tom.” I opened the door, picked up my bags and got out.
“Later, silly.” I shook my head and closed the car door. After unlocking and opening my front door, I heard him drive away. He waited until I was safe…. A stupid grin broke out on my face, but I quickly shook it off and entered the house.
“I’m home,” I yelled, closing the door and knocking off my shoes. It smelled like tomato sauce and garlic.
“We’re in the kitchen,” Mom yelled. I went into the kitchen and found Mom at the stove, stirring the pot.
“Hey,” I said to her and looked at the kitchen table where Dad was sitting. The table was full of poster boards and markers. There was one poster board with words on it and he was finishing writing the second one. It said Garage Sale.
“Hey Dad,” I said, taking the seat next to him. He kissed my cheek and handed me a marker and a poster board.
“Five more to go,” he sang.
*~*~*
*JENNA*
Jenna: Don’t be mad at me. I’m sorry.
Annabelle: Busy now, I don’t want to hear it.
Jenna: All I’m going to say is… secret relationship anyone?
Annabelle: Fine, but we’re even now.
Jenna: Amazing, see you tomorrow best buddy!
I tossed my phone onto my bed and stretched my arms out, feeling the stress leave me. Annabelle’s forgiven me, Tom turned out to be not such a bad guy, and Mom was apparently okay with us having a garage sale to off-load some stuff we didn’t need anymore. Apparently Mom was promised the world and back if she agreed with the garage sale.
New stuff.
Shopping.
My mom liked to shop.
Win-win.
I sat in front of my desk and turned on my laptop, opening the text my brother sent on the first day of school and reading it for millionth time. His words calmed me and as always, big brother had some good advice to give.
Robby: Take a chance, Jenna….
When I got to the last sentence, my phone chimed with an incoming text. A fool’s grin broke out. If the old me from two weeks ago saw this me, grinning like this, old me would have slapped the new me.
Tom: Can I be sweet to you?
Jenna: If you must… Big Tom.
Tom: Oh, but I must… silly.
For the love of God… I would not squeal like a giggly girl in… something unlike a warrior would ever experience. Whatever this was, I was going in headfirst. Maybe I could handle everything after all.
*~*~*
*TOM*
My brain told me to ditch homework and dinner and find somewhere quiet to continue my conversation with Jenna. I wasn’t ready for it to end.
Jenna: See you tomorrow.
Saying goodbye to Jenna seemed like torture and my attitude about the whole thing kind of made me sick. I needed my spine back.
Tom: See you tomorrow.
My uncle snaked around me and grabbed the phone from my grip. He smirked reading the screen and tossed the phone back, shaking his head in disbelief. “And you’re worse than I thought. Jesus, Tommy boy, its only day two and you’re already this whipped. You need to be saved, bro, and I know just how. There’s a new rule, I’m calling it now.”
I slipped my phone in my pocket and took a seat at the kitchen table. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“It’s simple. No Shakespeare talk before dinner.” he declared, grabbing homemade pizza from the oven. “Remember, you need to play it cool. None of this, oh Jenna, but I must see you again before the night is over, say it isn’t so for I might die and parish. My love is real, baby cakes, love your hunky stud.” my uncle bursts out laughing while he sliced the pizza.
Someone kill me please.