The Beginning of Us

by Corona, Brandy Jeffus

  “Yeah, I know,” I replied smiling. It was something that I secretly loved for some unknown reason. My brother was a looker, with grassy green eyes and hair that looked like caramel. It made me feel all the more closer to him, knowing he could pass as my twin.

  “Okay, where to next?”

  “You like books?” I asked.

  Jax's face was pensive, “If I answer that question truthfully, promise not to tell anyone?”

  “Why? Oh wait! I know, you secretly like them dirty books, huh?” I said, the thought making me giggle. I don't even know why I asked him that question anyway. I suppose it was to make conversation, but I knew everything about this boy.

  “Uh, no. I just don't want my reputation as super-hot jock to become tarnished.”

  I stepped closer to him and leaned in to whisper, “Oh Jax, there is nothing sexier than a guy who reads. True story.”

  His face flushed and pride welled up in my chest that I had gotten to him. He was so hard to embarrass. He cleared his throat, “Anyway, good to know, I'll write that down. But yes, I do like books. My favorite book of all time is Lord of the Flies. None of the girly crap, stories that mean something.”

  Nodding, I took hold of his hand and we walked to my dad's study. My dad had been a bookworm since an early age and his collection was nothing short of astounding. He had all the classics; Moby Dick, Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby; the list went on. He also owned all the John Grisham, Dean Koontz and Stephen King books known to man. He loved his books and when he had died, they were divided between me and Axel.

  Jax moved from bookshelf to bookshelf, gently grazing his finger over all the spines. He turned towards me astonishment on his face, “This is like first edition or something. It's old as dirt, but in perfect condition!”

  “My dad is a mega bookworm. Wanna read it?”

  He answered me by taking a seat in Daddy's recliner. I grabbed a bean bag chair and placed it in front of the recliner. I sank into it with a copy of Bleachers by John Grisham and for the next two hours we read. Randomly, I would feel Jax's fingers in my hair, twirling it gently. Or he would graze my shoulder back and forth, sending shivers down my spine. It was the most relaxing thing in the world to just sit and read with him.

  It was how my parents found us when they arrived home just in time for lunch. My dad held two pizzas from a local pizzeria up as Jax and I dog-eared our books before following them in the kitchen. Daddy and Jax went deep into conversation about Lord of the Flies; it was my dad's favorite as well. I smiled at their bonding moment and noticed my mom was as well. She motioned for me to come after her and we went into the hallway.

  “I'm not going to ask questions, but I will tell you, you better be careful. If you choose to, you know, um, do it,” her voice was a stern whisper.

  I groaned loudly, “Mo-om! No! It's not like that! Geez, how embarrassing.” My face flushed hot.

  “Oh,” her surprise was apparent in her eyes, “So you mean, y'all didn't do-”

  I covered her mouth with my hand, “Mother! Stop! No, no we didn't. Ugh!” I lifted my hand away and Mama started laughing.

  “Well, good. Don't start, not until you're completely ready.”

  “All right. All we did was fall asleep at the same party. I was drinking a little bit,” I cast my glance down, embarrassed, “and he didn't want me riding with Raegan if she wasn’t completely sober. So we just slept it off, got breakfast this morning and came here.” I took a deep breath; this conversation was utterly painful to have with my mom, especially considering I was really a thirty-plus-year-old woman, already experienced in the sex department. “But we are kind of dating, so y'all will be seeing him a lot, well hopefully,” I finished.

  Mama nodded thoughtfully. “Well, he seems nice and he's quite the looker, that's for sure. Dad seems to like him, so that's good.” She smoothed a flyaway down on my head and kissed me on the forehead.

  “Can we go back in now?” I shuffled my feet, ready to bolt and have this conversation finished.

  “Yes. Just wait until you're a mom someday, you'll understand. Your kids will be your babies no matter how old they are.”

  I knew exactly what she meant and how she felt. I couldn't tell her that, though.

  Jax left after eating dinner with us. He seemed reluctant to leave and I couldn't blame him. I wanted to sleep next to him, where I belonged. Instead, we were stuck in our adolescent phase where that stuff was frowned upon. It irritated me to have so many limits put on us, a relationship that was already years old.

