by Ali Parker
I sighed and got up. “Mom, why is Jeremy here?”
“Is this what that’s all about? We have a good looking boy at the house and you’re losing your mind? You should have dated more in high school, girl. You can’t let him get to you. That’s what boys want to do. Put on your pants and get your ass out in the fields. If you want to matter to him, do what smart women do. Make him think that he doesn’t matter.” She popped my butt and walked out.
I pulled on a pair of old jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt while coaching myself. I could do this. Grabbing my ancient ball cap, I tucked my long blond hair up into it just to keep it out of the way. There was no reason to try and look feminine. We would all be sweaty and exhausted by the end of the day.
I walked out into the kitchen and gave my mother a look.
“Don’t look at me like that. You better put that boy’s stuff back in your room too. Don’t think your daddy is going to be happy with you being rude to the Thompson boy. I don’t care how you feel about him. You’ll follow our rules. You got it?”
I had never heard her be so stern. I nodded and headed out to the east field where I knew the guys were working today. I would let him back in the room, but I wasn’t saying anything to him. No matter what he said.
Except he hadn't said anything to me yet. He'd slept on the floor in the spare room and hadn't complained to my daddy obviously. Some part of me was a little disappointed that he hadn't fought a little harder to stay in my room?
You did threaten him, you idiot. Uggh, I so don't need this right now. I'm supposed to be focusing on college, not on an irritating, and irritatingly handsome, houseguest.
I came over the short hill that overlooked the east field and saw the group of men hard at work. Daddy drove the tractor to mow down the grass, as the young men followed behind him to arrange the cuttings into rows for curing. The next step would be turning the cut grass until it dried. That part was the worst. It always made me so damn itchy.
I headed down the hill and made my way up behind the tractor, pitching in when I reached the group. I had only worked for a few minutes before my father stopped the tractor and hopped down.
"Nice of you to show up," he said, but softened his words with a smile. "Now I got an errand for you."
"I just got here," I whined. Still, an errand probably wouldn't itch as much as this...
"Your graceful cousin Hank over there managed to spill the entire water supply when he tripped over the damn thing and didn't realize all the water was draining out of it."
Eddie laughed at his younger brother, who had the decency to look sheepish. "Hank's so clumsy, he could fall up a tree."
Willy laughed and slapped his older brother on the back. "Good one, bro."
I chuckled, unable to help myself. I glanced toward Jeremy who hadn’t stopped working yet. His jeans were dark with sweat and his shirt was long gone. Of course.
I turned my attention back to my father as he pointed at the blue water cooler bottle. There was only an inch of water or so left in the bottom. He usually brought out a big water cooler bottle that held five gallons into the field each day for the workers to fill their cups with. It was barely 10 am and it was already 90 degrees. Staying hydrated was crucial.
"Go fill that up and bring it back."
"Yes, sir." I tried to keep my emotions under wraps seeing that he hadn’t busted me for kicking Jeremy out. The cooler was heavy, weighing a little over forty pounds, and when it was full it wasn't going to be fun to carry back the quarter mile to the field.
Oh well, I've done it before. Plenty of times. And it has a convenient handle. Thank the Lord for small favors.
I grunted softly as I picked up the bottle and headed back to the house.
"I'm gonna go in for a minute too," Jeremy said behind me.
I slowed my steps, listening, but not quite understanding why he would help me. Maybe he wasn’t going to. Maybe the asshole just wanted to walk to the house beside me, refusing to help. That sounded more his style, especially since I had been nothing but a peach to him.
"I need to grab my...uh...sunblock."
The other boy’s laughed loudly. "Sun block?"
"It's too dang hot out here to wear a shirt," Jeremy retorted.
"And...?" Eddie drawled.
"And I don't want skin cancer, asshole. I'll be right back."
Jeremy jogged, catching up to me as my heart began beating painfully against my ribs. Panic overwhelmed me and I picked up my pace, forgetting all about the heavy-ass cooler on my shoulder.
