Thinking of Matt Squire with his bold green eyes made me warm inside. I totally crushed on Matt. He was fast becoming Abercrombie status. He was the only guy who made me nervous. I wondered when he’d show up.
“Nope, they went to Vegas.” Greg answered, kicking the rocks around in the flowerbed next to the retaining wall. “What’s going on today?”
My fire went out. I slumped, kicking my feet hard against the wall. I was bummed I wouldn’t see Matt and wondered how long he would be gone.
“I don’t know” I said, sulking, “Beats me. We should go to Nicole’s.” I hopped off the wall, frustrated.
That’s the moment my world began to change. Jake Masters, the boy next door, pulled into his driveway. I’d known Jake practically my whole life. He’s someone who’s spent the night at my house, sleeping next to me, piled on the floor in front of the TV. Nadine perked up instantly, fluffing her hair while glancing down at her chest. I then glanced down at mine, and back at hers. She pulled down on her tank top to show off her boobs a bit more. I looked back down at my chest. What the? I thought. What’s she doing? Glancing in Jake’s direction, I didn’t think he noticed us.
When Jake was home he was always out in his garage. He was either rehearsing with his band or tooling around with his truck. He never said anything to us besides a “Hey” or a head nod from time to time. Jake would small talk my dad when he watered the lawn. He and I would chat every now and then, but for the most part, we kept to ourselves. Jake was older than me. He was finally a senior, the same age as my brother Kyle. Jake and my brother used to be close, but Kyle went the nerd route and Jake went the wannabe rock star route.
I watched Nadine mess with her clothes and hair. “What are you doing?” I giggled.
“What?” she whispered loudly. She tossed her hair to one side and poked her chest out more.
I fluffed my own hair mocking her. “This,” I said. I puffed up my chest, looking over a Jake.
He took off his shirt, throwing it over onto the nearby lawn and Nadine and I stared in awe. Watching him hose down his truck half naked made the world stop. I glanced back at Nadine who had her mouth wide open, nearly drooling.
I looked at Greg, remembering that he was there. I was a little embarrassed. He glanced between Jake and us.
“Uh, you guys are weird,” he said uncomfortably. “I’m outta here. I’ll meet you at Nicole’s.”
He slowly rode away and I began to laugh. Nadine’s eyes were intently placed on Jake.
“Dude, what are you doing?” I said. “Do you like him or something? Do you want me to introduce you?” I laughed. As long as I’ve known Nadine she never acted this way towards Jake. I’d never realized she even knew he existed.
Nadine sat back on the wall and all of a sudden began to laugh loudly. I looked at her like she’d gone crazy. She leaned over, whispering. “Just go along with me.”
I started laughing loudly too. Sure enough, Jake looked over and smiled at us. I felt like an idiot.
“God, he’s so freakin’ hot,” she said under her breath, nearly hyperventilating.
I laughed loudly, for real this time.
Jake smirked as he continued washing his big black truck, “You girls wanna share what’s so funny?” he shouted over to us. Nadine turned, eyeballing me, and like telepathy I turned to face Jake.
“You want some help?” I shouted back. He stopped washing and smiled the most brilliant smile I’d ever seen.
Jake shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, if you guys wanna help…that’d be cool.”
Nadine nudged me with a wicked grin, striding ahead of me. I quickly followed behind her. We crossed the street without a word. I awkwardly cleared my throat, introducing them to each other.
“Jake, this is Nadine,” I said, giving a weak smile. “She lives around the corner.” I raised my arm and pointed, waving it around like a spaz.
He cracked his brilliant smile again. “Yeah, I’ve seen you before,” he said. “You go to my school. What’s up?”
He nodded his head as he examined us a bit more closely. His eyes parked themselves on mine. My stomach went nuts and I began to fidget with my shirt, looking away briefly. Jake looked around awkwardly too and laughed a little.
“Wha’cha guys up to this sweltering morning?” He turned and walked into his garage, grabbing two rags and raising them up.
Throwing each of us a rag, he resumed scrubbing his truck. Nadine mouthed “Oh my freakin’ God!” and turned, dipping her rag into the bucket. I stood there dumbfounded. This was new to me, the whole manipulating the situation thing. I’d only seen it on TV. Now we were the characters.
