by Trio, L. M.
I’m deeply distracted by the music and the crowds of people that are piling into the house; my game is definitely off. Alright, so maybe it isn’t the music and people, but I’m distracted none the less. As my quarter once again hits the rim of the glass and lands on the table, I take another sip from my red plastic cup.
“What the fuck is he lookin’ at?” I ask quietly, leaning into Mikey who is sitting to my left.
“What?” His eyes follow mine, which lead right to JJ and the jerk off standing across from her that looks as if he’s about to jump her bones. “He’s not doin’ anything wrong,” Mikey says, laughing at me.
I’ll admit I’m beginning to get wasted ‘cause I am so damn distracted watching Jesse all night long. I’m finding it hard to concentrate. The more my shot is off, the more I have to drink. I can’t help it; she looks so fuckin’ hot tonight in her skin tight jeans and black tank top.
I don’t recognize the guy who is undressing JJ with his eyes. The kid whose party it is graduated last year, it is probably one of his preppy asshole friends from college.
“Yo, jerk off!” I holler out. My friends start laughing, not knowing who the hell I’m talking to, but all of their heads turn at the same time, trying to see who it is.
“Luke… don’t start,” Mikey warns with a sly grin on his face.
Once again, I call out to him; his friend turns around instead and points to himself. “You talking to me?”
“No, the jerk off in the striped sweater next to you.” I laugh, pointing to his friend.
He taps his friend on the shoulder who turns around to look at me. My friends, of course, are egging me on, cracking up. He points to himself, and I wave him over. I know Mikey, while amused by the whole thing, is keeping a close eye. I’ve caught a few people’s attention when I holler out, “Yo, jerk off!” two times. He is a pretty big guy, too; a preppy, douche bag type.
“Did you call me a jerk off?” he asks, walking over as if he’s gonna do somethin’ about it.
I rise from my chair. I’m not the type of guy that gets into fights, but I have to admit, when I stand up, I can be kind of intimidating, I guess. “Yeah, I did. That’s my sister over there, I don’t like the way you’re lookin’ at her,” I say, waving my finger in the direction of JJ and her friends. “They’re off limits.”
I can sense Mikey holding back his laughter, the rest of my friends don’t hold back at all. I can get away with it because Deanna is actually standing in the crowd with them, but it isn’t De he was checking out.
“Alright, dude, no problem. I didn’t realize I was staring,” he slurs, holding up his hands as if I have a gun to his chest. It’s clear he is worse off than me.
I offer him my hand to shake and he hesitantly takes it. “Just so we’re on the same page,” I add. He shakes his head and walks in another part of the house with his friend. The guys are still laughing, trying to egg me on more, but it is all in fun.
While our friends move on to the next topic, Mikey leans back in his chair to get my attention. “You’re an asshole.”
“Why? I was just messin’ around,” I defend myself.
“Go talk to her already. Put yourself out of your misery. Week after week, I watch you, watching her, getting all twisted up every time some guy looks at her.”
“Get the hell out of here… I do not.” I laugh, while Zack pushes a glass in front of me once again. Feeling better now that the asshole moved away, I take my shot and it lands dead center inside the glass. About time.
I catch Jesse out of the corner of my eye, making her way to the garage, probably to fill up her cup. I get up from my chair and follow her out. I wait in the laundry room while she fills up and is about to enter the house again, I hold up my arm blocking her path in the doorway.
“Luke, hey, what’s up?” she says cheerfully.
“Nothing. Just wanted to say, hi,” I reply, flashing her a smile, letting her into the laundry room while I purposely back her into a corner behind the door, giving us some privacy.
“Oh,” she says, looking at me suspiciously with those beautiful emerald eyes and red lips that I want to taste so bad.
“You okay? You’re not drinkin’ too much, right?” I ask, trying to keep her near me as long as I can.
“No, I’m good.”
“I know you’re good. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” I say, closing the gap between us.
“Yep... What about you? Lori said she thought you were arguing with some guy?”
