Mkay, Chapter Five! Enjoy!
Oh, and to all my voters, reviewers, and fans, THANK YOU SO MUCH. To check my story, and see that someone has voted, or commented that they love it, makes me want to have a million chapters to upload for you guys!
(Unfortunately, I only have this one, and I have work tonight, and still have to SLEEP. Ah, I love sleep. Instead, I wrote this for you beautimous peoples.)
Please, Please, PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT. I swear I'll love you forever! :D
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I woke up the next morning with Jamie on my mind. Last night, I had kissed him. Now, as far as kisses go, it wasn't my best work. I've kissed and been kissed before, and what I did to Jamie was a quick peck on the lips. But what should I have done?! I was nervous!
I rolled over, burying my face in my pillow. Well, at least my feelings are out there now, into the wild blue yonder and such. Whether he likes me or not, he knows how I feel, right? Right? Oh, God...
I took a long shower, until the water started to lose heat. I didn't bother with makeup, but I left my hair down in long waves. I'm not beautiful. My Dad will tell you I am, but that's because he loves me. Em probably would do the same. At best, I'm pretty. I doubt I'll ever stop traffic, but I'm no mutant. But that's okay, I can live with average.
I dressed quickly into a tank top and shorts and headed into the living room. I saw Dad on the deck, sipping his morning coffee. I walked up to him, hugging him from behind. We stayed there for a minute, before Julie came out on the deck, too.
"Mark and his kids should be here around two o'clock," Dad said. Julie nodded, humming.
"Yes, he's leading several of the workers here."
Dad nodded. "Oh, Maddy, the Whitmires are coming over around the same time. I talked to Earl on the phone, and he's got the night off of work."
I had told Dad about seeing Alex yesterday, so he made sure to invite them.
"Maddy, I'll need your help in a little bit. I think we're supposed to have around thirty people coming over. Gabe and Rob will be barbequing, and we'll need to make sure everything is spic and span."
"Julie, the house looks fine," Dad said wearily. He got tired of her obsessive cleaning easily.
"Now Gabe, I just want the guests to feel like this is a well-kept lake cabin, not a frat house," she joked, holding out her hands in a 'so-sue-me' gesture.
I sighed, rolling my eyes. I grabbed Dad's cup, taking a large gulp of coffee. "About what time will Jamie get here?" I heard Dad ask. I looked down into the coffee mug, as the conversation took a turn where I least wanted it.
"Jamie's already here," Julie replied. "Yep, he got in late last night."
"Really?" Dad asked, looking pleasantly surprised. "Well that's good. He can help me and Rob do some damage to the grill!"
I glanced back at the house, wondering if Jamie was still sleeping. Instead, I saw him leaning in the doorway, looking at us. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a black wife beater shirt. When I saw his dark eyes were on me, I whipped my head back to the conversation, my hair catching across my lips. I mentally berated myself for being such a coward. In all the ways I wanted to see Jamie, I dreaded what his reaction might be. 'Oh, for real, don't hate me,' I thought.
I watched from my periphery as he walked next to Julie's side. Dad tugged his coffee mug from my hands.
"Now what are you doing, baby girl?" He joked, tilting the cup to his smiling lips.
"She thinks she's old enough to drink coffee," Julie laughed. They loved to tease me.
"SHE thinks she is old enough to go to college," I muttered. I could normally take their picking with a smile. However, I didn't feel like a 'baby girl'. I felt like a damn grown woman. Dad wrapped his arm around my shoulders, jostling me.
"Now, whatever you say Miss Maddy, but you'll always be my little girl."
I gave a weak smile up to Dad, feeling Jamie's intent gaze on my face.
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It was sunset, and people were jam-packed into the house and out around the pool. Several friends of the family had brought their kids, ranging in ages from nine to sixteen. Dad's classic rock and zydeco music was blaring from the porch stereo. A handful of people were bobbing around in the pool, and the other guests were slowly circulating, saying hi to one another.
My Dad's cousin Randy was interrogating me on which university I had set my sights on. I was in the process of explaining my plans for college to him when I felt a cold tap against my shoulder. Frowning, I turned my head to see Jason Whitmire wearing a confident smirk.
"Hey," I said with a smile. He jerked his chin in my direction, his hello-acknowledgment, making me roll my eyes. I excused myself from Randy, giving him a quick hug. Turning back around to Jason, I realized he was holding a long-neck beer bottle in one hand. That explained the cold tap. "I didn't really expect you to be here," I began. And I hadn't really wanted him here, either. The boy thought he was too smooth. I like confidence, not cockiness. Certainly not when it's misplaced.
"Yeah, thought I might stop in," he said, shrugging. He eyeballed the milling crowd before looking back down at me with a grin. "C'mon." Jason grabbed me by my wrist and began to pull me through the crowd.
Everyone seemed to be immersed in conversation and laughter, not noticing my mental plea for help. Jason led me to the side of the lake house, where a bench swing-set stood. He sat down, still holding onto my wrist. I stood next to him, not feeling like humoring him.
