The Guy I Am Totally Into

Chapter eight

The rest of night was a lot of fun. I stayed as close to Jeremy as I could without seeming creepy, and even made successful small talk with him.

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I ended up walking Jeremy to his car. Not that I'm complaining or anything, the whole night just flew past in a blur.

"I had fun tonight," Jeremy said, his warm breath turning to pale mist in the air. "You're easy to talk to."

"Thanks..." I responded grinning to myself. The air didn't seem so cold anymore. "I like talking to you."

"Why are you wearing a tank top?" Jeremy asked suddenly, glancing up at me. "You were totally lecturing me earlier about being outside in the cold!"

"Well somebody took my jacket!" I teased, bumping into him playfully. He laughed, and hot tingles pricked their way up my spine.

"I'll get it back to you tomorrow I swear!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"I trust you." I whispered. He glanced up at me, aware of the change in my tone.

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.

"I'm...glad to hear that." He said softly, stepping a bit closer to me. My heart stopped.

"Well...it's true..." I responded, my heart coming back to life and pounding in my ribcage like a trapped bird.

Jeremy leaned closer to me, and I let my eyes flit over every tiny detail of his face. Feeling myself slip my hands around his slender waist, I honestly couldn't feel anything but his warm body near mine.

"Your hands are cold." He giggled, making me smile.

"It's pretty cold outside." I countered gently, leaning down slightly.

"HEY JEREMY!" Yelled Brooke from out of nowhere. Jeremy jumped back, forcing me to release his hips.

Are you fucking kidding me?

"Y-yeah?" He asked, looking around before seeing her. Brooke bounded towards him, wrapping him up in a hug.

"Are you heading home?" She asked.

"Yeah. Yeah uh...my car's right there. Dad let me borrow it tonight." Jeremy answered.

"Cool! Mind if I have a ride?" Brooke inquired, pulling back from the hug.

"Sure!" Jeremy responded, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Thanks for walking me to my car, Jake." He said, turning to me.

"O-oh...oh it's no problem!" I said way too quickly. "I'd-"

I'd do anything for you.

"I'd love my jacket back at some point." I heard myself say, flinching at how heartless I sounded.

"Oh...yeah. Of course. I'm really sorry." Jeremy apologized, kicking at the ground. My heart tore a little and I was quick to correct him.

"No...no apologizing. I should apologize." I admitted, humiliated. "No one should talk to you that way."

You're such an idiot.

"It's okay. Really." Jeremy answered. "I just washed it because I didn't want it to smell all gross and sweaty like me." He reasoned.

"Totally understandable. Not that I think you're sweaty. Or that you smell bad. Not that I smell you. I mean...you smell good. Fine. You smell fine. I have no idea why I'm rambling." I said, feeling myself blush.

Jeremy smiled, obviously a little confused. I probably sounded like a freak.

"Well...I'll see you tomorrow." He said after a small awkward silence. Brooke jumped in the front seat, waiting for her driver.

"Tomorrow?" I questioned. Was he asking me on a date? No way. No fucking way.

"School." He clarified. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah! Yeah I'm good! Totally cool, homeslice! Living the dream!" I adopted an upbeat tone, ignoring my sinking heart.

And then, Jeremy stood on his toes and pressed his soft, perfect lips against my cheek. I stood frozen in one spot long after he drove away.

Everywhere but where his mouth touched went numb. Did I imagine that? Did he just kiss me?

"FUCK YEAH!" I screamed once I got control of my body back, pumping my fist in the air.

Alone at 2:30 am in a Chuck E. Cheese parking lot, I laughed a real, pure, genuine laugh for the first time in years.

I couldn't stop smiling as I walked to my car, touching my face every few minutes as if to remind myself that it wasn't a dream.

Wait. What just happened?