For what seemed like forever, Jamie and I just eyed one another as the energy of the small town cafe buzzed around us. It's funny how with one look, we managed to say everything to one another yet there was still so much left to say. To this day, I don't know if it was the midday summer heat or if it was the tension of being so close without actually touching one another, but I knew that if I couldn't grab her and kiss her at that very moment, I'd go crazy. I mean really, I don't think you understand; her hair rested lazily on her hair in bright auburn curls, her eyes looked bluer than ever although hidden beneath a pair of old school cat eyed reading glasses and even dressed in a worn yet colorful Hush Sound band tee, a pair of gray running shorts and blue and silver Nike hightops, she was still the most amazing girl I'd ever had the pleasure of looking at. Before I even had to think about it anymore, she jumped and somehow found a way to wrap her tiny, almost weightless body around mine.
"I missed you" ,she said as she buried her head into my neck. I felt a smile slowly creep it's way to my lips hearing her say that, even if the it was a little muffled seeing as how my neck suddenly became her face's new hiding place. But as much as I wanted to just give in to the insane rollercoaster feeling in my stomach and tell her that I missed her back, I admit it, I still liked bringing out that fiery and dare I say, bitchy side of her's that I'd fallen for.
"And I thought it was my body that you missed, but seriously who are you and what have you done with Jamie Scott?"
She playfully smacked me in the arm and told me to "Shut up,douchebag", if I remember correctly. But of course, what good is witty banter if you let your opponent win the first round no matter how hot she is or how much you think you might be falling in love with her...but that might be giving away too much. Anyways, being the handsome, witty and charming devil-spawn of Chris Keller, I had a comeback that was sure to gain me another punch in the arm and possibly a kick somewhere else:
"So she is in there, so let's start over! Hi, Jamie, it's been a while, how are you ?"
She rolled her eyes and smacked me much harder this time.
"Oww, damn girl, what was that for ?" I asked her as I noticed a small bruise welling up in the spot that she had hit.
She smiled innocently and kissed the spot that she had hurt and told me, " You're so much cuter when you're in pain, baby"
"You're quite the little sadist then, aren't you ?" I quipped back
"That, I am...but you know you love it"
"Maybe" I teased back. She then, reached up on her toes and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. When she pulled back she asked me "How 'bout now?"
"I could be persuaded" I told her. She deepened the kiss this time, nibbling on my lower lip before pulling away knowing that just by doing that, she could probably get me to agree to sell my entire record collection in order to feed a small third world country.
"And now ?", she asked giving that sexy smirk that reached all the way to her gorgeous blue eyes.
"Ummm..." I began but before I had the chance to answer, she pulled me in for another kiss and as it led into what I was sure was going to be a crazy, mad, hot intense makeout session, I heard a small but loud voice tinged with some southen drawl say,
"You guys? Jamie? Uh, sexy Wentworth Miller lookalike? Hello! Older cousin in the building, a very public building I might add wants to know what the hell is going on!"
Jamie smiled up at me, grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the counter where a girl who looked not much older than us or much bigger than Jamie with light brown hair and wide and expressive greenish grey eyes was waiting for an answer.
"Josh," Jamie began, "this is my cousin Keane, she's my Uncle Lucas' baby sister and her mom is the one who owns the cafe. And Keane, this 'Prison Break boy lookalike' as you called him is actually my boyfriend, Josh."
Feeling a little stunned but completely ecstatic (well as ecstatic as a guy can look without losing his manliness), I stuck my hand out to shake Keane's already outstretched limb. She looked up at me and said,
"Jam left out the part mentioning that as the oldest member and the leader of the 2nd generation, would-be Scott mafia, I'm supposed to size you up and then threaten you within an inch of your life if you hurt her; but in all honesty, kid: if you hurt my cousin, bad things will happen to you and I can't guarantee that you'll be able to walk after but I think we can keep your face in tact because it's just way too freaking gorgeous to waste. But other than that, it's really nice to meet you Josh"
I had to give it to this girl, she was pretty hardcore for someone who was no bigger than 5 ft 3 and probably so light that the wind would probably knock her over in the middle of a rainstorm. And all she was doing was looking out for Jamie, which I guess gave us something in common but still...that girl was scary as all fucking hell
"Ohhhhh 'kay, Keane, I think you've damaged him enough and on that note, I think me and my very secret boyfriend should leave now."
Keane' eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Oh my God, so Nate and Haley are clueless ? Jamie, that is so Tree Hill circa 2005, like why don't you just tell your parentals?"
"It's a long story, Keke. I'll tell you at dinner tonight, ok?"
"Fine, I'll stop, but tonight you owe me some major gossip and this better be like 'Romeo and Juliet' big."
I wrinkled my nose as I thought out loud, "Are we talking Leo and Claire style here ?" thinking about my father's obsession with Romeo and Juliet, but his strange refusal to watch any other movie version unless it had his first pre-teen celebrity crush; a very sweet and innocent, naked yet still very doomed Claire Danes.
