Secret Rulebook of Cheating

Rule #21: Violence is One Way to Keep Things Under Wraps

Recap:

"So?" he asked expectantly.

"So what? I'm not into you," I denied hastily. I really didn't want to go there. I was in enough of a mess as it was. "It's my body that is into yours for whatever crazy reason but that will end soon, so quit it!"

Jason stared at me for a moment before he uttered an expressionless, "Okay."

Okay? That was sort of easy.

#21

Or not. Where did that elephant come from and how did it end up under our sunshade? There was a sudden shift in the mood and I wasn't sure my brain understood it. I mean, why would that last bit of conversation change it?

We stayed in silence for another few moments, exploring the sand with our eyes, when Jason spoke again, "So what happens when it ends?"

Was that what got him all weird? What I said about things ending soon? It was hardly something new. He was there when we both agreed that whatever this was that was going on between us had to end when this vacation ended.

What was new though was that I actually found it hard to answer. That weirdness of his was contagious.

I shrugged without looking at him. "Things go back to normal."

"What's that like for you?" he kept the conversation going.

Well, if he could do it, so could I. I looked up at him. "School. Friends." I had to say Brandon but it was stuck in my throat. "Chasing after my dreams..."

"Your dreams? What are those? What do you want to be when you grow up?" Jason gave me an encouraging smile and I could feel the lightness fighting its way back into the conversation. We could definitely use a change of subject. For once, thank you, Jason.

"I thought it was obvious," I retorted in our usual bantering style.

"Nothing's really obvious about you."

Why did I feel so content when he said something like that? The satisfaction burst in my chest and it touched my lips only lightly. That was the thing about showing such emotion in front of Jason - it got too much to his head so it was better contained on the inside.

"Okay. You have three attempts to guess," I challenged.

Jason smirked. "I don't need three. I know what it is." He made a pause while checking me out right to the tips of my toes, not even bothering to be subtle about it. "Bikini model," he finished.

I scoffed. "Seriously?"

"What? You'd be killer in those really cut out ones!" He winked at me playfully. Typical Jason!

"Thanks, I think. But I'll leave clothe-less modelling to you."

"Ha. So you liked what you saw, huh? I knew you'd reconsider your career in nude photography when you see me naked."

Ah. I'd asked for it, hadn't I? "No!" I cried quickly.

"No, you're not considering it or no, you didn't like what you saw?"

"No, I'm not becoming a photographer and I'm not talking about the other."

"So you did like it," Jason teased doing that irritating thing with his eyebrows again. I wasn't answering. I said I wasn't talking about it, so I wasn't. He would only find a way to twist my words again. "You did!" he said again and I gritted my teeth. "It's all over your face. You're blushing."

"I'm not! Shut up!" I snapped.

"You are. You're all red." He was grinning like a pumpkin, pointing a finger at my face.