“Oh, the asshole in the gray sweater who was about to pounce on you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Good, that’s why I took care of it,” I whisper, unable to remove my eyes from her mouth. She gives me a curious look. “I’m kiddin’, it was all good.”
“You’re actin’ very strange tonight,” she says with a nervous smile.
“Yeah... Well, I lost a lot of rounds tonight.” I chuckle.
“I can see that.” She laughs, taking a step back, till she bumps into the wall.
I take that as an opportunity to move in closer, placing my hand on the wall, next to her head, she has nowhere to go. I can’t help it, but my other hand reaches out and twists her hair around my fingers. I can see her chest rise when I touch her and she holds her breath as she gives me a quizzical look.
“What?” I whisper, lowering my head to her ear, while taking in her scent, which reminds me of summer.
“What are you doing?” she asks, looking up at me innocently.
Then suddenly, I realize I probably shouldn’t be doing this. I told myself I wouldn’t play games with her. I’m drinking and am about to take a huge advantage of the situation. I unravel my fingers from her hair and drop my arm as I take a step back, giving her space to breathe.
“I was testing you. Making sure you weren’t drunk… you passed,” I say, smiling.
“You’re such an ass. You’re the drunk one,” she teases, shoving me.
“No, seriously though, don’t drink too much. How you gettin’ home?” I ask.
“We’re walking. Actually, we’re leaving soon, so I better get back.”
I step back and allow her to pass as I stand there, watching her until she disappears out of view.
***
(Jesse)
The sky is turning a dark gray; it’s barely noon, but it feels like early evening. The winds are already ripping through the trees, making a loud whistling noise.
“Jesse, I’m worried about leaving you here tonight. The weather reports say this storm is coming quick. Why don’t you come to the restaurant with me? You can help in the kitchen. It’s going to be busy since the convention is in town this weekend.”
We’re due for a severe storm with hurricane winds. November is late in the hurricane season, but this is supposed to be huge.
“Dad, really, I’ll be fine. I’d rather stay here and just chill tonight. I’m going to watch a movie. I’ll check in every hour if it makes you feel better. Besides, Maria and Lucca are right across the street,” I try to ease his mind. Deanna is away at a cheerleading camp this weekend and won’t be back till Sunday night.
It’s Saturday night; already a busy night at the restaurant, let alone with a convention in town. The last thing I feel like doing is hanging out at the restaurant. I’m looking forward to the storm, laying on the couch and watching a good movie.
Actually, there is a party tonight, my friends are going; I’m just not up for it. The weather is rainy, windy and cold. Who feels like going out in that? I hate winter.
After cleaning the house and doing some laundry, I plan to work on a drawing I need to complete for class, but once I get comfortable on the couch, I fall asleep. I awaken several hours later to the sound of the wind and rain beating against the house. The house was dark, except from the light from the TV. I have to admit, I’m somewhat scared. I hurry through the house and turned on all the lights. Okay, so, maybe the storm is bigger than I realized.
I decide to take a quick shower before the lightning starts. For some reason my mom and dad always told me not to shower if there is lightning; something about getting electrocuted. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I don’t chance it.
The lights flicker a couple of times while I’m in there, which in turn makes me hurry through even faster. When I’m done, I put on my favorite flannel shorts and tee, I towel dry my hair and throw it up in a ponytail. I put on my slippers and hurry into the kitchen to look for a flashlight. I jump out of my skin by the sound of the phone ringing.
I laugh to myself as I answer, “Hello?”
“Hi, Sweetie, why haven’t you called?”
“Hi, Dad. Sorry, I fell asleep. I just got out of the shower and was about to heat up dinner,” I say calmly. I don’t want him to know I was scaring myself. “How is it there?”
“Busy. I hear we are getting hit pretty hard right now, but since everyone is stuck inside, it’s extra busy for us. I’m not sure what time I’ll get out of here. How’s it lookin’ outside?”