“So, Jake, how’s the band doing?” I tried to make small talk as I diligently washed the windows on the other side of the truck; but at the same time I really did wonder. I glanced into the garage. “Looks like your garage has turned into a professional studio, what’s that stuff on the walls?”
He looked up, wiping his damp brow with his forearm. “That’s sound proofing foam. It’s as sound proof as I can it get for now and the band is doing great,” he explained, walking toward me. “We just had a show at the Roxy in Hollywood. You should come to the next one.”
My heart began to race and my throat thickened. No words would come out and all I could do was gulp, trying to find moisture. He finally continued, taking the pressure off.
“We’re a lot better than you probably remember,” he said, coming closer to me. He tossed his rag back and forth between his hands, his eyes scanning my face. “Look at you, you’ve grown up.”
Like a loud gong, Nadine’s voice rang out. “Yeah, we’d love to come and see you play.” She rounded the backside of the truck, standing a little too close to Jake.
He backed away, looking her up and down. “Uh, yeah, anytime, just let me know.”
“Hey, would you like me to rinse the soap?” Nadine asked grabbing the hose off the ground.
“Yeah, before it dries, that’d be cool,” he said, flashing a wink at her.
What the hell? Was he flirting with her? I glanced at Nadine as she squirted soap off. I wondered if she saw what I saw. Her body language was not what I was used to. I was embarrassed at her boldness toward Jake.
“God, it’s so hot,” she said, holding the bright yellow nozzle over her head squirting water straight up into the air. I squealed as it rained down on us. I dashed over to the nicely manicured lawn and grabbed Jake’s shirt holding it over my face.
“Ahhh, shit,” Jake shouted, laughing loudly. “Nadine, be careful of the garage,” he warned, jogging to the sidewalk, guiding Nadine’s direction of water works.
Abercrombie, most definitely, I thought, staring at Jake’s glistening wet torso. God, I’d never noticed how studly he was. His muscular build left me speechless. Covering my mouth I giggled and he took notice.
“What? You think you’re gonna stay dry?” He shouted, running toward me. He grabbed my waist, twirling me around – then held me in a tight bear hug up off the ground.
“Nadine! Let her have it!”
The water rained down on us, and then fell directly upon me, stinging my skin. Jake held me tightly to his chest. I could barely move; squealing and laughing so hard I almost peed. I buried my face into his shirt I still held in my hands. Jake finally released me and I quickly footed it across the street, avoiding any more water games.
“You bitch!” I shouted through fits of laughter. I leaned against the wall trying to catch my breath. I was soaking wet.
Jake ran after Nadine, grabbing the hose from her. He held her wrists together with one hand while he used his free one to soak her down. She didn’t fight to get away like I did. She clearly liked the attention. Jake stopped and stared over at me. I was surprised to see how much bigger he was than Nadine. Nadine had always been taller than me. I was already 5’8. I considered both of us pretty tall. Jake must be over six feet tall – his voice shook me from my thoughts.
“Ok,” Jake shouted over at me, “I promise we won’t wat
er fight anymore. Come back and help dry.”
Sopping wet, Nadine futilely tried to fluff her hair. She finally stopped fussing at it. I walked back over, giving her a defiant smile and she winked at me satisfied. I was both relieved and a little of something else I couldn’t pin point. My insides were excited and awake.
“Be right back.” Jake said going into his garage and vanishing into his house.
“Oh my God, he is so to die for! When he was holding me back from squirting you, I wanted him to pin me against the truck and kiss me,” she confessed, practically swooning. “You have to find out the deets on what’s up with him.”
My chin must have hit the ground. I was shocked hearing her fantasy. “What do you mean?” I said, pretending I didn’t get where she was headed. Drying my arms and face with his shirt I noticed how nice it smelled. I took in a deeper whiff and my eyes rolled back into their sockets. “Dude, you gotta smell this!”
Nadine took a quick sniff and grabbed the shirt out of my hands and stuffed her face in it. Jake unexpectedly walked out his front door and we both spun around to face him. Nadine threw his shirt onto the hood of the truck.
“Here ya go, I just pulled them out of the dryer.” He handed each of us a hot towel. “After you’re done drying yourselves you can use them to dry the truck. Oh, and make sure you don’t touch the tires, my mom’ll kill me if I get black stains on them.”