"Slow down, wouldja? Give an old man a break. My muscles are all stiff from sleeping on a hard floor every night."
"Good," I whispered under my breath, but didn’t slow down.
"Thanks," he said when he pulled up beside me. He smiled as if trying to make amends, but it did nothing but send tingles down to my girl parts and piss me off more. Damn body would betray me every time where he was concerned.
Why do I still want him so damn bad? He rejected me and made me look like a fool in front of half the school. I need to let this go. Hot is one thing, but being a total jerk isn’t going to fly.
Funny how I couldn’t seem to quite convince myself that he was still the jerk he was in high school.
"Glad to see you're feeling better," Jeremy said. "I was worried that you'd come down with something serious."
I ignored him and shifted the cooler to the other shoulder, blocking my view of him.
I was sick alright. With blufferitis thanks to that damn bulge in your pants and that sexy smile on your perfect face.
"Are you really not gonna talk to me all this time? Cuz if you keep this up, I'm gonna start filling in your half of the conversation too. And I'm gonna use a silly voice for you. You’re not gonna like it."
I wanted to smile, but I held it back. Barely.
"Okay, you asked for it." He coughed, then stated in his normal voice, "Christina, I'm glad you're not sick anymore."
His voice rose several octaves and he took on a strange, rollicking intonation contour. "Why thank you, Mr. Thompson. I'm feeling much better actually."
That was it. I tucked my head down as best I could and stopped, letting the cooler cover me for a minute. I dropped the smile and lowered the cooler, handing it to him. I half expected him to tell me to fuck off, but he simply took it and started walking to the house, using his antics to try and break my silence.
"Mr. Thompson," he continued in his ludicrous impersonation of me, "it's a shame you weren't able to share my room during this difficult time. I'd like to invite you in to sleep on a comfortable bed so that you don't injure your back sleeping on the hard ground."
I shook my head and avoided his side stares. His voice for my part of the conversation sounded like some mixed up version of Scarlett O'Hara meets any female voice from an old Monty Python sketch.
"You're ridiculous," I said before realizing what I was doing.
Dammit. I failed in less than five minutes.
"She speaks!" Jeremy said, flourishing his free arm wide. "Thank God. I was beginning to think your prolonged illness had addled your wits."
I rolled my eyes and glanced over at him. "You're not talking your way into my room that easily.”
"Oh, come on. Can't I just come inside once? Then I could go home and tell all my brothers that I'd made a pilgrimage to the sacred shrine of Chrissy's room. They'll all be real jealous. I’ll let you ride my bike.”
Was he mocking me? I turned and stopped, pressing my hands on my hips as I took an aggressive step toward him. "Shut up, Jeremy Thompson. If you had a brain, it'd die of loneliness."
Jeremy laughed. "I don't know what's got you all upset, but it's true. My brothers still talk about you, you know. When we lived closer they used to stay up half the night talking about you. 'I wonder what her room looks like.' 'I wonder what kind of panties she wears.' 'I wonder if she'd ever let me kiss her.'"
No. Damn. Way. I didn’t believe a word of it. He was lying. He had to
be.
His tone softened as he took a step toward me, my aggression not seeming to scare the boy at all. He was an idiot for sure.
"Hey," he said, looking down and kicking at a tuft of grass with his boot. "I'm sorry if I did anything to offend you. I don't like the thought of you mad at me. So tell me what I can do to fix it, and I will."
I turned and started walking again, lost in thought. It was rude to leave him there, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I was far too in love with Jeremy Thompson to let anything but angst flow between us. I didn’t want to ride his bike. I wanted to ride him.
He says he's sorry. Says his brothers talked about me, even thought about my panties? Did he really just say panties to me? His brothers wanted to kiss me?
But what about him?
Doesn't matter. It’s irrelevant. Just get through the summer and then it's off to college where there will be plenty of attractive, smart young guys just ready to sweep me off my feet.
