Sorry, I know I said I'd have this chapter up by the beginning of this week but I had some computer issues and I really have to finish my summer reading before school starts. Hope you guys enjoy! –Lauren
Clarification if you're still confused: this is another part of the two days Jesse and Suze get in this universe. They switched into this universe at the end of chapter 27.
Chapter 30
"How is that I always end up getting suckered into doing these things for you?"
"Hey you should be grateful I'm letting you pick up Suze from her dance class, it'll give you guys some bonding time" CeeCee said giving me a pat on my back.
"But after what happened this morning I don't think she'll want to see me" I protested.
"Jesse, Suze has only ever kissed four other guys in her entire life, not including you, and she really, really liked or loved each of them before she kissed them. She's just trying to keep from getting hurt; it's like a defense mechanism. Trust me, you'll win her over, just give her some time" CeeCee advised me as Adam pulled up in behind my parked car. He gave me a nod and wave out the window before telling CeeCee to climb in.
"Call me later to tell me what happened. Later Jesse" she said giving me a hug. I hugged her back and then got into my car.
I sat in my car for a while thinking things over, trying to clear my head, but not succeeding. Susannah has kissed four other guys in her life. I've only ever kissed two, girls I mean, and one was a friend of my family's, and she shouldn't even really count. I didn't even like the girl, but my parents told me to be nice to her and spend time with her. Her idea of spending time together was her trying to kiss me. I don't think she understood how annoying I found her.
I looked at my in-dash clock and noticed I had just enough time to run home for Susannah's clothes before I was supposed to pick her up after her dance class. Ugh.
&&&
I got to a strip mall a little less than a mile from school in record time. Susannah's class wasn't supposed to get out for another 20 minutes. I looked around but didn't see any of the spaces with a sign that read 'dance studio'. I whipped out my cell phone and called CeeCee.
"Hey Jesse, what's up?" she asked cheerfully.
"Where exactly is the dance studio Susannah's supposed to be in? I'm at the strip mall near the school and I don't see it" I replied driving around the parking lot.
"Okay, you know where the Starbucks is?"
"Which one?" I questioned looking at the drive through and then at the Vons with a Starbucks inside.
"The drive through one. Pass the drive through entrance and turn left after the dry cleaners. Follow that little alleyway for a while and then it should be directly in front of you" she told me.
"It's in an alleyway?" I asked incredulously.
"Just get Suze" she sighed before disconnecting.
I followed CeeCee's instructions and arrived at Maxine's Dance Studio. I parked in the nearest space and walked over to the studio. I went in through the front door and found myself standing in a small hallway. Off to my left were what looked like offices and then a bathroom. To my right was a large window and then a set of doors. I walked closer to the window and looked inside. There was a group of about ten people in the studio. Another guy sat in a folding chair by a stereo system and watched the group dance. I scanned the group and saw a couple people from school. I didn't personally know any of them but I knew two of them were in my grade. And then my eyes landed on Susannah.
She was swaying her hips and dancing around doing some complicated steps and then doing a flip and landing in some guy's arms. I stared at her, my mouth agape, amazed at her talent. Not only was she a great dancer but she definitely had the body for it.
She was wearing a shredded denim mini skirt, a lot shorter than the one she'd had on yesterday, with black leggings underneath, and a stretchy lavender halter-top that only reached just above her belly button. She had her hair tied up into a messy bun and she was glistening slightly.
I guess the song ended because the whole group stopped and stared expectantly at the guy by the stereo. He smiled at them and said some stuff to them. I couldn't hear anything from out here, I guess the room was sound proof or something.
A couple of girls I didn't recognize gathered up their stuff and left through the door nearest me. They looked at me carefully eyeing me from head to toe. I didn't think they were checking me out or anything, in fact the way they'd looked at me made me feel unwanted and like I shouldn't be there. Good thing I don't really care what they think, Susannah is in there dancing and looking incredibly sexy, which means not even an earthquake could move me. When they left they had propped the door open and I could hear Susannah laughing with the rest of the group.
"Alright, today was good. I'm glad you all were able to help make Suze feel welcome and I think she'll make a great addition to the group" the guy by the stereo said. "Now you all can go but I want Suze, Angela, Megan, Aaron, James, and Ben to stay after, I wanna go over the choreography for a couple songs with them. Great practice today and remember to keep practicing the routines during the week. I'll see you guys on Wednesday" he said waving off a few of the other group members. They left after getting together their stuff and again I received the glare of hostility.
