Labeled

by Jenni Linn

  "I can jump with you." Chase breaks my concentration, and I just stare at him.

  "What?" I finally speak up.

  "I can jump with you," He repeats himself. "We can jump together."

  "Together?"

  "Yes."

  "Okay."

  He holds out his hand. I take it, but he moves my hand so our fingers are interlocked, "It's not that high, you can do this." His face is so close to mine. He's looking right at me. There's so much intensity in his expression. I move forward and kiss him. The kiss is gentle and sweet but could easily lead to so much more.

  "Let's go, V!" a yell comes from below. It startles us apart despite the fact that we know no one can see us. Chase lets out a shaky breath. "What was that for?"

  "For being you."

  He smiles and kisses my nose, "You ready?"

  "I think so."

  "We run on three."

  "Okay."

  "One."

  I take a deep breath.

  "Two."

  I release it.

  "Three!"

  We take off. The edge of the landing is nearing closer by the second. I blink, and then the cliff is gone and we're airborne. For a split second, it feels as if we're flying. My stomach is in my throat and then gravity beckons us down. A scream erupts from my mouth, and I quickly pinch my nose seconds before we crash into the water, which causes our grasp on each other to break apart. I sink like a rock, but quickly move my limbs until I break the surface. I’m rapidly pulling in air. My heart is racing, and when I open my eyes I’m feeling disorientated. Yelling and screaming comes from behind me. I splash around to see everyone yelling for me--for us. I throw my hand out.

  "See, it wasn't that bad. Was it?" Chase's voice is beside me. I turn to face him. We're both treading water.

  "That was scary," I confess, "But so amazing!"

  He smiles. "Wanna go again?"

  "Yes!" I shout.

  We race to the rocks--he beats me, of course. We climb to the top again, and it seems to go faster this time. I wait off to the side once we reach the top, expecting him to want to go by himself this time. But he surprises me when he grabs my hand and pulls my body flush to his, wrapping his free arm around me. He's warm and cold at the same time; causes goosebumps to break upon my skin. He leans down and kisses my shoulder. "We jump together."

  "Together?" I ask.

  "Together." He confirms.

  You’re Mine

  I am completely enamored with Veronica. Her body is amazing. I could barely keep it together when she took off her clothes, revealing the leopard printed bikini top that was hiding underneath.

  After the second jump, we swim back to the boat and rejoin the rest of the gang. Vaughn has a screaming Jenny in his arms, but her pleas fall on deaf ears as he jumps into the water with her.

  "You asshole!" Jenny yells as she comes up from under the water. Vaughn just laughs with no remorse. She huffs and treads back to the boat, purposely stomping to the front where her friend lays sunbathing. Veronica relaxes on her back, drifting on the water. I can't help but admire her physique until Vance jumps in the water--scaring her out of her peaceful float. She splashes him. "Jerk."

  “What happened up there, Vern?”

  “I have no idea what you speak of,” she fires back.

  “Did Little Vern need someone to hold her hand to jump from the big ol’ cliffs?” He speaks as one would to a child.

  “Shut up.”

  “Make me.” Vance is already next to V and before she knows it, he grabs her leg and pulls, causing her to go under. She comes up sputtering and wiping the hair from her face, "I hate you!" Vance is already swimming away, laughing loudly.

  "I'm hungry," Vance announces. "What food do we have?"

  "We packed some sandwiches, but there might not be enough. We didn't know more people were coming," Melissa says from the boat.

  "No worries, girl. We stopped at the sub shop," Talia says, waving Melissa off.

  Vance and I are the only two stil in the water, so we move to the boat and climb on board. I grab my towel from my seat, drying off my short hair and then moving down my body. Melissa hands out sandwiches and I thank her for thinking of me, in which she thanks me for allowing her to come out. We all sit around, enjoying our sandwiches with light conversation.

  "What time is it?" Vaughn asks.

  "Two o’clock." Victor informs us, looking at the watch on his left wrist.

  "Wow, already?" Veronica says.

  "Time flies when you’re having fun," Vance responds.

  "What time do you guys want to head out?" I ask.

  "Four?" Vaughn says, more like a question.

