by Tracy Luu
“Hey, where are you going?” asked Jacob.
“Checking to see if Matt needs any help,” I said.
“I’ll join you.”
“Then last one to the kitchen has to kiss Matt on the lips!”
I took off down the hall, but I wasn’t fast enough. Jacob easily caught up to me, except since he was also running fast, he then suddenly slipped, grabbed me by the waist, and we both went sliding along the hardwood floor.
“I beat you,” he grinned.
“Did not!” I said. “I slid into the kitchen first before you did.”
“A tie then?”
“A tie,” I said and smacked him on the arm.
“If we just agreed then what was that for?”
“For pulling me down with you, you cheater.”
“Look who’s calling who a cheater.”
“I did learn from a pro,” I smirked.
“At least I don’t look like something the cat dragged in,” he laughed, reaching up to smooth my hair from my face.
“Ahem!” Matt interrupted tactfully. “Sorry to disturb these romantic interlude kids, but I do hope you two remember I’m still here.”
“Yes, dad,” we chorused and burst out laughing at the look of repulsion on Matt’s face.
After Jacob helped me to my feet, he then left the kitchen to use the washroom and began whistling something that sounded like the music from that bad movie we saw.
“So what did you guys bet on?” Matt asked me.
“Loser had to kiss you,” I said.
“I don’t know if I should be glad or take offence to that,” he sighed. “But now that we’re alone, can you tell me if my wish is going to come true tonight?”
“And what wish is that?”
“You telling me you two are dating.”
“Out of every thing you could wish for, you wish for that?”
“And what’s wrong with that?” he asked me.
“Most people would wish for, let’s see, a million dollars?” I said acerbically.
“Hey, I’d rather see my cousin extremely happy with someone he likes,” he explained. “And the only one I know who’s able to fill that position is you.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, especially on your birthday, but that particular position still hasn’t been filled.”
“Then what was that all about?”
“What was what about?” I asked, grabbing a slice of cucumber from the plate.
“The way he was looking at you when he was fixing your hair,” he said.
“I don’t know what you saw, but I doubt it meant anything.”
“What do you mean?”
“We sort of had this weird conversation a couple of weeks ago when we were searching for your gift which made me realise that I should just accept the fact that we’re never going to happen,” I said.
“What exactly did he say to make you to think that?”
“When he told me the only reason he’ll date me is to help him avoid girls hounding him.”
“Maybe he’s just nervous around you because he really likes you,” said Matt. “Usually I know when he’s interested in a girl by the way he acts. The stupid half-wit gets all arrogant around them.”
“Is it because he can have any girl he wants with a snap of his fingers, and you can’t?”
“Except the one he really wants. With you, I don’t know. Lately, he’s been hiding his emotions from me since he’s never taken this long before to let a girl know how he feels.”
“Well, I think I’ve gotten to the point where he’s never going to tell me,” I sighed.
“Why don’t you ask him then?”
“I wouldn’t know how to start.”
“How about ‘Jacob, do you like me?’”
“You know I can’t just do that,” I said, pursing my lips at Matt’s lame attempt to mimic my voice.
“Why not? You guys are really close so it shouldn’t be any problem.”
“And that’s the problem,” I sighed. “Like I told Amy, I’d rather not risk losing my friendship with him by asking him if he likes me too.”
“What if help out?” Matt suggested.
“Not a chance. Knowing you, you’d probably get Amy to help you force me and Jacob into a room, and then proceed to lock us in until we finally confess how we feel about one another.”
“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Matt said gleefully. “We can even do it right now. Hey Am—”
I clamped a hand over his mouth. “Not funny,” I grumbled in his ear.
“Only kidding,” he chuckled, removing my hand. “I guess this means my birthday wish isn’t going to come true tonight.”
“I doubt it’s going to come true during any other night,” I said. “Hey, what if I replace that never-coming-true-wish for a birthday hug instead?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” he grinned and walked into my outstretched arms.
“Am I interrupting something?”
“Just asking Jen what she got me for my birthday,” Matt answered Jacob, who had just returned from the washroom. “But she won’t budge and tell me what it was.”
Jacob gave me a questioning look and was about to open his mouth to ask when the sound of the doorbell rang through the house.
“I’ll go answer that,” I said, glad that I didn’t have to answer him as I quickly left to see who it was.
The sky was just beginning to darken and the evening was setting in by the time Matt had finished opening all of his gifts. Since the wind storm had died down considerably, we all congregated into the backyard to enjoy the coolness of the air. All savouring the taste of our piece of Matt’s birthday cake—a frozen tiramisu cake made of mascarpone cheese, coffee ice cream, and lady fingers soaked in espresso—the party then quickly divided into smaller groups. Soon quiet conversations and distant laughter could be heard throughout the yard.
I was sitting on the grass with Amy, Katie, and Nikki, gossiping like girls usually do, when I felt a sudden gust of wind. Feeling a bit chilly since I only had on a light sweater, I then was about to lift myself off the ground and head into the house when Jacob appeared beside me with his navy blue sweater in his hand.