"Okay, I want to make sure you guys know the choreography for the dances you guys are going to be doing for the Father Serra thingy coming up" the director guy said, "Have you girls decided on costumes?"
"Yeah" one of the girls said, "For the whole performance we only get one costume right?"
"Right" the director guy answered.
"Okay" said another girl, "I'm gonna be wearing a variation of the green dress thingy from 'S.O.S.'. Angela is gonna wear something like the white tank top and black shorts thingy with the suspenders from "Ain't No Other Man", and Suze over here is gonna be Miss Thang and wear the black outfit, with the fishnets from 'S.O.S." All the guys were smiling at each other and looking like they couldn't wait to see the girls in their costumes. I didn't appreciate that.
"Sounds good to me" the director guy said, "just make sure you girls aren't showing too much skin. You show stomach or too much leg and Father Dominic will have a coronary." They nodded in understanding and waited for the director guy to speak again.
"Okay, so from the songs you guys gave me, Father Dominic eliminated a couple so you guys don't have that much to remember."
"What'd he cut?" asked one of the guys.
The director guy reached over and picked up a clipboard, reading over the sheet clipped to the front. "Umm…he pulled the plug on "London Bridges" after he heard the song, same for "SexyBack" and "Bossy". But we have "S.O.S.", "Ain't No Other Man" which I practically had to beg for, and "Déjà vu".
"Now I wanna see you guys do "S.O.S." at least once and then I'll let you guys go. Everyone remember their partners?"
"Yeah" they all replied partnering up.
Susannah was partnered up with a guy I kind of recognized. I knew I'd seen him, but I couldn't remember exactly where. He smiled at her and whispered something in her ear that made her smile and blush a little. He has to go I thought to myself, mentally cracking my knuckles. But I stopped, when Susannah whispered back to him and he grinned at her. I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. I turned around, my back facing the wall and slid down the wall, sitting down. I stretched my legs out in front of me and thought I should have stayed in the car. Damn my curiosity.
"I need a new pair of eyes to see this, someone's input on changes to make" the director guy mumbled and walked out of the room. He spotted me on the floor and gave me a friendly smile. "Hello" he said, "I know this may seem rather odd but would you mind watching some dancers perform a song. I swear they're really great."
"Uhh…I…I don't know" I stammered thinking Susannah probably wouldn't be happy to see me, especially since she was expecting CeeCee here.
"Oh come on, we've got some hot girls shaking their asses around in there, it'll be great" he replied pulling me up to my feet.
"Still, I…I'm not sure…I mean, I'm supposed to wait for someone-"
"Hey Miss Thang, get out here and convince this dude to watch you guys perform" he called to someone inside the room, "maybe a gorgeous girl like yourself can convince him."
"Yeah go on Miss Thang" the others in the group teased. I heard light footsteps near the doorway and Susannah tell the director guy "You call me Miss Thang again and I'll give you a black eye bigger than your face."
"Ah, always a lady, so nice to hear the younger generations respecting their elders" the guy replied before stepping back into the room. "Bring the dude back in with you" he called back.
I turned around and started to power walk towards the door, hoping Susannah wouldn't come after me. No such luck.
"Hey, get your butt back here" she said jogging to catch up to me. She grabbed hold of my arm and tried to turn me around or get me to stop walking, but I wouldn't let her.
"Wait a minute, I know you. Would you quit walking away, I'm not letting you leave" she told me. She let out a small gasp when she let go of my arm. "Jesse, what the hell are you doing here?"
I stopped walking and dropped my head down. Shit. I turned around slowly and figured it was best to stall an explanation for my presence.
"Uhh…how did you know it was me?" I asked lifting my head up to look Susannah in the eye. Big mistake. I couldn't lie to her, especially to her face. And especially when she was looking kind of amused by me.
She blushed slightly but wore a smirk on her face. "I'd recognize your nice butt anywhere."
I looked at her with wide eyes. She recognized me by my WHAT!
"Now why are you here? You aren't following me around are you? Cause that would totally ruin your cute image for me." Then she self-consciously started tugging her shirt down, trying to cover her exposed stomach. I almost wanted to tell her to stop but then I realized she'd just called me 'cute'.
