Jamie:

"Out of my family, Jenny was definitely the worst when it came to teasing me early on about my crush. She would say that it was obvious, the way I looked at her and all. I explained to her very carefully how crazy and wrong she was. She would just give me a look, her eyes sparkling like she was in on a big secret.

"It wasn't long after the Spin the Bottle game that Jenny pulled me out to the backyard with her and told me in a low voice that if I didn't admit that I liked Emily, she would tell mom and dad about the party at the beach, which was later broken up by the cops because open flames weren't permitted; Emily and I had left before that, but Jenny was older. She could spin a story anyway she wanted it, and it would become true in the minds of our parents. After a little more persuasion from her, it coming in the form of her digging her nails into my upper arm, I finally told her what had actually happened with Chad and Spin the Bottle.

"She let me go back inside the house, but returned a few hours later, hanging the same story above my head with a evil grin, threatening to tattle if I didn't tell Emily how I felt about her. To make a long, painful story short, my mom barged into the room, demanding to know why Jenny had me pinned to the ground. She proceed to tell our mother all about the party, while still sitting on top of my back. Luckily Jordie came home halfway through the story and vouched for me, telling mom that I was in our shared room way before the police sirens had gone off. Jenny got in trouble instead of me."

+++++

Jamie; two and a half months earlier:

"Emily's family invited us over for dinner tonight," Jamie's mom told him. They were standing on the warm tiles of the morning room, watching the waves foam up and crash onto the beach. Her coffee was sending lace-like curtains of steam up around her face as she took a drink.

Jamie looked sidelong at his mom. So far Emily and him had been able to successfully keep their relationship hidden from both of their families. Right now it was nice for it just to be the two of them, away from any family interference.

"Okay." He tried to put as much nonchalance into the word as he possibly could; dinners between the neighbors had become a staple over the multiple summers, and any surprise in his voice could rise awkward questions.

"Be ready by six." Jamie nodded in response. His mother's eyes glanced slightly to her youngest child as she said this, but they quickly moved back to the mass of water. "The water is so pretty during high tide," she said.

*****

Half an hour before six, Jamie was fixing the collar of his shirt, getting ready to go to Emily's. His hands ran over his hair, making sure the gel covered all of it.

"Jamie hun, would you bring over the fruit salad if you're going over there early? Put it in their fridge to let the Jell-O set," his mother asked as he skipped down the steps into the kitchen. He grabbed the chilled, old-fashioned serving bowl with it's floral decals that she was pointing at with a large spoon, holding it out in front of him with both hands. She thanked him as he walked out of the room.

He pushed the bowl onto his hip as he knocked on Emily's front door. The bees were buzzing around the flower boxes nailed under the windows, moving from flower to flower, around each other like a dance. Her mom opened the door.

"Hi Jamie, it's so good to see you!" Stacie said, leaning over to give him a hug. He hugged her back with his free arm. She stood back up, saying, "Come on in. Emily's in her room sti...Oh," she paused her thought, "let me take that from you," she said while gathering the bowl of fruit salad in her arms. "Anyway," she continued, "she's still in her room."

As she started to walk away, Jamie yelled after her, "My mom said to let it sit in the fridge for a while."

"Okay," she called back, now out of sight.

Smiling like a giddy child, Jamie turned on his heel, running his hands once more over his hair and clothes, straightening them out. He didn't knock as he entered.

"Hey," Emily mumbled around a bobby pin sticking out of her mouth as she glanced over at him. She was standing over her tall mirror that rested against the wall, pushing more of the pins into her hair.

"Hi," he breathed. She smiled at him through the mirror, noticing his flustered expression. He could see his reflection in the mirror, fisted hands, blushing cheeks and all. His eyes quickly scanned the room for something else to look at before he heard her chuckle, amused. Their eyes caught in the mirror.

Her short frame was clothed only in spandex and a light pink bra that was as pale as her skin but also seemed to be as bright as his face.

"We've changed in front of each other before Jamie." She tried to conceal her laugh, but if he couldn't force himself to look away from her, he would rather look at her face than her body, and there was no hiding the grin on her face. Her eyes, in the light coming off the lamp beside her, weren't as dark as they normally were.

Jamie was trying to keep his from getting darker with need. He blinked, trying to focus on something else.

"I know, but it seems just a little bit different this time." His eyes found their way up to the ceiling, his hands clasped together in front of him. There was a shuffling sound, and a shadow was cast across the ceiling. Hands rubbed the front of his shirt. Closing his eyes, he took care to control his breathing.

