I walk to the shiny red convertible and get in the back seat. I've never ridden in a car that has the top down, so this is really cool.
"Hey Demi." Selena looks back at me from the front seat. "Mom, this is Demi. Demi, my mom." She introduces me to the woman in the driver's seat.
"Nice to meet you, sweetie. Selena's told me a whole lot about you." Her mom is really pretty, but I would've never guessed that she would be Selena's mom. She's pale white with blonde hair and greenish eyes. She's really pretty and she looks very, very young. If I look at her long enough, she kind of does look like Selena. Just a whiter version of her. I was expecting her to be a dark skin, dark haired Mexican woman.
"Demi, I thought you said you were gonna wear your bathing suit." Selena turns around and faces me from the front seat.
"I am. It's under my tank top." I lift it up and show her.
"See, mom! It's not inappropriate to get my belly button pierced! Demi has hers!" She turns her attention back to her mom.
"I told you I'd think about it, Selena Marie. Stop bugging me about it." Her mom doesn't even pay attention to her. Her eyes never leave the road. "How old are you, Demi?" She asks.
"Me? I'm sixteen. I just turned sixteen on the 20th." I'm playing with the volume button on my phone.
"Aw, happy belated."
"Thank you…."
"Selena's been trying to get me to let her pierce her belly since she turned fifteen. When did your mother let you get yours done?"
"I went with my sister on my…fourteenth birthday, I think. My sister was eighteen, so she signed the paper for me. But my mom didn't care." It hurts a little to talk about Dallas and my mom.
"I just don't trust Selena with piercings. Knowing her, it'll get infected and her belly button will fall off."
I chuckle. "It's not that hard to just keep it clean."
She makes a turn onto a long, winding road. "So how do you like it in Daytona? Selena told me you're from Texas. I'm a Texas girl too."
"I like it in Daytona Beach. It's a lot different than Texas, but it's nice." I like that her mom is actually trying to talk to me.
"Who are your folks? I might have known them. You said you're from Dallas area?"
"Yeah. Colleyville. Right outside of Dallas. A few hours away from Corpus Christi. And I'm a Lovato. L-O-V-A-T-O."
"I don't think I know any Lovatos. What's your mom's maiden name?"
"Hart. She used to be a cheerleader for the Cowboys…" I have to try really hard to mask the hurt in my voice.
"I do know a couple Harts. I know Sue. I used to go over to her house with my mom when they'd play cards together. I used to play with some of her kids, but I was much younger than them. Then we moved off to Grand Prairie and I never really saw them again. I think my mom and Sue are still good friends, though."
"Sue's my grandma." I nod. It really is a small fucking world.
"Oh really?! That's neat. Which one was your mom? I only remember there being two girls. I don't remember their names though." We're still riding up this long ass road.
"My mom? She was Dianna. The older one. The… blonde one." I bite my lip hard. I just wanna get out of the car.
"I remember her! She's a singer, isn't she? She was always real nice to me. She was a good few years older than me, but she still played with me. How's she doing?"
I don't feel like I can talk anymore, so I want to cut the conversation. "She's doing… okay, I guess." I feel like I'd be disappointing her if I told her the truth.
"That's good. Tell her Mandy says hi. She should remember me."
"I will." I whisper kind of low. I bite my lip once again. Man, this hurts.
As my saving grace, Selena's mom brakes the car to a stop. We stop in front of a really, really, REALLY nice house. It's very light brown, almost yellow. It has white doors and white windows with white balconies. It's extremely big and there are three palm trees that sit in a fenced in yard. The garage looks like it holds at LEAST four cars. I don't want to be all bratty, but it isn't nicer than my aunt and uncle's house. It's PRETTY nice, though.
"Selena, call me around 10. Let me know what you're doing. I'll be back to get you guys at 11:30, 12:00, is that alright with your parents, Demi?"
"Yes, they're okay with it." I get out of the car. Breathe, Demi. Breathe. I'm still very upset, but I have to shake it off. I'm okay… I'm okay.
Selena walks over to my side and we both watch as her mom drives away.
"…Sorry. About her…" Selena turns to me and looks at me with deep sincerity.