"Cute?" I asked. Great the girl I like thinks I'm cute.
She laughed at the face I'd made and replied, "Okay not cute, more like hot."
Hot was better, I could live with hot. It may not be sexy, but I could definitely live with hot.
"CeeCee couldn't-"
"I'm starting to think CeeCee might not be the most reliable person" she interrupted. "Now come on, you gotta watch us do this one song or Josh'll never let us leave."
"Are you sure you want me to go in there? I mean if you don't feel comfortable with me watching I'd be okay with that. I know if it were me in there-"
"Jesse" she said with a laugh, "you're starting to ramble."
"Sorry" I sighed running my fingers through my hair.
"Come on, just watch us dance and then we can talk about this, okay"
"Okay" I mumbled following behind her as she led the way back into the dance room. I watched her hips sway as she confidently strode back towards the dance room. And I will admit my eyes traveled a little south of her hips, but I couldn't exactly help it.
"Would you stop" she sighed before we reached the doorway and turned around to face me. She stopped so suddenly that I nearly crashed into her and there were only a couple inches in between us.
"Stop what?" I asked my eyes darting up to her face.
"I can't walk in there and act all calm with you staring at my ass" she explained.
"Uhh…I…I wasn't…I…okay…but just a little" I stammered out.
She shook her head but smiled at me before turning back around and entering the dance room.
"Guys, this is Jesse, he's gonna be watching us, so don't screw up" she announced as we entered the room. She told me to wait for a second when we were by the director guy's chair. She went back into a little room and came back with another folding chair. She set it by Josh's and patted the seat. "Normally I'd expect the person in your position to be telling me to relax, but you look like you need it more than I do" she said with a smile. "Just sit and try not to laugh at us."
I sat down and watched as Susannah went back to stand huddled together with the two other girls in her group. Josh hit the play button on the stereo and music started blasting out.
"Lalala lalala la la lala la Ohhh
You know... I never felt like this before
Lalala lalala la la lala la Ohhh
Feels like... so real"
I watched as Susannah and the other girls separated from each other and looked at their partners. They swung their hips and sauntered over to them. But I noticed that Susannah wasn't really looking at her partner. She had her emerald gaze transfixed on me.
"I'm obsessive when just one thought of you comes up
And I'm aggressive just one thought of close enough
You got me stressing, incessantly pressing the issue
'Cause every moment gone you know I miss you
I'm the question and you're of course the answer
Just hold me close boy 'cause I'm your tiny dancer
You make me shaken up, never mistaken
But I can't control myself, got me calling out for help
"S.O.S. please someone help me.
It's not healthy... for me to feel this way
Y.O.U. are making this hard,
I can't take it, see it don't feel right
S.O.S. please someone help me
It's not healthy... for me to feel this way
Y.O.U. are making this hard
You got me tossin' and turnin' and can't sleep at night
"This time please someone come and rescue me
'Cause you on my mind it's got me losing it
I'm lost, you got me lookin' for the rest of me
Love is testing me but still I'm losing it
This time please someone come and rescue me
'Cause you on my mind, it's got me losing it
I'm lost, you got me looking for the rest of me,
Got the best of me, so now I'm losing it"
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Susannah always had this cute innocent look to her, but when she was dancing it was like she was someone else. The innocence in her eyes was replaced by something mysterious mixed with this sexy self-confidence.
"Just your presence and I second guess my sanity
Yes it's a lesson, it's unfair, you stole my vanity
My tummy's up in knots so when I see you I get so hot
My common sense is out the door, can't seem to find the lock
Take on me (uh huh) you know inside you feel it right
Take me on I'm put desire up in your arms tonight
I'm out with you, you got me head over heels
Boy you keep me hanging on the way you make me feel
"S.O.S. please someone help me.
It's not healthy... for me to feel this way
Y.O.U. are making (Y.O.U.) this hard,
You got me tossin' and turnin' and can't sleep at night
"This time please someone come and rescue me
'Cause you on my mind, it's got me losing it ('Cause you on my mind)
I'm lost, you got me lookin' for the rest of me
Love is testing me but still I'm losing it
"This time please someone come and rescue me (someone come and rescue me)
'Cause you on my mind got me losing it
I'm lost, you got me looking for the rest of me,
Got the best of me, so now I'm losing it"
I kept watching in awe as Susannah danced in ways that should be considered illegal. She was stirring up all these emotions in me and she wasn't even near me. She was completely in a zone, focused on dancing and looking sexy while doing it. Well she might not have been concentrating on looking sexy but she was doing a great job at doing it anyway.