As he turned back to shut the front door, I quickly reached up and grabbed his shirt. I tucked it into the back of my shorts.
We heard a shout from down the street. “Nadine!” We could see her mother wearing a bright red caftan and black leggings as she stood on the sidewalk, looking for us. “Nadine!” she shouted out again.
“Shit! Shit! I totally forgot,” Nadine said in a panic. “I forgot I have a dentist appointment.” Glancing down at her watch she went on, “Now I’ll have to change and we’re gonna be late. She’s gonna kill me! I’ll see you at Nicole’s later.” She threw the towel at us and turned to run home.
“OK,” I shouted after her. I stood there in silence, feeling weird and suddenly self-conscious. I looked over to Jake shrugging my shoulders. He smiled back and continued to dry his truck.
I watched Jake from the other side of the truck. His bare chest rubbed against the window as he attempted to dry the roof. The sight made me weak. I felt like a total perv but I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Then suddenly he opened the door and I quickly looked away, praying to God he hadn’t seen me ogling his all too perfect frame. He stepped up into the cab and continued drying the roof. My heart raced and my mouth went dry leaving my tongue feeling like cardboard. All I could see were his impossibly firm waist muscles shifting under his smooth, lightly tanned skin; I nearly jumped out of my own skin when his voice rang out.
“So, little Miss Alyssa Montgomery, what have you been up to all this time?” He asked, “You’re nearly all grown up.”
Laughing nervously, I fumbled for words. “Uh, well, just super stoked to finally be starting high school,” I stuttered, walking over to his side of the truck. I inspected his work, as if I really cared. “I’ve been taking piano lessons, playing volleyball and just hanging out really, not much else. What else is up with you?”
Jake was quiet for a few moments as his eyes searched my face. I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. I wanted to die. Finally he spoke.
“Besides rehearsing like a mad man with the band and just barely getting through school, you’re lookin’ at it,” he said. “Not sure if you knew, but we kinda been doin’ little mini-tours. So I’ve been missing a lot of school, but I managed to eek out getting into the 12th grade.” A proud grin stretched across his too handsome face.
“How does your mom feel about you eeking by?” I asked curiously. “My parents would kick my ass if I got anything below a B.”
“By eeking I mean I’m not an A student, more like a solid B some C’s. I think with everything that goes on with the band, she’s just happy I’m making it through.” He shrugged. “You know, we have a pretty beefy tour lined up this summer, so I’m stoked.”
His eyes sparkled when he spoke. I never noticed how blue they were, especially in contrast with his died black hair. Jake used to have light brown, nearly blond hair. Then one day it was black, and he’s never gone back.
“Wow, Jake, I had no idea. I feel bad for not paying attention,” I said, shamefaced. “Does your band have a website?”
“Yeah, wanna come in and check it out?”
My insides tumbled around as I stared back at him. Nadine was right. He really was to die for. “Um, sure.”
I knew his mom wasn’t home. I assumed she was working. His dad had passed away when he was younger. I barely remembered his dad. Taking in a deep breath, I calmed myself. What the hell did I think would happen anyway? Stupid Nadine, this was all her fault. Ok, breathe deeply I told myself, desperately trying to stay calm. Like an out of body experience I saw myself running across our lawns into my house.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
My frantic thoughts stopped in their tracks. “Yeah. I was just thinking if there was anything I needed to do.”
“Alright, cool.” He turned, leading the way into the house.
I continued to fight the voices in my head, trying not to look like a schizophrenic. Besides, whom was I kidding? I was no match for Nadine and her big boobs. Not to mention all the hot chicks who were always hanging around Jake. The Envies, as we underclassmen called them. I guess I had been paying attention to a portion of Jake’s life instead of Jake himself. But now that Nadine had shed light on him my eyes were wide open.
3
Alyssa
I hadn’t been inside of Jake’s house in over two years. We walked through the foyer and into the living room. I was shocked by the change. I didn’t recognize one thing from years ago. The inside was totally remodeled. Gone was the 60’s-ish shag carpet, replaced with dark hard wood floors. The mute gray fabric sofas had been replaced with dark tan leather ones. They looked expensive and totally plush. A huge TV, the size of a bay window, covered the far wall. And an electronic system stared back at me menacingly. Note to self: Never Touch That.