"…Why are you saying sorry?" I'm confused though. Her mom didn't do anything bad.
"I just… I noticed how sad you get when someone talks about your family. You get really sad, don't you? I saw that in Spanish class on Tuesday. So I'm sorry that she was so nosy."
"Oh. Don't worry about that. She didn't know…"
"Know what? You don't like your family? I don't like mine either. You're not alone. I can't stand my mother sometimes."
"Don't say that." I shake my head.
"But it's true."
"Don't say that though. You love your mom. And you're wrong… I do like my family. I love my family… they're just… not here with me." I look up at the house so that I don't cry.
"…They aren't here? Are you a foster child? ….I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me."
"No, I'm not a foster child." I shake my head.
"I…I honestly didn't think so. You have an iPhone, I didn't really think you were an orphan." She giggles.
That makes me giggle too, which I'm thankful for. "I live with my aunt and uncle. My uncle's in the military so they got a lot of money."
"….Well I don't know why you get sad about your family. But if you ever feel okay to talk about it, you can talk to me."
I feel okay now. That little burst of laughter just gave me so much strength. "It's not my family. It's just my mom. I get sad talking about her cause… um… She… passed away. A few months ago, she did. That's all…"
"Oh my god…I'm really… I'm sorry Demi. I can't imagine… but you're so… normal."
"I learned to deal with it. I only get sad sometimes." I brush it off. "Let's not talk about it, though. I'm ready to go have fun." I put on a smile. It's only half fake. The other half is genuine.
Selena smiles at me. "Yeah. Let's go have fun. I wonder if Cooooody is here yet." She starts walking up to the front door.
I giggle. "Shut up, bitch. We all know Nick is here." I follow her to the door.
"I can't believe you called me a bitch. We really are gonna be best friends." She rings the bell once and we wait for it to be answered.
We don't wait any longer than thirty seconds before the door is opened for us. Nick is the one that opens it.
"Finally. The ladies are here." He jokes and steps aside to let us in.
I follow Selena's lead and kick my shoes off as soon as we walk in. The house is really, really nice. It's very bright and spacious. It's nice and open, like you can just be free. I don't know how else to describe it besides beautiful and just… free.
Nick and Selena share a deep kiss and I just sit back and wait for it to be over. "I got you later, babe." Nick smiles and kisses her again.
They pull away and acknowledge me again. "We're all outside in the pool. Cody's been waiting for you." Nick says.
"…I've been waiting to see him too." I smile at the thought of him. Cody brightens my day.
Selena and I both walk through Nick's gorgeous house, through the kitchen and to the back door. Nick slides the door and walks through it, onto his patio. It's stifling hot outside. I follow Selena's lead again and walk over to a couple of chairs that are on the patio. She takes off her pants and I take off my shirt. I take off my shorts too and pile them in the chair with Selena's things. I don't feel weird in my bathing suit. I feel comfortable.
"Selena, when is it okay to kiss?" I hurry up and ask before we get into the pool.
"What do you mean?" She takes her hair out of the ponytail she had it in. Her hair is so gorgeous.
"Me and Cody have been… messing around for four days now. And he likes me, I like him. But four days is still too soon to kiss, right?"
"…I don't think so. You should start out slow, though. Like…. Not the intense kissing that me and Nick do. The kissing and the touching. Don't do that. Just… kiss him. And if you feel comfortable, you can make out with him. I don't think it's too soon…"
"Okay, thanks. I just needed to know." I pull my hair out of my messy ponytail too. I follow Selena as we both walk down a small flight of stairs to the pool area.
Their backyard is SO nice. There's a really big inground pool with a slide and a diving board. Off in one corner is a trampoline and in another corner is a basketball court. It's really nice.
Selena completely ditches me and runs off to the diving board. I'm not mad about her ditching me, because I'm not that nervous to be here. I'm not ready to get into the pool just yet, so I pop a squat on the edge with my feet in. I swish my feet in the water. Selena dives in the pool and she lands in Nick's arms, which I think is cute.
Cody swims over to me with a smile on his face. He grabs my feet. "Long time since I've seen your face." He comments.
I smile and look at him. "I just saw you in school."