Keane laughed as I opened the door of the cafe for Jamie so we could leave, "That's the one. Jamie, I like this kid. You should bring him tonight, just don't be late, ok? When I left Uncle Dan this morning, he was all weird and he was talking about how he wants to have the whole family together tonight so we can 'discuss' something...whatever that means."
Knowing that I wanted to get out of there as badly as Jamie did, Jamie rushed out the door and left Keane with a not so reassuring "Yeah,Keane,I'llbethere.Seeyoulaterbabe.Bye!"
Jamie wrapped her fingers around mine as we began walking towards a bridge that led to the Riverfront.. We walked in silence for a while, just enjoying being with eachother and the warmth of the sun on our backs. When we finally got to the spot overlooking the river, we made our way to a small bench that put us in the midst of the breeze coming from the water.
"I'm sorry Keane went all 'Godfather' on you back there. She kind of treats me like the little sister she never got to have.", Jamie said as I put my arm around her to bring her in, closer to me.
"It's cool, at least you have someone looking out for you. And aside from the mafia comment, she seems really sweet. A little unusual, kind of like her name...but pretty nice all in all."
Jamie chuckled, "Yeah, I knew you were probably gonna ask about that, most music freaks do."
"Well it's not everyday that you meet a girl named after a band with a crazy powerful last name like Scott, now do you?"
"Fair enough. Ok, well when my Grandma Karen had her, she was really sick and unconcious for the first few days after. My uncle Lucas, being 18, confused and completely baby challenged at the time didn't know what to do the first night he brought her home from the hospital, all she did was cry and cry. She wouldn't drink any milk, her diaper stayed dry the entire time and all my Uncle Lucas wanted to do was sleep so he brought Keane to his room and started playing music. He tried everything from Eisley to Prince to Sia to Led Zeppelin, even to that weird New age 'waves crashing on the beach with tribal flute and chanting in the background' shit and nothing worked until 'She has No Time' came on. The baby stopped crying, cracked a smile and finally went to sleep and the funny thing is that it was one of her dad's favorite songs by that band. So when Grandma Karen woke up, Uncle Lucas told her what happened and thy both agreed that Keane suited her perfectly."
I smiled at the thought of the sweet, happy go lucky person I had just met being a cranky baby with a loud cry and no name. "That's actually kind of cool, but you know what I don't get ?"
"What ?", she asked thoughtfully
"The whole deal with your family. Like no offense babe, but that shit is way too complicated for me. Like how your Uncle Lucas is Keane's brother and her uncle is your grandfather but your sister and her are only a day apart, and it's just really confusing and if it's not too much trouble at all; if you're planning on telling me anymore of these infamous Scott stories, you might need to draw me a freakin' family tree!"
Jamie looked at me and laughed that gorgeous, contagious laugh of hers until it looked like she was about to cry, "You know, I think that's the first time anyone's ever put it that way but for the record, you're totally right. It does get really confusing but I grew up that way so it's not such a big deal anymore"
I looked at her and nodded, "I guess I know what you mean, for some people the adoption thing freaks them out but for me, it's this huge part of my identity. I think someone asking me, what it's like being adopted is the same as someone asking you what it's like to be a Scott."
"So ask me then..."
"What it's like to be a Scott."
"Ok" I replied playing along, "What's it like, being a Scott ?"
She looked my square in the eye and asked me, "Well, what's it like being a Keller ?."
"I never really thought of it that way", I told her truthfully
"Josh ?"
"Uh huh", I replied lazily as I played with a strand of her hair that looked gold in the sunlight.
"Ok, this might sound a little fucked up and feel free to look at me and tell me I'm on crack if this does come out sounding completely retarded and impossible; but after what Keane said today it makes me wonder. Do you think maybe, possibly, we might be a little like Romeo and Juliet ?"
Ok, not that I'm a romance junkie or anything but that was probably the single most sweetest thing a girl has ever asked me. Whether you want to think about it or not, Shakespeare was a genius when it came to romance, the man practically invented it. I mean, even if it was 1599 and nobody took baths, with all those plays and poems he wrote, I'm pretty sure the guy knew how to get his mack on.
"How so, babe?"
Jamie looked at me and sighed, "Well, it seems like as much as we love eachother, our whole relationship seems to be based on who are parents are and what they mean to eachother. I mean, isn't that a little too Shakespearean for one summer and a city as big as L.A.?" she said with a tiny half smile.
I smiled as I let her declaration about our relationship replay in my head, "We love eachother ? ", I asked her
Her smile faltered as she recalled her confession, trying to cover it up, she said "Well, ok maybe it's a little soon but yeah I love you but you don't have to say it back if you don't feel it yet. I mean how awkward would that be and -"
I cut her off by putting my hand over her mouth so I could day what I'd been meaning to ever since the morning after the loft party, "I love you too, Jamie."
She stood up, flashed me one of her killer smiles and tried pulling me up using her small little hands. "Where are we going?, I asked her
She cocked one eyebrow ever so slighty and replied cheekily, "Well, if you don't get your cute little ass off this bench and down to the beach with me, I guess you'll never know."
