Pumpkin and Plum

Chapter 6: I almost kissed twice. Almost.

Mia's POV:

Darren just asked me out. I have had a crush on him for so long. Still, it kind of feels awkward. Is this how one feels when being asked out?

I don't know why, but no one has ever asked me out. Well, except for that dork Noah, whom I wouldn't date even in my dream. He then went running to Chloe. What a good pair they would make, jerks!

Mia's POV of the past till date:

Our PE came to an end. Sam managed to bunk PE again. He somehow got our coach to be his best mate, can you believe him!

"You look hot even in gym clothes" called out one of Noah's minions.

"Shut up dork!" I yelled as I entered the locker room to change.

Chloe was already there with her own minions. With several mutterings, one minion detached from the group and ambled to me. All others watched closely.

"You didn't get shortlisted for the audition, did you? You set Lucas on this right? LMAO!"

"Ya, I made it," I turned and walked out.

"Hey Lucas, know where Sam is?"

"Hey Mia, haven't the faintest idea."

"That loser will be hiding somewhere, he will come out once he knows PE has ended," said Chloe. Noah along with his set of minions joined Chloe.

I ignored them. "What is the next class?" I asked Lucas.

"Maths."

"Arrgh! Maths! I hate Maths."

"Your fatty nerd will cry if he hears this," Chloe said. I ignored her and continued.

"Fridays are the worst. Maths, PE, Spanish. They take all the fun out of life. Junior year sucks," I groaned.

"Good thing he didn't come to PE. Imagine that fatty on the ropes." They laughed.

"Ignore them, ignore them!" I chanted under my breath.

"Is there a rope big enough to hold that poker?" Chloe said, they all guffawed.

That's it! I launched myself at Chloe and she was ready for me.

"Mia no!" cried Lucas, but there was no stopping me. He turned and ran, making the minions laugh even harder.

Sam pulled me apart. I know he doesn't mind being called fat. But hell, how can someone be so cruel? Why don't these jerks have anything to say other than hurtful things?

My anger dissipated as Sam threw his arms over me; this was Sam and he always had this effect on me.

I was excited, Friday after all turned out to be double fun- shopping and no Algebra for the rest of the week.

We lay in bed that night, all I could think of was Sam's hot breath on my back as he helped me untangle the bikini strings. My stomach twisted pleasantly. Blame the hormones. This was Sam for crying out loud!

Before I could stop myself I asked, "Hey, are you asleep?"

"Almost," he said.

"Sam -" I halted, what was I going to say to him? "I liked your hot breath on my back"? "I am fantasizing about it now"? Nope. So I said the first thing that came to my mind and bid him good night.

Wade had no idea what it is to be a woman, how ignorant of him to ask me if I needed an hour to get ready! I am about to wear a bikini. That means I need to shave my legs and arms, bathe, apply moisturiser, apply make-up, do my hair, and more importantly check out in the mirror which pose would look good in a pic. I am 'Miss Teen California'!

I had the satisfaction of seeing Sam speechless. Good! He is not entirely unaffected by me. It is the hormones! I wanted Sam to dance with me, but he never does. I first danced with Wade and then with Darren, but I kept glancing at Sam. It felt wrong when he just stood in a corner.

Not wanting to repeat the bikini undress season with Sam, I tied the strings as a bow, so that I could remove it easily. What I didn't expect was it being undone with the same ease by someone other than me. That was when all hell broke loose.

It hung loosely from my neck. I shrieked and ran to Sam. I didn't know how he managed it, without breaking contact he pulled his shirt over me, with my hands inside. He carried me to my room.

For someone who had almost joined the strip club, it felt good. I felt good in Sam's arms and he smelled wonderful. And I almost kissed Sam. Not just on the beach. I wanted to kiss him when he squeezed me reassuringly. I almost kissed Sam twice this evening.

Darren just asked me out and I should be excited, except I wasn't. All my mind would shriek was, "YOU ALMOST KISSED SAM TWICE."

I love Sam, but you know, never like a lover! He is the closest thing I have to a family.