Jesse and I talked and laughed, as we casually strolled through the park in search of any food stores. We eventually grabbed some hamburgers and relaxed under a shady tree while conversing about our skating abilities.
He is such a beautiful guy… I thought, as I dreamingly gazed over his face for a brief moment as he rubbed at a patch of dirt on his forearm. A swirl of emotions suddenly stirred around in my stomach… I don't think that I will ever grow out of childishly drooling over him…
I quickly diverted my gazed to the ground as he looked up from his arm in my direction.
"Um, Jesse?" I spoke in a quiet voice, while gently twisting a few loose strands of chestnut coloured hair around my finger.
"Yes, Querida"
My God, I loved when he spoke in that soft, warming tone… The way that he patiently looked at me, waiting for me to speak… It's like he is completely focusing on me, and that nothing else matters to him at this point in time.
I didn't quite know where to start… In fact, what was it that I was going to say? I looked away from him, trying to grasp hold of some words to string together. A soft giggle escaped from within as I suddenly remembered something from the past.
"Can I… Err, oh man…" I scratched my head as I thought about how to word this.
Jesse chuckled and shuffled closer to me, causing me to feel that little extra bit shy.
"I never would have thought that Susannah Simon could ever got lost for words" He laughed, lightly teasing me while poking me in the shoulder.
I blushed and avoided his gaze, as the gentle breeze swept strands of hair from my face. My mind blocked any sign of arranging words into sentences for me, so I remained silent for a minute longer, biting down on my lower lip.
"Come on, don't get all shy on me. You can tell me anything" Jesse said, lowering his head down to meet mine.
"Yeah, I know… It's just, well; It's a little embarrassing…"
"Well then, this should be good" Jesse smiled while leaning back, resting his hands on the grass behind him, and supporting his weight.
I narrowed my eyes at his smart remark and playfully slapped his chest. "Don't get so cocky, this is about you"
"Really, about me? And it's embarrassing? Oh no, wait… I bet I know what it is!" He exclaimed smoothly, raising one of his eyebrows in a sexy way.
"Yeah? Enlighten me!" I urged him, knowing that he couldn't possibly know what I had in mind.
"Ok… You are going to confess to me about your drooling problem" He said rather confidently.
I burst out into a deep laughter. "What! Um, no Jesse. I don't think that's it!" I said between laughter.
His sexy facial expression remained on his face as he watched me double over in laughter. "Well, it's only a matter of time before you admit it" He smiled cheekily.
"Gees, Jesse! Get over it!" I said as my laughter slightly died down. "Do you want me to physically drool on you or something? Because it can be arranged!" I said, while twiddling with blades of grass between my fingers.
"No… How about I arranged something more… enticing?" He said in a low sexy voice.
My eyes shot up and looked into his, which seemed rather serious. Whoa, these sudden cheeky comments are occurring more and more often… And so is the feeling of being temporary winded and speechless…
"Ooh, so what have you got in mind?" I cheekily said, challenging his words.
He rubbed his thumb and index finger on his chin, and stared into my eyes as if he were searching my face for what I was thinking.
"How about you finish what you had started to tell me – Well, your pitiful attempt anyway…"
"Nope. That's not enticing enough for me," I said being childishly stubborn, while looking up at the beautiful blue sky.
When I turned back to look at him, he sent me a devilish grin, as a glint of light quickly seemed to flash over his face.
"What? Do you expect me to let my intentions known, right now?" Jesse said, sitting up and casually resting an arm on his folded leg. "Or, shall I show you tonight?"
My mouth suddenly went dry, causing me to choke. Jesse leant forward and started patting me on the back, trying to help clear my throat.
"I'm sorry…" He said apologetically. "That was rather rude of me. I'm truly sorry…" He continued, leaning back and embarrassedly blushing a little as he ran his fingers through his hair.
I managed to gain my breath back, and my coughing started to grow into laughter. Jesse looked up and realised that I hadn't taken it too seriously. He eased up and laughed a little along with me.
"Man, you have really got to stop catching me off guard like that!" I coughed from laughter.
After a few minutes of silence, we had decided to go for a walk to get off some of the calories, which we had just consumed. So we quietly walked around the park, taking in the lovely weather and watching other people riding their bikes, children playing ball games and flying kites… When all of a sudden Jesse broke the silence…
"Susannah, you've got me all curious now!" He said, stopping and standing in front or me.
"Huh?" I replied, sounding dumbfounded.
