Do you know the feeling you get when you've had too much caffeine? The racing heart that makes the muscle skip beats and palpitate. The shortness of breath you feel as you become disoriented, adding to the agitation you feel as your body begins to shake, making you feel at loss of what to do. Then when it fully hits you, it makes you feel sick to your stomach, and you aren't sure whether you need to poo or if you're going to be sick. The pounding headache you get that makes you regret ever having coffee in the first place. That's how Liz felt in this moment as she sat at the table meant for her and Randy, watching Jeff flirt with a picture-perfect Blonde.
Liz had been in the restaurant for the better part of an hour waiting for her date to show up but with each couple that came into the establishment for their date nights, she knew that Randy had stood her up and had no intention of ever following through with the date he had asked her on. Liz felt humiliation seep into her bones knowing that she had fallen for another man's trickery and his wanting to see her doubt her self-doubt. Sure she didn't really know Randy, but all men were the same, weren't they?
This whole night was turning out to be a shit show, making Liz want to crawl under a rock and never show her face to the world around her again. That feeling intensified when she saw the man she was still deeply in love with kiss the woman in front of him a little more than passionately. Her heart shattered into extremely tiny pieces that only Jeff could cause. She had to get out of there. She couldn't take it anymore; it was too torturous.
Liz made it to her car safely and when she shut the door, she leaned her head back against the headrest and shut her eyes, trying to stop the impending tears. No, saving them for bed where she could bury her head in her pillow and cry herself to sleep sounded like a better option.
The woman slipped the key to her car in the ignition, but the vehicle had other plans as it refused to turn over and start. Liz tried a couple more times before she groaned in frustration and slammed her hands on the steering wheel. She was starting to regret even talking to Randy at Walmart while buying things for Jesse.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Liz pulled the key from the ignition and began opening the door so she could look under the hood when the skies opened up and rain pelted down, forcefully walloping everything in its path. Great, just what she needed.
Despite all of that, Liz got out of the car and as she did, her clutch, which had been sitting in her lap, fell to the ground in such a way that her phone smashed, rendering it useless. That was the very last straw for her, and Liz started crying. She couldn't help it and whether it was because she was heartbroken, humiliated, frustrated, or annoyed, she couldn't tell you, but it sure felt good to let it all out. It felt even better to know that her tears were mixing in the rain as she became drenched in it as she walked home, feeling a little more than pathetic.
=
The longer that Liz stayed out, the more Kenzie felt something uneasy stir within her. It was making her feel worried and nauseous. It made her feel like she had to stand up and do something to take her mind off of whatever her brain was telling her.
She began second guessing her plan to meddle in Jeff and Liz's love lives, even if it was for their happiness overall. She felt horrible all of a sudden and she couldn't explain why.
"Ok, what's wrong? Your leg has been shaking non stop and it's really annoying." Jesse said as he hid behind a couch cushion, afraid that another demonic entity would pop out of the shadows again and scare the main character of the movie again.
Kenzie wanted to laugh at him as he was the one to suggest the horror movies but the anxious butterflies in her belly stopped her from doing that.
"Something doesn't feel right." She told him and Jesse looked at her with confusion.
"I'm not doing anything." He told her, thinking that it was him.
"It's not you Jesse, it's this whole Liz and Jeff date. It just feels off somehow." Kenzie explained and Jesse nodded.
"Off how?" He asked, hoping that Kenzie would feel better if they talked about it.
"I don't know but I don't like it." She replied, taking a deep breath.
Jesse knew that Kenzie was worried about it, but he had no idea how to help ease her mind; she didn't seem like she didn't even know how to fully express her thoughts.
"Would it help if I gave you a hug?" Jesse asked seriously.
Kenzie looked at him and felt even more nervous. It was not what she needed right now but she didn't want Jesse to feel like he had done something wrong by asking her that.
"It's worth a try." She replied and Jesse bravely put the cushion down and wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him.
Kenzie would be lying if she said the warmth she felt radiating off him didn't feel comforting. Like nothing could touch her. Like she was safe with him. It felt amazing if she was being honest.
"Better?" He asked, feeling his own butterflies but for varied reasons.
Kenzie laid her head on his chest and sighed. It was helping a little bit.
"Slightly." She muttered, glancing up at him through her lashes.
Jesse looked down at her and smiled. Kenzie couldn't help but smile back. She found his smile infectious.
"That's good." He replied, his voice getting softer.
It was a tone that Kenzie wasn't familiar with, but she found her cheeks become warm and tingly at as her heart rate picked up and her breath hitched in her throat. Was this it, the moment everyone talks about before their first kiss? The clamminess of their palms, the feeling of their hearts being in their stomachs all while their mouths become dry and their brains malfunction. If the answer is yes, Kenzie was about to get her first kiss and she was petrified and excited at the same time. It helped her forget the worry about Jeff and Liz's date.
Kenzie could feel Jesse's breath on her lips as he inched closer to her, and it made her nervous for a whole new set of reasons. She was worried she wasn't going to be good at this and that she'd do something wrong but as she felt Jesse's lips mere millimeters away from hers, all those worries went away. She wanted to kiss him so badly; just as badly as Jesse wanted to kiss her.
"FUCKING DOOR!" Liz screeched as she practically kicked the door in, scaring the ever-loving shit out of the teens, making them scream and causing Jesse to push Kenzie away from him so forcefully that she fell off the couch with a loud thud.
"Kenzie!" Both Liz and Jesse hollered as they watched her roll on the ground with her hands over her face.
They thought that she was crying due to the fact that her body was shaking but it turns out that she was laughing hysterically at the reaction from Jesse. She also couldn't believe that she was so close to kissing him and Liz wrecked it and scared Jesse so bad that he yeeted her off the couch.