"Still too long for me. Why aren't you getting in?" He moves his hands up my legs and massages them.
"I'll get in pretty soon. I just wanna get used to the water." I kick my feet some more.
He holds my legs still and keeps massaging them. Easily, he puts both his hands on each of my knees and parts my legs. Yes, he's doing it in a sexual manner, and no I don't mind. Nothing's gonna happen.
"I wonder if your lips are as soft as your legs…" He leans down and presses his lips to the inside part of my kneecap.
"No need to be nasty. You can just ask to find out…" This flirting thing is becoming easier for me.
"What can I say? Maybe I'm just a nasty kind of guy…" He kisses a little bit above my knee, moving to my inner thigh.
"…How nasty?" I bite my lip at just thinking about it.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He moves so that he's between my legs. He puts his hands on my lower back and pulls me into the pool. The water isn't too cold.
"…Maybe you can find out how soft my lips are before the end of the day."
He keeps his hands on my lower back. "I'll hold you to that, okay?" He presses his lips to my cheek and rubs me.
Interrupting the moment, Nick and Selena come over, splashing like assholes. "We're gonna go grab some food. My dad made some stuff off the grill. You two lovebirds coming to eat?" Nick asks. Nick's carrying Selena on his back.
"Yeah, I'm hungry." Cody lets me go, but takes hold of my hand.
I'm not hungry, but I'll go anyway, just to sit down and talk with them. We all get out of the pool and I grab my towel. I wrap my towel around my waist and follow all of them up on the patio and back through the kitchen door. The kitchen isn't empty like it was a couple minutes ago when we walked through it.
Now, there's a short woman with dark brown hair setting out paper plates. She's really pretty and she looks like she's probably very nice.
"Oh yeah. Mom, this is my new friend, Demi. Demi, this is my mom." Nick introduces me to her.
She busily puts her hand out to me. "Nice to meet you, I'm Mrs. Jonas."
I grab her hand and shake it firmly. "I'm Demi."
"You're so cute. That smile…." She actually looks at me. She examines me, it looks like. "…You're Italian, aren't you honey?"
"Sicilian." I nod and smile.
"I DO love a pretty little Italian girl. You're adorable. Very nice to meet you, honey."
"Thank you." I'm smiling so big that I can actually FEEL my dimples coming out. And my dimples only come out whenever I'm SMILING.
"You guys can help yourselves to whatever you want to eat. Drinks are in the fridge. Nicholas, don't let my kitchen get too messy." She sets out plastic forks too and leaves the kitchen.
"I'll be back in a second. I'm going to go pee. Don't miss me." Cody leans down and kisses me on my neck and then he disappears to go to the bathroom. I smile a little bit.
"Demi, are you hungry?" Selena asks, piling her plate with food. The food all looks very delicious, but I already ate a sandwich.
"No, I'm not. I just want a drink." I go to the fridge and grab a can of iced tea.
When everyone is done, I follow them back outside on the patio so that they can sit and eat. I sit next to Selena, with an open seat for Cody on my right.
"So why don't you and Code just date already?" Nick takes a giant bite of a hot dog.
"We're taking things slow, dipshit." I sip my tea.
I hear the sliding glass door open again behind me, but I don't turn and look to see who it is because it's more than likely Cody.
The air shifts beside me and instead of the tan, light brown skin that belongs to Cody, paler skin sits next to me. I don't even look at the face. I just freeze.
"Nick didn't tell me you were coming over." His familiar, gravelly voice booms in my ear.
I turn to look at him, and my worst nightmares come true. He is shirtless, and his muscles are so big and chiseled that I can't help but to imagine what he looks like naked. His dick probably has muscles in it too. Oh my god, he's so hot.
"…Long time no see, huh?" I say.
"Long time no talk. A little weird seeing me outside of uniform?"
A little weird seeing you without a shirt, but lord knows I won't complain. You can take everything off and I still wouldn't say a word. "Just a little." I laugh softly.
"It's a little weird seeing you without a shopping bag in your hand." He reaches over and covers my vagina area with my towel.
I don't mind, but it was a little weird. "Never did I think that I'd be sitting over the pizza boy's house."