"What were you going to tell me before? You know… before we got, um side tracked" He pried rather curiously.
"Oh, that…" I said in a way which sounded as though I had pretended to forget about even mentioning it. "… It's rather stupid, really"
Jesse looked at me, expecting me to give in and tell him anyway.
"It'll make a good bedtime story…" I giggled, continuing to walk, leaving him to catch up to me.
"Susannah, you can't do this to me!" Jesse whined, jogging in front of me, blocking my way. "It's not fair" He pouted.
"Have I ever told you that you look cute when you pout?" I laughed, tapping my finger on the tip of his nose, causing him to blink.
Jesse placed his hands on his hips and shifted his weight onto one foot. "So, will you promise to tell me this 'bedtime story' later on?"
I smirked and though about it for a moment. "Well, that all depends…"
"On what?" He asked quickly, as if he were getting prepared to do anything.
"On whether or not you're a good boy - gentleman" I corrected.
He eyed me suspiciously, scanning from my right eye, to my left one. Then totally out of the blue, he knelt down on one knee and took hold of my hands.
"You know that I'll do anything for you" He smiled up at me.
"Ok, Ok! Get up" I laughed, while looking around to see if anyone was watching.
The coast was clear. As Jesse stood up on his feet, his gazed fixated on something behind me.
"Hey, look!" Jesse pointed enthusiastically over my shoulder. I spun around to see what he was so excited about. "You never said anything about an art gallery being in Carmel"
I spun back around and looked up at him dumfoundedly. "Um, I never knew you liked that sort of thing…" I said blankly.
"Oh, come on Susannah! You're kidding, right?" Jesse chuckled, while pushing my shoulder, causing me to take a step backwards. "Let's go check it out!"
"Check it out? Um, how about… No"
Jesse's expression turned serious, as he realised that I seriously wasn't interested in art.
"Why not?" He asked as if he were shocked to hear someone refuse to go into an art gallery.
"Because… It's boring" I whined, while rolling my eyes.
Jesse frowned down at me and shook his head in disbelief. "Well, do you mind if I had a quick browse around?" He asked, turning around to look at the ancient stone gallery walls.
"Sure, knock yourself out!" I said full of sarcasm.
"Thankyou, Susannah" Jesse smiled, not noticing my sarcastic tone as he kissed my forehead, before turning and rushing towards the gallery entrance.
Great one! I'm in love with an ancient history/art lover… I sighed and slowly wandered around outside, impatiently kicking loose gravel.
"What's the matter, you're not into art?" I heard a familiar voice shudder throughout my body.
My head immediately shot up in the direction of the voice, and a sudden intense painful groan escaped my mouth.
"I don't blame you, Suze. I mean, I prefer other forms of art as well…" He grinned.
I winced at him and leaned casually against the stone wall of the gallery. This resulted in him trying to block me in, so I quickly moved away from his reach, kind of side stepping.
Brett raised an eyebrow and let out a slight chuckle of amusement towards my actions. "Trying to dance are we?" He motioned to my short stepping as we kind of circled around each other.
I stopped moving and stared blankly up at Brett's face. What the hell am I supposed to do? How do I get rid of him? Ok, just act calm… Jesse will be back soon… Just keep stalling…
"Suze, how about we get outta here…"
"Is that a joke?" I demanded harshly, while awkwardly cutting him off. "Jesse's gonna be out any moment, and he's gonna kick your arse!"
Brett laughed hysterically out loud. "Jesse? That pansy's gonna kick my arse?"
I clenched my fists in anger, and almost felt like telling him about what I had done to his car… The thought really crossed my mind, but then again… He'd be really pissed! So I think I'd rather let him find out on his own accord.
By now, I was getting really annoyed and flustered up… Brett would not stop laughing!
"Shut the hell up!" I yelled, turning around and continued walking when Brett grabbed my shoulder and turned me around so I had to look at his ugly face.
"Well, if you insist…" He chuckled and ran his fingers down my back.
"Don't touch me" I cringed, promptly moving away from his touch.
Brett just widened his grin, and moved in to kiss me.
"I said don't!"
"Don't what! Don't kiss you?" He grinned, raising an eyebrow.
I stared up at him blankly. Is he taking drugs? He will not give up… He will not take no for an answer… Why is this happening to me? Why can't he chase after some other girl who actually likes him?