I had grown from a girl to a woman, but the boy behind me sure did leave me feeling like a needy, underdeveloped girl again.
"I was real excited when I heard your dad was looking for an extra pair of hands this summer. The house has gotten a little rough around the edges since Momma passed last year. The softness is almost gone at home, but here, it's just like I remember it."
I frowned and stopped, glancing back and waiting for him to catch up again. I had heard about Mrs. Thompson's passing but hadn't been able to attend her service. I’d been in San Antonio for a quiz bowl competition as the team captain. Now I wondered if I'd made a mistake, putting school activities before family friends.
“I should have been there,” I mumbled. He continued talking, ignoring my admission of guilt, which I was grateful for. Maybe he wasn’t such an ass. I needed him to be one though, right? How hard would I fall for him if he wasn’t? Hard.
"Your mom cooks and cleans, and hums her way around the house, straightening and making sure everything looks nice and smells nice. Just like my momma used to. Living in a house with five other men and no female presence, things start to go a little feral. We've lost a lot of the niceties my mother used to bring. I miss her. I miss her a heck of a lot."
His openness entirely melted my defenses. I wanted to turn and slide my arms around his waist, pulling him into a warm hug and promising that it would get better. I just couldn’t.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, adverting my gaze to the ground.
"It's okay. We’re all dealing with it. Let's change the subject from me though. I’d rather talk about you. You got big plans after this summer, I would assume?"
"Sure do. I got a full-ride scholarship to UT Austin. I leave for campus in August."
"A full ride? Austin's the best school in the UT system. Dang, girl, I always knew you were smart, but you're Austin smart. Way to go."
Jeremy's words spread a warmth through me far more than they should. I couldn’t seem to find words to respond. He was trying to be friendly and I was lost in the memory of him five years earlier, when he'd been the object of all of my adoration. Being the only girl helping out in the fields with a group of unruly boys had been rough, but Jeremy had always treated me with kindness and respect. Why had I blocked that?
His treating me like a lady is what made me fall in love in the first place. He'd been patient, and sweet, and his rangy frame had made me drool with preteen lust. He still seemed to possess those qualities, especially the drool-worthy ones.
"Seeing as how you're all smart and all, maybe this will interest you. There's gonna be a meteor shower tonight, and I was planning on watching it up by the lake. You wanna come with me?" If he noticed that I wasn’t capable of holding a conversation, he didn’t let it bother him.
I had passed by the news story on TV that morning, the idea of it being so rare catching my attention. I’d considered checking it out myself, but to go up to the lake with Jeremy Thompson at night? I wasn’t so sure that was a good idea. I wanted to feel the firm press of him against me almost too much. If I made a dumbass move and got rejected again… well, I’m not sure I would recover.
I glanced up at him, his piercing blue eyes watching me closely. "You're interested in a meteor shower? I wouldn't have pegged you for the type."
Jeremy shrugged. "Sure, I like looking at the stars. And besides, meteors are just a bunch of shooting stars, and if you wish on one, your wish comes true. So the way I see it, I can make a whole bunch of wishes during a meteor shower."
I laughed and he joined in. Despite his shortcomings, Jeremy was charming. Why was I forcing myself to act like an ass again? A four year old hurt?
"Okay," I said, deciding to give in and see where things led. "I'll go."
Later that night, after I had finished cleaning up the dinner dishes, we walked out the old road that led up to the lake. The sun was setting, and a few stars winked on, here and there, in the darkening expanse of the sky.
"This meteor shower is only supposed to be visible every six or so years."
I nodded. "Yeah, it's called the June Boötids meteor shower, and it's fairly unpredictable."
"So you won't see another one until you're...what...25?"
I wondered about the direction of the conversation, but worked hard to let my guard down. He had been nothing but nice. I owed him kindness and the benefit of the doubt until I could figure him out a little better.
"Well, I turned eighteen a few weeks ago, so that means I'll be twenty-four the next time it comes around."
