Chapter 10: On my way home

Both of the teens sat in the car on the way home, not making any eye contact, keeping completely silent. As they hit the halfway mark, Alex turned into a gas station & parked in front of a pump. Even though she turned off the car & had the door open, she still sat in the car with Jimmy, & still, they never said a word. She got out of the car suddenly & went inside of the gas station.

"Um, fourteen dollars for pump number 5." Alex said as she slammed down the money. The cashier took the money & she went into the back of the store. She got a coke for her & a sprite for Jimmy. She then went into the candy isle & got two snickers bars. She went back to the front, paid the cashier, & went out to pump.

After a minute or two of pumping, they were back on the road. Once Jimmy finished his snickers, he turned towards her, & broke the silence.

"Alex, why did you kiss me?" Jimmy asked as Alex turned her eyes towards him a bit, but keeping her eyes focused on the road ahead. She blinked, & then sighed.

"Because I…I don't know. I just feel so…different around you & whatever, & you treat me different. You treat me like I'm more than just some lost cause with no future…you make me happy." Alex said with no emotion, but Jimmy could tell that she was close to crying at that point. He could tell by her eyes.

"Oh…" Jimmy replied as they started to recognize their part of town. Alex started for the corner that turned into their neighborhood.

"Look, I can't turn off the way I feel about you…& I'd rather that you don't tell anyone about this, because I don't know if I really wanna be with you yet." Alex said as they turned onto their street. "Also, because I think that Manny likes you." Alex said with a hint of jealousy in her voice. She tried to hide it by laughing it off.

"No, I don't think that she does." Jimmy said, knowing good & well that Manny did have feelings for him, but he was confused…he didn't know if he liked Manny or Alex. He couldn't decide.

"Whatever. You know she's feeling for you." Alex said as they turned into the driveway to see Manny sitting on the porch. She had her purple notebook in her hand, & she was writing furiously. Alex smiled as she honked the horn, causing Manny to flinch. When she looked up, she waved at the both of them.

"C'mon dear, the children are waiting." Alex said playfully. Jimmy laughed a bit as he started to unstrap himself from the car.

"So, how was the party?" Manny asked as Alex flopped on the couch.

"It was okay, but Jay was there…ruined everything." Alex said as Jimmy rolled in between the two.

"But we hung out around the city. It was fun." Jimmy said as Alex gave him a playful look.

"Cool…well, I'm gonna hit the sack. Later." Manny started down the hall to her room.

"She's right. It's time for bed." Alex said as she got up & left for her room.

Jimmy looked around the room & sighed. His eyes then landed on Manny's purple notebook…he smiled devilishly as he reached over to pick it up. He opened it & started to read.

"Sometimes I wonder if I deserve you…sometimes I want to kiss you & not give a damn what others say about us…" It read. "…You make my winters wonderful, my summer's special. You seem to hypnotize me by the simple things about you, like your voice or your smile. And your eyes…oh, your eyes. They're so deep & soft, so beautiful. You make me want to do things I never did with Craig…you make me want to say things I didn't say to Spinner…you've made me stronger than I ever was with Sully. I don't know if you'll ever read this, but if one day you do…I hope you feel the same things I do. Because these feelings are real…very real." Jimmy couldn't believe his eyes. Could she be talking about him?

"She can't be talking about me," Jimmy thought as he sat the notebook back on the table. He rolled down to his room & closed the door, leaving his mind flowing with thoughts on his kisses with the young women, & the choices he would soon have to make.

This is gonna be a long night.