"Can't you get a girl, Brett? Is that it? Is that why you are destroying my life? Well, news flash! Have you actually tried going after girls who show an interest…"
"Don't give me that bullshit, Suze!" He demanded, forcefully interrupting and pulling me closer. "I've found my girl! I've just gotta make her mine…"
And with that, he forced his body up against mine, and slammed his lips down to kiss my lips.
"Leave me the hell alone!" I screamed, pushing him away from me as he kissed my neck, after I had turned my head to avoid him kissing my lips. I kicked his shin, threw his arm off me, and started to quickly stride away from him.
"Suze, don't you walk away from me!" He yelled after me.
But I didn't stop walking until I felt a large hand, tightly grab my left arm. Brett swung my body around to face him and raised his hand to block my other arm, which was about to take a swing in his direction.
"Brett, let me go!" I demanded, tyring to kick him again.
"No matter how hard you try, you're never gonna get rid of me, Suze" He said, calmly grabbing my leg which had almost kneed him in the you-know-whats.
Brett ran his hand up my thigh for only a split second, as I slapped him across the cheek with my free hand. This caused him to let me go, but I didn't have enough time to escape… He moved closer to my body, causing me to back up until I hit a brick wall. He leaned in close to my face, his hands on either side of the wall, caging me in. Then, Brett lowered his head until his lips were inches away from my right ear.
"You're too good to give up on, Suze… Please don't give up on me"
He whispered as he allowed his lips to graze the tender flesh of my ear. I shivered at his touch as I felt his lips trail from my ear, and travel down along my neck. I closed my eyes in ecstasy, at the warmth from his breath.
"I gave up on you a long time ago, Brett" I whispered, as a single tear escaped from my eye and fell freely down my cheek. I couldn't bare to look at him, and I certainly didn't want him this close to my body.
"I hate you" I whispered, wiping the tear away.
"No you don't," He said, running his index finger along my jaw line.
"Yes I do!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, causing him to jump back a little.
"Hey Suze, what happened to the date you promised me?" Brett asked as he took a step back towards me.
"How dare you even think that I'd -"
"You were gonna stand me up?" He interrupted harshly, suddenly getting agitated.
I slowly shook my head suggesting that I wasn't going to stand him up, and swallowed a dry lump, which had formed in my throat. Brett stopped in front of me, and stared into my eyes. I can't stand this any more… I can't be near him… He was crazy!
I looked past Brett, to the entrance to the gallery. Come on Jesse, hurry up damn it! Then it suddenly struck me; I had an idea that might just work as a distraction…
"Oh Jesse, thank God!" I shouted, ethicising on his name and pretending that he was coming this way.
It worked! Brett backed up instantly and turned around, expecting to see an angry man about to pound him in complete rage. I immediately ran for it, bolting across the grass in the direction of the pond.
"You conniving bitch!" He bellowed, charging after me.
Shit! What was I going to do? Where was I going to go? Then my eyes scanned across the large pond… Should I?
"Stop! Don't come any closer! I- I will jump!" I said in a shrill voice, stepping up onto the pond ledge and turning to face Brett, who had almost caught up to me.
"Suze…" Brett smiled, as he outstretched his right arm towards me. "… Don't be stupid"
I didn't wait another second. I turned around, jumped into the pond, and started to swim through the mossy, disgusting water. This is so gross! I thought as I parted the waterlilies out of my way.
"Susannah?" I heard a familiar voice yell out.
I stopped swimming for a minute and turned around to find Jesse standing on the edge of the pond, about 10 metres away from Brett, whom he hadn't seemed to notice staring out at me.
"What on earth are you doing?" He called.
I didn't need to say anything… Everything happened in a split second… Brett looked at Jesse, I pointed to Brett while looking at Jesse, and Jesse who was looking at me, turned to find a rather stunned Brett staring back at him.
I floated there, in the thick murky water, and watched in amazement at what happened next…
Jesse immediately bolted towards Brett, and Brett wasted no time in jumping into the pond to escape him. I had half-expected Jesse to jump in there after him, but he hesitated, came to an abrupt halt at where Brett had been once standing, and watched uneasily as Brett started swimming out towards me.
"Shit!" I yelled out, before turning back around to frantically swim in the opposite direction, away from Brett. I swam as fast as I could, but my legs were growing tired and my whole body was growing weaker by the minute. As I slowed down to take a breath, a large hand grabbed onto my neck and pulled me backward.
"Let go of me you - filthy creature!" I breathed heavily, prying Brett's fingers from my neck while trying to squirm away. And I almost escaped…
"Come here!" Brett demanded in a deep raspy voice, tugging on my leg, pulling me closer.
