Stirring Up Trouble

by Juli Alexander

  “And, she told me she has a son your age,” he said as we plodded down the road at exactly the speed limit. “The way she talked about him, I’d assumed he was younger. She doesn’t look my age at all.”

  How much aftershave had Dad used? “I know him,” I admitted.

  “What?” He turned his attention from the road to me.

  “I know her son.” He’d find out anyway. “He dated my best friend.”

  “Well,” he said, clearly surprised. “It’s a small world.”

  Too freakin’ small for my taste.

  Dad glanced over at me. “So, he’s a good kid?”

  “He’s okay,” I said with a shrug.

  “Because we’re going over there for dinner tonight.” He sounded excited about it.

  “Great.” The way to my dad’s heart totally was through his pudgy stomach. He was so into gourmet cooking. Jake’s mom was a real estate agent, so their two-story house was really nice. I’d been there lots of times.

  The sad thing was that I’d always thought my mom and Jake’s mom would get along. Now, I was heading to her house with my dad. So much for that friendship.

  “Are you okay with this?” Dad asked over the tick-tick of the turn signal.

  I knew I should hate him, but I just couldn’t. He didn’t mean to ruin my life. I guess he couldn’t help it. Being nice sucked. Anya was always telling me to work on being bitchier. She had a point. She’d always been high maintenance and she got what she wanted.

  “It’s fine,” I said, glancing out the window as Dad turned onto a side street.

  At least I knew things couldn’t get worse.

  I learned how wrong I was ten minutes after getting to Jake’s house. We were in the kitchen, helping with the salad, when he said, “So what do you think about Camille?”

  I just looked at him and pretended he hadn’t stabbed me in the heart. Anya was right. He was interested in Camille—another one of my best friends. “She’s great,” I admitted, working to keep my voice neutral.

  “I was thinking about asking her to the dance.” He kept slicing the tomatoes. His over-sized hound, Indiana, sat on his haunches begging for scraps.

  Of course he was. “Great.” Oops. I might have missed neutral on that one. I concentrated on washing the lettuce.

  He stopped and looked at me. “What?”

  “What what?” Two could play that game.

  “You don’t sound like you like the idea,” he said and put down the knife.

  “No. I just...” Why did life have to be so complicated? I turned to meet his gaze. “Do you like her or are you just asking out one of Anya’s friends to get to Anya? I mean Camille has feelings too.”

  His eyes widened. “My God, Zoe. Do you really think I’d do that? I’m not mean.”

  He and I had spent a lot of time together. With Anya, of course. “I know.” Great. I’d insulted him.

  “I haven’t decided about Camille anyway,” he said. “I wanted your opinion.”

  “Do you always ask your mother’s boyfriend’s daughters for opinions about your love life?”

  He looked hurt. “No,” he said. “I do ask my friends though.”

  Okay, now I felt like a real creep. “I’m sorry, Jake. I… This whole thing with our parents is totally stressing me out. And then there’s Anya and Brad, and you and Camille, and I…” I shook my head and turned off the faucet. “I just need a break,” I said, turning to him.

  His green eyes softened. “I know what you mean.”

  “You do?” Why did he have to be so hot?

  “Yeah,” he said with a smile. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s ditch the parents and go to a movie.”

  Getting out of here would rock. “We can’t do that, can we?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know why not. They’d probably rather be alone anyway. Plus, they don’t ask our opinions on every move they make.”

  True. They made all kinds of plans without asking us. My spirits lifted. “Let’s do it.” I snatched a piece of cheddar and gave it to Indiana.

  Chapter Three

  Jake was right. Neither of them protested too much. And we got a twenty from each of them. Ten minutes later, Dad dropped us at the theater.

  “Text me when you pick the movie, and let me know what time it lets out,” my dad said. “You can ask the usher.”

  “I know. I will.”

  Dad waved and pulled away from the curve.

  “So what movie should we see?” Jake asked as we walked up the steps to the front of the twelve-plex.

