Flirting With The Enemy

by Henson, Sally

  She twisted out of my grip and pushed off my board. Her hand reared back and swung into the ocean, spraying water on my back.

  I let out a playful growl, “You’re going to pay for that.”

  A wave swelled behind us. Jade turned, kicking and paddling at the right time. I missed my chance, but she rode the surf all the way to shore. She gave me a showboat bow before running up the sand and crashing onto the blanket with my sisters.

  Hanging out with her was so much better than I thought it would be. Would she say yes to a real date?

  11

  Jaden

  Work was busy when I left, but I couldn’t stay a minute longer. Time was already ticking against me. When I got home, I skipped checking on my brothers’ chores. For once they could take responsibility for themselves.

  I plowed through the house to my room and tossed my bag on the floor. Breathe, Jade. You're just going to the movies with an old friend. Ugh, then why was I so nervous?

  I checked the clock again. No time to waste. I snatched the dress I bought at the resale shop and crossed the hall to the bathroom to wash the diner smell off of me.

  After I turned on the shower, I checked my hair. My braids were messy and needed to be redone, but I didn’t have a couple of hours to spare. The only way to fix the mess was to take them out. I pulled off the rubber bands and tossed them on the counter, untwisting the strands until they were all free. It had been a long time since my hair was loose.

  As soon as I got out of the shower, Tucker pounded on the door. “Griff’s here.”

  Crap. “I’ll be a few minutes.” So much to do, so little time.

  After I moisturized my skin and blow dried my hair, I lined my eyes with dark charcoal color, put on mascara, and slipped on the dress. It looked better on the hanger than on me. I stared at my reflection. Maybe the apricot lip gloss would make it look better. I ran the tube over my lips and stood back.

  What was I doing in a dress? I already didn’t look like me without the braids. And my hair was too fluffy. I checked under the sink to see what products Mom had. Our hair was basically the same, only mine fell to the middle of my back. I found something and squirted a dab in my hand and then worked it through my hair. It was as good as it was going to get.

  I opened the door and darted across the hall to change again.

  My door was shut two seconds when Ben knocked on it. “Jade?”

  I let out a growl and cracked the door open. “What? I’m trying to hurry here.”

  His eyes widened as he pushed on the door. “Whoa.”

  “Shh. Don’t say a word,” I threatened. “I’m not wearing this. What do you want?”

  “Um, are you sure you want to change?” He asked with a big smile. "You look really nice."

  I sighed. “What do you want Ben I'm in a rush."

  "Oh, I just wanted to make sure you had money."

  “Thanks for the offer, but I have money."

  "Okay. You really should think about wearing that dress. You look nice."

  "Thanks." I shooed him out the door and tore the dress off in a rush, tossing it in the corner. I searched through all my shorts and couldn't find anything. Some of the money I’d been saving for the surfboard may have to be used for clothes.

  I finally decided on a miniskirt and a purple blouse I found hanging at the back of my closet. The blouse was not something I would have picked out. Mom probably bought it for me and snuck it in there.

  I sucked in a deep breath and slowly blew it out. All the dates I’d had in the past two summers never felt like this.

  12

  Griffan

  Tucker threw his hands up. “No way. The Nationals have the best batting lineup this year.”

  “I’d bet money on Straily. The Oriels are unstoppable with him pitching.” I argued back. We used to have season tickets to the Marlins. Straily lived in the same neighborhood as me before he was traded. I knew first-hand what a leader he was on and off the field.

  “There’s no comparison,” Tucker continued on his defense of the Nationals against my boy, but when Jade walked into the room anything Tuck said turned into white noise.

  Her hair fell over her shoulders, long and free. When we were kids, her hair was as short as mine was.

  I stood and navigated around the sofa without taking my eyes off of her. As if that was even possible.

  "Hey,” she said, chin tilted down, peering up through her dark eyelashes. Was she unsure of herself? The new Jade never seemed nervous.