"Here," he said, patting his lap.
"Ha! Yeah, right, Jason," I scoffed, finally able to wriggle out of his grasp. I leaned against one of the beams, crossing my legs.
"What, you've got no time for me? That's pretty rude, Mad."
"No, it's not that, Jason. But I'm not some idiot just willing to sit on your lap!"
"Fine, then would you at least sit by me?" He pleaded, gesturing to the seat next to him.
I stared at him for a minute, my lips thinned in annoyance. This is Alex's brother, Maddy. Alex and I had been friends for years. Our parents were hanging out, even now. Deep down, I know Jason isn't some evil spawn. That doesn't stop him from being an overly hormonal, pretentious ass, though. We're all allowed our faults, I suppose. I sighed, going to take a seat.
The swing rocked with my weight. I tried to think of conversation topics.
"You've gotten really beautiful, Maddy. I mean, you're looking HOT," I could feel his breath on my neck, and turned to look at him, moving my head back.
Really? Was that a compliment? I bit back my distaste. I suppose it's better than no compliment. His arm was stretched across the back of the swing, behind my shoulders.
"Thanks Jason. You've gotten... really tall," I said awkwardly. If I told him that he was handsome, or returned a similar compliment, Jason would surely take it the wrong way.
He chuckled at that. I could feel him toying with my hair, and a split second later I felt him tracing circles and patterns on my neck. Okay, my uncomfortable meter has hit it's limit.
"Y'know, my whole family is here at this party leaving my big, old house empty. You should come over. I could show you my... room." The way he said room left no misunderstanding that he wanted to get laid.
Huffing indignantly, I made a quick move to stand.
Jason's hand on my shoulder stopped me. Having been halted mid-motion, I was sitting on the edge of the seat, my legs underneath the swing. Furious, I whipped my head around and opened my mouth to tell him what I thought.
Instead of getting the opportunity to tell him I wasn't afraid to kick his ass, Jason plowed his tongue in my mouth. The quick impression of beer and smoke assaulted me, and I shoved him roughly back. I wiped the back of my wrist over my mouth, and my face contorted in disgust.
"Jason, EW!"
"What?" he asked, eyes wide and offended at my reaction. He was still leaning against the far end of the swing, with a 'what gives' expression.
"Are you serious? I mean really, are you serious?" I ranted. His dumbfounded expression only made me angrier. He slowly swayed the swing back and forth, toeing the soft grass with his Nikes. "You ignore me for the better part of our childhood, act like some pseudo-suave asshole, and now you suddenly think I'm gonna jump you like some bitch in heat?"
He shrugged, and I saw red.
"AAARRGH!" I shrieked in frustration, throwing my hands down to my sides.
"We okay here?" Jamie asked, standing in the walkway that led back to the pool. His presence surprised me, and I momentarily gaped at him.
His sudden appearance shocked me so bad, I forgot I sat on the edge of my seat. Jason was apparently also stunned that we had an audience, because he abruptly stopped the swing's motion with his giant feet. I went plummeting to the ground, hard.
Jamie rushed over and helped me up, while Jason stammered out an apology. I glared daggers at him as I brushed dirt off of my knees and sides. I leaned over to dust off my calf, when he suddenly stood up from his seat, attempting to help me. The sudden uneven movement sent to the swing flying towards me, whacking me in the forehead.
"Oh..." I groaned, clutching my forehead. I covered one eye and stood up, feeling Jamie's arm around my shoulders brace me. Closing my eyes, I leaned against him. I heard Jason start to say something, but Jamie cut him off quickly.
"Just go, man." I looked up to see Jamie shaking his head.
"Wow." I said flatly. At his questioning look, I said, "Very few times have I ever felt this pathetic," and promptly closed my eyes again.
I felt him breathe a soft laugh, and he led me over to the swing. I stopped him, saying, "Do you mind? I really do not want any further history with this godforsaken swing."
Jamie laughed again, pausing. "Yeah, let's sit you somewhere else." He led me inside, via the front door, probably to avoid any guests.
Oddly enough, I felt a lot better the instant his arm had went around me. It was quick, effective comfort and I started to put my weight into his embrace.
"Here you go," he said, taking me to the kitchen and sitting me down on a barstool. He clicked on the lights, and the suddenness of it made me scrunch up my face. "Oh, sorry," he said, turning off the main switch, leaving the recessed lighting over the island on.
I settled my elbows onto the counter, leaving my hand over my forehead. I closed my eyes, in part due to the ache over my right eye, but mostly due to the fact Jamie had witnessed me in all my clumsy glory.
My hand was tugged from my face, and Jamie gave it a good assessment before applying ice wrapped in a dishtowel to my skin. I held it there firmly, nodding at him and sighing a thank-you.
He plopped down onto the bar stool next to me, looking me over. "So what was that all about?"
"What was what all about?" When in doubt, play blonde. Or amnesiac.