"Boy, you know you got me feeling open
And boy, your loves enough with words unspoken
I said boy I'm telling you, you got me open
I don't know what to do it's true
I'm going crazy over you,
I'm begging
"S.O.S. please somebody help me.
It's not healthy... for me to feel this way
Y.O.U. are making this hard (are you making this hard for me, baby?),
You got me tossin' and turnin' and can't sleep at night
"This time please someone come and rescue me (someone rescue me)
'Cause you on my mind, it's got me losing it
I'm lost, you got me lookin' for the rest of me
Love is testing me but still I'm losing it
This time please someone come and rescue me
'Cause you on my mind got me losing it ('cause any time)
I'm lost you, got me looking for the rest of me,
Got the best of me (best of me), I'm losing it
"Lala lala lala lala Ohhh
Ohh ohh lala lala lala lala
Oh oh"
The song ended and all the girls were standing in front of their partners. Their partners were either holding their hand, had and arm strung around their shoulders or their waist. Susannah's partner had his arm around her waist and he was watching her with dark eyes and a smile on his face. Everyone else was watching me, waiting for my response.
"That was incredible," I said giving them all a bright smile, especially Susannah. She smiled back and all the dancers separated looking at Josh now. He nodded his head and beamed at them. "Great job guys, keep up the good work and I'll see all you guys back on Tuesday so we can plan costumes."
They all smiled at went to a corner of the room that was piled with bags. Each of them grabbed their bags and then headed for the door. I stood up and Josh said, "Listen, thanks for watching today." I smiled and replied "Oh, no problem, really."
He looked towards the doorway, at Susannah and yelled, "Hey good work today Miss Thang, keep it up."
Susannah turned to look at him and replied, "What did I tell you about calling me that?"
"Oh come on, be a good sport. Besides it suits you so well" he called back. Susannah very maturely stuck her tongue out at him, before stopping in the doorway and holding out her hand. "You coming?"
"Yeah" I answered, taking her hand and following her out the door and towards the exit.
"Awh, Miss Thang got herself a man," Josh said to Susannah from the doorway. She turned around and warned "Last time I restrained myself and only stuck my tongue out at you, but you keep this up and you'll be receiving a nasty hand gesture."
Josh gasped and feigned shock. "Oh please" Susannah remarked, "Now if you'll excuse us, Jesse and I have things to do. And if you say or cough anything mean I'll go back and give you that black eye I warned you about earlier." I laughed and took the bag from her shoulder, placing it on mine, which earned me an appreciative smile.
"Hey Suze" the guy who had been her partner called from the main doorway, "Wanna grab a bite to eat? I could give you a ride home." He then noticed me holding Susannah's hand and carrying her bag, which earned me a glare.
"No thanks, me and Jesse are gonna hang out for a while. But maybe some other time. See ya Tuesday Ben" she called back giving him a little finger wave.
"Susannah you were amazing in there. I mean I had no idea you could move like that. But…wow" I gushed, pushing the main door open and holding it for Susannah.
She laughed, and followed me out the door towards my car. "Thanks. Did you really like the choreography for that song? I mean I just learned some of it earlier and I think I did okay, but I know I could have done better-"
"Querida, you were great and I find it hard to believe you could improve on perfection."
She gave me an embarrassed smile complete with blushing and stopped by my car while I opened the passenger door for her. I placed her bag in the trunk and angled in behind the wheel.
"Do you want me to take you home-" I began.
"Jesse, I don't want things to be awkward between us, but I'd actually really appreciate it if we could go back to my house. I just really wanna shower and then maybe after we could do something. What do you think?"
"Yeah, we could that. Do you want me to wait for you, or drop you off and then come back?" I asked starting up the car and driving out of the alleyway, back towards the strip mall.
"You can wait, I mean I don't want you to waste your gas or anything. Oh and only my little stepbrother, David should be home so don't worry about running into my mom and step-dad or anything" she replied.
I let out a sigh of relief; the last thing I wanted right now was to be grilled by Susannah's parents AND her three stepbrothers.
"You know, why don't you invite CeeCee and Adam over? I don't want you to be all bored while you're waiting for me. We could have sort of a little party" she suggested as I turned out of the strip mall.