“I figured you might need this so you won’t catch a cold sitting out here,” he grinned.
“I’m sure Jenna doesn’t want to hurt your feelings by saying no to your generous offer, right, Jenna?” said Amy, a naughty expression on her face.
“No, of course not,” I said, shooting a daggering look at my smirking friend.
“Good,” grinned Jacob, as I took the sweater from his hand. “I guess I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye, Jacob,” the girls called out after him.
Giving Amy another look, I then pulled Jacob’s sweater over my head when we were interrupted by another voice.
“Did I just hear Jacob Bennett offering you his sweater?”
The girls and I turned to see who had spoken, and we all shared a worried glance. Alesha Rai, Yumi Hashimoto, and Lydia Scott were moving in our direction. They were the group of girls known for providing anyone who needed information about the latest gossip going around in school.
“Do you mind?” asked Alesha. Without waiting for an answer, she quickly made herself comfortable on the grass and began plaiting her long, black hair into an intricate knot.
Katie looked displeased with the unwelcome intrusion, but before she could ask them to leave, Lydia suddenly tilted towards me.
“Can I ask what you’re doing?” I asked her.
“Sniffing Jacob’s sweater,” she said. “Hmm, he smells heavenly. It figures Jacob would do something so sweet for you.”
“And why do you think that?” I said.
“Jenna, everyone here at this party knows that Jacob is totally into you,” said Yumi, throwing the same line of words Amy had said to me back in December.
“Especially when he’s always finding ways to subtly sniff your hair,” added Lydia, angling herself towards me
again.
“He does not sniff my hair,” I said.
“If you know a better reason why his nose is always near the vicinity of your head, please let me know,” said Alesha.
“If I had a boy who looked like that who is sweet enough to care about me…” Lydia let out a sigh and pretended to faint as she clutched her chest. “It must be great to be dating him.”
“Actually, they’re not,” said Alesha.
“I thought they’re going out?” said Yumi, looking confused.
“They’re still just friends from what I heard,” said Alesha.
“How come you always know everything before we do?” complained Lydia.
“Because she’s the one with the brains,” said Yumi, glancing over Lydia’s shoulder. “Hey, is that Dylan Lee hitting on Grace Park?”
“Ooh, they would make such a cute couple,” Lydia gushed.
“Let’s go see if it’s true,” said Alesha.
Once they were out of range, the girls and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.
“Can you tell me what possessed Matt to invite them?” asked Katie.
“Because they’re fun and they’ve never said anything bad about us before,” said Amy.
“Also, anyone that hates Amber, Hannah, and their group of friends is good with me,” I added.
“Me too,” said Nikki. “But even if they are a bit annoying, I still have to agree with them.”
“Can you please stop bugging me about my love life?” I said, irritated.
“What love life? You don’t have one since you guys haven’t done anything yet,” snapped Amy.
“Yeah, Chow,” smirked Katie. “Get on with it before one of the girls in school decides to.”
“And even some of the guys,” added Nikki.
“Like who?” demanded Katie.
“Adam Baker,” she blurted out.
“No way!” gasped Amy, turning her head to look at Aaron talking to Matt. “How do you know?”
“I overheard him one day on what he’d like to do to Jacob,” she explained. “It took everything I had not to burst out laughing and embarrass the poor guy.”
“I never would have expected him,” Katie said in disbelief.
“Me either,” said Amy. “Jen, you’re good friends with Adam. Did you know?”
“Yes,” I whispered, forcing everyone to stare at me.
“And you didn’t say anything?” asked Katie.
“It’s not my right to go and spread rumours about Adam like that,” I answered her. “He still feels a little insecure about himself and the whole situation.”
“Then how did you find out?” asked Nikki.
“We were studying at his house when he openly admitted his crush on Jacob,” I explained. “I wasn’t sure why he was sharing something so personal with me until he told me he’s noticed how I’ve kept things for Jacob and thought I’d be the best person to discuss this with. I’ve kept Adam’s secret since last year, so I don’t want any of you leaking any of this to anyone. I know I can trust all of you, and that’s why I told you. He needs all the support from his friends.”
“Hey, Jacob’s close with Adam too so he must know, right?” asked Amy.
“Maybe he doesn’t,” said Nikki.
“Actually he does,” I said.
Katie spat out her water. “What? How did he find out?”
“Adam and I were talking about Jacob one day when he accidentally overheard us,” I replied. “You wouldn’t believe how surprised we were when Jacob walked into my room.”
“Didn’t you know he was coming over?” asked Nikki.
“My parents always let him into our house without telling me,” I said, shooting Amy a look which caused her to smirk and clamp her mouth shut. “Anyway, Jacob thought Adam was having some problems with school and offered to help. But before I could make an excuse for him, Adam told Jacob.”
“What did Jacob do?” asked Katie.
“That’s what surprised me the most,” I said with a smile. “I thought Jacob would close up. Instead, he accepted Adam for who he was and told Adam he was flattered, but he didn’t like him in that way so Adam wouldn’t get the wrong idea. He even offered to be Adam’s friend. Since Adam knew what Jacob had said wasn’t to purposely hurt him, he became so appreciative of it, he even admitted to us that he always thought Jacob was a stuck-up snob.”