  “Find me tomorrow before school?” he asked, eventually making his way to his truck.

  “How about you pick me up? Give me a ride. My car is still in the shop.” His face lit up at the thought.

  “I can definitely do that. I'll be here at a quarter to eight.” He brushed his hair out of his eyes and leaned in to kiss me. It was a chaste kiss, and relief flooded me that he was respectful of the idea that my parents were probably looking.

  “Thank you for one of the best weekends ever, girlfriend.,” he said softly, getting into his truck.

  “No, thank you, boyfriend. Now get going before my parents embarrass me and come out here.” I pushed the door close and winked. He laughed as he started his old truck and blew me a kiss before putting it in gear.

  Deliriously happy, I floated into my home and went to sleep. Best weekend ever, for sure.

  ***

  Jax

  When I got home that night I fell onto my bed, completely exhausted. I had way too much to drink at the party, but my time with Teegan had made my adrenaline go into overdrive, making up for it. But now, I was drained, every part of me ready to rest.

  Everything had changed and everything was really freakin’ kick-ass now. The girl I had always crushed on was finally mine.

  Chapter Seven

  Teegan

  “Hey, girlfriend,” Jax whispered as I passed by him. His hand reached out to mine, grazing my fingers that sent shivers down my spine.

  “Hello,” I whispered, smiling like a fool. I followed Raegan to our seats and sat down. Jax turned to face me, frowning and a second later my phone vibrated. It was a text from him:

  U need to change seats!

  Y? So we can make out the whole time? I replied. I put my phone in my lap and stuck my tongue out at him. My text came through and he looked down. I laughed when he looked up and nodded vigorously. He looked like an excited puppy.

  Raegan scoffed, “Y'all are sickening.” She made a gagging noise as she rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, stop it, I bet you would be all lovey-dovey with Luke if he was here,” Jax called out making Raegan's face turn the color of her hair. I couldn’t help but giggle.

  “Yeah, right,” she returned, a smile playing on her lips.

  “Raegan don’t hate me just ‘cause I wanna sit next to my beautiful girlfriend,” Jax countered. By now half the class had stopped their conversations and directed their attention to us. Fire coursed throughout my body, flushing my face.

  “Who you talking ‘bout, Jax?” someone across the room asked.

  The heat got hotter as Jax stood up and made his way to my seat. He stooped down and kissed my cheek, “Why the lovely Teegan of course. Sorry boys, she's taken.”

  Jax's smile lit up his whole face as he beamed at me. I gave him a smile back and a gentle shove to go sit down. He was so adorable. The class erupted in cheers when he gave me another quick peck on the cheek, just as Ms. G. walked in.

  “Alright Mr. Donney, PDA isn’t allowed so I'll just pretend I didn’t catch that. Leave Miss Fisher alone and return to your seat, Casanova.” Giggles escaped most the girls in the class, but all I could focus on were Jax's lips as he whispered, “Later girlfriend,” and sauntered off to his seat.

  The entire class period, I had the silliest grin on my face.

  I was falling in love with Jaxon again.

  ***

  “So Teegan,” Jax greeted me, drawing the ‘e’ sound of my nam
e out. “I would like to ask you on an official date.” It was lunchtime and he had moved from his regular seat at the football table to mine and Raegan's.

  “Okay. Maybe, it depends on when and where,” I teased. “Oh and thanks a lot for embarrassing me in Ms. G's class.”

  “Awe Teeg, don’t be like that. I’m just happy to announce our dating status,” he joked back, twirling a strand of my hair.

  “Well, when you put it that way...” I trailed off as he leaned in and softly kissed me. Temporarily, I forgot where we were, as his hand cupped the side of my face gently.

  “You smell like strawberries,” he whispered, pulling away slightly. My heart froze and then constricted painfully. It was something he had always told me as an adult.

  “That's good right?” I whispered hoarsely. He was making my body go crazy, everything was on high alert.

  “Mm-hmm. Have I told you you're a fantastic kisser?” he questioned and all I could do was shake my head no. “Well, shame on me,” he continued, “Because you should be reminded every single day.” His breath tickled my ear and I knew I was close to jumping his bones right on that point. He had no idea what kind of effect he had on me.

