First Kiss (Heavy Influence)

by Frohoff, Ann Marie

  I shrugged. Words escaped me as I stood there pretending to be innocent.

  “Rachel just followed Jake into the kitchen. She was watching us.” Nadine sniffed. “What a crazy bitch. You better be careful.”

  “What are you talking about?” I said, uncomfortable.

  “Oh, come on Aly – it’s obvious he’s totally into you,” she said, not sounding too put off.

  It was now or never. I was standing at confession’s ledge and I’d decided to jump.

  “I have to talk to you. Let’s go to my house – better yet let’s go to Nicole’s, so we can fill her in on the drama.” At this point I could no longer play the game. It was exhausting. I just prayed my sister wouldn’t find out about Jake. Nadine said goodbye to Mike and he jumped up from his seat.

  “You’re leaving, why?” he asked, staring directly at me. Why me? “You’re coming to the party tonight, right?”

  “Where’s it at, can I text you? We need to take care of something,” Nadine said as if she didn’t notice and took out her phone with its glitter pink case, punching in Mike’s number.

  I could hear Jake and Rachel arguing. We passed by the kitchen as we headed towards the front door and Jake called out my name.

  “Aly, wait!” Jake shouted. I could hear Rachel calling to him – “Jake come on” – but he was quickly at my side. “Let me get rid of everyone and I’ll text you.”

  The touch of his hand on my elbow made me stop in my tracks. I was unconvinced he would text anytime soon.

  “Isn’t there some party tonight?” I reminded him, standoffish.

  “Yeah, Mike said there was a party and invited us,” Nadine asked, hope filling her eyes.

  “Uh, yeah, there is. Let me get rid of Rachel and figure things out.”

  An outburst of laughter and ruckus came from back inside the house and Jake hung his head in frustration. My insecurities flared, thinking the laughter was about me.

  “She’s like a bad rash, you know,” I said, slumping.

  “Good luck with that,” Nadine laughed, sarcastically.

  “We’ll be around,” I sighed, defeated for the moment.

  Stupid Rachel, she’s going to be a pain in my butt, I thought to myself. Just as that thought rolled into my mind, she strolled into view and if looks could kill, I’d be lying on the floor hemorrhaging.

  I glanced nervously at Nadine and she returned Rachel’s evil glare. She tugged at my shirt and we turned simultaneously and walked out the front door. Jake followed us out onto the porch and watched us walk down the street.

  Nadine was too quiet, and it spurred me to say something. “Nadine, I’m sorry.” I hopped in front of her, stopping us abruptly.

  “For what?” She said, looking confused and moved me out of the way.

  “You know what, Jake being the way he was with me.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Nadine said, waving me off. She didn’t sound mad, so I just left it alone. She’d probably let me have it once I told her about what was really going on.

  We burst through Nicole’s front door, finding her hunched at the computer. Grant and the guys weren’t anywhere to be found, thank goodness. We blabbered in unison something unintelligible and she grabbed our hands, dragging us upstairs to her room. Her brother Chris stood in his bedroom doorway watching us, amused.

  “What, did Zac Efron drive by and wave?” he laughed, teasing. “Lookin’ good Nadine. Nice shorts.” He smirked and walked down the stairs.

  “OMG, did your brother just notice me?” Nadine could barely contain herself. She blushed with a smile from ear to ear.

  “Ok, we’ll get back to Chris,” I interrupted, holding my hand up in her face, glancing between the two of them. I began to explain myself. “I haven’t been completely honest. Nadine, I kinda knew that Jake liked me because he asked me to hang out and watch movies last night. He was kinda flirty with me.”

  “You hooker!” she smiled wildly, shoving my shoulder. “You should have just told me!”

  “Well, it wasn’t like that. I’d gone over there to talk about you, and we got to talking about his music and then he started teaching me to play the guitar and he was just really sweet, and really touchy feely with me…”

  “Where did he touch you? Did you kiss him?” Nadine asked breathlessly, throwing her arms in the air, spinning around. “You’re effing kidding me! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” She paced around, looking at me with an expression of lively confusion.

  “Shut up Nadine. Let her finish,” Nicole barked, sitting at the edge of her bed with her hand covering her gaping mouth.