The other wall, which was once solid, was now all windows, allowing a view of the pool and back yard. The back yard appeared to be the same. It had always been landscaped like an oasis with huge banana trees, ivy and those sweet smelling Gardenia flowers. I loved his back yard – it reminded me of being poolside in Hawaii.
“The computer’s in my room,” he said. “Oh, take the slaps off. Kate doesn’t want us grimmin’ up or scuffin’ her shit. Like rubber will scuff, but whatever.” He shrugged and a flash of irritation ran across his face.
I stopped just short of the earth tone runner leading toward the hallway. “Oh, ok.” I said, kicking off my flip-flops. “Hey, just curious, why do you call your mom by her name?”
Jake looked at me with hooded eyes and a bent smile. “Because when we’re out doin’ band shit, the last thing I wanna shout out is – Hey Mom – so, naturally.” He shrugged. “And at this point I prefer it.”
Walking over the yummy rugs in my bare feet, I could feel why Kate didn’t want them messed up. I sank in an inch they were so deluxe. We continued down the hallway until we reached a door at the end. Jake had changed rooms. He used to be in the closest room to his mom’s, now he was the farthest. The first thing I noticed was a French door opened at the other end of the room. It led out to the back yard. A hot tub was just to the right of it. What a guy, I thought. Of course he’d want this room. I would.
“Wow, this is cool, when did you switch rooms?” I said, marveling at how neat everything was. Matt’s room was a messy piece of shit compared to this. “I would die to have a hot tub right next to my room. Dude, you have your own bathroom too!” I walked from one side to the other, scanning every inch of every surface. I landed on his bed, crossing my legs up underneath me, batting my eyes. “I’ll trade you.”
“Ha
, I’m sure you would,” he said, pensively. His eyes locked on mine and my hands went numb. He flashed his perfect smile at me and shook his head. “Is your dad still a hard ass?”
“Yep, the older I get, the more of a hard ass he is. My poor guy friends don’t even come to the door anymore. They just hang on the corner until I come out.” I laughed at the thought. But it wasn’t funny. He was way too strict and because of this my brother, sister and I always lied to him. “But, he loves me, so what can I do?”
“You can’t do anything, and I see why he’s such a hard ass.” My hands tingled hearing his words.
Was that a compliment? Why would he say it like that? I felt the heat start to rise in my face.
“What?” he said perplexed.
“Nothing,” I laughed nervously, shaking my head. My spastic insides were getting the best of me, and I got up to look out into the back yard. Gah, I knew he totally caught me staring at him like an idiot. I scrambled to find anything to move me from my embarrassment, “When ya gonna pull up that music?”
“Hello, can’t you see I’m booting up my computer?” He replied playfully. “See, clearly this is why your dad is a hard ass.”
Finally, in a more neutral mood I walked over to Jake. I bent down, leaning over his shoulder as he pulled up his band website. I was impressed. It was done up professional, just like all the other hot bands out there. There was his picture, as big as life, staring back at me like someone I didn’t know. He clicked on the music player and turned up the volume. Unfamiliar sounds streamed out of the speakers, a guitar riff and keyboard melody drifted out over the room. Drumbeat followed and then a voice, a voice I didn’t recognize. I really liked it, the alternative rock-punky vibe. I closed my eyes.
“So, whose singing?”
“It’s me! Duh!”
“No!” I shouted, “Oh my God! You sound so good, like so old! I mean not like an old man or anything. Wow, you totally kill it!” I was completely floored. Nadine was gonna shit a brick when she heard him.
Jake lowered the music and spun around in his chair to face me. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I kept taking in slow deep breaths in an attempt to steady my racing pulse. Without a word he got up and walked out of the room. I took this opportunity to look around more closely. The walls were plastered with posters of rock bands, surf shots and bikini girls. The bikini girls were all types. I couldn’t tell what kind of girl he was into. I wondered if he had a girlfriend. I got up quickly and snooped around to see if he had pictures with any girls lying around. Anything to identify a special someone. I only found party pics and band snap shots. Yes, there were girls and 2 of them were in most of the shots. Hmm, I wondered.
First Kiss (Heavy Influence) Page 2