Heart Waves (11 page)

“It’s no big deal. I just told them you wouldn’t make it to first base with her.” Mike explained. “Nothing personal, I just know her. Brandon thought you’d at least get to second.”

I felt my cheeks get pink. I never even met Brandon and to have him thinking of Reece and me, imagining us kissing and touching and performing all kinds of acts I felt embarrassed even thinking about, made me feel cheap and dirty.

“No wonder she hates you,” Reece said to Mike, his voice tinged with disgust.  

“She doesn’t hate me,” Mike barked. 

“I swear, Mike, if you ever do anything like this again I’ll make you wish you never knew her name.” Reece’s voice sounded deep, harsh.

“It was nothing. Stop making it such a big deal.”

I took that as my cue. I knew of only one way to end this once and for all and shut them all up. I had enough of Mike, and I allowed him to have too large an impact on my life. It ended now. The time had come to take back the power.

I rang the doorbell. Someone must have looked out the window as I heard snickering, mumbling and kissing noises. Not bothering to come to the door, or ask who it was, Mike called for me to come in.

I entered to find Reece standing in the middle of the living room, looking like a little boy caught cutting the dog’s hair. Mike, the blue-eyed guy from the party, and someone I presumed to be Brandon were all spread out on the couch, love seat and recliner. Mike clutched a Nerf football as if he intended to throw it, but all eyes were on me. They all looked amused to see me, hiding behind their smirks and sneers. All but Reece, who looked horrified.

I scanned the room for a moment, desperate not to meet anyone’s eyes for fear I’d feel humiliated and lose my nerve. I became vaguely aware of a baseball game on TV. The tables in the room were covered with soda cans, and bowls of chips and pretzels. The scent of beer and sweat hung heavy in the air.

“Jenna,” Reece brought my attention back to task. I focused on his eyes, nervous about what I planned to do. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

I nodded never breaking his gaze. I knew if I kept him as my focal point it would come easy, instinctively. A sense of empowerment filled me as I approached him slowly, doing my best to walk seductively like I’d seen girls do on television or in the movies when they’re trying to get a guy to notice them. Not a problem for me, I had the attention of a whole room full of guys.

“I forgot something.” I said looking up at him through my lashes.

“What’s that?” He looked stiff and uncomfortable. 

I thought of his earlier depiction of a kiss as a main feature, and batted my eyelashes ready to put his theory to the test. I reached up and clasped my hands behind his neck and pulled him down toward me. Luckily he didn’t resist. He wrapped his arms around my waist and looked apologetically into my eyes.

I tightened my hold on him as I stood on my tip toes and touched my lips to his, in no way prepared for what happened next. A shocking jolt of electricity ran through me. In that moment I felt his body stiffen like a board and wondered if he felt the same strange sensation I just experienced.

As our lips touched, a burning fire ran through my body, and singed my heart like a branding iron. In that instant, Reece’s thought patterns and feelings were made clear to me. I could literally feel what he felt: surprise and shock mingled with excitement at my actions. He wondered what I would do next.

And the pleasure! It became hard to distinguish where his thoughts ended and mine began. I didn’t know where or how this sudden understanding came. I never experienced anything like it before.     

We were enshrouded in a pure white force field that drowned out everything around us. It was exhilarating! Like someone injected adrenaline directly into my heart. We were one, entwined at every level.

A wave of anxiety and guilt came over Reece. He didn’t want to scare me off, as if that were any longer possible. I could never shy away from him again. I belonged to him.

Reece tried to pull away, I wouldn’t let him. I wound my fingers into his hair and hoped he could feel my emotions too. I wished in this way I might pass to him my most intimate thoughts. At the very least I wanted to ease his uncertainty. Reece needed to know, to feel beyond a doubt I was okay, better than okay, much, much better.

His hands made their way under my hair. He took the lead, forgetting we were the main attraction in his friend’s living room; he lost himself to a torrent of yearning. Reece’s heart raced against my chest, keeping in time with my own. A rush of heat swept through me followed by a groundswell of desire.

Slowly, delicately, Reece eased himself away from me. He looked as short of breath as I felt. For a moment he stared at me dazed, searching my eyes, before bestowing another quick, gentle kiss on my lips.

“Let’s get out of here.” He took me by the hand and led me out the front door.

Like when you wake a sleeping giant and have no idea what to expect, every nerve cell in my body had been awakened. I felt giddy. I laughed and jumped up and down like an excited child at the circus.

“You were right; last night was like a coming attraction. That was awesome!”

“You didn’t have to do that you know,” he said almost as if he were scolding me.

“You didn’t like it?” I teased, raising an eyebrow, knowing full well he more than liked it. “And earlier I thought you were just exaggerating about your kissing abilities.”

He took a deep breath. “Just when I think I have you figured out,” he shook his head.

“Don’t try,” I squeezed his hand. “Just take it as it comes.”

He smiled, and stroked the sides of my arms gently, “As much as I’d like to think you can’t keep your hands off me, I know you didn’t show up just for that. So what can I do for you?”

“Oh.” I giggled coquettishly, “I almost forgot. My phone must have fallen out in your car.”

“Lucky for me it did.”

