The Beginning of Us (6 page)

My response was instantaneous. “Kiss you,” I said.

“Okay... After that?” he asked, smirking.

“Kiss you some more.”

“Alrighty then. I like your style of thinking, girlfriend.” His voice was husky as he leaned closer to me, his arm going behind me.

We kissed until I thought I would run out of air, and then we kissed some more. His lips molded perfectly with mine and his hand cupped the side of my cheek gently, like I was made out of fine china. He finally pulled away, where an inch of space separated us. His eyes studied mine, still so mesmerizing.

“My new favorite color is your eyes,” I whispered.

“They
are
pretty, huh?” he grinned.

“Mm-hmm.”

“I like you so much, Teegan.”

“I like you, too.”

“I just want to spend the entire day with you. Even if we do nothing at all. It's just like this invisible magnet,” he paused and sighed. “Congratulations; you’ve turned me into a complete fairy. Here's my freakin' man card.” He reached his hand over to me, trying to hand me the invisible card.

“You're a mess Jax. Keep your man card; you’ve earned extra boyfriend brownie points.” I laughed and then continued, “How about you come over to my house and just chill? I guess I'm still recovering from last night.”

“Your parents won't mind? Or ask questions why we’re showin' up together?” I shook my head no and he grinned. “Okay then, let's go.”

***

Mom and Dad didn't blink an eye when we came through the front door. They looked like they were about to leave.

"Hey honey. Have fun last night?" Then they noticed Jax standing behind me, "Oh, hi Teegan's new friend." Dad put his keys down and offered a hand. Jax shook it.

"I'm Jax Donney. A classmate of Teegan's. I, um, we went to breakfast this morning.” He stuttered and I suppressed a giggle.

“Oh, yeah, I know you Donney. One of the best quarterbacks Ridgecrest has ever had.” My dad's eyes lit up. What is it with men and football?

A smile graced Jax's face as he replied, “Oh thank you sir. I appreciate that.”

“Well... What are you kids planning to do?” Mama asked.

“We feel like being lazy, just gonna chill here at the house.” I took Jax's hand and Dad's eyebrow rose a millimeter

“Alright, have fun. We're headed to Lowe's. Your mom has another do-it-yourself project she wants me to start.” He kissed the top of my head and clapped Jax lightly on the shoulder.

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

“We'll be back in time for lunch, okay, Teegan?” Mom said, almost heeding a warning. Nodding, I pulled Jax into the living room. I sat down and reached for the remote.

“What? I don’t get the grand tour? You’re such a rude host.” Jax scoffed.

I shook my head, “Am not. This is all very new to me. Having boys over, I mean. But come on, I'll show you the Fisher house.” We linked hands and headed to the hallway.

It was a slow moving tour, as Jax paid attention to
every
single detail of
every
single thing. It was actually kind of endearing and cute. He looked at each picture hanging on the wall like it was on show at an art gallery.

“How old is your brother?” he asked, lightly tapping on a picture. It was of my older brother Axel. I quickly added in my head; if I was seventeen, he would be twenty-one. He joined the Navy straight out of high school and had made a career out of it.

“He's twenty-one. That's an older picture though, like when he was eighteen or nineteen. Not sure.”

“You miss him?”

“Oh God, yes. Every day,” I answered without hesitating. I remembered the year he left; it was heartbreaking. He had always been a staple in the household. Picking on me, doing other big brother stuff, but taking up for me when I needed him. Helping me with homework, being my chauffeur to all the extracurricular stuff I insisted on doing. Besides my dad, and my Jax, my brother was my favorite guy.

  “Y'all look alike.” Jax commented, gazing at the photograph beside it, one of Axel and me together.

“Yeah, I know,” I replied smiling. It was something that I secretly loved for some unknown reason. My brother was a looker, with grassy green eyes and hair that looked like caramel. It made me feel all the more closer to him, knowing he could pass as my twin.

“Okay, where to next?”

“You like books?” I asked.

Jax's face was pensive, “If I answer that question truthfully, promise not to tell anyone?”

“Why? Oh wait! I know, you secretly like them dirty books, huh?” I said, the thought making me giggle. I don't even know why I asked him that question anyway. I suppose it was to make conversation, but I knew everything about this boy.