"Oh, happy birthday then. I turned twenty-two back in March.” He moved a little closer, his shoulder brushing by mine softly as he moved.
The last rays of the sun were reflected on the still surface of the lake and my breath caught in my chest as I walked over the small hill and it came into perfect view. I loved the lake, especially when I got to spend hot summer afternoons swimming in it with friends, or occasionally going fishing with daddy. Although, fishing mainly consisted of me reading a book while dad drank beer and watched the tip of his pole for a bite.
"It's pretty." Jeremy turned toward me as we paused for a minute. "But not as pretty as you."
"That's a lame come on," I said, chuckling softly at him. I needed to keep this light. Certainly he wasn’t hitting on me. These things just didn’t happen and if they did, they were with guys like Harold. Not the town hottie.
He put an arm around my shoulder and turned his face toward mine. "It might be lame, but it's true. You're the prettiest girl in five counties."
I swallowed hard and went for overconfident, which wasn’t a strong suit of mine, but what else was I gonna do? Pee myself. Yeah… peeing on myself seemed an option.
I lifted my eyebrow at him. "Where is all this coming from? You think I'm easy pickings since you're staying in my house?"
Jeremy frowned. "Not at all. There's nothing easy about you."
I bristled and tried to pull away, but his hold tightened. I liked how strong he was and that he wasn’t willing to let me win.
"Dang, girl, you could start a fight in an empty house. What's so wrong with just taking a compliment? You're beautiful. Surely you know this. You ain't blind and your house has a few mirrors."
I worked to not let my jaw drop. Jeremy thought I was beautiful? I was alright, but beautiful isn’t a word I would use to describe myself.
"Look," he said, slipping his arm off my shoulders and reaching to take my hand. “Come down here.”
We stopped at the bank of the water and he tugged me to the edge, pointing at our reflections in the dark water. "Just look. You're gorgeous. That thick golden hair that explodes with little golden sparks in the sun. Eyes greener than Kentucky bluegrass. Skin like cream, and a body as lithe as a colt, with a spirit to match."
I glanced down at the water and squinted. He sees all that? In me? I see a scared twelve year old with a crush.
I turned toward him and started to talk, but words just wouldn’t give me aid. I felt myself falling into the impossible depths of
his bottomless blue eyes. His fingers slid down my arm and rested on the swell of my hip, tightening a little. He pressed the fingers of his other hand under my head and tilted my head. I honestly thought that was the moment. I couldn’t handle the pressure of thinking it was to be a letdown.
"Hey look," I said, pointing behind him. "A meteor."
He didn't bother to turn and look, he just stared into my face and whispered in his deep bedroom voice, "Make a wish, Christina.”
I didn’t have time to do anything as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I slid my arms around his neck, unable to help myself.
It was a proper kiss, a real, adult kiss, and it was… incredible. His lips gently caressed mine, coaxing me to relax, to give in. I had no choice but to relax against him, opening myself up to whatever he wanted from me. He suckled my bottom lip, a soft groan leaving him as my knees went weak.
His tongue began to probe at the seam of my lips and I couldn't help myself. I opened my mouth and slid my fingers down his sides, slipping them under his shirt and brushing them along the soft skin of his back.
He pressed his tongue deep into my mouth and it was nothing like the kiss with Harold. His tongue was wet and soft and tasted like peppermint. I sucked on it softly, letting my body tell me what we were going to do next. He groaned again and I whimpered, unable to stop the building need that filled every open space inside of me.
After an eternity he pulled away and began placing little kisses along my cheek before dragging his lips down my neck. He pressed a hot kiss to my ear and I shivered. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since I saw you again. Thoughts of you have been driving me crazy."
Thoughts of me? I moaned and rocked my hips against him.
"That first night, when you showed me your room, your little yellow dress was soaked through. I could see how heavy your breasts had gotten and your little blue panties. My mouth is watering right now to taste you. I can’t get it out of my head, Christina."