I see her across the courtyard with my sisters and I am once again in awe by the beauty she beholds. Her long brown hair stays perfectly straight like strands of silk and her piercing blue eyes shine with laughter as she talks to my sisters. I love the way she sits, the way she talks, the way she ever so casually moves hairs away from her face. I love the way she has her head tilted to the side as she listens to someone talk like they are the only person in the world and she gives them her undying attention to them and them alone.
But how I wish it was mine and mine alone. No, scratch that. How I wish she was mine and mine alone.
Jenny… She is so beautiful. Jenny Slater. But she would never give me the time of day. Romantically that is. We have been friends for too long. When we were little, all of us would always play together; my siblings, Jenny's siblings, Charlie's siblings, and my cousins. We would just run wild in the backyard and I knew I wanted to be like my dad because he is my hero. I would run around with my play doctor's kit and "fix" up anyone that was hurt. And she was always by my side; Nurse Jenny to Doctor Jacob De Silva.
It has always been us three. Jenny, Charlie, and I. Well, we have grown older and our friendship has never changed because I know it will never change. We are always together and we never hold anything back. I have only kept this one thing from her because it seems so brand new and I don't know if she feels the same.
Somewhere along the way when we were growing up, I noticed different things about Jenny. Like I started to notice the way I do things around her, and always am careful of what I do. I noticed the deep blue color of her eyes. Then I noticed her laugh and how it brought butterflies to my stomach every time she did. She touches me, my palms get sweaty and I feel a creature in my chest roar telling me to pull her close and kiss her because that is the way it is suppose to be.
Me and Her.
I don't want to share her with anyone else. I don't want her looking at other guys because I can never look at another girl the way I look at her. I want to stay the only one she talks to after she fights with her family or when she feels sad. Or when we are on the beach and the sun is setting I want to be the only one that gets to steal glances at her face and how it glows in the beautiful, dying sunlight as the ocean breeze moves her hair out of her eyes which match the color of the ocean.
I want to be selfish and I want her to be the same with me. I want to be her rock and her partner is everything.
"Dude, just go over and ask her already." A voice said to me as I was in my train of deep thought. I looked over to see the sandy blonde hair of my best friend Charlie. I smiled at him and looked over back at Jenny. She had started to look at a magazine and reading it out loud to Johanna, Sara, Teresa, and Abby. Abby sat next to Jenny and smiled knowing that after this year Jenny would be in charge of the girls while she was away at college. Abby was Charlie's older sister and their parents, Adam and Ceecee, were best friends with my mom and dad. It was sort of cool how our parents were the group of married couple friends and we thankfully weren't late in life children like people in their forties do.
"What are you talking about Charlie?" I asked him as I leaned back against the table, my gaze never leaving Miss Slater; like it ever would.
"You have a pool of drool you know."
I looked down and fell for his trick as he slapped my mouth close with the palm of his hand. I hit the side of his arm in payback.
"Shut up Charlie."
"If you don't tell her, then I personally will tell the whole school. Though, to be honest with you Jacob, it won't be a surprise to anyone. Well, maybe Jenny, but I can't go into the mind of a girl. It's scary." Some girls giggled as they walked by Charlie and said, "Hi" with a wave of their hand and hurried off to their table and glance back to look at him. But it never fazed him. He was interested in someone else. I wasn't stupid either about who he liked. He liked my sister Sara. I wasn't going to say anything about it though because I approved of Charlie. He was like another brother to me anyways and he should take the same advice he is giving me; if you can even call it advice.
"It's now or never. Someone might get enough guts to go up to her and ask her out and she might say yes." The bell rang right after he said that and I took the rest of the day to think it over. Should I tell her I liked her? Should I ask her out? Half of me was saying, "Do it you idiot you are head over heels for the girl!" and my other told me, "You could ruin a beautiful friendship and then there would be no Jenny at all."
I made my decision and I would talk to her at the beach after school because we go there anyways. I usually go surfing with Charlie, Jenny's brother Kyle, my brother Joey, and my cousin Luke. Even at times Johanna will get out there because she is a brave soul and is a spunky girl. The rest of them just sit on the beach and watch or read as usual.
We got there around three and set up. I loved that it was almost summer and soon I would be able to do this during the day. Just relaxing on the beach and surfing…stealing more glances at Jenny…and hanging out with my friends. It's any teenage boy's dream really.