He leveled me with a stare, cocking a dark eyebrow.
Rolling my eyes, I gave up the pretense. "I was accosted by a drunk teenage boy that thinks he's Hugh Flippin' Hefner. Yeah, that's about it in a nutshell."
"You gonna tell Gabe?"
"My Dad? Hell no! And neither are you!" He gave me another one of those looks. "Don't give me that face," I said loudly, refusing to be cowed. "Jason's dad is a good friend of ours. It's not like he meant any real harm, he's just an overzealous idiot."
"What did he do to you, do you mind me asking?" he said.
Closing my eyes again, I told him, "He kissed me. He's kind of handsy, but nothing major. But still, he stuck his tongue down my throat," I made a gagging noise. "I mean, who randomly kisses someon-" I cut myself off midstream, turning to him with a stricken look.
Jamie was nodding, knowing what I was going to say. "Yeah, I mean, who does that?" He taunted, raising his eyebrows.
"Oh, shut up," I muttered, blushing.
We stayed like that for a few moments, silent. Music raged on outside the patio doors, and you could hear the occasional person make the trek from the living room to the hallway bathroom. Amazingly, the kitchen had been left abandoned.
"Do you think my head will bruise?" I asked miserably. It was going to suck trying to explain this bruise to everyone.
Jamie slid from his seat, standing near me. "Here, turn your head," he said, and I twisted my body to face him. He removed the ice pack from above my eye. Taking my chin in his hand, he tilted my face up to the light.
I watched him closely as he evaluated the damage. Looking up at him through my lashes, I didn't see anything in his expression that made me worry.
"It might bruise a bit, but it'll be barely noticeable. You can probably even fix your hair over it." And with that, he flopped a large hank of my hair over my face. "Whoops."
I puffed it out, brushing it back away. Casting him a sardonic look, "I'm not really going for the Cousin It look, but thanks anyway," I told him.
He smiled down at me. "I don't know, you kinda make it sexy."
Blushing, I lowered my gaze. "Whatever," I said, licking my lips.
Jamie still hadn't moved away, and I realized his hips were between my knees. And the sopping wet, freezing dishtowel was dripping onto my thigh. "Yow! Cold!" I hollered.
He threw it on the counter, yelling, "Sorry!" He laughed, and I smiled at the sound of it rumbling through his chest. I giggled as it puddled on the countertop.
His hand embraced my jaw, and my gaze flew back to his. Dark eyes pulled me closer, and I felt my smile fade as our lips met. His lips were warm and soft, and I breathed in quickly. He smelled like soap and aftershave. Jamie's lips slanted over mine, deepening the kiss before pulling back. I licked my lips again, looking up at him.
He didn't move away, instead, continued to cup the side of my face. I could almost see myself in his eyes, and was mystified. My arms came up, one curving around his shoulder, the other bracing myself against his chest. Our lips crashed together again, and his tongue pressed against mine. I had time to briefly think, 'what does this mean for us?' and then thought 'don't worry about it.' I opened myself up to him, letting Jamie in. I felt his arms wrap around me, one hand burying itself in my hair, pulling me closer. This kiss was so deep, so warm. He sucked on my bottom lip, and I think I moaned.
"AHEM," from the doorway. We ripped away from each other, my head reeling. Rob was standing at the entrance of the kitchen, looking at us with a furrowed brow. My hand slid from Jamie's chest, and I registered that his hand had fallen to my thigh. Rob's eyes shot from me to Jamie, and back again. He didn't look angry, necessarily. But he looked like he wanted to say something. Instead, all he said was, "Came to grab more beer," picked up a six-pack from the fridge, and quickly left.
Jamie and I looked at each other, before laughing awkwardly. Picking up the sodden dishtowel, he said, "I'll get you some more ice." My lips felt full, sensitized. I would kill to know what he was thinking.
"Thanks," I said, clearing my throat. He rummaged through the ice bin in the freezer, then looked for a new towel. I wondered if he was going to blow our kiss off, and pretend it never happened. We stayed silent as he made me a new ice-pack.
He came to my side again, and I held the towel in my hand, glancing up at him. He ducked his head close to me, pressing his lips to mine. It was soft, gentle, and caring, as was the look in his eyes when he withdrew.
I smiled widely at him. It was the only thing I could do.
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So there you go. Hope you liked it, and if you did, let me know. Gimme your thoughts, because I don't know them. Was it well written, poorly written, funny, sad, hot, cold, something? Cuz really, I just want you to love it. :P
Also, I would love to have a different cover made for my book. I'm kind of picky, but oh well. I would love if someone could send me a Mad-Love based cover that's original, not jacked from someone else's story. So, if any of you know of some good artists or photo-shoppers, please give 'em a holler and tell 'em to message me. I'd like to see some of their work before deciding!
One more thing, apologies for any grammar/spelling errors. I proofed this really quick before uploading, I just wanted to post it before sleeping.
Love, Ohainurse