"Are you ok, honey?" Liz asked as she helped Kenzie up off the floor.
It took a minute or two for Kenzie to reply as she calmed herself down enough to form a coherent sentence.
"I'm fine you idiots." She told them, causing them to burst into laughter as well as they replayed the scene in their heads.
=
"Want some tea?" Liz asked Jesse and Kenzie as she walked into the kitchen, now dressed in comfortable pajamas and fuzzy socks, hoping to warm up after getting chilled to the bone.
"Tea sounds great, thanks." Kenzie replied with a smile.
"What about you Jesse, want some tea?" Liz asked and Jesse shook his head. He was feeling a little tired and was thinking about heading to bed. Ok, fine, he was equally tired and embarrassed that Liz had caught him about to Kiss Kenzie. He wanted the ground to swallow him whole at that point.
"No thanks. I might head to my room. I'm feeling pretty tired." He admitted and Liz nodded but Kenzie, she looked a slight bit hurt that he didn't want to be around her anymore. Was it something she did?
"Oh ok. Have a good sleep then, I'll see you in the morning." Liz said and Jesse gave her a small smile.
"Night." He said to the women as he walked to his room.
Kenzie felt defeated and wanted to cry. She had definitely done something; she was sure of it.
"I know that look. What happened?" Liz asked as she turned the kettle on.
Kenzie took a deep breath and composed herself.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She told Liz but Liz could see through it.
"I interrupted something didn't I?" Liz asked, suddenly feeling bad.
"No, we were just watching movies." Kenzie said, denying everything that had happened with Jesse just minutes prior.
"You know you can talk to me. I have no one to tell." Liz said and Kenzie scoffed.
"What about Jeff?" Kenzie asked, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.
"I don't want to talk about him." Liz replied and Kenzie cringed.
"That bad of a date with him?" Kenzie questioned and Liz looked at her perplexed.
"A date with him?" Liz asked and Kenzie nodded.
"Yeah, weren't you out with him tonight?" Kenzie asked, feeling her own confusion settle in.
"Oh honey, no. The date wasn't with your uncle. It was with someone else." Liz told her and Kenzie felt even more stupid. She had jumped to too many conclusions tonight, it was making her head spin.
"But I thought that-" Kenzie began before Liz cut her off.
"He was on a date but not with me." Liz said sadly, still picturing that kiss. It was all she could do not to cry again as she wanted to be the one on the other end of that kiss.
"HE WAS ON A DATE!" Kenzie shouted, not believing what she was hearing. He wasn't supposed to be with anyone but Liz. Liz was his soul mate. How could he do this to her...to Liz.
"Everything ok?" Jesse called from his room upon hearing Kenzie shout.
"Stay out of it." Kenzie called back now feeling the bubbling anger. How could Jeff be so selfish and so one sided.
No reply came from Jesse as he was taken back by her response. All he wanted to do was make sure she was ok, and she bit his head off.
"Whoa, he's just asking if everything is alright. No need to chew him out for it." Liz said and Kenzie turned her attention to her.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just tired." Kenzie said, leaving out the fact that she felt embarrassed as well.
"And embarrassed?" Liz said, noticing the silent expression in Kenzie's eyes.
Kenzie felt her eyes water and she bit her lip, hoping it would stop the tears.
"Oh sweetie, come here." Liz said, pulling the girl in for a hug. It was well needed.
"I almost kissed him." Kenzie mumbled loud enough for only Liz to hear.
"Oh my god, you did not." Liz gushed, feeling excited before it dawned on her that that's what she interrupted the kiss.
"I ruined it didn't I?" Liz asked and all Kenzie could do was nod her head.
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry." Liz replied as Kenzie pulled away from her and wiped her eyes.
"You didn't know." Kenzie responded and Liz felt even worse.
"I bet that's why Jesse went to his room. He probably feels just as embarrassed." Liz said and Kenzie sighed. She hadn't thought of that.
"So it wasn't me?" Kenzie asked and Liz shook her head.
"You need to talk to him about it when you are both ready. I also think you should talk to your mom about this before you talk to Jesse." Liz suggested and Kenzie smiled a little.
"You're right. Mom will know what to do." Kenzie replied and Liz nodded.
"If anything happens though and you feel like you can't talk to your parents, you can always talk to me, and we can talk things through." Liz told Kenzie.
"Thanks Liz. I'm sorry I flipped out." Kenzie replied and Liz waved her hand.
"Don't be sorry. I was the same way when I got my first kiss." Liz admitted and Kenzie chuckled.
"You were?" Kenzie asked and before Liz could reply, Jesse walked out of his room with his tail between his legs so to speak.
"Can I talk to Kenzie for a minute?" He asked.
"I'd say yes but I think you both need some space to think about what happened tonight, plus, it's getting late, and we should all be settling in for the night." Liz told the teens who looked disappointed.
"Can she come over for breakfast in the morning?" Jesse asked, determined to talk to Kenzie.
"It's fine with me if it's ok with Jeff." Liz replied and Kenzie looked at her. She knew how hard it was for her to mention his name right now.
"Screw Jeffery right now, I'll be over in the morning. What time?" Kenzie asked and Jesse beamed.
"10:00 am.We can do brunch instead." Liz answered.
"Perfect. I'll see you then and we can talk." Kenzie replied, grateful that Liz was giving her time to talk to her mom about everything.
"Ok." Jesse said, feeling a pang of sadness that he wasn't going to get to talk to her tonight, but Liz did have a point, he was feeling tired, and he was sure that Liz and Kenzie were as well.
"Night." Kenzie said as she collected her things and left to go back to Jeff's where she'd regret it.