I guess I can't multi task either because as I was out on my board, I stole a glance at Jenny and completely went blank and then I wiped out into the ocean like the idiot I am. That was great, I wiped out in front of Jenny. I mean, I have before but this seemed different of because of what I feel inside.
I swam out into the shallow water and decided to take a break from the waves for a while. I have had enough for the time being.
"Jacob, are you alright? You took a nasty one?" A voice of an angel said from my side. I knew that voice from anywhere because it was Jenny's.
I turned and looked at her. She was wearing a deep blue Bikini top (That matched her eyes wonderfully) and some shorts over the bottoms. She wore a look of concern on her face as she touched my arm lightly. But even as the touch was lightly, it sent a wave of electricity through my veins. I gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'm fine Jen. Thanks for asking."
She loosened up and sighed then hitting me on my arm, "Don't do it again mister! You scared us!"
"Did I scare you Miss I-am-so-tough?"
"Well, when you didn't come up for a second…I was. Worried I mean. Annoyed is more like it."
I smiled again and shook my head as I went and sat down on the sand and soaked in the heat that it radiates off. The ocean can get cold after a while. I leaned back and closed my eyes and laid more back into the warm sand and closed my eyes. Jenny filled my thoughts as I had the background music of the ocean waves making it very calm until I woke up.
I sighed as I felt a hand gentle move across my forehead, almost like moving hair from my eyes. Sort of like you mother does when you are younger. But this touch wasn't motherly, it was like electricity again. The kind I felt when I was touched by Jenny.
I opened my eyes to see Jenny over me and she smiled. I should of just pulled her face down then and there to kiss her, but I didn't.
"Well, you finally woke up."
I sat up and looked around. It had gotten a bit darker and less people were on the beach.
"I fell asleep? Where are the others?" I asked her looking around but only seeing Jenny next to me.
"Yeah, you were asleep for about and an hour. The others just left about five minutes ago but I wanted to finish this chapter in my book before going home to surrender to homework."
"Oh, well, I'll drive you home then. Thanks for waking me up." I said getting up brushing sand off my body and out of my hair. I could shower when I got home.
"Thanks." We picked up our stuff and made our way up the hill to where my car was parked. I looked out at the beach at the top of the hill one last time before turning around to get into my car…or at least, that's what I thought.
I sighed, "Teresa…"
Jenny laughed, "I guess she took your car. Its fine, we can just walk." I sighed again and walked down the road with Jenny talking about things until it came to the spot where we both went a different way. About a half a mile downs the road.
"Alright, well, I will talk to you later Jacob."
It was now or never, I told my self.
"Jenny wait." I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards me.
"What it is?" She asked looking from her wrist and then up at me.
She looked much shorter than me at this height and I had never really noticed how much we had grown. A lot of things physically have change between us. I had defiantly noticed some um… new things about Jenny. I took a step closer to Jenny, let go of her wrist, and took a deep breath.
Now. I lifted her face towards mine.
Or. I leaned in to her lips and our eyes slowly closed. She caught on quick.
Never. I Kissed her.
The animal in my chest roared in triumph. My hands slide down to her waist as her arms came up to my neck and she sighed in content. Taking that as a good sign, I deepened the kiss a bit more and pulled her closer against me. After what seemed a few years or maybe just forever, I pulled back and looked at her my heart pounding against my chest.
"I- I…J-Jacob." She was stumbling. Loss for words just as I was.
"S-sorry, I shouldn't have done that. It was stupid." I dropped my hands from her and took a step back.
"No, Jacob." She started to say but I didn't listen.
"No, Jenny. I'm sorry. Just forget it."
She marched up to me then with a look of determination on her face and then pulled my face down and kissed me back a bit less gentler I had done to her, but a kiss all the same and pulled back.
"Now, we are even." She said and walked up the hill to the left that lead towards her house.
Now, I was the one left for words. Or rather only with three words that I wanted to say but I knew better than to say them.
"Jenny!" She turned around and looked at me. "Call me! Please!" I yelled at her and she left me with a smile as she walked up the hill.
A grin finally broke out against my face and I ran home with a new spring in my step. I would have to thank Charlie for that advice. It was now or Never…and you never say never.
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