  I grew about five inches in those few seconds just by the way she was looking at me. If her brothers weren’t standing around, I might have kissed her. “Hey. Ready to go?”

  Jade nodded and turned to her brothers. “Be back later.” She gave them a wave as she headed toward the back door.

  “Have fun,” Tuck called.

  I turned to follow her, but Ben clamped his hand on the back of my neck, stopping me. I turned and looked down at him with an eyebrow raised. This should be good.

  He leaned close to me and spoke soft enough Jade couldn’t hear. “You better treat her right. She’s—”

  Tuck tugged Ben’s hand off of me. “He knows.”

  “I will, Ben.”

  He nodded, and I hurried out the door to catch up with Jade, managing to open the car door before she reached it.

  She stopped, folded her arms, and said, “You don’t have to do that.”

  She was no prima donna, unlike the other girls I’d dated. One more thing to like about her. “I know, Jaden. Is it okay if I want to?”

  She bit her lip to keep her grin in check, but it was too late. Her pretty smile had already hit me straight in the chest. She was trying not to let me in, but I was definitely getting through to her. And that was a good thing.

  “Fine.” She slid onto the seat, and I closed the door behind her.

  I jogged around the back of the car and got into the driver side, fixing my eyes on her. “You look great.” It’d been a while since taking a girl on a date caused sweaty palms and an uptick in my pulse.

  “You look great too.” She fussed with her shiny locks. “I don't normally wear my hair like this, but I didn't have the time to get it re-braided.”

  We hadn’t even left the driveway and I wanted to run my fingers through her hair.

  I put the vehicle in reverse and said, “Let’s get out of here.” We backed out, and drove to the movie plex in the next town. Even though the media hadn’t shown up, I didn’t want to risk anyone here recognizing me.

  The lights dimmed, and the previews for upcoming movies came on. There weren’t too many people in the theatre, which was perfect. Probably because it was a matinee, but it was the only time we could go since Jade had to work later.

  I leaned close to her ear. “I can’t believe you like action flicks.” Her hair smelled like coconut and gardenias. Would her skin smell like that too?

  She stayed focused ahead on the screen. “They’re my favorite. I don’t like sappy chick-flicks.” Even in the dim light of the theatre, it was easy to see how striking she was.

  If she thought of us as just friends, hanging out, she wouldn’t be wearing a mini skirt that showed off her legs. And I wouldn’t have shaved and messed with my hair for so long. But I wanted to make it clear this was a date. “Jade?”

  She turned to look at me. Our faces were so close. I could have kissed her, wanted to, but I didn’t want to mess this up. “Do you mind if I hold your hand?”

  Opening doors, asking to hold a girl’s hand before I did it… not my usual M.O. But Jade wasn’t like any other girl I’d been with. And I wasn’t the same person I was a few months ago.

  Jade slid her fingers through mine. “You can hold my hand, Griffan.”

  Had she really forgiven me? The way her hand fit in mine, the days leading up to this, made me realize I wanted to enjoy every single minute with her. Being with Jade was the most real thing I’ve ever had. I couldn’t help but wonder: was she falling for me l
ike I was falling for her?

  13

  Jaden

  The combination of sand under my bare feet and Griffan by my side was close to perfection. The fact that I was even spending the summer with him—and liked it—was mind-blowing.

  “We should drive to Virginia Beach and check out that surf shop,” he said. “Do you have any days off from the diner?”

  I looked up at Mr. Ray Ban with his hair slicked back. It was still wet from playing in the water with his sisters. “I don’t quite have enough money for a board yet. They’re more expensive than the last time.”

  He steered us toward the lapping water. “What about the Fourth of July? Do you have to work that day?”

  I sighed, wishing that I could be one of those teens that didn’t have to work or worry about her family. “Yeah, but I don’t have to work at all the next day...”

  “Let's spend it together. Do you have plans?” Griff took my other hand and walked into the ocean, tugging me along with him.

  We were waist deep when he picked me up and fell backward, dunking us both. When we came back to the surface I squealed with laughter.