  Victor nods. "Yeah, that sounds good to me."

  "You guys wanna do some tubing?" I ask.

  "Can we just lounge?" Talia asks.

  "You girls are no fun," Vance says.

  "We just ate!" she whines.

  "We can hang out for a bit and let our food digest. I don't need anyone getting sick," I suggest.

  "Can I use a tube?" Talia asks me.

  "Yeah." I move towards the back of the boat, opening the compartment that holds them and their and their ropes. I hand them over to Talia.

  "Thanks, I'm gonna float. Can you hook me?" she asks, smiling. I nod and hook her to the back. She places the tube into the water and eases herself on.

  "Oh! I want one!" Laura says on my left. So I do the same for her, then turn to see Veronica moving towards the front of the boat. She makes a spot for herself, then lays on her back.

  Melissa and Victor get up. "I'm gonna show Mel the cliffs," he says.

  "I'll go with you!" Vance says, getting up. Vin and Vaughn agree. "You coming?" Vance looks at me.

  "Nah. I'm gonna stay here."

  "Suit yourself." Vance shrugs then dives off.

  I watch as they all swim off. Jenny sits at the end of the boat, her feet in the water. That leaves me and Veronica practically alone.

  Against my better judgment, I move towards the front of the boat, completely soaking up the view of her body that’s only being covered by little strips of fabric. I grab my phone from the compartment by the steering wheel and snap a picture because I don't think my mind will ever really do this justice. I slip my phone into my, now dry, shorts and move to sit across from her.

  Her eyes are closed, and I notice the white cords leading to the buds in each ear. I glance towards the back of the boat to make sure we don't have an audience and move forward, getting on my knees next to her. The sinful images of what I want to do to her floods my mind. I shake them off, knowing it’s too soon and not something that can happen right now. I settle for trailing my finger gently down the side of her torso. She visibly jumps, and her eyes flash open. "What are you doing?" she whispers.

  "Admiring you," I tell her softly.

  "Why?"

  "Because you're meant to be."

  She seems to have lost her speech because she doesn't say anything. Speechless. I smile at the thought of me being able to leave her in that state. I lean forward and press my mouth to hers. There. Now she can’t disagree with me. Kissing her is my new favorite thing. I don't think I'll ever get enough of her lips. There’s a simplicity of two mouths meeting to show expression of affection, and yet, there are no words that can properly describe it.

  I move back on my heels. "What was that for?" she asks.

  "Because it's my new favorite thing," I tell her with a wink. "So, get used to it."

  She bites her lip, and it damn near kills me. I groan, "I'm going for a swim." My skin is on fire, and I need to cool down. Before moving towards the back of the boat, I remove my phone from my shorts, then proceed to the back and dive off. The cool water is much-needed relief. I swim underneath before breaking the surface.

  "Chase!" My name is yelled out, and I turn to look at Talia and her friend on the rafts, who are wiping their bodies down.

  "My bad," I yell. Whoops. In my peripherals I can see Vance swimming our way.
His head disappears under the water, and I already know that those little droplets I splashed them with won't matter anymore. Talia shrieks out as her raft is abruptly flipped over.

  She reappears, shouting, "You asshole!"

  "I'm ready for some tubing!" Vaughn calls out.

  "Yes!" Vance punches the air.

  "Alright. Where's Victor and Melissa?" I ask.

  "They're coming," Vin informs me.

  Vance pulls himself onto the boat. "Let's go, ladies, pack it in!" He begins to pull in both tubes--including Jenny--but when she gets close, he tugs hard and sends her flying into the water. He is an asshole, and the girls still flock to him. Vaughn and Vin climb on, then help the girls up. Vin and Melissa join us.

  "Hey, we're gonna do some tubing," I inform them, swimming towards the boat.

  "Nice," Victor says to me but pulls Melissa to the ladder at the end of the boat. "Babe, you gotta try it," he directs this to Melissa.

  "I don't know," she says, looking uneasy.

  "I won't go fast on your turn, I promise," I tell her, and she gives me a weak smile.

