After a few seconds, Chad decided to look up again at Amy from his reading, but, this time, was met with a pleasant surprise. Amy returned his glance, and looked at him for several seconds. Chad felt as if he had died and gone to heaven, and was further encouraged when Amy waved excitedly to him. He stared at her in awe, but Amy thought that he was just lost in his thoughts, and did not seem to be offended. Chad waved back to her, and she smiled at him with much glee.
Chad’s dreamy state, though, was interrupted by Carrie, who took Amy’s attention away from him. After what Francine had told him about Jake and Amy getting close, Chad was pleased that Amy was waiting for Carrie, not Jake, and was further encouraged by not seeing Amy and Jake together. Chad experienced a feeling of freedom, similar to that of floating on air, and felt this way whenever Amy smiled at him, or when they talked.
Chad watched Amy and Carrie walk away, and smiled to himself. A few of his friends passed by him as they entered the library and said hi. Chad was annoyed that they interrupted him from his interlude, and sniggered a little at them but, put this out of his mind. He remained in front of the library for a few more minutes, savoring those few stolen moments he shared with Amy.
“Amy, if you knew how much I’ve always loved you,” he said, with a bittersweet smile. “I hope one day, you’ll love me too.”
Chapter Five
“I’ve gotta become closer to him, I’ve just got to — I’ll do anything to make that happen,” Francine said, nodding her head with assurance.
Francine was standing at the entrance to Jake’s house, eagerly anticipating her visit to him. She felt wonderful, and believed that her positive attitude was boosted by the weather, which was absolutely gorgeous today. There was not a cloud to be seen in the heavens, and Francine looked up at the brilliant blue sky, the sun’s soothing warmth bolstering her courage.
After reflecting upon the beauty of the day, Francine engaged in a long, leisurely peek around the front part of Jake’s home. This was something she often indulged in, especially whenever she was walking to school in the morning, or returning from school of an afternoon. For Francine, Jake’s house was the kind of home one would take a second peek at if they were either walking, or driving by.
The home was in a beach house style, and painted in a lush cream tone, giving it a relaxed atmosphere. Its well-manicured front garden gifted the home with an aura of serenity, and the impression that it was a sanctuary away from the world at large. Francine sighed as she observed the garden’s beautiful trees and exquisite flowers — sights such as these always affected her mood for the better. It always relaxed her to pass by Jake’s house, and reminded her just how much she wanted to be part of his world.
Francine bowed her head, and thought about Jake, and smiled. She believed he did like her, this confirmed by their exchanging of glances in the school hall days ago, and their infrequent talks at school. Beginning from today, Francine was going to show Jake that she was the right girl for him. Francine took a deep breath, and whispered, “Here it goes”, and knocked on his front door.
She waited for a few moments, watching Jake’s front door in suspense. The house seemed to be very quiet, and Francine considered maybe Jake was not home. Her heart sank a little at the possibility she would not see Jake, and Francine frowned. She decided, though, to ignore her impatient thoughts, and wait just a little longer for him.
Francine heard some rumblings inside, and felt that Jake indeed was at home, and smiled again. To her delight, Jake opened the door, and ardently set his eyes upon Francine. He was wearing outdoor work clothes and a hat, and it appeared he had been doing some gardening, as she spotted a tuft of grass on his shirt.
“Hey Franci,” Jake said, his face relaying surprise at Francine’s visit.
“Hi Jake.”
“So, what’re you doing around here?” he asked, taking off his hat, and leaning in the doorway.
Francine smiled at him, eyes glinting.
“Oh, I was running a few errands, and thought I’d come by to see a friend,” she told Jake, who smiled when Francine referred to him as a friend. “Errands,” Francine thought, looking at Jake. “In my book, seeing Jake’s definitely not an errand.”
Jake noticed that Francine was lost in her thoughts, and said,
“Franci, wanna come inside? It’d be great to have some company”, clearing the way for her entrance. Although surprised a little by Francine’s show at his front door, Jake thought it was good to see her. They usually had little to do with each other at school, as they had different interests.