  He turned his attention to his chicken sandwich and concluded, “So is Friday at seven good?”

  “Sounds perfect. What are we going to do?” I asked. I looked around for Raegan and spotted her in line with Luke. Her hands danced around excitedly and a small smile crept up on my face. I was happy for her; maybe if she was caught up with her love life, she would leave mine alone. Things had already been difficult and strange without her comments.

  “Well, we could go with the traditional dinner and movie. Or go a semi-cheesy route and go bowling or putt-putt. Whatever you want.”

  “I don't really care, just surprise me,” I answered. It didn't matter where we went, since we had already done almost everything together anyway. Our first date in college had been to a laser tag place. Anything was fun and exciting with Jaxon involved.

  “Challenge accepted, ma'am.” His smile lit up his face and melted my heart. The overwhelming urge to blurt out the truth washed over me.

  Raegan and Luke walked up to our table. “Hey, Romeo and Juliet. Are y'all planning on making out at all? Don't wanna lose my lunch.” Raegan's tone oozed sarcasm and I gritted my teeth. She was starting to piss me off.

  “Cut it out, Raegan,” I said. Both of Jax's eyebrows rose and he glanced at Raegan.

  She didn’t reply. Instead she sat down next to me while Luke sat in front of her. “Sorry,” she muttered. When she glanced at me, her eyes were filled with sorrow. Instantly, guilt for snapping at her bombarded me and I wanted to figure out the deeper reasons for her resentment towards my new relationship. It sucked being a teenager.

  ***

  Jax – Friday Night

  “Shit, shit, shit!” I muttered under my breath facing my closet shirtless. I felt like a girl as I basically went through everything in my closet and most of it wound up heaped on my bed.

  “Oh! You said a bad word!!” Roxy's high pitch voice came from the doorway.

  “Sorry, baby girl. Don't tell Mom and Dad okay?” I apologized as she skipped into my room, her pigtails bouncing around, and jumped on my bed.

  “Maybe if you pay me a penny.” Her dimples showed as she flashed me a mischievous grin. Here lately she was obsessed with money, but couldn't comprehend the value of all the small coins. She thought pennies were going to make her rich.

  “I guess I can handle that.” I grabbed some change off my dresser and offered it to her. Her eyes lit up and it took both of her tiny hands to hold it. She ran out of my room and I heard her run down the hallway. In a split second she was back, hands empty.

  “What ya doing anyway? Why did you say a bad word?”

  I took a seat on my bed, pushing my clothes to the side. I loved my baby sister; she was so innocent and sweet. When she was born, I was eleven and hated the idea of having a screaming baby in the house. I was mad at my parents, at the world. I started getting in fights and that's when my dad put me in football to direct my anger somewhere else.

  Then Roxy was born and I fell in love. One of the first days she was home, I heard her crying and crawled into my parents’ room. I always thought that babies were so weird looking, but to me she was beautiful. I picked her up and sat in my dad's rocker and talked to her about football. She wrapped her hand around my finger and cooed at me. From that moment, she had become my favorite person.

  “I'm just frustrated, baby girl. I'm going on a date with a really cool girl and can't find anything to wear,” I confessed. Roxy snapped her head up, her eyes growing to saucers.

  “You're going on a date? Where? What is y'all gonna do?”

  I opened my mouth to answer her, but she interrupted, “And why do you care what you're gonna wear? Isn't that something only girls do silly?” She giggled and I couldn't help but laugh with her. She was right on.

  “Yeah, I'm being a dork I guess.”

  “I can help you pick out something. I'm a fashionvista.” she puffed out her chest with pride and I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the mixed up word.

  “Go for it then.”

  She sat up on her knees and pawed through my clothes, inspecting each item carefully. The clothes she chose against ending up on my floor. With some shirts, she turned toward me and held them up to my chest. If she didn't like something her petite nose would crinkle and she would stick out her tongue.

  In the end, she held out a baby blue American Eagle long sleeve shirt with red stars and stripes haphazardly thrown around. “This is the one. And you can wear those dark jeans with your red sneakers.”