Still soaring from the massive adrenaline rush, I bounced back home. I decided to send Grace a quick text from the front stoop, knowing I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do so once I went inside. My parents were not going to be happy with the way I left and how long I took.

I closed the door gingerly, tempted to pretend I’d been home all the while. A long shot, at best. Deep down I knew full well I couldn’t pull it off. Toe walking, so they wouldn’t hear my footsteps, I snuck up the stairs hoping my parents disbanded from the kitchen table.

No such luck. 

“He seemed like a nice enough kid to me.” My father reassured my mother. “Besides, you don’t know if she even wants to see him again.”

My stomach dropped.

“Mark my words; she wants to see him again.” Mom sounded displeased.

“You’re kidding right?” It wasn’t my mother’s words, but the tone of her voice that send a ripple of panic through my body. I couldn’t believe she already disliked Reece.
For no reason.
She spent a total of one minute with him. 

Mom looked surprised at the sound of my voice. “It’s about time. Come have a seat.”

All
attitude
, I plopped down in the chair with a huff, arms crossed over my chest.

“I’d like to hear more about your date. In fact we both would.” Although her voice was level, the wide eyed look she gave my father foretold of a battle to come. She was communicating the need for solidarity between them, which left me out in the cold.

“What do you want to know?” I asked understanding this would be my best chance to open her mind.

“Where did you meet the boy?” my father said looking serious with his hands folded.

“He’s a friend of Mike’s,” I answered. “He’s staying there for the summer. We met at a party last week.”

They exchanged a wary look.

“What?”

“This is the same boy who drove you home last night I presume?” My mother asked in her disapproving voice.

“I didn’t know about that,” Dad chimed in. “You know I don’t want you getting in cars with strange boys.”

I shook my head, frustrated. “Yes Dad, I know. But seeing how Grace sort of ditched me, I didn’t have much of a choice. But that’s not the issue. I really like him and I had a phenomenal time today. So if you don’t like him, that’s your problem, not mine. And you didn’t seem to mind me getting in the car with him this afternoon.”

“Sweetheart, you’re jumping to conclusions. We never said we don’t like him,” Mom said. “The problem is we don’t know him. And you seem to be spending an awful lot of time with him. You were with him until late last night. You spent almost the entire day with him, and then ran back to him after only minutes of being apart.”

“I needed my phone. Besides, isn’t that what people do when they like each other? Spend a lot of time together?”

“That is precisely why I’m concerned.”

“I understand you being concerned, but that’s not what I see. It feels like, for some reason I can’t figure out, you decided not to like him.”

She shook her head. “That’s not it at all. Just the way he looked at you unnerved me.”

I couldn’t imagine what she meant. He looked at me different than anyone else ever had. With such warm loving eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Jenna, he lit up when he saw you this afternoon.” My father explained.

At least I didn’t imagine it. “How is that bad?”

“This boy is serious about you, and you hardly know each other.” my mother explained. “And it looks like he spent a great deal of money on you today.”

I nodded. “He did.”

Again the disturbing looks passed.

“You haven’t dated much, sweetheart.” Mom tried to explain. “Boys don’t spend that kind of money without expecting things in return.”

“Reece isn’t like that! He didn’t even try to kiss me,” I defended. “And Mom, boys expect things even when they don’t spend a penny on you.”

“Stop twisting things Jenna,” my father interjected.

“By the way, I haven’t dated much because the guys I’ve dated have been jerks. Reece isn’t. He’s different.”

“You don’t know him well enough yet to decide what he’s really like.”

“Your mother is right.”

Of course he sided with her.

I could see the apprehension growing on both of their parts.

Why did they insist on putting a damper on one of the best days of my life?

I stood, “I’m going to go upstairs and call Grace. You made up your minds and there isn’t anything I can do to change it.”

“Jenna, I don’t want you alone in that house full of boys. Understood?”

“Yes, Dad.”
I rolled my eyes.

“I mean it.”

I stomped up to my room pounding the steps as hard as I could on the way, and called Grace. I rambled on for an hour about the previous night and the wonderful day I had, interrupting her every time she tried to change the subject. Like a good friend,
Grace listened. She owed me that much, if not for leaving me to fend for myself, then for talking my ear off about Mike. 

Still wide awake and energized after we hung up, I turned my computer on and started a journal. I wanted to remember every detail, every moment of my time with Reece. Just as I finished and changed into pajamas, my phone beeped.
A text message.

Hey beautiful can’t wait to see you! <3

I closed my eyes and smiled. I wanted to mentally send him a happy image of me. Once I turned the lights out, I replayed our amazing day, and fell asleep with a smile on my face.

I woke the next morning shortly after ten. My parents were working, as usual. The silence was maddening. I had nothing to do and thought I’d enjoy being alone and day dreaming about Reece, about seeing and kissing him again. That didn’t last long before I became obsessed with watching the clock. The time spent waiting to be together felt endless.

After a really late breakfast, I did the laundry and picked up the book sitting on my night table. I looked forward to getting lost in the love story, imagining Reece and I as the hero and heroine. I opened the book, pulled my bookmark out and began reading. The dialogue and images playing in my
head,
had nothing to do with the words on the pages.