While Francine was interested in drama and academic subjects, Jake was more the sporty type, even though he did well in all his subjects. Despite this, Jake would see Francine at school from time to time, and found that speaking to her was never an unpleasant experience. Jake found her to be witty and charming, if a little nervy sometimes.
Francine was happy to be with Jake, and, as she passed through the lounge room, some of Jake’s sporting trophies caught her eye. These were on display in a wall unit, and she went over specially to see them. Jake watched her with interest, and saw her admiring his trophies, touching them one by one. Francine spied one of Jake’s first-ever trophies, and began to stroke it longingly, before picking it up, and holding it in her hands.
Jake had won this prize for sprinting when he was in the first grade, and had come first in the race that day. While Francine’s actions seemed a little odd to him, Jake knew this was just how Francine was. She could be very unpredictable, but, at other times, very sympathetic, and even a little vulnerable. Francine suddenly turned around to Jake, startling him, and smiled.
“I remember when you won this,” she said, looking at him deeply. “You’ve always been a great athlete; I knew you’d always be a winner. You were born to win.” Jake did not quite know how to respond to this, but, nevertheless, felt charmed by Francine’s compliment.
“You really remember that race?”
“Yeah, I do. It was just the beginning of great things to come,” she replied, with a wistful smile. Jake smiled at Francine, and she returned his warm grin. He did not know exactly what to make of this comment, and said nothing. Francine placed the trophy back on the shelf, feeling better with herself, and Jake indicated to her that they pass through to the outdoor area.
Jake led her through the lounge room onto a covered patio, which featured a large outdoor swimming pool, barbeque area, outdoor kitchen, and changing room area. Francine was struck by the beauty of this outdoor space, which was renowned as the setting of some very prominent social events in the area. Jake’s parents were well-known for their generosity and support of charities in the district, and often used the backyard for this purpose.
As Francine looked around the veranda, something else captured her attention. Francine noticed that Jake had been tending to the garden, and had an assortment of garden equipment in a tool bucket. As it was a humid day, uncommon at this time of year, Jake asked Francine,
“Want something to drink?”
“Sure, I’d love something,” Francine replied.
“Anything in particular?” Jake asked.
“Nah, anything you pick’ll be fantastic,” Francine said with panache, looking at Jake with desire. Jake watched her curiously, and went over to the outdoor kitchen’s refrigerator, where he retrieved a drink for Francine. He opened a cupboard and obtained a glass, and started pouring her the drink.
As Jake prepared her drink, Francine thought about how handsome Jake was, and her heart skipped a beat. Even though he was wearing work clothes, and his hair was slightly untidy, he was still very good looking. Jake approached Francine with the glass of lemonade, and their eyes hooked up.
“Here you go,” he motioned, passing it to her. Jake’s hand slightly brushed Francine’s as he offered her the drink, and she looked at him passionately after this sensation. The sensation of Jake’s cool, but soft hand was titillating for Francine, and she enjoyed every second of this. Jake, tho
ugh, quickly pulled his hand away, as he was nervous, but laughed, and Francine did likewise — but for very different reasons. Francine observed Jake’s garden shears and shovels lying on the grass, and said,
“I see you’re working on the garden. Looks like you’ve got some stuff to do.”
“Yeah, needs some work,” he replied, nodding in agreement. “But I love gardening. I promised my folks I’d finish it today, while the sun’s still out.”
“Don’t let me take you away from it,” Francine purred.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll just finish the bit I was doing and I’ll be with you, if that’s okay,” Jake said in his typical, easy-going manner.
“I’ll make sure to keep an eye on you,” Francine said, eyes darting naughtily.
“You sure? It’s not fair you’ve come over, and I’m leaving you to work on the garden,” he said.
“No, it’s okay, the view’s really gorgeous from here, I can look at that. You know, you have a beautiful view from the back of your house,” Francine lied, delighting in her own mischief.