“Wow!” said Katie. “I never knew Jacob was so sincere and understanding.”
“Trust me. There’s really more to him than good looks.”
“You really are lucky he chose you, Jenna,” said Nikki.
“No wonder why girls can’t help but fall for him,” added Katie. “But even though I’d love to keep continuing with this conversation, I’d rather try and convince Matt to light a fire before we freeze to death.”
The girls quickly got up from the grass and headed towards the fire pit Matt’s dad had built. Since the sky was sort of clear, and I was still warm in Jacob’s sweater, I lagged behind, ambling slowly, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Leo constellation.
A while back, I had found that I actually enjoyed star gazing. Whenever I felt like taking a break and escaping from the real world, on a warm clear night I would venture out into my backyard, lie on the grass and gaze up at the constellations. I found it very soothing and relaxing while it cleared my head from stressful things.
Finally finding Polaris in the multitude of shimmering stars, I then began moving west, searching for Regulus, the star that was at the base of the question mark, when my eyes were caught by a star streaking through the velvet sky.
“Have you found Leo yet?” asked Jacob.
“Not yet,” I said. “I think there still might be too many clouds in the way.”
“How about one day I just drive you some place away from the pollution of the city so you can spot Leo easily, and maybe also find all the other ones you want to see,” he said.
“Deal,” I grinned at him.
“Now wanna tell me why Lydia Scott smelt you?” he grinned back.
“She wasn’t sniffing me, but your sweater,” I replied. “Apparently she likes how you smell.”
“Why?”
“How would I know?”
“Because girls always gossip and you’re my inside connection to what they talk about.”
“And like I said before, I’m not going to tell you.”
“Spoilsport. So what do I smell like?”
“According to her, you smell heavenly.”
“And how would she know what heaven smells like?”
“Why don’t you ask her if you’re so curious?”
“I’d rather grab a seat by the fire before all the good spots are taken.”
Giving me a grin, Jacob then quickly grabbed my hand and ushered me through the huge crowd desperately gathering around the roaring fire as the brisk wind began to blow.
Chapter 13
An Uncomfortable Position
On Thursday afternoon, I was about to head to the library downtown when Jacob asked if I wanted to use his library to work on my history paper instead. Since we both had the same assignment that was due on next Tuesday, I figured his place was probably quieter anyway and agreed. However, just as soon as we entered into his house, Jacob abruptly came to a halt in the foyer, and I ended up bumping into his back.
“Oh, sorry, Jenna,” he said absentmindedly.
Curious as to why he was distracted, I quickly placed my backpack on the floor and peered over his shoulder. Jacob had received an envelope from the University of BC.
Judging by the thickness of it, I knew he got accepted, but Jacob didn’t look so sure. Even though he maintains a 4.0 average, he still ran a hand nervously through his hair, worried about what the outcome might be.
“Jenna, you open this for me,” he said, sounding agitated.
“Only if you agree to read what it says,” I said.
Once I saw him nod his head, I then took the envelope from his hands, broke o
pen the seal, and gave everything back to him.
Silently, I watched as he pursed his lips and began to read. Muttering something incoherent under his breath, his roaming eyes then stopped halfway down the letter, and he broke into a wide grin. A moment later, I was being swung around in the middle of the hall.
“Jenna!” he screamed. “I got—”
“A…hem, am I interrupting something?”
The sudden voice of his sister made Jacob lose his footing, and we both went crashing to the floor, getting tangled in a mess of limbs.
“You know if it was mom, I’m sure she’d be happy with this outcome,” Ashley giggled. “She might even suggest you two take it upstairs. Too bad she’s not home.”
“Would you just help us get out of this mess?” Jacob scowled at her.
“What caused all this excitement anyway?” she grinned, pulling us up from the floor.
“All my hard work finally paid off,” said Jacob, thrusting the letter in her face. “Look! I’ve been accepted to UBC!”
“Congratulations,” she said. “Mom and dad are going to be really happy, especially dad. And knowing mom’s going to want to celebrate, Jenna, you have to come too. After all, you did technically help him.”
“That’s right, Jenna,” grinned Jacob. “If it wasn’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have made it this far.”
“You really don’t give yourself enough credit, Jacob,” I said. “You’re grades are far better than mine.”
“Would you stop thinking about the C you got in gym?” he sighed.
“It’s not my fault I suck at sports,” I grumbled.
“It doesn’t matter whose grades are better,” Ashley interrupted. “Jenna, you’re still coming with us, so make sure you keep Saturday open.”
“But didn’t you just come back to visit because it’s it your mom’s birthday this weekend?” I asked her.
“Yes, but didn’t Jacob tell you that she also invited you to come?” asked Ashley.
“No, he didn’t,” I said. “Besides, I really don’t want to intrude.”
Ashley pulled me closer. “Would it convince you if I told you our mom already thinks of you as part of the family?” she whispered to me. “And I’m sure you also know how persistent she gets at not taking no for an answer.”