  I shoved my sunglasses back into place. Laughing with Griff was the best. “I love summer,” I said in a sigh, and then reached up to comb his hair back with my fingers into that sexy, slicked-back look I loved.

  Griffan gripped my waist, and my heart did a flip. My stomach followed. We were only inches apart, but I didn’t want there to be any space at all and moved closer.

  “Jaden?” He dipped his head, bringing our mouths closer together. “Would you mind if I kissed you?”

  I’d had plenty of experience in this department. Kissing the boys of summer was what I did for fun. Not once did any of them ask me if I wanted to be kissed. To be fair, I didn’t ask them either.

  I slid my hands up his chest and around his neck. His muscles were even better than I had imagined. “Would you mind if I kiss you?” I asked as I pushed up on my toes.

  He flashed a beautiful grin before our lips touched. It wasn’t fireworks and atomic bombs. No, it was better than that. I loved that he tasted of salty ocean and summer. But most of all, being that close to Griffan, in his arms, I felt whole.

  He moved us deeper until the water was up to our chins. He hugged me tight, and said, “That wasn’t so bad, right?”

  “We might need a little practice, but we have potential,” I teased.

  “I think we have potential, too.” He grinned and pressed his forehead to mine. “I like being with you. I want to be with you as much as you’ll let me.”

  I bit my lip to keep the happy dance that was taking place in my chest from showing. We already spent a lot of time together. Was Griffan really falling for me like I was for him? I curled my fingers into the back of his hair.

  “I like being with you too, but I have to ask you something.”

  He kept his grip on me. “Anything.”

  “Is this kissing thing going to be a regular occurrence?”

  “Absolutely.” His lips pressed against mine, and we explored the new us.

  14

  Griffan

  Jade gave my hand a squeeze as her mom backed out of the driveway. Her brothers stood on either side of us, waving as she drove away. Jade’s work hours limited our time together. I wanted more than a few hours with her at one stretch, but I knew our parents wouldn’t approve of an overnighter. When I asked Ariel if Jade and her brothers could camp on the beach, she agreed.

  Tucker did his version of an air guitar, and said, “Time to par-tay at Griff’s.”

  Jade launched a fist at Tucker’s shoulder, jerking my arm along with her movement. “We’re not having a party, Tucker. You better not have mentioned Griffan or his family being here to anyone.”

  “I didn’t. Chill out. Hanging out on the beach all night. All access to hot tub privileges. It’s going to be fun.” He took off for the deck, and called over his shoulder, “Unless you ruin it for us.”

  I let loose of her fingers and slid my hand over her shoulders. “It’s just the four of us tonight.” I tugged her to my side and followed her brothers through the yard.

  “Sorry. Tucker’s been known to make dumb decisions.”

  Camping on the beach with her brothers wasn’t ideal, but it was that or nothing. They weren’t so bad.

  Ben tossed his stuff on the deck and turned back to us. “Let’s get the fire going.”

  “Excellent idea, brother.” Tuck rubbed his hands together. “Where’s the firewood?”

  We got the fire going and took a dip in the ocean. Tuck and Ben got tired of the hot tub. They changed and sat around the fire on the beach. That left me and Jade in the steamy water by ourselves.

  I snuck into the house and brought out the quart of Superman ice cream and gift I’d gotten for this occasion. When I came back out, I made sure to stay behind Jade so she couldn’t see what I had. “Close your eyes.”

  She giggled. “Okay.”

  I loved it when she giggled. It took a while for her to let go around me. I slipped into the water and knelt in front of her with the carton and spoons between us.

  “Can I open them?”

  “Not yet.” I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. “Open your eyes.”

  When she opened her eyes, they were as big as lacrosse balls. Her mouth dropped open. “Ice cream?” she asked.

  My chest puffed up. “Our favorite.” I opened the lid and stuck a spoon in the top.

  “You’re the best.” She scooped a spoonful and shoved it in her mouth. “Mm, so good.”

  I dug my spoon in and took a bite.