“Thanks Franci. Anyway, won’t be long. You can get something from the kitchen if you like,” Jake said. He put on his hat again, and waited for her reaction.
“No, I’m okay, don’t worry about me,” she said, smiling at Jake. He warmly returned her smile, nodded, and went back to work. Francine sat on an Adirondack chair on the veranda, and enjoyed her cold drink.
She looked over at the outdoor refrigerator, and saw that it was full of soft drink cans, bottled water, and other drinks. Jake kept it well stocked so he would not become dehydrated whilst working in the garden. An idea suddenly occurred to Francine; something that was so exciting for her to contemplate, she became restless just thinking about it. Francine moved around nervously in her seat, abuzz with expectation.
“Yeah Jake — let me show you what I can do for you,” she said, cocking back her head. She was going to have some fun with Jake, and nothing, or anybody, was going to stop her.
Francine called out to Jake, who was still tending to the sod, and asked him,
“Jake, do you want another drink? I bet you’re thirsty.”
“Sure, if you can get one for me, it’d be great,” he said, looking up at Francine for a moment.
“Nothing’s too much for you, Jake,” Francine said, arising from her seat, and getting the drink out of the fridge. Jake was concentrating on finishing his work, unaware what Francine was doing.
Francine sneakily walked up to Jake, who was kneeling on the grass, doing some weeding. He looked up at her, and smiled. Accidentally on purpose, Francine dropped the can onto Jake’s shoulder, and a dull, hard thud sounded. The can plunged into the lawn, and landed into a grassy patch. Francine knew that Jake had injured his shoulder whilst playing sport at school awhile back, but her intention was not to harm him — in all honesty, she had other, much better things planned for him.
“Ouch!” Jake yelled, wincing from the pain.
“Oh god Jake, I’m so sorry,” Francine said.
“That’s the spot I did in playing sport. God, I forgot how much it hurt ’til now,” he said, face filled with anguish. Jake proceeded to massage his shoulder with much urgency, and moaning and groaning.
“Sorry Jake, anything I could do? After all, I’m the one who did this to you,” Francine asked. Jake shook his head, and continued to rub his shoulder frantically.
“Oh come on, must be something I could do to help you. What if I gave it a massage?” Francine said, moving closer to Jake.
“No, I’m okay,” he said, his face still expressing agony at Francine’s slip of the fingers.
“No Jake, you’re not okay. Look, let me help — I owe it to you,” Francine purred, shaking her head at Jake’s rejection. She kneeled close to Jake on the grass, and moved behind him, beginning to massage his shoulder. While Jake felt a little odd having Francine do this for him, he was grateful for her help, as the pain was not going away fast. As Francine massaged him, Jake smiled, thinking how lucky he was to have Francine with him.
“Now Jake, how’s that feel?”
“Better, much better,” Jake said, as some of the pressure was relieved from his shoulder. Jake closed his eyes, and sighed. Francine was beside herself with happiness, and sighed with pleasure.
As it was a sunny day, Francine beckoned Jake to sit in the patio armchair, which he did without hesitation, and she cunningly moved behind him. Francine continued to massage his shoulder, but then, her eyes fell upon Jake’s shirt. A wave of excitement surged through her body as she considered various situations she would like to be in with Jake. Francine imagined a few options, and smiled impishly at the thought of these.
“Jake, wouldn’t it be better if you took off your shirt? Then I’d be able to massage your shoulder better,” Francine said in a low voice. Jake looked at her with a blank expression, thinking that nothing would heal his pain. Francine watched him with her sincerest face, hoping he would say yes to this. Although doubtful at first, Jake nodded his head, and proceeded to take off his shirt. Francine moved in front of Jake and tried to help him unbutton his shirt, but he indicated he wanted to do this for himself.
After Jake had taken off his shirt, he put it on the back of the armchair. Francine moved back behind Jake, and, seeing the shirt, flung it on the ground without Jake noticing. Francine was finally getting a little of what she wanted from Jake, and curled her lips in sweet satisfaction.