"Well…yeah…we could do that" I replied albeit reluctantly.
Susannah laughed and said, "Or we could keep it just us."
"You know now that you mention it, that sounds like wonderful idea."
She laughed again and smiled over at me. "You're funny," she added with another smile.
I smiled back and turned up the street to get to Susannah's house. "Why don't I go pick up some food for us and then bring it back here?" I offered.
"Are you sure? I don't want you to have to waste your gas" she replied as we pulled up to her house.
"No it's fine, really. What are you in the mood for?"
"I've been craving rolled tacos for weeks now, and they sound so good right now" she answered happily.
"Rolled tacos do sound good" I said, "and what about your stepbrother?"
"Umm…probably the same for him. Why don't you come in with me real fast and I'll just ask him" she guessed, and then unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out of the car. I got out after her, opened my trunk and pulled out her dance bag and then the luggage I'd forgotten to give her earlier, and followed her up the pathway to the front door.
"Jesse, my keys are-" she cut herself off when she looked back at me carrying her bag and tugging her luggage. She gave me bright smile and took her dance bag from my shoulder. "Thank you" she added before rummaging through her bag for her keys.
She opened the door and led us inside, closing the door after us. "David, I'm home" she called up the stairs, "can you come down here for a sec?"
No one responded and no noise came from upstairs. "David?" she yelled.
"Huh, he should be home" she sighed, "let me make sure he's not sleeping or something." She tried to grab her luggage from my grasp, but I held tight to its handle. "I'll take this up for you, I don't want you carrying this thing up the stairs, it's really heavy."
"Jesse, I can carry my own suitcase" she insisted. "I have no doubt that you can, but I still think it's way too heavy for you to be carrying up any stairs" I responded motioning her up the stairs. She shook her head and smiled a little before climbing the stairs. She stopped at a door on our left and knocked. "David?" she asked through the door. No response. She tried the doorknob and the door opened. She peeked inside the room and then closed the door. "He's not in there," she said almost shocked by this.
"Maybe he's in the bathroom, or something" I suggested. She nodded slowly, "yeah, maybe."
"Come on, why don't we put your stuff in your room, and then I'll go check to see if David's anywhere else in the house, while you jump in the shower" I offered.
She seemed to come out of the daze she'd been in since she first yelled for David and he didn't respond. "Thanks" she said giving me a smile, "come on, my room's right here." She pointed to the door across from David's and opened the door for us. "Okay, I'm letting you know now, I did not decorate this room. The pink and frills was all my mom and step-dad."
I looked around the room and was practically blinded by all the pink. Mapi would kill for this room. "Wow, it's…really…pink" I mumbled.
"I know, and I'd change it but it might hurt my mom's feelings so I think I can live with the pink for now." I smiled at her; she's actually concerned about her mother's feelings; that's a nice thing to see in a girl, especially in one my own age. "Where should I put this?" I asked meaning her suitcase.
"Oh wherever is fine" she replied, dropping her dance bag onto her bed. I looked around the room and noticed that there was a big window with a great view of the ocean and a window seat built in. I walked towards the window and looked out, admiring the ocean view.
"I don't know why, but ever since I first came here I just can't get enough of that view. I could sit there all day and just watch the waves roll in" she confessed, coming to stand beside me. I smiled at her sat down on the window seat facing her. The sunlight coming in through the window gave Susannah's skin a shimmering glow.
She noticed me staring at her and blushed an adorable shade of red. I took hold of her hands in mine and gently ran my thumbs over her knuckles. She took a step towards me and smiled down at me.
I brought her hands up to my lips and placed a kiss on the back of each of her hands. She gave my hands a squeeze before letting them go and placing her arms around my neck. I started getting a little nervous when she did that. She did say she wanted to slow things down between us, but I wanted to kiss her so badly.
She looked at me carefully and then brought one of her hands to my face. She caressed my cheek lightly with the back of her hand and then with her thumb traced over my lips.
I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me and staring into her emerald eyes, trying to figure out what she was thinking about. Her eyes were swirling with different things but I recognized the ever-present intelligence and strength that always shine through. She smiled down at me and I noticed her eyes light up as the smile grew on her lips. I returned the bright smile and placed one of my own hands over her's on my cheek.