I tried to get out of his grip but he was too heavy; I was going to drown if I fought against him, and his arms were so strong. Brett grabbed my arms, lifted them around his shoulders and pulled his body close to mine. My chest was now pressing up against his… And by the look on his face, he was enjoying it.
In fact, he liked it so much that he felt the urge to make a move... Predictable! I managed to gather water in my mouth, just as his lips were in front of mine. So when he parted his lips and pressed them against mine… I spat the water down his throat.
This definitely shocked him, as he partially released me and started to choke on the sudden intake of water. I vigorously tried to fight the perverted bastard off me, when suddenly; a hand appeared in front of Brett's face and dunked him under the murky green water.
"Oh my God, Jesse!" I shrieked while trying drastically to stay afloat.
Brett was now doubly perplexed, as he struggled to get out of Jesse's grasp and breathed heavily, tyring to get some air into his lungs.
Whoa! I don't think that Jesse was kidding when he stated that he would kill Brett…
As I watched in complete trepidation at the wild splashing and constant yelling, a large scaly creature rubbed up against my calf. A fish? I screamed out a deadly, high pitched sound from feeling the slimy, scaly creature against my skin.
Instinctively, Jesse had let go of Brett and swam over to me to make sure I was all right.
"It was just a fish…" I breathed, as Jesse gave me a concerned look.
A sudden emission of desperation and pain seemed to flood his face, as he glanced over his shoulder at Brett who was choking for air, then flicked back to me, looking straight into my eyes.
Suddenly, a deep voice loudly filled the air as it projected through a megaphone. I unlocked my eyes from Jesse's, and looked over to the edge of the pond where two policemen were standing, shouting for us to get out of the water.
"Come on Susannah, let's get out of here" Jesse said, while lightly tugging on my shoulder.
"But what about him…" I said, looking over at Brett, who appeared to be loosing consciousness. "He's gonna escape!"
Jesse icily looked over at Brett in revulsion and eyed his almost lifeless body in disgust. "Not unless he drowns…"
I threw Jesse a look of astonishment. "Jesse! We just can't leave him after you've… That's… Murder"
The policeman had yelled through the megaphone again, demanding that we get out of the pond immediately. Jesse muttered something in Spanish through gritted teeth, as he scooped his arm under Brett's armpit, across his shoulder, and started swimming towards the policemen.
We had finally made our way through the mossy pond scum, and made it to the edge of the pond, where large hands appeared to pull us out of the water. They were both yelling out at the same time, that it was hard to understand what they were saying. I think I caught onto something like…
"What the hell were you guys doing? Are you crazy, this water is polluted! Are you all right? Is anyone injured?"
As one of the men had scooped my weak body out onto land, I collapsed onto the gravel, coughing out some of the disgusting water, which I had swallowed. Jesse reluctantly handed Brett's lifeless body over to the hands of a bulky policeman. The first man, who had pulled me out, went back over to help Jesse, who was already hoisting himself out on his own.
"Susannah!" He cried out, immediately rushing over and dropping to the gavel in front of me. "Nombre de Dios, I am so, so sorry Querida!" Jesse said, frantically apologising as he wrapped his arms around my soaking wet body.
My emotions overflowed and I burst into a flood of tears, grasping Jesse as tightly as I could and burying my head into his chest.
As Jesse and I desperately clung together in the dirt like the Yin and Yang symbols, the police had called the ambulance. Apparently things weren't looking so good for Brett…
We had to give our details to the police, well my details… Like phone number and address and stuff. Jesse had briefly explained to them what had happened… About the whole 'psycho Brett' issue. They didn't seem to be impressed; I think they just thought it was one of those 'teenage' break up scenarios… Well, God knows how old Brett really is… I'd probably say somewhere between 21 and 23… Stupid lying bastard!
Anyway, the police had to go with Brett when the Ambulance had arrived. They informed us about what would happen if Brett, um, had difficulties recovering… But I wasn't thinking about what would happen if Brett were to, err, die… No! I was more concerned about the fact that he wasn't obviously going to pass on into his next life cooperatively.
I gulped as I watched the ambulance drive off, with its sirens blaring out loud. A dead Brett will be worse than the alive one could ever be…
A large hand gently landed on my shoulder, followed by a comforting smile.
"Come on, Susannah. Let's go home"
Home? That was a beautiful word. Not only because it got me out of Brett's reach, but to hear the word home coming from Jesse, just made it sound so warm and special.
You know, because my home, is his home…