“How’s that feel now?” Francine asked Jake, looking at him with deep admiration.
“Great, great, really great,” he said. Jake sighed as Francine massaged his shoulder, and Francine felt wonderful hearing his deep, satisfied moaning. Francine always found Jake’s baritone voice very appealing, and felt she could listen to him talking for hours. The feel of Jake’s smooth skin, also, was a wonderful sensation for Francine. She took every opportunity to massage his shoulder, and parts of his back, savoring every second of their time alone.
Unexpectedly, the phone rang, its shrill sound disrupting the lazy mood, and Francine looked at Jake, and he at her. She signaled with her eyes that he ignore it, but, to Francine’s dismay, Jake quickly got up from his seat, and raced inside the lounge room to pick it up. Francine watched him as he did this, disappointed that her stunt was interrupted so abruptly. After putting down the phone, Jake came back onto the patio, looking a little panicked.
“My folks’ll be coming home soon,” he said, scrambling to look for his shirt. Once he spotted it, Jake found it weird that his shirt was on the ground, as he thought it was lying on the back of the chair. He looked at Francine, who pulled her most earnest face for him, and shrugged her shoulders. Jake quickly brushed this off, though, as he had more important things to think about. “They might get the wrong idea if they see us like this,” he laughed, as he began to put on his shirt.
Francine smiled at Jake’s comment; she did not care what anyone thought — she wanted people to get the ‘wrong idea’ about her and Jake together.
“Sorry about this,” Jake said, seeing the frustration on Francine’s face. He had by now fully buttoned his shirt, and was tidying himself up.
“It’s okay, don’t be sorry,” Francine said, eyeing Jake carefully. Despite the disruption to her time with Jake, just when things were getting interesting, Francine still enjoyed her interlude with him. She was extremely happy with her achievements for the day, and hoped her little exploit would make Jake like her more.
Francine smiled at Jake, and began walking towards the front door, Jake following close behind. After arriving there, Francine slowly spun around to face Jake.
“I’d better go. Caused you enough trouble today,” she said, looking slightly embarrassed.
“That’s okay Franci, forget about it,” Jake said, shrugging his shoulders. Jake paused a little, looking away from Francine, turning his head back towards her. Francine waited anxiously to hear what he would next say, as if her life depended upon his next few words.
&
nbsp; “Franci, I’m happy you came over,” he said.
“Really?” Francine asked, with a vulnerable expression on her face.
“Yeah, really,” he admitted. Jake smiled again at Francine, and she returned his warm grimace. There was a short silence between them, and Francine chuckled nervously. It was as if they had run out of things to say to one another, and neither knew what to say to the other. Francine knew it was her cue to leave, and, as she turned the knob on his front door, faced Jake, with a sexy look in her eye.
“It was great being with you today. See you at school. Bye Jake.”
“Bye,” he said, quietly closing the front door after Francine had exited. After a few moments, Jake took a deep breath, and sat on his sofa. He was unsure exactly why Francine came today, and thought that she acted a little strangely towards him. Jake knew that Francine was unlike the other girls at school — there was something mysterious about her no one could quite identify, but, maybe, this was the secret to her charm. Jake thought that perhaps he had given too much thought to Francine, and, slightly confused, arose from the couch, and returned outside to his gardening.
Francine leant her back against Jake’s front door, eyes wild with desire. She felt wonderful after the fun she had had with him, and smiled blissfully at the memories of it. In some ways, her afternoon with Jake had not only met her expectations, but, even exceeded some of them. With a determined expression, and her heart hungering for more, Francine said,
“Jake, I’m not sorry for anything I’ve done today. I know exactly what I’m doing, and I’ll win you in the end. This is just the beginning for us you’ll see, just the beginning.”
* * * *
Amy was at home, alone in her lounge room, watching TV. She was sitting comfortably in her armchair, satisfied after having a snack in the kitchen. As her folks were both still at work, and her younger brother was at sports training this afternoon, the house was very quiet, and Amy had some time to herself.
The Great High School Love Game Page 5