  We tube for a good two hours, and I’m sad it’s over. It's always a really fun time. Vaughn quit after slamming into the water so hard that a glob of wax came out of his ear. Melissa surprised me by trying, and as promised, I took it easy. So easy that she tells me she found it relaxing. Jenny managed to lose her bottoms and give everyone a full moon. Vance lost his trunks but wasn't as embarrassed as Jenny about it. V and Talia had a full-on battle that lasted a good while until V hit a huge wake and flipped off. My protective instincts wanted to make sure she was okay, but I had to reel it in and fortunately Victor made sure she was all good.

  Everyone is officially beat and ready to head back to the docks. Once everything is put away, we make our way back. It’s extremely hard to focus with Veronica sitting in the front this time. My eyes keep roaming to her on their own accord. It becomes easier once we hit the no-wake zone, and I can only go so fast. I need to focus. "V?" I ask, and her head snaps in my direction. "Can you move towards the back and help guide me in?"

  She looks at me quizzically. "Yeah, sure."

  I don't need much help. I've done this a million times since the age of fourteen, but I need her out of my line of sight. I throw out some questions to her, in which she responds to the best of her knowledge.

  Once we are feet away from the assigned area, I allow the boat to idle into the slip, not touching the throttle. When I feel it's parked perfectly, I shut off the engine and drop the anchor before hurrying to remove the ropes. I quickly jump off the side and onto the dock. "V, throw me that rope!" She does as I ask, and I catch it, pulling the boat closer and fasten it to the cleat.

  I move to the front and ask her to throw me that rope as well. "Perfect," I tell her, climbing back on the boat. "Thank you for your help."

  She smiles and nods. I move around the boat, making sure there's no garbage and put away anything that was pulled out. "All good?" I hear a deep voice ask, causing me to look up at Victor. "Yeah, seems good," I tell him.

  Melissa hands Victor their things, and then he helps her off. Vance helps Talia then slaps her ass as she steps onto the dock. They wander away, and Vance is mauling her like she's his last meal. Vaughn and Vin help the remaining ladies off, and they walk away. This leaves Veronica by herself, who moves to jump off. I grab her arm before she steps up.

  "Wait, I'll help you."

  I jump off and reach out for her. She grabs my hand and jumps down. Her body’s close to mine--just the way I like it. She looks up at me with a smile, her green eyes shining brightly, "Thank you."

  Her head just reaches my chin. I love that she's so small but so amazingly tough. A walking contradiction, this girl is.

  “Yo! What the fuck you guys doin'? Let's go!" I hear Vance's voice yelling from down the dock.

  "Damn. I guess we need to get moving," I tell her.

  "Yeah, I guess so. Or, maybe, we should tell him to fuck off?"

  I groan.

  "What?" She laughs and moves past me.

  "You said fuck."

  "Yeah? And?"

  With my head thrown back, I sigh loudly. Hearing her curse like this is doing something to me. Anything she does makes me all kinds of crazy. I have to think of my grandma in her underwear to keep my excitement from showing.

  Veronica looks over her shoulder, a small smirk forming, "You coming?"

  "Evil. Evil, sexy woman," I mumble to myself and catch up with her.

  Victor and Melissa thank me again for a fun day, and head home after Veronica tells them she won’t be able to come out because of school. She promises to call and set something up for the following weekend. Vance keeps us waiting in the truck while he has a five-minute make-out session before jumping in the cab.

  "Finally," Vaughn mutters.

  "Don't hate."

  "Please. I got Jenny's number."

  "Don't you three look cozy." Veronica jokes at the three brothers sitting closely together because of their size.

  "Yeah, what the hell, V? Why do you get the front?" Vance complains.

  "Because I'm your sister and a lady."

  Vance scoffs, "Since when do ladies burp and fart the way you do."

  "Shut up," she grunts, and hastily turns forward.

  "Yeah. She can clear out a room," Vaughn chimes in.

  "Kill me now," she mutters, covering her face while her brothers pick on her.

  I listen while the guys talk about their plans for tonight. Vance is planning on meeting back up with Talia...leaving my night wide open. My thoughts instantly turn to Veronica. We may be able to spend some time together, without worries, after all.