That michievous glint in her was all the convincing I needed, as we walked further down past the docks and the calm of the river towards the sand of waves of the beach I noticed that the sky had turned into a dark blue that only Andrew McMahon and his smooth California lyrics could put into words. When we reached the beach, we both fell on to our backs giving ourselves a perfect view of the stars.
"Do you think that this is exactly one of those moments you look back on 20 years from now and think that there is such a thing as an absolutely perfect moment ?" Jamie asked me as her hand found it's way into mine.
Before I could answer her, I let myself drink in the moment happening all around me. The beach was uncharacteristically empty for a summer night, save for the orange glint of a bonfire happening all the way at the very edge of the beach. The beach houses surrounding us, each with their yellow lights in the window lit up the night along with the stars. The mellow sounds of Air's 'Playground Love' floated out of someone's window and into the air, making itself a part of our personal soundrtrack.
"Definitely", I told her as I pulled her in for a kiss. It started out slow and sweet, I didn't want her to think that I wanted more from her (well I did, I mean obviously I'm a guy but what I mean was I didn't want to pressure her into anything) but the softer I kissed her, the harder she kissed me back. It was like there was so much penting up longing in each kiss, each touch that even I couldn't hold my feelings back; so I went with it. I let my hands wander all over as I moved down to leave a trail of kisses on her neck and as a soft moan escaped from her perfect little lips, every one of my senses threatened to go over the edge with want. It was as I kissed my way down to her stomach, she told me, "Josh, I want to be with you"
It was exactly what I wanted to hear, but with the idea of it right in front of me; I had to no idea what to say. So being the typical boy blunder that I am, I managed to blurt out, "Here?!?!"
She threw her head back and giggled, "No, I know a place nearby though but..."
"But what ?"
She bit her lip nervously and told me, "I've never really, you know...like been with anyone before"
In that second, I knew that yes, I still wanted to be with her but I still wanted to take care of her and protect her and maybe even love her forever if she'd let me.
"I'll take care of you, ok ?"
"Promise ?"
"Cross my heart, as you girlies say"
"You're such a dork" she teased but underneath that, for the first time I could really see past all the jokes and sarcasm with her. I know that she wanted us to be something, for real. She got up and led me to the other side of the beach, the closer we got, the more I could make out something that looked like a cabin or a lifeguard shed. When we finally got there she opened the door, pulled a long string and a single light came on. I looked around at the room before me, the inside of this place was like the perfect hideaway with several pictures, seashells and beach art adorning the walls. The was a small rocking chair in the corner with a knitted afghan hung perfectly over it's frame and in the corner was a bed covered in a colorful quilt. To me, it was absolutely perfect.
"So what do you think ?", she asked
"It's perfect", I told her as I eased myself into the rocking chair. "This chair here is actually turning out to be the highlight of this whole experience."
She laughed at me, and begin looking around the room. "God, it's so quiet in here. Like we need some music", she told me. Resting on one of the counters, she found a small radio that looked like it hadn't seen a day past 1989. It was seriously as old school as it got. As she flipped the switch and tried to find her way past the static to find something listenable, I asked her, "What is this place exactly ?"
"It's kind of like the Scott family hideout. When Zane and I were about 8 or 9, we had wandered off together from my parents' beach house and we found this place. Like at the time it was abandoned and almost falling apart but we both saw it as a place where we could get away from both our families, especially mine, if it ever got to be too much. So that summer, with Matt, Noah and Shay's help, we turned this place into our own little corner of the world.
"Do you think Zane would mind that I kind of made my way into your hideout?"
She scoffed, "Please, do you know how many times I caught Zane with Allie Coulter last year or Rhys with way too many boys to - " The static had finally molded into something that resembled music. Citizen Cope's 'Sideways' instantly set the mood in the room.
"God, I love this song" she said as she made her way to the middle of the room. I couldn't keep my eyes off her as she did the single most sexiest dance I'd ever seen in my whole life.
You know it ain't easy
For these thoughts here to leave me
With her eyes closed, she swayed her hips to music and danced with her arms above her head. The voice on the radio mingled with the sweet humming of her own.
There's no words to describe it
In French or in English
Well, diamonds they fade
And flowers they bloom
And I'm telling you
These feelings won't go away
"Dance with me", she said. I got up and wrapped my arms around her waist and we just moved back and forth feeling like, as lovers, we were completely invincible.
They've been knockin' me sideways
They've been knockin' me out lately
Whenever you come around me
These feelings won't go away
They've been knockin' me sideways
I keep thinking in a moment that
Time will take them away
But these feelings won't go away
As the song ended, Jamie lowered herself onto the bed, pulling me on top of her.
"Josh ?" she called out softly
"Yeah ?"
"Just go slow, k?"
---A/N: Dun dun dun! What can I say? I like me them cliffhangers, but I think we all KNOWwhat's going to happen! But I'm just warning y'all now, this might be the last time you see happy people for a little while in this story...well maybe everyone except for Rhys cuz you know she's cool that way.