Chapter 16
Jake helped Sam up on George's back so she wouldn't have to use her hand for anything.
"Tell your Gram what happened so she'll wash it out," Jake instructed her, handing her the reins.
"Okay," Sam nodded. She reined George towards home and Jake watched her go. She looked over her shoulder once and he smiled at her and waved.
"Bye, Jake," she shouted a grin on her face.
"Are you saying bye to me or your turtle?" he called back.
"You, silly," Sam's peal of laughter rang out and Jake's smile broadened.
He swung up on his horse and headed towards Three Ponies. As he rode, he allowed his mind to wander back to the kiss he had given Sam. Or rather, they had given each other. Jake thought they had both gravitated towards each other at the same time.
The kiss wasn't as icky as he thought it would have been, but then again, it only lasted a second. Jake still couldn't see himself ever kissing a girl with his tongue like he'd seen Kit doing. Jake gave a small shiver at the thought.
Jake knew that Adam and Nate kissed girls too. He snorted. He had no doubt that Quinn and Bryan kissed girls. They were already girl crazy, more so than his older brothers had been at that age.
Heck, they were just a year older than he was and they were noticing girls. Quinn had already bragged that he had five girlfriends waiting for him this fall, when he would start the sixth grade. He had a few when he was in the fifth grade.
Jake would be starting the fifth grade and he couldn't say he really cared about girls. He liked Sam, but he really didn't notice other girls. He wondered if there was something wrong with him because of it.
He rode into Three Ponies and saw Kit in one of the pastures, riding a bucking horse. Dad had gotten a rank horse that refused to be ridden for Kit to practice on. Dad had given the other boys strict rules that they couldn't go near that horse.
Jake pulled his horse up and looped his reins over the hitching rail before climbing the pasture fence to watch his oldest brother. Kit was yipping, encouraging the horse to keep bucking. The horse did a barrel roll, doing his best to unseat Kit, but amazingly Kit held on.
Finally, Kit bailed off the horse to land on his feet in the pasture. He saw Jake watching him and he gave his youngest brother a smile.
"Hey, Jakey," Kit came trotting over, glancing every few feet behind him to make sure the horse wasn't coming after him. He climbed up on the rail next to Jake.
"Hey, nice ride," Jake told him.
"Where have you been?" Kit asked.
"Turtle racing with Sam," Jake responded.
"Oh yeah?" Kit laughed. "Who won?"
"Hers did," Jake frowned, causing Kit to laugh harder.
"Maybe you can have a rematch," Kit said.
Jake gave him a look and Kit knew he wanted to ask him something but was afraid to. Kit lost the laughter, trying to be serious for his little brother. He wondered what it was that was troubling Jake.
Kit watched as it seemed that Jake's attention wandered to the horse. Kit knew it didn't, but that's just how Jake worked. He was working in his mind what he wanted to say and whether he wanted to say it. Kit let him work it out without pressing him.
"When did you kiss a girl for the first time?" Jake finally asked.
Kit was surprised. He figured it had something to do with horses, not kissing girls.
"Did you kiss Sammy?" Kit had to ask.
Jake didn't look at him, still looking across the pasture but Kit could see it in the way Jake's eyes narrowed slightly. Jake gave the slightest of nods.
"Well you have me beat," Kit told him. "I didn't kiss a girl until I was eleven. How'd you like it?"
Jake shrugged. He still didn't look at Kit.
"Kissing girls is okay, Jake," Kit assured him. "As long as you didn't force it."
"I didn't," Jake murmured, now looking down.
"Did she slap you?" Kit asked.
Jake shook his head.
"Then she must not have cared that you did," Kit said.
Jake shook his head again.
"Did she like it?" Kit wondered.
Jake shrugged.
"Did she hit you afterwards?" Kit bit back a laugh. Jake's eyes slid to his, not appreciating Kit's amusement.
"No," Jake said.
"What's wrong, Jakey?" Kit asked. "You don't have to marry her just because you kissed her, you know."
Jake gave him a disgusted look.
"Though some girls think if you kiss them that you're going steady with them," Kit continued. Jake didn't react.
"Do you want to go steady with Sammy?" Kit had to ask.
"She's my friend," Jake said.
"You can go steady with your friend," Kit said. "Though I think you're both prolly a bit young to be going steady."
Jake looked at him.
"So you kissed your best friend," Kit shrugged. "At least it wasn't Darrell."
Jake almost fell off the fence in shock.
"Not that there's anything wrong with that," Kit hastened to add. He gave Jake what could only be described as a wolfish grin before they both started to laugh.