Summer's Sweet Sickness (TSITP #4)

2 - Steven

Another year at Finch over, driving home with my girlfriend by my side, what a year. Normally all four of us make the trip together in two cars, Me and Jere in one and Taylor and Belly in the other, But ever since the engagement, Jere has been acting really off with Belly, but even with me too. It seems as though he expected me to intervene or something. Like I didn't try. He doesn't seem to understand how set in his ways he is, last summer he was determined that he was going to marry Belly, and then he didn't. I don't understand why we all have to deal with the fallout of hurricane Jere. I mean, I love him as a brother, but he hasn't always made the best decisions, dating Belly, cheating on Belly, getting engaged to Belly, breaking of the engagement with Belly. Belly. Belly. Belly.

Things were easier when we were kids, when we could go to Cousins and spend hours on the beach surfing the waves, playing volleyball, eating ice cream until we felt sick. Life was easier for everyone then, I mean, I totally understand that they lost their mother, but Jere has always been the erratic one. Even when Susannah was here he was always keeping her on her toes, with 100 different summer jobs and always pestering the Debs at the country club, flirting with all of them at the same time knowing he only had eyes for Belly. Until he didn't. I just want my best friend back.

Luckily, Taylor understood: 'Hell, he even tried to make a pass at me!' She said in a scolding tone.

'That's Jeremiah,' I replied hastily, 'He's respectful as anything but he would flirt with a tree if he could.'

'Totally,' Taylor hit back, 'I can see him now under the Oak at Cousins with his arm up against the house, running his fingers through his hair looking it up and down.'

'What would he be saying?'

'What, to the tree?' Taylor looked confused.

'Yeah, how do you think Jere would flirt with the tree?'

'I don't know he'd probably be there saying: 'Bark, bark, bark.'

'What are you on about, Taylor?' I said, puzzled.

'You know, bark, like a tree...'

'Taylor Madison Jewel, who even are you anymore? You've become cornier than me!'

'Well we both know that's impossible Steven, so just drop it!'

'Aw my corny little girlfriend making corny little jokes just to impress me! You are so sweet Tay Tay!.' I did this sometimes, I liked to call her Tay Tay and act all endearing because it usually makes her scowl. With Taylor, a scowl is exactly what you want to receive, it means that you've done enough to impress her, but she doesn't want to show you, so to re-establish her dominance and prove that she is in control of the situation: she scowls at you.

'Girlfriend?' Taylor replied, shocked.

'Well that's what we are, isn't it?' I replied jokily. Taylor didn't seem to match my energy, responding quickly with 'I didn't think we had defined it just yet?'

'What do you mean 'we haven't defined it yet, we've been together for like a year?'

'A year? I only broke up with Milo a year ago, how are you doing that Math?'

'Well after Milo saw us dancing at the party - and I kicked his ass - we've not been seeing other people.'

'Dude, first of all you did not kick his ass, that kung-fu crap you were both doing was embarrassing for everyone involved. And secondly, you never asked me anything, I just thought we were like...friends'

'Taylor come on, you know we're more than that why are you being like this?'

'Being like what? One minute I was making fun of Jere and now all of a sudden you want me to define our relationship.'

'See! You said relationship.'

'Relationship, situation whatever.'

'Well clearly I thought our relationship, situation whatever was more important than you did.'

'What do you mean 'was', come on Steven, don't be like this...'

'ME 'be like this'? You're the one who said we didn't even have a relationship and now all of a sudden you're it's biggest defender.'

'I just think you misunderstood.'

'Yeah, Taylor, I did misunderstand.' I turned the radio up and we sat in a stunned silence for the rest of the journey, all the way home. I was in complete disbelief at what had just been said. Ever since Milo, hell, even during Milo, we only ever seriously had eyes for each other, and now she's calling us a 'relationship, situation whatever', if she wants to go back to Milo so badly, she can have him, because I'm done with this.