First Kiss (Heavy Influence) (14 page)

He stalled. I knew what he meant, but I wanted to hear him say it because it was apparent she still thought herself as his girlfriend.

              “She knows we’re close, that we grew up together.” He stated, leaning over and kissing me warmly on the cheek. A million thoughts rushed through my head. I pictured myself grabbing him by the neck and pulling him back to me, when he backed away. All the while his bright blue eyes burned a hole in my head. I was speechless.

             
He went to the TV, tapping at some buttons. Wii Sports popped up brightly on the screen. A smile spread across his face as he held up two remotes.

“Since you’re not into continuing with your guitar lesson, we can battle it out on Wii until our fronts arrive.”

              “Fronts?” I asked, cocking my head.

             
His lips curled up. “This is why you pull at my strings.” He wagged the remote at me. Clearing his throat, he continued. “Fronts, meaning us using Nadine and Mike to our benefit, to throw people off our trail; like in the those old gangster movies, when they would have a store front and then in the back there was a secret gambling hall.”

             
“Ah, right.” I nodded, understanding. I feared this was all a dream and I would wake up. I wondered if everything would smoothly fall into place.

***

              I felt dutiful, now having a mission: the quest of getting Mike and Nadine together. I watched Nadine and Jake play Wii and my insides froze like a glacier each time she stroked his back in encouragement. I reminded myself, again and again, she’d liked him first. That he was only being his cool, kind self when she playfully hung on him, tossing her head back and forth like a brainless Barbie doll. He kept flashing his radiant smile at me and it warmed my stone cold insides like electric white heat. As the scene played out, I tried to calm my growing disdain at what I was witnessing. The next time we made eye contact it was as if he read my mind and he distanced himself.

             
Mike came through the front door.

He smiled broadly, nodding his head at me. “Hey Aly.” I’d hoped he was over making snide distasteful remarks about me behind my back.

              “Hey Mike,” I greeted casually, walking into the kitchen.

             
“Hey Bro,” I heard Jake acknowledge.

             
I stood with the fridge door open, deciding whether to have a soda or water when Mike appeared in my peripheral vision and I became blinded by the blood rushing to my head. Why did he have to come in here and why did he make me so nervous?

             
“Hey, any beer in there?” he asked, practically breathing down my neck.

             
“Uh, yeah…” I barely choked out my answer before he grabbed one from over my shoulder. I wanted to say something like
I don’t think that’s a good idea
, but I didn’t want to sound like a baby. I was in disbelief. I’d never been around anyone who blatantly drank alcohol, underage, in my face. My sister and brother would come home in what appeared to be in an intoxicated stupor from time to time, but I’d never witnessed its progression.

Regardless of it being a bad idea, it was rebellion at its finest
and I wanted to be a part of it. I grabbed a soda, popped its top and stepped back, leaning against the counter. What must it be like? Getting drunk? I recalled the horrid taste test from the other night. I wondered what the big deal was. My mother’s words of it being an “
Acquired Taste
,” echoed in my head. No thank you, nothing about acquiring that taste appealed to me.

             
I watched Mike thoughtfully as he swigged his beer, staring back at me. It seemed as if time had frozen. I admired his spikey blond hair and his build. Mike had a tough guy demeanor. He was standoffish in an appealing way that made you want to crack his code. If only the words that came out of his mouth weren’t so douchey all the time. He was hot, with the way his tattoos peaked out of his shirtsleeves. There should be no reason Nadine wouldn’t want to date him.

             
“So, I hear you and your friend wanna play the guitar?” he asked, finally breaking the awkward silence. He took a long swig of his beer.

             
“Yeah, it just kinda came up, you know,” I said nervously. Our eyes remained tied. I couldn’t stand it anymore and looked away as I continued rambling. “Jake offered. I hope you don’t mind. Nadine jumped on board after she’d heard about it.”

             
“What? Naw man, it’s cool, you and her…what’s her name? Natalie?”

             
“Nadine.”

             
“Yeah, Nadine, you guys wanna learn to play, we’ll teach you,” he said, tipping his head back pouring the last bit of beer down his throat. He brushed past me too close and gave me a sly smile that woke my sleeping butterflies. He opened the fridge and grabbed another beer, holding it out toward me. “You want one?”

             
“No tha…” I was interrupted.

             
“What the fuck dude, don’t be offering her beer,” Jake snapped. I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Don’t fucking offer her anything anymore…got it?” Jake glared over his shoulder back at Mike as he led me away by the elbow.

We walked past Nadine briskly. Jake practically knocked
her out of the way. She frowned at me and mouthed
what the hell?
I shrugged my shoulders, silently.

             
“I’ll take one.” I heard Nadine laugh uneasily. Their conversation grew inaudible as we walked all the way into Jake’s room.

             
He let my arm go and walked in a small circle in front of me, round and round.

“What, what’s wrong? I wasn’t going to take it.”

He sighed deeply and walked up to me, grabbing my face and kissing me hard on the lips. My head spun. His lips grew softer as he kissed me lightly a few more times.

I was breathless. I wanted more.