I open the front door to peak out into the angry storm. The wind must have knocked the street lamps out. It’s pitch black out and the porch light is not working. As I’m about to give my dad the report on the weather, a huge dark figure runs towards me. I scream at the top of my lungs, scaring my dad to death.
“JJ, are you alright?!” I hear my dad screaming into the phone.
“Oh, my God! You gave me a heart attack! What are you doing?!” I laugh, holding my chest as the huge dark figure comes into sight. I then remember my poor dad still hanging on. “Dad, oh, my God, I’m sorry... It’s Luke. He scared the heck out of me! It was pitch black and he was running up to the porch with his hoodie pulled over his head. I didn’t know it was him!” I can barely get the words out, I’m laughing so hard.
“Oh, good, is he stayin’?” my dad asks, sounding relieved.
“I didn’t talk to him yet. I’ll give you a call in a little while, okay? I love you... Bye.”
I hang up the phone and turn to Luke. “What are you doing here?”
“Did I scare you?” he asks, still laughing. “My mom asked me to check on you. I just got home about a half hour ago. Mikey’s car got a flat and we had to fix it in the rain. You had to see us; it was comical! He dropped me off so I could jump in the shower. His dad just got back to town, so he stopped by to see him. He should be back to pick me up in a little while. We’re heading to that party, want to come?” he asks while shaking the water off his hoodie.
I’m reminded about the party last week and how strange Luke was acting with me. I’m tempted, I think it will be fun hanging out with them, but then I decide against it. “No thanks, I just got comfortable. I was about to eat dinner and watch a movie.”
“That sounds good... I don’t know if I’m up for going out tonight, either. The weather sucks. Do you want me to stay with you?”
“It’s up to you. If you feel like it.” I would love for him to stay with me, but I’m not going to tell him that. The lights flicker again.
“Yeah, I do. I’ll stay,” he says, grinning.
“Do you want to eat first? My dad made dinner.”
“Do you even have to ask me that question,” he says sarcastically as he pulls his soaked hoodie over his head and kicks off his sneaks.
I have to remind myself to stop staring as he lifts his hoodie over his head, revealing his fitted gray t-shirt that shows off his arms and chest. Even though it is November, his skin is still tan from summer. He smells good, too, like soap. Okay, breathe… breathe, I tell myself.
“You don’t look like you’re dressed to go out,” I say, looking at him, standing in front of me in a t-shirt and basketball shorts.
“I told you, I wasn’t sure if I was up for it. I wanted to be comfortable if a better offer came up... and sure enough, it did,” he says, flopping on the couch and putting his feet up. He’s flipping through my sketch pad, which I left on the table earlier. “These are all so good, but this is my favorite,” he says, staring intently at a picture.
I walk over to see which one he is looking at, I have a feeling I know. He has seen it before. I had sketched it one morning while we were sitting at the docks. It was one of the most beautiful mornings. The sky was all shades of oranges, purples and blues. The sun was just starting to rise over the water. The light breeze was just enough to make little waves in the bay, causing ripples in the water. There were two fishing boats in the distance that you could barely see, except for the lights. Just looking at the picture brings me there; I can imagine the smell of the water, the sounds of the seagulls and the lapping at the docks. It is one of my favorite pictures, too. It’s a reminder of what that spot means to us.
That morning, Luke was already there when I arrived. He was sitting on the end of the dock, he didn’t hear me approach; he was wearing his ear buds, listening to his IPod. I stayed a little further back, not wanting to disturb him, he looked content. Not only did I want to capture that perfect morning, I wanted to capture him and what he was feeling at that time.
“It’s my favorite, too,” I answer. “Anyway, my dad made a new pasta dish at the restaurant last night, he brought it home. I didn’t try it yet.”
“Awesome. Let’s heat it up before we lose electricity,” he says as he folds up my book and jumps up off the couch and follows me to the kitchen.
“Shit, I got to call Mikey and tell him we’re stayin’ in,” he says, dialing his number. “Yo, what’s up? Nah, I’m staying in.... JJ.... just us. David’s working.” He rolls his eyes at me and laughs, then continues, “You’re an ass, dude… I’ll talk to you later… See ya.” He is still laughing as he hangs up.