"God, I wanna kiss you so bad" she sighed. I grinned up at her and her eyes went wide. "Did I really just say that out loud?" I laughed and then replied, "yeah."
"I'm sorry" she mumbled, "I know I must be sending you such mixed signals, its just when I'm around you I feel things I've NEVER felt before; things I'm not sure I should be feeling."
"I feel them too" I admitted, "and I get how confusing things seem right now, and I can only imagine things from your point of view."
She smiled down at me and gave me a peck on the cheek. "I should get in the shower," she said pointing to another door in her room. "Oh, here, let me give you my house keys so you can get back in." She went over to her bed and fumbled around in her dance bag before holding out a set of keys for me. "The one with the little pink little house cap thingy on it is for the bottom lock on the front door" she told me.
I took the keys from her and got up from the window seat. "I'll be right back. Oh, do you want something to drink with your tacos? Normally I get a big hor-"
"Horchata" she finished for me. "Same here, rolled tacos don't quite taste the same without it." She smiled at me again and then kissed my cheek again before sauntering into her bathroom.
I shook my head after she'd left the room. Seeing her swaying her hips all confident and sexy made me feel things I couldn't really describe, but I hated to see her walking away from me.
&&&
"Susannah I'm back with the food" I yelled up the stairs. She didn't answer so I put the food down on the table in the kitchen and then went up the stairs.
"Querida" I said knocking on her bedroom door, "can I come in?" Again she didn't answer so slowly I opened her door and peeked inside. I didn't see her so I stepped inside and heard Susannah singing from her bathroom.
I smiled at hearing her singing in the shower. She can't really sing all that great, but she could carry a tune. I listened closely, trying to her what she was singing and stood still as I listened to her words she was singing.
"You say you're a big boy
But I can't agree
'Cause the love you said you had
Ain't been put on me
I wonder
If I'm just too much for you
Wonder
If my kiss don't make you just
Wonder
What I got next for you
What you want to do? (Do)
"Take a chance to recognize that this could be yours
I can see, just like most guys that your game don't please
Baby, can't you see?
How these clothes are fitting on me
And the heat coming from this beat
I'm about to blow
I don't think you know
"I'm telling you loosen up my buttons baby (Uh huh)
But you keep fronting (Uh)
Saying what you going to do to me (Uh huh)
But I ain't seen nothing (Uh)
"I'm telling you loosen up my buttons baby (Uh huh)
But you keep fronting (Uh)
Saying what you going to do to me (Uh huh)
But I ain't seen nothing (Uh)
"I'm a make you loosen up my buttons babe
Loosen up my buttons babe
Why don't you loosen up my buttons babe
Loosen up my buttons babe
"I'm a make you loosen up my buttons babe
Loosen up my buttons babe
Why don't you loosen up my buttons babe
Loosen up my buttons babe
"I'm telling you loosen up my buttons baby (Uh huh)
But you keep fronting (Uh)
Saying what you going to do to me (Uh huh)
But I ain't seen nothing (Uh)
"I'm telling you loosen up my buttons baby (Uh huh)
But you keep fronting (Uh)
Saying what you going to do to me (Uh huh)
But I ain't seen nothing (Uh)"
Suddenly the singing stopped and I heard the water being shut off.
Uh oh, time to go. I rushed out of Susannah's room, careful to shut the door behind me, and then went back downstairs. I went back through the house to the kitchen and got the food out of the bag, and put our straws in our drinks.
Then I heard the front door open and close. "Suze, I'm home," a young guy yelled up the stairs. I heard Susannah call back, "Okay, I'm upstairs. I've got a friend coming back here so if you see him be nice and tell him I'll be down in a few minutes."
"Sure" the young guy yelled back. I could hear footsteps nearing the kitchen and then they stopped.
The footsteps started again but going in the opposite direction. "Did you say 'tell him'?" the young guy yelled back up the stairs. I heard a door open upstairs and then someone come down the stairs. "What?" Susannah asked.
"You said 'him', meaning you've got a guy coming over here. Who is he?" the young guy questioned sounding more adult all of a sudden. "He's my friend. We met yesterday and really hit it off so I told him we could hang out today. He's actually a friend of CeeCee's; that's how we met. Any other questions?" she responded.
"Yeah. How old is he? And where does he go to school? What's his name? Does he have a criminal record?" the young guy snapped back sounding very protective.