  My tank is near empty, so before getting on the highway, I turn into the gas station near our entrance. The guys head inside, and Veronica remains in the truck. When I have the nozzle in my gas tank, I lean over the seat to tell her, "Don't make any plans later."

  She looks up at me, "Why?"

  "Cause, tonight, you're mine."

  Best Day Ever

  I can't stop myself from smiling. I can't even find the right words to describe what I feel like. I'm so happy I could burst. His words replay in my head. Cause, tonight, you're mine. Today turned out to be so much better than I could have imagined, and I feel slightly guilty for judging Talia’s friends-- they weren't bad at all.

  I fall asleep on the drive home. Vance has the grand idea to scare me during the middle of a dream, and I definitely almost pee myself. I instinctively slap his arm as he’s cackling like a hyena. Chase drops us off and informs Vance--after being asked--that he’s going to stay in and relax at home. I hop out of the truck and skip off,knowing that he'll be with me.

  I take a relaxing shower, scrub all the lake crud off of me, and wonder what he could possibly be planning tonight. Will we go out or stay in? The thought of staying in sounds very appealing and the butterflies form low in my belly. I feel flushed as I finish standing under the stream of hot water--I turn the knob--and dry off. The nerves stay with me as I get ready and become even worse as I’m driving Mom’s car to Chase’s. I pull into the driveway that leads to the large white house and park off towards the far side. Chase instructed me to since then Mom’s car won’t be visible from the street. I am so nervous I could vomit. The feeling is such a drastic change from earlier this afternoon.

  I take a couple deep breaths before stepping out of the car, leaving its much-appreciated warmth. I dressed casually, but still cute; I have no idea what we’re doing. I nervously shuffle towards the front door, glancing around the house. The door swings open as I move up the porch and Chase appears, wearing a knit sweater with some faded jeans. He looks amazing. He smiles at the sight of me, and I can't help but mirror it back. He moves forward, wrapping me up in his strong arms. He smells like fresh laundry, and I breathe him in.

  "Finally," he whispers, and my insides melt. I shiver as he pulls away. "Let's get you inside." His hand moves to grab mine, and he pulls m
e along with him.

  "Are your parents home?" The butterflies are flapping wildly in my stomach.

  "No.” He closes the door behind me, and I take in the massive foyer.

  "I don't think I've ever seen your house," I admit, “It’s beautiful.”

  "It's not that special. It's just a house."

  "So, what’s on the agenda tonight?" I ask him, the curiosity getting the best of me.

  "Are you hungry?"

  "Famished."

  "Good. I made dinner."

  "You cooked?"

  "Yeah. Don’t get too excited, it's nothing extravagant." He pulls me deeper into the house--towards the back--where a large white kitchen comes into view. It's gorgeous, but he doesn't stop there. He continues into another room, right off the kitchen, that’s adorned with a large oak table and a crystal chandelier hanging above it. It's...lavish. I notice the two-place settings are set across from another at the left end. He moves me to the seat that faces the kitchen opening and puts on a show by pulling out my chair for me.

  "Wow. Chase, this is beautiful," I say, almost at a loss for words. "Thank you."

  "Don't thank me yet. I just hope the food is edible. I'll be right back."

  He moves out of the room and returns a moment later with two plates filled with baked ziti. He places them down at each setting. First thing I notice is the amount of cheese on the top, then the two meatballs off to the side. Amazing. "I have garlic bread. Do you like garlic bread?" He asks in a rush. He is so cute.

  "Yes," I tell him and watch him leave the room again, returning with a tray and a pitcher of, what looks like, lemonade. He sets them both on the table between us, then takes his seat across from me.

  "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," I falter, almost becoming emotional.

  "Get used to it. You deserve everything good."

  I can't help but stare at him. There is a beautiful man sitting across from me, who’s made me dinner--just because. He provokes things in me that I never thought possible. In the very short time that we've spent together he’s managed to make me feel special, cherished, bold, and brave. I am so full of gratitude that I don't even hesitate on my next move. I push my chair back, stand up and move around the table to him. His eyes are following my every step. He pushes his chair back and allows me to climb into his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck, laying my head on his shoulder. His arms encase me.