  I continued in a round about way with the story of last night. I didn’t mention our sleepover. I painfully contemplated whether or not I’d to divulge the more intimate details.

  “Ok, ok, let me,” Nadine interrupted, looking at Nicole with her hands together, as if in prayer. She turned to me. “Let me tell her the rest.”

  Nadine weaved her web for Nicole exactly how I recalled it. It was as if she was never interested in Jake at all. She also threw in tidbit rumors about Rachel’s mean girl antics and my heart sank deeper into my gut. “Rumor has it she only went out with one guy to make Jake jealous and it didn’t work. I also heard she drugged a girl’s drink at a party.”

  Nadine’s eyes were wide. She nodded seriously at us as if we didn’t believe her.

  My eyes bugged, and my stomach flipped. I was nauseated. My anxiety mounted and tunnel vision kicked in, growing dark and narrow. I sucked in a deep breath, closing my eyes.

  “Aly, dude, are you ok?” Nicole asked, concerned “You look pale.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be ok, but I’m worried. What if she messes with me?”

  “Try not to worry about it,” Nicole said, hopeful. “Hopefully Jake doesn’t mean that much to her.”

  “Yeah right, you should have seen her face.” Tense laughter escaped Nadine’s lips. “When Jake came up and took that beer out of Aly’s hand and whispered in her ear, and by the way he practically licked her in the process. Rachel shit herself, you should’ve seen it, it was classic.”

  “A beer? So when did you start drinking?” Nicole teased, surprised.

  “I’m haven’t, it’s gross. I was just freaking out. I needed a distraction. Let’s find Chris, I wanna know more about Rachel.”

  ***

  The sun hung low, casting a hue of golden tones over everything it touched. It was a luminous late afternoon and the intense heat was finally subsiding. Staring at the water, I wanted to go swimming. I was overwhelmed with mixed emotions, and the water would be a soothing remedy. I moved, quietly, to an unoccupied lounge. Nadine hopped up, taking a seat next to Chris.

  Hearing my name called out shook me from my cloud.

  “Dude, Aly! Turn on the music,” Nadine shouted “Hello, you there?”

  Chris looked quizzically at me, mouth half open. “So, Aly…Jake Masters? Really?” He clearly didn’t believe what Nadine had told him, whatever that was. My mouth hinged for a few seconds. “Ha! Aw, Aly, you’re pink. Does that mean I’m right?”

  Chris continued to chuckle and Nadine punched him in the arm.

  “Don’t tease her, you jerk.” Nadine scolded.

  “Ouch!” Chris winced, holding the accosted area and playfully shoving her back. Nadine grabbed his muscled-up bicep and rubbed it, apologetically. “This time I swear I’m not teasing her.”

  Chris continued to observe me. We all silently glanced back and forth at each other. Chris shook his head and said, “Wow, little Alyssa and Jake Masters. Who woulda thunk it?”

  I was insulted. “What’s that suppose to mean? And besides, we’re friends. We just started hanging out again, that’s all,” I said, defensively.

  Nadine and Nicole came to my guard as well. “Yeah, and why not Jake Masters?” Nicole piped in.

  Nadine punched Chris again and he yelped, getting up and taking a few steps away.

  “Hey, man, I don’t mean it like that.” He smiled
. “I mean, shit man, I guess I could see it. Aly, growin’ up n’shit.” He looked at Nadine and then to me. “It’s just hard for me to think of you any other way than my little sister’s annoying friend.”

  “Oh, now I’m annoying!” I chided, half laughing. “You’re a dick, keep digging yourself a hole, douchebag.” I playfully hurled the worst words I could come up with, at him.

  “Oh, douchebag am I?” he exclaimed, quickly dashing over and scooping me up into his arms. I fought him, knowing he was about to throw me into the pool and I heard Nadine scream as she flew into the water in the arms of one of Chris’ sporto friends.

  Chris held me tightly as he jumped towards the water and just then, in mid-air, I glanced up seeing Jake come out of Nicole’s house into the backyard. Chris held me firmly as we hit the water. I opened my eyes to a million little bubbles as I struggled against his tight grip, he didn’t let go of me until our heads popped out of the water.