“What?” I can only imagine what Mikey had to say about this.
“You know him.” He laughs, then calls his mom and tells her his plans.
This is great; sitting here, having dinner and talking about stuff. The weather is colder now, so I haven’t sketched at the docks in awhile, which means we haven’t spent much time alone.
Luke loves that my dad’s a chef, especially, since his next favorite thing to playing ball is eating. After we finish with dinner, he helps me clean up the dishes. My dad calls back to check in. He said they have over a foot of water in the streets and are expecting more. The storm is lasting longer than originally reported. Cars aren’t allowed on or off the island since the causeways are flooded until the tide goes out. He probably won’t get home till morning and wants to make sure I’m okay.
“Luke’s here. We’ll either stay here or go back to his house.” I look out the window to see what it looks like. Our street is flooded and it looks like the lights must have gone out on his side of the street. “We’ll probably stay here. I think the lights are out across the street... Yeah, I will. I’ll have him call right now. If you can’t reach me on the house line, call his cell... I love you, too… Bye.”
I turn to Luke, trying to hide the fact that I’m smiling on the inside. “He can’t get off the island because of flooding. He wants to make sure that either you are staying here or we go to your house. He wants you to check with your mom.” I walk to the window to peek out and conceal my smile. “I think your electricity’s out. Plus, the water looks like it’s up to my waist. We’ll have to swim across,” I say, trying to hide the excitement that we are stranded here alone.
He picks up his phone again. “Mom, are the lights out? Not here. David just called. He’s stuck in AC because of the flooding. He might not make it home till morning, they closed the causeway. I’m gonna hang here since we have electricity. Mom, I know. I will. I love ya,” he says as he gives me a wink.
He looks at me with a huge grin on his face. “We’re on our own.”
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
“You just told your dad I’m stayin’ and I just told my mom, and they’re both like, okay, good. Don’t you think that’s strange?”
“Yeah, I guess, but they know we’re friends. I’m sure if you were som
e guy I was dating, my dad wouldn’t have the same reaction,” I answer.
“True,” he says as the lights continue to flicker. He walks to the window to take a look. The wind sounds as if it will blow down the house. “How ‘bout we take a walk down to the docks? It’s probably awesome right now.”
“No way. We can’t; it’s really bad outside... It’s probably not a good idea,” I say not too convincingly, but having the sudden urge to do something crazy.
“C’mon, it’ll be cool,” he says playfully, nudging me on.
“Okay.” I give in easily, as I excitedly slip on my sneakers. I guess it’s not a good thing that I will follow him anywhere. We both throw on our hoodies and head out the door. The rain and wind are pounding the streets. I can barely walk; it’s as if I will be swept up in the swirling winds. Luke grabs my hand and pulls me along. The water from the bay has already spilled into the street; there must be about a foot or two of water. As we get closer to the docks, the boards are covered by the angry waves washing over them.
“I’m afraid. It’s going to sweep us out! ” I holler out as I pull him back by his arm.
He starts laughing. “Yeah, I think you’re right. I didn’t think it would be this bad, the sky is so black, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen the water this rough, but it looks really cool doesn’t it?” he asks as the lightning lights up the sky over the water.
“Yeah it does and it smells good, too!” We keep a safe distance as we watch a minute longer until we are abruptly interrupted by thunder crashing through the sky followed by a huge bolt of lightning, which seems as if it hits right at our feet. I scream and jump back.
“Holy Shit! We better get back before we get electrocuted!” He laughs hysterically as he pulls me back towards the house.
I try to keep up with him as he drags me along like a rag doll, racing back to the house with a few more thunderous bolts chasing us down the street, I’m yelling at him for what an idiot he is to make us come out here, as he continues laughing. We are both drenched by the time we reach the house.
“I cannot believe you just made me do that!” I yell as I smack him.