"The pizza boy has a name. It's a little rude if you don't remember it, considering the fact that he remembers your name… Demi."
I don't look up into his eyes. I don't want to look him in his eyes. Cody is bound to be coming back out now.
"I remember your name. It's Joe. How could I forget?" WHY did that just fly out of my mouth?
"I sure hope you wouldn't forget. How pathetic would that be? I remember your name but you don't remember mine. I'd have to go into hiding or something for that one." He taps his hands on the glass table.
I finally look up into his eyes. His eyes are so pretty. They're the lightest shade of brown I've ever seen, but yet they're still dark. He has the longest eyelashes and the most incredibly bushy, but still completely perfect eyebrows. "So you didn't work today, pizza boy?"
"You weren't at the mall today." He counters me. He looks into my eyes too, which is something new, because when Cody talks to me, he usually looks at my mouth.
"Maybe I was there…" Flirting with Joe comes easier to me than flirting with Cody. It's natural with Joe. I don't have to think about what to say.
"I know you weren't there. I would've seen you."
"What if I didn't go to the pizza place, and I didn't go to Steve & Barry's?"
"…You really know how to bust my balls, Demi. Why can't you just let me have a little fun?" He flashes that dazzling, perfect smile again. Shit, I just wet my pants. If you know what I mean….
"Why can't you just admit that you were looking for me?"
"And what if I did admit it? Not saying that I was, but hypothetically speaking, of course."
"…I'd tell you to keep dreaming, because I'm not interested."
"…Tease."
"Go make me some pizza." I look away from him again, but my eyes catch on his swimming trunks. I have a little fun imagining where he is. I'd love to know his length. I imagine he's very thick and very, very long. I lick my lips. I'm getting back in the pool anyway, so I might as well have some fun with getting wet.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? WHY AM I BEING SUCH A SLUT?
"Are you this bitchy to every guy that tries to get to know you?" I notice how he never takes his eyes off me.
No, just the ones I particularly like. "Maybe." I sound disinterested.
He laughs and gives me that perfect smile again. He sits back and puts his hands together. "So do you really want that pizza?"
"No." I shake my head. "But do you offer all girls free pizza?"
"…You want me to lie to you or tell you the truth?" He smiles some more, not showing teeth.
"…Lie to me." I look back at the door. I don't really care where Cody is right now.
"No. I don't offer all girls free pizza. I only offer the ugly ones free pizza to make them feel better about themselves."
I smile now. "….Tell me the truth."
"Nope. I don't offer all girls free pizza. Just the ones that are pretty." He taps his foot.
I smile genuinely. "Well… if that's the case… then I'll take free pizza. And no… I don't accept food from all boys…." I can flirt so easily with him.
He smiles at me some more. "You don't?"
"Nope….." I shake my head and lick my lips again. "Just the ones I think are cute." I wink at him.
"….See you a little later. I'm gonna go take a shower." He pushes his chair out and gets up from the table.
"See you… pizza boy."
He flicks me off playfully and disappears into the house.
I will take that literally. The middle finger? Oh, please let me take that literally. I'm half tempted to get up and follow him into the shower. I'll follow him into his shower and watch for a moment. Then I'll get in with him. I don't mind sharing. Does he? I don't know why I'm sitting here thinking about this. But it's all true.
He probably doesn't even think about me in the way I'm thinking about him. I bet he thinks that I'm just a little girl. That's true, though. I am just a little girl compared to him. He's probably in college. I'm still a junior in high school. I guess I can have a crush on him. Like I have a crush on Mr. Carrison. But it's different, because I don't fantasize about Carrison.
I can sit here all night and just fantasize about Joe. I can think about what he looks like naked, how incredible he must be in bed, everything. I think I lust after Joe. He's way too old for me, but I can dream.
…if I kiss Cody but imagine it's Joe, is that cheating?
I wonder what Joe's doing right now. I wonder if he's thinking of me in the same way I'm thinking of him. I wonder if Joe's a virgin. I know Cody isn't. Joe probably isn't either. It's better if he isn't one. He'll know what he's doing.
I need to talk to Selena.
She'll know what to do about my Cody/Joe dilemma.