  “Next time you’ll think about calling me a douchebag.” He laughed, taunting me with a little splash to the face. Chris effortlessly climbed out of the pool. The muscles on his back flexed and shimmered in the late afternoon sunlight. Hopping to his feet he turned, surprised to see Jake. “Oh man, speak of the devil,” Chris said loudly and I could feel my face getting red. “We were just talking about you. What’s up bro?”

  Was this really happening?

  16

  Alyssa

  I wanted to scream. I now stood at the shallow end of the pool and stared dumbly at everyone. What the hell was Jake doing here anyway? Nadine waved eagerly for me to get out of the pool, but my feet were stuck to the bottom as if encased in cement.

  “Yeah man, Aly said she’d be over here,” Jake explained.

  “Hey it’s cool,” Chris said, awkwardly looking around. “Your girl was teasing me so I had to let her have it.”

  I wished I were a mind reader. Jake glanced over at me, giving a nod and lop-sided smile. Chris continued with his nonsense and I wanted to punch him. Jake stood there glancing between everyone.

  “So, you and Aly, huh?” he asked, snooping – like it was all a lie or something.

  I wanted to sink to the bottom of the pool. I pictured myself hurling one of the nearby plastic dog toys at his head.

  “Somethin’ like that,” Jake remarked, validating the rumors.

  My head must have exploded. I only heard ringing in my ears. Did I hear him correctly? Searching for Nicole, she’d moved to a lounge, sitting down with a towel up to her mouth to hide her expression. Our eyes met and thankfully I finally felt my feet against the pool’s smooth black bottom, though I was practically hyperventilating.

  “You got a towel for her?” Jake asked.

  “Oh, yeah.” Chris readily bolted over, grabbing a fresh towel from a large rattan basket near the fire pit.

  Jake stood poolside in all his hotness, holding a towel open for me. I emerged fully clothed, sloshing over to him. His brilliant smile broadened across his face. I was mesmerized and breathless. Awkward silence hovered like the L.A. smog as they all watched us. Nadine came to the rescue, clearing her throat.

  “So Jake, did you work out the sitch with the party?” she prodded, moving closer to Chris. She killed me! She was a piece of metal and a good looking guy was the magnet – she was always makin’ moves.

  “Yeah, I did. That’s why I came over. Nine tonight. Two-thirteen Circle Court, Hermosa.”

  With a towel draped over my shoulders, for a brief moment I felt at ease. My friends and Jake were all in one neat little box. The fear of Nadine freaking out, whoosh, it was gone and if Jake didn’t care about Rachel, neither should I.

  I dried myself, rubbing the towel up under my eyes. I knew I looked like a drowned raccoon with mascara melted underneath my eyes like black candle wax.

  “So…what are you doing here,” I asked softly, surprised that I was embarrassed by his presence.

  “I had it out with Rachel and I told everyone to leave.”

  “So, what does that mean?”

  “It means I’ll see them later and Rachel will get over it.” He wrapped the towel more tightly around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. “Walk out front with me.”

  I trembled inside. “I’ll be back,” I called out.

  Jake and Chris exchanged nods.

  “So, when you playin’ next? I hear you’re going on tour soon,” Chris asked.

  “Yeah, we leave in a couple of weeks, back before school starts,” Jake informed.

  My stomach sank. He never mentioned he would be gone the entire summer. Chris finally finished ooo’ing and ahhh’ing over Jake’s impending tour, while I had a nervous breakdown waiting.

  ***

  I sulked, leaning against Chris’s beat up SUV parked in the driveway. That’s one thing I could give Chris, even though his family had money, someone would never guess it with him driving that piece of shit around town. I liked that quality in a guy. Too bad he could be such a jerk. I finally met Jake’s gaze and his lips peaked with a smile. I went mushy inside.

  “What are you staring at,” I demanded, playfully.

  “Oh, just a little raccoon,” he brushed my matted, sticky hair away from my forehead.

  “Oh, my God,” I laughed, wide mouthed. “I knew it! I thought the same thing when I got out of the pool.” I futilely rubbed the towel under my eyes. The mascara was already dried like black tar.

  “Oh don’t freak out,” he chuckled, his eyes twinkling like jewels.

