No Matter What

Chapter Eight

Misty:

The summer before they started high school, Misty and Jason spent less time together than they had in previous summers. While Misty and her friends spent most of their summer at the pool watching boys, Jason spent his days hanging out with the guys and playing sports or video games. 

Fourth of July weekend was the exception to this. Their parents arranged a camping trip to the lake. Unlike their past camping trips, they didn’t spend their days walking in the woods or building sandcastles. Instead, they spent them at the lake. While Misty confined most of her time to sunbathing, Jason did a lot of swimming. From her place on the beach, she watched girl after girl approach him. When the girls saw him and Misty talking together on the shore, they would wait until she was alone to approach her and ask if he was her boyfriend. The minute she told them Jason was only a friend, they would immediately tell her how cute he was and start asking questions about him. Misty found it more than a little irritating, and she knew it had to do with the fact that she had developed a crush on Jason. There was nothing she could do about it though so she suffered in silence.

Jason:

That weekend, Jason lost count of all the boys that approached Misty. The bravest ones would come right up to her and start talking, whether Jason was sitting beside her or not. Those who weren’t so brave, or maybe who thought he was more than a friend, would wait until she was alone in the water before they took a chance. Jason watched all of the attention with a careful eye, making sure none of these boys tried anything out of line. The moment he suspected they were getting too friendly, he was ready to move in and protect her. No one was ever going to hurt Misty again, and just the thought of it made his muscles tense.

All the attention she got didn’t surprise him. Something happened to her during junior high school. She’d always been pretty, but the curves to her body and the breasts she developed made her look a lot older than she really was. Once she’d confided to him that she didn’t like the way the changes in her body changed the way boys looked at her. When she said that, he wanted to tell her she was nuts because she was totally hot, but he was afraid she’d take it the wrong way. Or did he mean it the way it sounded?

“Hey, Jason, how’s it going?” Evan dropped down beside him on the shore.

“Okay,” Jason shrugged, keeping his eyes on Misty. “Where’s Derek?”

“Found a cute girl to make out with,” Evan said and grinned.

“What about you?”

“It’s on my list. I thought I’d talk to you for a second though.”

“Why?” Jason was surprised. Evan was usually going out of his way to avoid him.

“Everyone knows you like my sister.”

“She’s my best friend.”

“Don’t play dumb. I mean you like her like you want to date her.”

“It’s not like that for me and Misty. We’re just friends.”

“If you say so, but how are you going to feel when she gets tired of waiting for you and starts dating someone else?”

Before Jason could answer, Evan stood and was gone to chase after a girl that caught his eye. Jason didn’t have to answer though. The truth was he wasn’t sure how he’d feel when Misty was with someone else, but even the thought of it made him uneasy.

Misty:

The night of the fourth both families staked out places on the sands of the lake front to watch the fireworks. Knowing the night air was going to get cold, Misty brought along a blanket to curl up under. When she threw it across Jason’s legs, he looked at her in surprise. Sitting side by side under her blanket, Misty could feel her legs brush up against his once in a while, flooding her with a feeling of warmth. It reminded her of the way it felt to have his arms around her when they’d ridden the roller coasters of Disneyland.

As the first fireworks illuminated the night, everyone turned their eyes skyward. While Misty watched the brilliant colors light up the night, she could feel Jason’s eyes on her, and she wondered what he was thinking.

“Isn’t it pretty, Jase?”  

“Yeah.”

“I’m so glad we’re friends,” Misty said, turning to face him. “I’ve had the best summers with you.”

“Me too, Miss,” Jason said as he gave her a shy grin.

As they held each other’s gaze, Misty held her breath and waited for Jason to kiss her. There was a flicker of something in his eyes that made her think he might do it, but he didn’t. Disappointed, but hoping it didn’t show on her face, Misty turned her attention back to the fireworks.

Once they were back from their Fourth of July camping trip, it was back to business as usual. For Misty that meant lazy days at the pool with her friends.

“You are so lucky, Misty,” Caitlyn declared not long after they’d found the best spots to sunbathe. “Your family is always doing fun stuff.”

“Yeah,” Mimi agreed with a dreamy sigh. “And I’d give anything to spend that much time with Jason Norris.”

“It was okay,” Misty lied because she still hadn’t admitted to her friends how she really felt about Jason. 

“Did you guys share a tent?” Caitlyn asked with a sly smile.

“That’s gross,” Misty said. “Besides, our parents were there.”

“Did you at least try to sneak into his tent when everyone fell asleep?”

“No.”

“I would have. Then I could tell everyone I slept with Jason, and even if nothing happened that wouldn’t be a lie.”

“You do know how that makes you sound, right?” Mimi said.

“So, what?” Caitlyn challenged with a laugh. “I hope you at least tried to kiss him.”

“No,” Misty repeated.

“You should have,” Caitlyn advised. “I would have.”

I know. Misty wanted to say, but she didn’t. Instead, she reached for her suntan lotion, hoping Caitlyn would take the hint and drop the subject.

“Jason’s cute,” Mimi giggled as she slathered lotion on her legs. “I wouldn’t mind kissing him.”

“There isn’t a girl in the entire school who wouldn’t want to kiss him,” Caitlyn said, fixing Misty with a piercing stare. “Right, Misty?”

“I have no idea. I don’t know every girl in school.”

“Why don’t you just admit you like him?”  

“Because I don’t.”

“Then I guess you won’t mind if someone else likes him?”  

Caitlyn was baiting her again, but Misty refused to bite. “Of course not.”

“Interesting,” Caitlyn said with a slow smile.

As they sank back into their lounge chairs, Misty could feel herself burning up, and it wasn’t from the heat of the sun.