“Uh, no. I just don't want my reputation as super-hot jock to become tarnished.”

I stepped closer to him and leaned in to whisper, “Oh Jax, there is nothing sexier than a guy who reads. True story.”

His face flushed and pride welled up in my chest that I had gotten to him. He was so hard to embarrass. He cleared his throat, “Anyway, good to know, I'll write that down. But yes, I do like books. My favorite book of all time is Lord of the Flies. None of the girly crap, stories that mean something.”

Nodding, I took hold of his hand and we walked to my dad's study. My dad had been a bookworm since an early age and his collection was nothing short of astounding. He had all the classics; Moby Dick, Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby; the list went on. He also owned all the John Grisham, Dean Koontz and Stephen King books known to man. He loved his books and when he had died, they were divided between me and Axel.

Jax moved from bookshelf to bookshelf, gently grazing his finger over all the spines.  He turned towards me astonishment on his face, “This is like first edition or something. It's old as dirt, but in perfect condition!”

“My dad is a mega bookworm. Wanna read it?”

He answered me by taking a seat in Daddy's recliner. I grabbed a bean bag chair and placed it in front of the recliner. I sank into it with a copy of Bleachers by John Grisham and for the next two hours we read. Randomly, I would feel Jax's fingers in my hair, twirling it gently. Or he would graze my shoulder back and forth, sending shivers down my spine. It was the most relaxing thing in the world to just sit and read with him.

It was how my parents found us when they arrived home just in time for lunch. My dad held two pizzas from a local pizzeria up as Jax and I dog-eared our books before following them in the kitchen. Daddy and Jax went deep into conversation about Lord of the Flies; it was my dad's favorite as well. I smiled at their bonding moment and noticed my mom was as well. She motioned for me to come after her and we went into the hallway.

“I'm not going to ask questions, but I will tell you, you better be careful. If you choose to, you know, um, do
it,”
her voice was a stern whisper.

I groaned loudly, “Mo-om! No! It's not like that! Geez, how embarrassing.” My face flushed hot.

“Oh,” her surprise was apparent in her eyes, “So you mean, y'all didn't do-”

I covered her mouth with my hand, “Mother! Stop! No, no we didn't. Ugh!” I lifted my hand away and Mama started laughing.

“Well, good. Don't start, not until you're completely ready.”

“All right. All we did was fall asleep at the same party. I was drinking a little bit,” I cast my glance down, embarrassed, “and he didn't want me riding with Raegan if she wasn’t completely sober. So we just slept it off, got breakfast this morning and came here.” I took a deep breath; this conversation was utterly painful to have with my mom, especially considering I was really a thirty-plus-year-old woman, already experienced in the sex department. “But we are kind of dating, so y'all will be seeing him a lot, well hopefully,” I finished.

Mama nodded thoughtfully. “Well, he seems nice and he's quite the looker, that's for sure. Dad seems to like him, so that's good.” She smoothed a flyaway down on my head and kissed me on the forehead.

“Can we go back in now?” I shuffled my feet, ready to bolt and have this conversation finished.

“Yes. Just wait until you're a mom someday, you'll understand. Your kids will be your babies no matter how old they are.”

I knew exactly what she meant and how she felt. I couldn't tell her that, though.

Jax left after eating dinner with us. He seemed reluctant to leave and I couldn't blame him. I wanted to sleep next to him, where I belonged. Instead, we were stuck in our adolescent phase where that stuff was frowned upon. It irritated me to have so many limits put on us, a relationship that was already years old.

“Find me tomorrow before school?” he asked, eventually making his way to his truck.

“How about you pick me up? Give me a ride. My car is still in the shop.” His face lit up at the thought.

“I can definitely do that. I'll be here at a quarter to eight.” He brushed his hair out of his eyes and leaned in to kiss me. It was a chaste kiss, and relief flooded me that he was respectful of the idea that my parents were probably looking.

“Thank you for one of the best weekends ever, girlfriend.,” he said softly, getting into his truck.

“No, thank you, boyfriend. Now get going before my parents embarrass me and come out here.” I pushed the door close and winked. He laughed as he started his old truck and blew me a kiss before putting it in gear.

Deliriously happy, I floated into my home and went to sleep. Best weekend ever, for sure.

