I needed a shower, which would clear my head a bit more. I passed by everyone and said i'd be out in a minute. I walked into the bathroom and turned the handles, adjusting them till I got the right amount of hotness and then turned the middle handle. I watched the water shoot out as I closed the curtain.
I took off my clothes and got in. The hot water felt amazing against my body, made me relax somewhat but not completely.
After I quickly dried and wrapped the towel around my body, I unlocked the door and sprinted into Darry's room, shutting the door. I tuned on the small radio and Hound Dog by Elvis filled the room. I looked through the drawers, grabbing what I wanted to wear.
I threw my clothes on the bed; I took the pins out of my hair and held them with my teeth as I started to unwrap the towel around my body. The bedroom door suddenly opened and I quickly looked up and saw Soda.
"Jesus, Pony!" I quickly wrapped the towel around my self, dropping the pins to the floor.
"I…I'm sorry, I thought you heard me knock. Darry told me to tell you we left a plate of food on the counter for you." he blurted as he looked at the ground in front of him.
"Yea, okay. Sorry I should have locked the door. Thanks," god he just saw my completely naked. I watched him as he closed the door. I quickly ran to the door and locked it. I ran back to where my clothes were and put them on and pulled my hair up into a messy bun. I crawled into Sodas bed and layed. It smelled just like old spice.
As I hovered on the final step to the stairs the next morning, staring at the back of Soda's head, I thought about having told him I loved him, and hearing him say it back. As much as I didn't understand how I meant the words, I understood his intention even less. The place where his lips touched my forehead burned, a calm, light, glowing burn, not unlike the way a sip of hot chocolate feels in your chest. Things in no way became awkward between us after that, as if we had done nothing more than confirm what the other had already known. It would be impossible, though, to deny that his words left me feeling relieved.
That relief and that warmth scared me, leaving me to wonder if I meant 'love' in the deepest, purest sense. Was I in love with Soda? Was I in love with the boy who swam with me in the shallow end of the lake, who played on my team for everything from beach volleyball to touch football? The boy who saved me from fights and picked me up when I got lost? All those nights on the porch suddenly had so much more significance in my memory than they had to me when they happened. The answer I had come to in after that kiss on the forehead, was yes, I was in love with Soda.
The answer I had also come to was no, I couldn't be in love with Soda. The number of times he called me "punk" or "kid" or introduced me as his surrogate little sister ensured that. Surely, to him, I was still that twelve year old girl he threw in the lake fully clothed. Being with Jack ensured that I kept some distance from Soda, and that distance kept me sane, and kept me from falling any deeper than I already had. I couldn't risk Soda breaking my heart and changing everything.
Everyone had already left for work or school, and Soda had his day off. We were the only ones in the house, and though I knew Jack was on his way to pick me up, and getting caught would be a continuation of the endless argument, I needed to take advantage of the few minutes I had to talk to the boy on my couch, the boy I couldn't be in love with.
Moving as slowly as I could off the last step and across the back of the room, I snuck up behind him. "Whatcha watching?" His whole body shifted as he jumped in surprise, whipping his head around to look at me.
"You little... that's not very nice you know. You're lucky I'm nice or you'd be in big trouble."
"Oh yeah, what would you do, Mr. DX? Oil-change me to death?" I waved my hands out in front of me with a playful pout on my face.
"Actually, I would do something more along the lines of..." before I realized that he was reaching for me, he had leaned backwards over the back of the couch, grabbed me around the middle and flipped me forward over him. With me halfway in his lap, he started to tickle me. For as long as Soda had known me, he had no problem finding the sweet spots.
I was thrashing around in seconds, but he was strong enough to hold me down – preventing himself from getting injured – and keep a steady jab at my ribs and stomach. "Soda... ah! No...Again with the tickling!" My laughter was uncontrollable. It bounced off the walls of the empty house and traveled through the open windows on either side of the front door. Shrieks of obvious amusement went with it. Desperately, I tried to push his hands away. "Soda! Stop..." more laughter, "this is not fair!" I tried to tickle him back, but it was useless. His body was far too solid for such things. "Okay, okay! I suck, I'm sorry. I'll never never never never never ever ever sneak up on you again."
"Promise?" He spoke through gritted teeth, not allowing his hands to slow.
"Yes. Ah! Yes, yes I promise. I promise!" With a shrug, he let me go. I collapsed across him on the couch, trying to catch my breath while he laughed at me solidly. I gave him a playful scowl and stuck out my tongue.
Returning the gesture, Soda made no move to get me off of him. It had been a while since we had been so close in contact, but it was nothing strange for either of us. He was comfortable; I was euphoric. "So, what are you up to tonight?"
There was a slight hesitation before I answered. "I'm... i think i'm going to talk with..."
"Gotcha." Even the name was an annoyance to him. "Have I told you how much I don't like that guy?" I shook my head. "Well, in that case, you deserve so much better than that creep, Danny. I don't know how you've tolerated him for this long, to be honest. He and his friends are constantly getting brought into the police station for every possible stupid thing out there. Not to mention the way that he..."
"Soda..."
His expression softened, and he offered me his hand, pulling me up to a seated position; I was sitting in his lap. He wrapped his hands around my waist, linking them at my side, to help keep me up at my weird angle. My heart jumped. "Okay. I know you don't like it when I talk about him like that, but... I told you before that I don't like you dating him, and I never will." His green eyes were looking straight into mine, making my stomach flip. "I don't want you getting hurt."
I jabbed him in the ribs, "I'm breaking up with him Soda... And, So far today, you're the only one who's brought me any harm." My expression was playful.
"That's the best news i've heard all year. Hey, don't give me that, Missy, you started it."
"It's not my fault a grown man, is so easily spooked. I just wanted to say 'hi'." It was easy to see I was mocking him, teasing him, feigning absolute innocence.
Soda chuckled, giving me a shake. "Who are you calling a 'grown man'? Are you kidding? How much have I honestly changed since I was in high school?"
In terms of physical stature, he had changed a lot. Soda looked like a man, a well built, desirable man with all the sex appeal any guy could hope for. "Oh, and what, I'm still that twelve year old girl who used to follow behind you guys all the time?"
"No," he answered quickly, a corner of his lip raising the smallest degree. "You're definitely not twelve years old anymore."
Before I could let my brain give meaning to that statement that it didn't have, I sent it in a different direction. "You're right, twelve year old me would have been able to..." without further warning, I wrapped my arms around him and started grabbing at a spot on his lower back, just above the line of his jeans. It was the single ticklish spot on his body, one that, I was almost positive, no one knew about but me.
His body bucked as he mixed a surprised yell with a laugh, almost throwing me off of him. Still, I kept myself attached and continued my attack while I still could. Too soon, he began to retaliate, and I was losing ground.
Ready to admit defeat, I stopped tickling him and started to push myself away. "Oh no you don't. You don't get to run away after that cheap shot." Ensuring that this was true, he pulled me close and wrapped his arms all the way around my body, tickling my ribs on the opposite side. There was nowhere to go, and he wasn't about to let me move. Our bodies were pressed as closed together as they could be, with me almost straddling him. Had I been able to breath, I may have been overcome by the sensation.
Still not giving up, he flipped himself around and dropped us down onto the couch, turning so that we were lying with me between him and the backrest. Movement instantly became impossible, and it was all I could do to laugh and shriek pleading words at him louder than before.
"Get your hands off of her." Jack was only a few feet away, looking at me in disgust.