14

Jake

             
I’d never felt completely at ease chilling with a girl as I did with Aly. I’d always felt like I had to be
on
with other girls. I never gave it any thought until now. I’d come to the conclusion it was some sort of a weird altered ego that took over, but with Aly it simply wasn’t there. The hyper-awareness with what I perceived as cool or acceptable for people to know about me wasn’t on my mind and I was relaxed in my own skin for the first time.

Aly pretty much knew most things about me, other than the band stuff. She knew I’d lost my father and how screwed up I was about it for a long time. Remembering how she sat quietly off to the side as her mother and brother, Kyle, consoled my mother and me in those early days after the burial. Not
that guys don’t cry, but I hadn’t shed one tear since then.

             
I wasn’t an emotional person, until now.

             
So I took her face in my hands and kissed her. For a quick second she stiffened, but I didn’t let go. I felt her cool hands and arms wrap around my neck. I kissed her softly while I searched for what I should say.

             
I was lost.

“I’m sorry,
” I paused for a long moment. I was agitated and fighting my feelings. “I just…I saw Mike…him looking at you the way he looks at girls he’s interested in, and then offering you beer, that’s his MO you know, get girls drunk to make it easier. I have to tell him about us or he’ll keep hitting on you.”

“Jake, don’t be sorry…and you know… that was totally innocent back there.” Aly laughed in earnest.
             

             
“No, no it wasn’t. I know him. There’s nothing innocent about him, trust me.”

I was adamant about Mike. He was one of
those guys
that her sister warned her of. Was I blowing it outta proportion? Was I just being overprotective? I sighed, frustrated, and began pacing again.

             
“These people don’t know my sister, do they? Jake you can’t say anything, if my sister finds out I’m coming over here for anything
other
than guitar lessons….”

Her eyes pleaded with me.

              I walked to the door and looked back at her. “Trust me, this’ll work itself out. None of them know Allison or Kyle, at least enough to say anything, and to tell you the truth none of them give a shit. But I have to say
something
to him or he’ll keep at you. Everything’s a game to Mike.”

I turned and called out Nadine’s name.

              “Why are you calling her in here,” she asked anxiously.

             
“Because, I need to talk to Mike without her in my face. I can’t have him offering you guy’s beer, or anything else for that matter. If my mom were to come home she’d shit herself and my whole gig here would be ruined.”

             
“Jake? Where are you?” Nadine shouted out.

             
“Back here, in my room, come in here,” I shouted out.

             
Nadine skipped down the hall, stopping all puffed up and doe-eyed, in front of me. “What’s going on? Is everything ok?”

              “Yeah, just have to take care of something. Stay here.”

             
My adrenaline rushed through me as I approached Mike.

             
“Hey man, you know I can’t have you offering Aly beer, so just cool it. Don’t do it again, got it? I’m responsible for her and I don’t need her going home with beer breath and her dad coming over here ripping my head off….”

             
“Damn dude, relax, it wasn’t any different than me offering Rachel a beer.”

“She’s not Rachel, alright?
” I snapped, exasperated that he didn’t get it.

“All right, step off already. What’s going on with you and her anyway? You’ve been checked out all day, and bam she’s here again and you’r
e all fucking lame.” He chuckled, knowingly, throwing his hands up. “I got it, you like her.”

             
“Of course I like her… I care about her. I’ve known her my whole life. I already explained that…”

             
“No, but you dig her, like wanna get in there.” Mike laughed, convinced by his assumption. “Aw man, you should’ve just said something.”

He continued to laugh obnoxiously and I wanted to punch him.

              “It’s not like that…”

             
“Yeah right, I got you, buddy,” he retorted, mockingly.

             
“Look, just halt on the booze offering…or anything else for that matter with Aly, I could give a shit about anybody else.”

             
I stormed off thinking maybe having Mike there was a bad idea. Walking back in my room Nadine stared at me all steely eyed and her lips curled upward.

             
“What?” I smirked. I felt like she could see right through me. Aly was right, she had a sixth sense.

             
“Oh, nothing,” she sang out, retreating to Aly’s side.

             
Aly’s face began to glow. Nadine must have looked at her strangely or transferred some crazy telepathic chick vibe. Why else would she be blushing? I got hot under the collar, too. This was ridiculous.

             
I cleared my throat.

             
“Alright, let’s get this started. Nadine, why don’t you go and begin with Mike?”

             
“Mmhmm,” She hummed tilting her head, looking us both up and down and spun out the door. “I got ya.”

             
Nadine vanished and reluctantly looked back at Aly.

             
“She knows.” She said to me, obviously distressed.

             
“Yeah, I got the impression she suspects something. We’re not doing anything wrong, Aly. Who gives a shit what she thinks.”

             
I was agitated from all the girl-dancing-around-eggshells bullshit.

             
“I do, for all the reasons I stated earlier. I’m sorry. I can tell you’re irritated.”

             
Now I felt bad.

             
“I’m not,” I said, regretting my shortness.

             
“Yeah, you are. I can tell by your mannerisms and the look on your face.”

             
“My mannerisms?” I smiled curiously as Aly shifted uncomfortably. I loved watching her squirm.

             
“You grab the back of your neck and hair when you’re frustrated. It’s something you’ve always done. You used to do it all the time when you and Kyle would fight or whatever,” She giggled, embarrassed by her assessment, but she continued. “It’s cute. It’s just one of those things you do that makes you, well…you.”