***

Jax

When I got home that night I fell onto my bed, completely exhausted. I had way too much to drink at the party, but my time with Teegan had made my adrenaline go into overdrive, making up for it. But now, I was drained, every part of me ready to rest.

Everything had changed and everything was really freakin’ kick-ass now. The girl I had always crushed on was finally mine.

Chapter Seven

Teegan

“Hey, girlfriend,” Jax whispered as I passed by him. His hand reached out to mine, grazing my fingers that sent shivers down my spine.

“Hello,” I whispered, smiling like a fool. I followed Raegan to our seats and sat down. Jax turned to face me, frowning and a second later my phone vibrated. It was a text from him:

U need to change seats!

Y? So we can make out the whole time?
I replied. I put my phone in my lap and stuck my tongue out at him. My text came through and he looked down. I laughed when he looked up and nodded vigorously. He looked like an excited puppy.

Raegan scoffed, “Y'all are sickening.” She made a gagging noise as she rolled her eyes.

“Oh, stop it, I bet you would be all lovey-dovey with Luke if he was here,” Jax called out making Raegan's face turn the color of her hair. I couldn’t help but giggle.

“Yeah, right,” she returned, a smile playing on her lips.

“Raegan don’t hate me just ‘cause I wanna sit next to my beautiful girlfriend,” Jax countered. By now half the class had stopped their conversations and directed their attention to us. Fire coursed throughout my body, flushing my face.

“Who you talking ‘bout, Jax?” someone across the room asked.

The heat got hotter as Jax stood up and made his way to my seat. He stooped down and kissed my cheek, “Why the lovely Teegan of course. Sorry boys, she's taken.”

Jax's smile lit up his whole face as he beamed at me. I gave him a smile back and a gentle shove to go sit down. He was so adorable. The class erupted in cheers when he gave me another quick peck on the cheek, just as Ms. G. walked in.

“Alright Mr. Donney, PDA isn’t allowed so I'll just pretend I didn’t catch that. Leave Miss Fisher alone and return to your seat, Casanova.” Giggles escaped most the girls in the class, but all I could focus on were Jax's lips as he whispered, “Later girlfriend,” and sauntered off to his seat.

The entire class period, I had the silliest grin on my face.

I was falling in love with Jaxon again.

***

“So Teegan,” Jax greeted me, drawing the ‘e’ sound of my name out. “I would like to ask you on an official date.” It was lunchtime and he had moved from his regular seat at the football table to mine and Raegan's.

“Okay. Maybe, it depends on when and where,” I teased. “Oh and thanks a lot for embarrassing me in Ms. G's class.”

“Awe Teeg, don’t be like that. I’m just happy to announce our dating status,” he joked back, twirling a strand of my hair.

“Well, when you put it that way...” I trailed off as he leaned in and softly kissed me. Temporarily, I forgot where we were, as his hand cupped the side of my face gently.

“You smell like strawberries,” he whispered, pulling away slightly. My heart froze and then constricted painfully. It was something he had always told me as an adult.

“That's good right?” I whispered hoarsely. He was making my body go crazy, everything was on high alert.

“Mm-hmm. Have I told you you're a fantastic kisser?” he questioned and all I could do was shake my head no. “Well, shame on me,” he continued, “Because you should be reminded every single day.” His breath tickled my ear and I knew I was close to jumping his bones right on that point. He had no idea what kind of effect he had on me.

He turned his attention to his chicken sandwich and concluded, “So is Friday at seven good?”

 “Sounds perfect. What are we going to do?” I asked. I looked around for Raegan and spotted her in line with Luke. Her hands danced around excitedly and a small smile crept up on my face. I was happy for her; maybe if she was caught up with her love life, she would leave mine alone. Things had already been difficult and strange without her comments.

“Well, we could go with the traditional dinner and movie. Or go a semi-cheesy route and go bowling or putt-putt. Whatever you want.”

“I don't really care, just surprise me,” I answered. It didn't matter where we went, since we had already done almost everything together anyway. Our first date in college had been to a laser tag place. Anything was fun and exciting with Jaxon involved.

“Challenge accepted, ma'am.” His smile lit up his face and melted my heart. The overwhelming urge to blurt out the truth washed over me.