  “I don’t care,” I said truthfully. “I’ll watch anything. As long as it’s not about divorce. I’m full up on divorce right now.”

  Jake grinned. “I know what you mean.”

  I vetoed the artsy choice. “Nothing with suicide either.”

  “Agreed.” Jake stuck his hands in his jean pockets and studied the marquee. ”How do you feel about action?”

  I loved it when he stood that way. So GQ. “Action’s good. But no horror.”

  We settled on a Jackie Chan movie. Humor and action were always a winning combination in my book. I got the exact ending time and called Dad.

  Since we’d skipped dinner, we got popcorn, candy, and drinks. We passed on the withered hot dogs, but decided to risk some nachos. I didn’t have to pretend I never ate much, because I didn’t have a chance in hell with Jake anyway.

  Obviously, I’m always trying to find the up side to everything. The up side to being a witch was that I could help people with my potions. The up side to a movie with Jake, even as a friend, was that I got to go to a movie with Jake. Usually, I sat on the other side of Anya when they let me tag along on their dates. Tonight, it was just the two of us, and while it wasn’t a date, at least I wasn’t the third wheel. The role of pathetic dateless friend had grown old.

  We found seats in the auditorium and dropped the armrests to situate our drinks and snacks. Jake slouched down in his seat, adjusting his long legs in the aisle.

  His hottiness wasn’t just about looks. He had this energy about him that kind of radiated. Sitting beside him was like being wrapped in his energy field, and it felt really good.

  The previews had finished and the lights had dimmed when a couple came in. They climbed to the row in front of us as the screen grew brighter. My jaw dropped to the floor. Jake tensed.

  It was totally Anya and Brad. And they were sitting right in front of us.

  “Oh my God,” I muttered.

  “You got that right,” Jake said.

  “Should we move?”

  “No,” he said. “We’ll just ignore them.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “This sucks,” he mumbled.

  It really did. I felt sorry for him.

  Then Anya noticed us. She twisted around to see us better. “Hey,” she said. “What are you guys doing here?”

  “We bailed on our parents,” I said before Jake could answer.

  “Oh,” Anya had the grace to look a little embarrassed. “Well, um.” She looked at Brad and then at Jake. “This is weird.”

  “Hey, dude,” Brad said to Jake.

  “Hey,” Jake answered.

  They turned around to watch the movie and I crossed my fingers that we wouldn’t have to watch them make out. If they started kissing, I might have to use one of my trump cards. I didn’t want Jake to suffer.

  Jake grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth. He didn’t seem happy at all. I really doubted he could concentrate on the movie.

  We made it twenty minutes before Brad put his arm around Anya. Jake choked on a nacho. I didn’t hold out much hope for them not kissing. I’d have to get a card out. I could only do the spell while holding the card. Of course, I also had to choose one. The vomiting spell held a lot of appeal. Anya spewing up her dinner would definitely stop the making out with the added bonus that Jake would be disgusted. Using the charm that way would be more self-serving though, and the punishment would be worse.
I could probably make it out of the theater in time, but I’d rather hang out with Jake.

  Jackie Chan had defeated about half the bad guys by the time Anya decided to kiss Brad. Jake kicked Brad’s chair. Brad didn’t notice, so Jake did it again harder.

  “Dude,” Brad said.

  Jake growled.

  Brad went right back to kissing Anya. Not good. A sneezing fit would break up their little tongue-swapping fest also. I could save Jake the pain without ruining Anya and Brad’s relationship. I reached down to dig for my wallet. One sneeze attack coming up.

  “Should we leave?” I whispered to Jake to distract him.

  “No,” he said, leaning closer to me. Suddenly, he didn’t seem as stressed but more like his old self. “I think I should kiss you.”

  “What? No!” Oh my God! I dropped my wallet back into my purse.

  “Why not?” he asked in a low voice that sent shivers through me.

  I made myself look at him as I whispered, “Because you don’t want to kiss me, you just want to bother Anya. And she’s my best friend.”