  “We better not let my brother’s see this. They’ll devour it.”

  “They can have our leftovers.”

  That comment brought on a round of muffled laughter between us.

  “I never laugh like when I’m with you,” she said. “Everything in my life feels so… serious. But that changed when we started hanging out.”

  Jade held the heaping spoonful of ice cream to my lips. I clamped down on it with a snarl.

  It caused her to snicker. “See?”

  I swallowed down the creamy goodness. “You know, I was basically the opposite. Life was a party. Nothing was serious.” I stretched my arms along the back of the plastic form of the tub. “The day I watched all those people give their statements in court was the day it hit me I was a fraud, too. After we got here, I knew I didn’t want to be that person anymore.”

  Jade put the container on the step and turned to me. “You’ve not been like that with me.” She dropped her head, swiveled in the seat, and looked out toward the fire. “Even after I slapped you.”

  “Hey,” I chuckled remembering how it stung. “I deserved it.”

  She tilted her head, slowly turning to face me again wearing half a smile. “I was holding on to a past that wasn’t true.”

  I leaned in for a soft peck on the cheek, but she met me half way and dove into a deep kiss until the cold from the ice cream left our mouths.

  “Hey!” Ben called out from the sand. “Time for s’mores.”

  I pulled back from our kiss, thankful the shrubbery blocked the view from the beach to the hot tub. “Let’s change and pacify your brother.”

  She held her hands up out of the water and snickered. “I am starting to resemble a raisin.”

  We climbed out, took turns changing in the bathroom inside, and hung our suits on the deck. I grabbed our sleeping bags on our way out to the fire.

  “About time,” Ben grumbled.

  “Ah, did you miss me?” Jade asked and kissed him on the head.

  “No.”

  “I missed you, Jaded.” Tucker quipped.

  “Tucker.” I stepped toward him, but Jade grabbed my arm.

  “It’s okay.” She slid her arm around my waist. “If Tuck hadn’t started calling me that, it would have been a lot harder to handle.”

  Tuck gave Jade a knowing smile. The dynamics between the three of them were so diffe
rent than what I was used to. I rolled one sleeping bag out and tossed the other down for a pillow.

  We sat around and talked for a while. Ben fell asleep first.

  Tucker complained, “You two are boring me to sleep.” He slid into the bag, turning on his side away from the fire. It didn’t take long before Jade and I were the last ones up.

  I threw a few more logs on to keep the fire burning.

  Jade wandered down to the surf. My heart stuttered at the beauty of her standing in the moonlight. The breeze blew her long, dark strands on cue as if we were in a movie.

  I stepped in behind her and slid my arms around her waist. With all the crap that was my life, this summer could not have been better. And it was all because of this girl I was holding on to.

  She rested her head back on my chest and shivered. “I don’t want this summer to end.”

  I’d never been in love before. And until Jade and I connected, I wasn’t sure I even believed love was real. But she changed everything, and I’d fallen in love with her and what I was about to do was only the first step in showing her. “Me either.” I kissed the side of her head. “Let’s go back to the fire.”

  We made our way to the sleeping bags. I crawled in first and held the top back, inviting her to join me.

  She glanced at her sleeping brothers and eyed me for a second before sliding in next to me. “Why have you been so quiet?”

  The necklaces in my pocket were pushing me to finally say something. My pride, on the other hand, thought I was about to make a mistake. What if she didn’t feel the same and laughed in my face? I took a breath and held on to her. “I want to be your boyfriend.”

  She craned her neck to study me. “Are you serious?”

  My stomach tightened. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

  Jade’s body rolled against mine so that she faced me. A smile played at the corners of her mouth. “I’ve never had a boyfriend. Never wanted to let anyone that close before.”

  Jade was the most real thing that’d happened to me. She needed to know how important she was in my life. I dug the leather chord necklaces out and let them dangle between us. One had a J and the other a G. “I know you have a reputation to consider, but I think we’re way past that. Don’t you?” I asked, grinning.