  I took the shirt and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “I think that's perfect. Thank you for your help, baby girl.” She beamed at me before climbing off my bed.

  “That's what I'm here for. ‘Cause boys are clueless and girls are smart.” She wandered over to my desk as I pulled the shirt over my head and started fiddling with a Spider Man bobble head. “Can I use this? My Barbie Rosa has to get married tonight.”

  I stood up and swooped her into my arms as she laughed and hit my back, “Don't you know that Spider Man belongs to Mary Jane? He can't marry Rosa.” I tickled her tummy until she was breathless.

  “Please! It's only for today!” she begged as I flipped her upside down. We roughhoused a little longer and finally she calmed down, grabbing my Spider Man and hiding it behind her back.

  “All right, fine, take him. Bring him back after the wedding,” I conceded.

  She saluted me and smiled. She turned to leave my room but stopped, “Hey Jaxon, can we go on a date soon? Me and you?” Her eyes were filled with hope and she absent-mindedly chewed on her bottom lip.

  “Of course. We'll go see a movie, any one you want kiddo.” That brought another smile appear and she left satisfied with my answer.

  I checked my watch and swore under my breath. I had 20 minutes to get dressed and pick up Teegan. I quickly dressed and headed out the door. My heart thundered like a herd of horses, I was nervous as hell. But I also couldn't wait to pick up my girlfriend.

  Chapter Eight

  Teegan

  I opened the door after the bell rang and gasped. Jax looked amazing in his baby blue shirt and dark jeans. Coincidentally, we almost matched, as the shirt I picked out was similar in color. I had matched it with dark brown leggings.

  My breath caught in my chest and I gave a small smile. “Hey good-looking.”

  He tossed his hair back and grinned. Ugh, those damn dimples were going to be the death of me. I noticed he had one arm behind his back.

  “I brought you a very cheesy, and overly-used cliché bouquet of flowers since this is an official date, girlfriend,” he said. With exaggerated slowness, he showed me a gorgeous basket of lilies, daisy poms and carnations that were every color of the rainbow.

  “Oh my gosh!” I squealed. I reached greedily and brought my nose closer. They looked and smelle
d heavenly. “Now wait, this isn't very cliché because they're in a basket, boyfriend. But I accept your cheesy display of affection.” I winked and gave him a chaste peck on the lips. “Here, follow me while I go set these down.” I turned around and walked into the kitchen.

  My back was still turned when I felt Jax's arms go around me. His warm breath tickled my ear as he buried his nose into my hair.

  I wiggled around so I could face him. “Where are we going in this boring old town?” I whispered. I closed my eyes as he leaned in and kissed my forehead, spreading warmth throughout my body.

  “How dare you call Seabrook boring? There are lots of places to go and things to do,” Jax mockingly scoffed at me.

  “Not like Austin.” As soon as the words left my mouth I panicked. Shit, shit, shit! Austin was where we had originally met, at UT, but that was the future from now, not the past.

  Confusion crossed his face for a brief second, but his lazy grin returned. “When have you been to Austin? You're not old enough to have fun on Sixth Street.”

  “Just a couple times. My aunt lives there. Way more to do there than here; it's like a different world.” My answer sounded reasonable enough, but inside I was trembling. I hadn't had one slip up until now.

  He nodded, then loosened his grip a tiny bit, “Well, you haven't been on a date with me yet. You're gonna have so much fun, by the end of the night you'll be saying, 'Austin's so boring compared to good old Sea B.'”

  His lips collided with mine then. Our tongues met and swept across each other. The way our bodies responded to one another reminded me of our college years, how eager we had been to be so close. Those kinds of feelings eventually die down, but oh how they made you feel so alive.

  We left shortly after and Jax seemed to be riding some kind of adrenaline high. He sang along with the Goo Goo Dolls’ 'Slide' which was hilarious because the boy could not sing, at all. He was so excited and I was too.

  We drove to the other side of town and my heart skipped a beat when he parked in front of a building with a sign that said “Rollin'” and had two huge Rollerblades on the side.