  “Right,” he said, backing away. “I guess we shouldn’t then.”

  Of course, I’d really hoped that he would say that he did want to kiss me and not only to bother Anya.

  “Would it help that it would also drive our parents nuts?”

  Hmmm. “Let me think for a minute,” I said. It would really mess with Dad’s head. And that excuse would be good enough for Anya. I already had a major crush. How much worse could it get? Glancing at Anya and quickly judging how dark the theater was, I said, “Okay.” I liked his plan much better than mine.

  “Okay?” He looked at me funny, like he’d thought I’d say no.

  “Yeah, do it already.” I didn’t want to lose my nerve. I mean it’s not every day the man you love offers to kiss you. The light from the screen flickered against his handsome face.

  He handed me the colossal tub of popcorn which I balanced on my knee, and I moved my drink to the other armrest so that we could even get close enough to kiss.

  Jake leaned in toward me, and I’m still not sure exactly how it happened, but my knee twitched. And the twitch tossed the extra large bucket of popcorn all over Anya and Brad. The sneeze would have made less of a mess.

  Anya shrieked. Brad jumped up, and people all over the theater turned to glare at us.

  “Jake, what do you think you’re doing?” Anya hissed. She swatted the popcorn kernels from her hair and blouse. “If you have a problem with me seeing Brad—”

  “I don’t,” Jake snapped.

  “Anya,” I said, lowering my voice and trying to calm the situation before they kicked us out. “It was my fault. You know how clumsy I am. Jake had nothing to do with it.”

  Anya eyed me for a moment. In a testament to my sad clumsiness, she believed me. “Fine.” She turned to Brad, who was still brushing himself off. “We’ll just forget the whole thing.”

  They sat down.

  Jake leaned over to me and whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

  Thank goodness it was dark in there, because I knew my face had to be flaming red.

  “Mortifying,” I moaned. “Absolutely mortifying.”

  Jake shifted in his seat, then reached out and put his arm around my shoulder. “It’s my fault,” he said.

  “It’s okay,” I said. Who knew a little embarrassment could result in Jake putting his arm around me?

  “I guess kissing you was a bad idea,” he said, squeezing my shoulder in a halfway hug.

  “Yeah,” I said, starting to have trouble breathing. I couldn’t believe how close he was. And I still wanted to kiss him. I was dying to kiss him, bad idea or not.

  Anya and Brad were back into their make-out session, and I felt a moment of anger at Anya for rubbing it in Jake’s face. There was still time for the sneeze card.

  “Hey,” Jake said, reaching with his other hand to tilt my chin and see my eyes.

  “Huh,” I breathed, as his blonde curls drew closer.

  Then, he leaned the rest of the way and pressed his lips to mine. Oh my God! It was so much better than kissing my pillow.

  I heard some kind of noise from my throat, and he deepened the kiss, exploring my mouth, and sending my head spinning. I forgot all my problems. I even forgot that Anya was right in front of us. I just focused on my lips. And Jake’s.

  Apparently, he liked the kiss too because he didn’t stop for a long time. I threaded my fingers through his hair which felt better than I’d even imagined. My heart thumped like I’d run two miles, and my mind went all groggy while my skin felt on fire.

  When Jake finally pulled away, he kept his arm around me. “Oh my God,” he said, sagging back into his seat.

  I couldn’t even answer him. I couldn’t speak. I could barely breathe.

  “I had no idea it would be that good,” he said quietly.

  He thought it was good! “Yeah,” I managed, still trying to regain my composure. What an ending to a crappy week!

  “I always thought it would be like kissing my sister or something,” he said.

  Now, that didn’t sound good. “I’m not your sister.”

  “No, I know.” He leaned over because Anya glanced back at us. Quietly, he whispered, “We’ve known each other forever.”

  Then, it hit me that he’d thought about it before. “You’ve thought about what it’d be like to kiss me?” I asked.

  He grimaced. “I know that’s bad, but I have.”

  Cool. “It’s not bad.”