Susannah laughed and replied, "His name is Jesse, he's my age, and he goes to the mission. As for the criminal record question, he said he preferred not to talk about it when I asked him about it yesterday."
"Suze, he could a drug dealer, or a serial rapist and you wouldn't even know. I mean just think about-"
"David" Susannah said using a reassuring tone, "Jesse is not a criminal, he goes to the mission, and he's friends with CeeCee. Thank you for caring though."
"Wait, what's his last name?" the young man, obviously named David asked.
"de Silva, why?" Susannah answered.
"You invited Jesse de Silva over here?" he questioned.
"Yes. Is that a bad thing? Wait, you know Jesse?" she asked sounding confused.
"Jesse has been the vice president of his class every year since sixth grade. Well except 8th grade when he got the chicken pox. And he's been a TA for Mr. Ochoa, the Spanish teacher, since 9th grade. Jesse's one of the smartest people in the entire school. Plus his sister Josefina is the prettiest girl in my grade" he explained sounding excited.
Susannah chuckled and replied, "I swear you're better than Google."
"Well I'm going to be upstairs, call me when Jesse gets here I really want to talk to him" David said before climbing up the stairs.
"Okay" Susannah sighed before making her way back through the house, towards the kitchen.
I started panicking. Quickly I set the food down and grabbed two napkins from a napkin holder on the counter besides me. I placed the napkins on the table beside the food and our drinks when I heard Susannah come into the kitchen behind me.
"Jesse, I thought you were still out getting the food. How long have you been here?" she asked as I turned to face her. She looked a little shocked to see me but she was smirking at me as if trying to decide whether or not to just plain laugh at me.
"Uhh…well…we should eat before the food gets cold" I mumbled.
Susannah smiled at me before closing the distance between us and giving my arm an affectionate squeeze. "Thanks. Oh, and before you leave, you mind meeting my little brother David? Apparently he's a big fan" she questioned, trying not to laugh. "Uhh…sure."
"Alright, let's eat; I'm starved" she sighed sitting down at the kitchen table and opening one of the styrofoam boxes. I chuckled and sat down across from her, opening my own box.
&&&
"Night David" Susannah and I called up the stairs after him. He waved back and yelled, "Suze it's getting late, and no boys in your room," before heading off into his bedroom.
After Susannah and I had finished eating, David had come down and we'd all started talking. David was one of the smartest kids I'd ever met and seemed thrilled at the prospect of Susannah and I spending time together. He'd even asked me to say 'hi' to my little sister Josefina for him. Apparently they were in the same class and pretty good friends. But I got the feeling David had something of a crush on Josefina. I thought it was cute really; David was a sweet kid and he was exactly the kind of guy I'd want my sisters to date. Sure they were still too young to be thinking of dating, but in the future I thought if David asked Josefina out, I'd approve of him.
"Thanks for being nice enough to hang out with David for a little while. He really admires you" Susannah said smiling at me. She stretched her legs across the couch and across my legs. I returned her smile and replied, "Honestly, David was fun to talk to. He's really smart, and it's nice to see that intelligence in someone his age. Most boys his age are studying video game cheat codes or planted in front of the tv."
Her smile got bigger and she looked over to the stairs, "Yeah, David's something special. I think he's my favorite out of all my stepbrothers."
"I can see why" I said, "I feel kind of the same way, but I each of my sisters is my favorite for a different thing."
"Like what?" she asked sounding interesting.
"Well, like Marta is my favorite sister to talk to, we can really relate to each other because we're only a year apart. Or Mapi, my youngest sister, she's my favorite sister to play with. Around her I feel like a little kid again, and she's the sweetest little girl you could ever meet" I explained. Susannah smiled at me and scooted closer to me on the couch, "I can see how much you love your sisters, they mean a lot to you."
I nodded and turned a little to face Susannah. She was practically sitting in my lap and I was getting a little nervous about how close we were. I tried to stretch my arm a little, to maybe wrap my arm around Susannah but my arm only reached to Susannah's side. When my hand brushed against her side she giggled a little before covering her mouth with her hand. "Querida, are you ticklish?" I asked trying to sound shocked. She quickly shook her head and tried scooting away from me on the couch. I grabbed her ankles and pulled her back towards me so she was sitting in my lap and I began tickling her sides. She started laughing uncontrollably and begging me to stop as she caught her breath. I shook my head and smiled over her, which was when she started squirming in my lap. Eventually we ended up on the floor, Susannah straddling my hips and both of us in a fit of laughter. I managed to flip us over so I was on top and Susannah finally sighed, "Okay, okay, you win. I surrender." I smiled down at her and before I knew it my lips were on Susannah's. Then Susannah flipped us over and we kissed for what seemed like hours.