  “You’re the last person I expected to see here,” I admitted.

  “You told me to text, so I did. Then I remembered you said you’d be here, so I walked over.” He took a step back from me, with his arms outstretched. “Everything ok?”

  I watched the palms of his hands turn upwards. My head was swimming. I sighed deeply. “I just didn’t expect you here, that’s all.”

  “I just came over here to apologize about Rachel and to tell you I told her to cool it, that hooking up with her was a mistake.” He huffed, backing away from me. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come here, but I thought we were on the same page. You know, no bullshit.”

  “I’m not bullshitting,” I quickly affirmed.

  “Aly, I’m not sure what’s going on here, this thing with us.” He shook his head, looking as confused as I felt.

  “I know, I know….” I said, maybe a little too strongly. I put my face in my hands, speaking into them. “I just want to be alone with you, for a little while. This Rachel stuff is…she’s super territorial and I don’t get it…and what do you mean by telling her it was a mistake?”

  Jake stared back at me blinking twice. He was silent for a long moment before speaking. “Ok, here’s the deal with Rachel, she’s been hanging around for years, literally.” He sighed deeply, stumbling with his explanation. “She’s best friends with Sienna. You know Dump, our drummer? She’s his girlfriend.”

  “I know all this, Jake.” I reminded him.

  “Wait, just listen. I knew she’d always liked me, and one night, we were drinking after a show, doing things we shouldn’t be doing, and we hooked up.”

  I swore the earth shook when I heard his admission.

  “Ok,” I said, trying to keep my cool. “So here we are. We admit we like each other, and now you’re leaving on tour? I mean, when were you going to tell me?” I sighed, only able to stare down at my bare feet. I couldn’t look at him. “I don’t know what to think. I’m bummed to hear you’re leaving for, like….weeks. The whole summer, that’s all.”

  I finally lifted my head and met his eyes.

  “Try not to think about it then.” He laughed and I gave him a tight stare. I didn’t think it was funny. I was bruised up inside because of all these emotions bouncing around like a boomerang. “Aly, I have shows here all over LA and OC, so I’ll be home some of the time, and I’ll be back one week before school starts.”

  Hearing what he said only relieved my dismay for a split second when I spotted what wou
ld only worsen my attitude, bobbing and weaving in the distance.

  “Great,” I muttered and he turned to see what I was looking at. Matt and Grant were coming towards us on their skateboards.

  Jake threw his hand up. “Ok, well, are you coming? I don’t really want to hang out here, you know. Grant doesn’t think the best of me since I didn’t pick him to be in the band.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  Jake shrugged. “Believe it or not I actually do think he’s better, but it’s the age thing, with Grant being only 14. Notting, our manager, doesn’t want to babysit.”

  “Really, did you tell Grant that?”

  “No, of course not,” he guffawed. “We just picked Mike because he was the oldest. He fit pretty much what we were looking for, with all of being 17 or older. Look, are you coming?”

  As soon as he spit out his last word I heard the slapping of the skateboard against the cement curb as they rolled up.

  “Hey,” I greeted, half-heartedly. Jake stepped away from me as Matt walked up. I felt as if I should have a sign on my head flashing Awkward. Matt still had no idea I’d had a change of heart. What if Jake had a change of heart about me while he was away? Then I’d be breaking Matt’s heart for nothing. I was so confused, but every fiber in me wanted Jake, not Matt.

  “Dude, Aly, what happened to you?” Matt chuckled, “You look like shit.”

  “Aww, did you get pushed into the pool?” Grant teased as he put his arm around my shoulders, giving me a squeeze. Grant stared at Jake, giving him a head nod. “Sup Jake.”

  “Hey man,” Jake said a bit uneasy. “Alright Aly, I’ll talk to you later.”

  I was frozen. I wanted to say that I’d be right there, but nothing came out. I wasn’t ready to tell Matt, but I knew he was about to find out, everyone on the other side of the house now knew about Jake and I. I felt guilty. But Matt took his sweet time figuring out if he liked me, so I shouldn’t feel bad, I told myself. I stood silent, watching Jake’s God-like figure walk away down the street. I felt a hard nudge at my shoulder.