  We sat in silence for the rest of the movie. I fought the urge to jump up and down.

  When the movie ended, we gathered our trash and hurried out to avoid Anya and Brad. I was totally confused. I’d always wanted to kiss Jake, but now that I had, what we were supposed to do? Especially with his mother dating my dad.

  Dad’s Prius was waiting out front. I climbed in the front and Jake climbed in the back.

  “How was it?” Dad asked.

  “Interesting,” I said.

  Dad nodded toward the strip mall by the theater. “Do you guys mind if I run into the store and pick up some ice cream? Sheree and I were talking about some cold dessert.”

  “No problem,” I said. Maybe I’d get a chance to talk to Jake in private.

  Dad steered around the theater to the grocery in the strip mall. Everyone we knew hung out at the strip mall. There was a sub shop, a pizza place, and a gaming store.

  As we pulled into a space, Jake said, “Did you know they raised their membership rates again at GamerCraze?”

  “No.” Of course, the guys I knew would pay anything to access the online gaming they had.

  Dad opened his door. “Back in a flash.”

  “Zoe,” Jake said when Dad was gone. “You’re a really good kisser.”

  “I am?” I turned sideways in my seat.

  His green eyes searched mine.

  “I mean, so are you. Kisses are always good, right?” If he hadn’t figured out that he was my first real kiss, I certainly wasn’t going to enlighten him.

  “Well, yeah, but not like, that good.” He reached out and tweaked my nose. “Because that was really good. Maybe,” he started, and then he blushed.

  I giggled. “You’re blushing.”

  “So are you,” he accused.

  I just giggled more. “I know, but I always blush. You don’t.”

  “It’s not funny, Zoe.” His expression was serious. “This is bad. In fact, we have to do it again.”

  That shut me up. “What?”

  “I have to kiss you again.” His eyes held an earnest look. “I have to find out.”

  Like I was gonna argue. “Okay,” I said with a shrug, intrigued by this whole intense, troubled side of him.

  He scooted up in the seat. I closed my eyes. His lips touched mine.

  Rap. Rap.

  My eyes snapped open to the sight of Anya rapping on the car window. I got an eyeful of Anya’s horrified, angry, shocked face on the other side o
f the window. It was like a bad dream. But it was real.

  I froze and Jake jumped backward, his eyes wide.

  He turned to look out the window in time to see Anya’s last glare before she stomped off toward the pizza place with Brad in tow.

  Jake just sat there. I sat there. My blood was pumping through my veins, and my brain was addled. I couldn’t begin to fix this situation.

  “So Anya saw us,” I said softly.

  In the theater, I hadn’t been too worried. But here, in the car, I’d felt like the kiss was real and private. Well, the very beginnings of a real kiss.

  At least he wasn’t running after her. “I thought you were over her.” I was starting to get tired of all the surprises.

  “I am,” he said automatically. Then he turned back toward me, giving me a lopsided smile. “Do you think your dad will be much longer?”

  “No.” I’d forgotten he could pop up any moment.

  “Your dad who has probably been kissing my mom the whole time we were in the movie.”

  Not cool. I grimaced. That was an image I didn’t need. “Right,” I said, resigning myself to a life of loneliness. Dad had left the store and was coming toward the car.

  Dad opened the car door and said, “Sorry about that, guys.” He handed me the cold bag of ice cream.

  I tried to find a reason to blame Dad for what Anya had seen. He just had to have ice cream. He had to date Jake’s mother. Honestly, I wouldn’t have missed out on these kisses for anything.

  Chapter Four

  Lucky for me, my father is oblivious. Mom would have picked up on the tension in the car. During the ten-minute drive from the theater to Jake’s house, I tried to figure out what to say to Anya. I would have to say something. I just didn’t know what. No way was I admitting that I was in love with Jake.

  If it wouldn’t have meant doing without that mind-blowing kiss, I’d have so totally gone back to last week and started over. Not that I could. Other witches could time travel, but not me. All my family could do was brew potions. Life sucked.