And then the front door opened and in walked Susannah's two other stepbrothers. They walked over to the stairs and caught Susannah and I in a very compromising position. We pulled away from each other and got up off the floor. "Hey guys" Susannah squeaked, her cheeks an adorable crimson.
"Who the hell are you?" the oldest of Susannah's stepbrothers asked looking pissed off. Brad stood to his left glaring at me. Susannah stepped in front of me, almost using herself to shield me from her stepbrothers and held up both her hands. "Brad, Jake just relax, okay."
"Who the hell are you?" Susannah's oldest stepbrother, apparently named Jake, repeated.
"Jesse, Jesse de Silva" I said, quite proud that my voice didn't shake or give away how panicked I was feeling.
"Jesse, what the fuck are you doing with Suze?" Brad demanded. I winced at his tone; this was not exactly the first impression I had wanted to make on Susannah's stepbrothers, and now I started worrying that I might get beat up because of this.
"We were hanging out, and-" Susannah started to explain when Jake interrupted her. "That's not what it looked like to us" he snapped back.
"It's my fault really. I just, I don't know what I was thinking but one second we were talking and laughing and then I just kissed her" I defended. Susannah turned to look at me, completely shocked.
"Suze, is that true?" Jake questioned angrily. Susannah shook her head and looked at both of them. "No…well, yes, but I kissed him back. He didn't do anything I didn't want him to" she answered as I stepped up, so that we were side by side. She looked over at me and gave a reassuring glance.
"So what, are you guys going out, or do you always just make out with girls you barely know?" Jake asked me, glaring at me like he wouldn't mind taking a swing at me.
"We're going out" Susannah and I replied in unison as we grabbed hold of each other's hand.
Jake eyed us suspiciously before saying, "Fine. But it's late, and he needs to leave. After he's gone, we need to talk Suze."
She nodded before replying, "I'm just gonna walk Jesse out to his car. I'll be right back." Jake barely nodded his head before walking towards the kitchen. Brad stood there eyeing us carefully before mumbling; "You sure know how to pick 'em." After that he trudged up the stairs and left us alone. Who was he talking to? I wondered before pulling Susannah towards her front door and opening the door before tugging her after me.
"I'm sorry" we both said when the door closed. We looked at each other and smiled, knowing things were okay between us. We walked hand in hand back to my car and gazed into each other's eyes, a smile on both our faces. "I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow" I said breaking the silence. Susannah nodded and replied, "Yeah, I…well…I'm going to be there early tomorrow because Jake has an early class and can't be late, and since he needs the car the most, we're all planning around his schedule. But, that's beside the point. I was wondering, do you maybe wanna get some coffee or something before school?"
"Yeah, coffee sounds good. And there's this little coffee shop right next to the school. They make the best caramel macchiatos" I answered, stepping closer to her. She smiled up at me, "Alright, I'll meet you there tomorrow morning before school. Night Jesse."
"Buenas noches querida" I cooed back before giving her a brief peck on the lips. Susannah smirked at me before sighing, "Jeez we get caught making out and all I get is a peck goodnight." I smiled at her and pulled her close to me, and then dipped her back a little over my arm before giving her a kiss I hoped left her as dazed as her's did me. I pulled her back up afterward and leaned my forehead against her's. "Better?" I asked with a smile.
"Much" she replied sounding far off, "well…I should…inside…Jake, and…yeah" she rambled incoherently. I chuckled at her before pecking her cheek and watching her saunter up the pathway to her front door. She waved me off before closing the door behind her, and I drove away feeling as happy as I possibly could be.
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Okay, there's another chapter for you guys to enjoy. Hope you like it!
But I have a favor to ask of all of you: I'm having a really hard time figuring out the end of the story. I can't decide which universe they should live in. I've thought of some pretty decent things for each one so I'm leaving it up to you guys. I want to see what universe you like better and want Jesse and Suze to stay in. Please, if you could let me know, I'd really appreciate it. –Lauren.