"Jame," her voice, speaking his nickname, sounded far away and yet echoed in his ears, "look at me." Jamie didn't move. "Hey, it's okay. Look," he felt the pressure of her hands trying to pull his apart. He resisted for a while, but knowing she wouldn't give up, he finally sighed and let her take his hands in her's. She slowly put his hands on her waist, just above her tight spandex. Her hands let go of his, one returning to his chest, the other gripping lightly onto his chin, pulling it down. With hesitation, he let her move his face down and slowly opened his eyes, peering through slightly bigger and bigger openings of his eyelids until they were fully open.

At first all he could see was her eyes, still a light hazel color. Green and blue mixed together with faint streaks of amber. They were so close together that her eyes took up her entire face. He pulled back slightly, daring to look down at what was pressed against him.

Her skin didn't tan or burn, so the paleness of it contrasted greatly with his navy blue shirt. Her pink bra looked brighter up close, and Jamie tried not to stare too long at what it was cupping. He pushed himself back further with his hands that were still sitting on her waist, looking down the rest of her, watching her chest and stomach rise and fall with each steady breath. He watched his for comparison, and it was shaking. Swallowing hard, he brought his eyes back up to meet her's.

"Better?" she asked. Jamie shook his head, defeated. He felt her stomach brush against his shirt as she chuckled. Her hands that had been resting on his shoulders suddenly had some pressure to them as she leaned up on her tip-toes to press her lips against his. Surprised, Jamie gripped tightly onto her waist to steady her. She slipped one hand up his neck, making the short hair there stand up, and pressed it against the base of his head, pulling him down to her height as she lowered her heels back to the floor. Without the need for steadying her anymore, Jamie let both hands run low on her hips, then up her sides, skipping the portion about an inch from the pink bra on either side, and firmly gripped both sides of her face, pulling her face towards his harder. She smiled into it, but Jamie, thoroughly enjoying the moment, let himself kiss her dizzily until she pushed on his chest hard enough for him to let her go. They were both breathing hard.

"I have to get dressed," she panted through her swollen lips. Jamie felt better.

*****

Both fully-clothed, they sat next to each other at the table on the porch. With a little effort, Jamie and Jordie had managed to pretzel themselves just enough to fit the wide metal frame of the table through the sliding glass door. It had taken quite a bit of bickering to get it to fit, which in turn earned a stern look from their mom as they walked back into the kitchen, still arguing.
Their conversation was light, just like it always was when family was around. And it couldn't have dragged on slower.

Emily kept her composure, but Jamie was constantly stealing glances towards her, and when she was talking he kept his eyes trained on her lips. The Jell-O had stained them a deep red that was tempting Jamie more than it should. He coughed, trying to regain his composure. This caught Emily's attention, and she grabbed his forearm beneath the table to steady him, which only caused a redness to seep onto his face once again.

Jenny looked strangely at Jamie, mouthing something that he couldn't quite make out. She shook her head when he asked her to repeat it. With a little pang of sadness, Jamie noticed that Emily's hand had fallen back onto her lap.

*****

He went to bed that night after taking a cold shower. In the darkness he couldn't see her pale skin, but other images, such as her dark hair and the two dark freckles by her belly button, were easier to see. In his mind, he skimmed lower and lower, past the freckles...He furrowed his eyebrows, frowning and turning over in his bed. He needed another cold shower.

Some time early in the morning, Jamie woke up to a beam of light pointing directly in his face. Blinking and holding up a hand over his eyes, the light receded to his chest. He didn't need to see who it was to know who had woken him up.

He groaned and got out of bed. Jamie quickly checked that his brother was still asleep in the bed beside his before throwing on some clothes and running cold water over his face.
He opted to use the front door instead of climbing down the willow tree due to grogginess. When he rounded the corner of the house, he saw her sitting cross-legged on the roots of the Willow; she stood when she saw him approaching. He drew close enough to see the smirk on her face despite the new moon shining darkness over their heads.

"See, we've changed in front of each other before," she rasped. Jamie's eyes went wide, realizing that he had gotten dressed right in front of her, and he was suddenly glad he had taken the time to build his body over the last few years. She chuckled, it wasn't as innocent as her laughter before dinner, and hooked her fingers through two of his belt loops. With a start, Jamie thought for the first time that maybe she got the same feelings seeing him half-naked that he did with her. A smirk fell upon his lips too.

In a teasing manner, he roughly grabbed her hips, pushing them against him, and lightly ran his lips along her neck. A shiver racked through her body as he moved her shirt, which he then realized was actually his shirt, up an inch or two above her shorts, running his hands along her bare skin that began to prickle under his touch. Taking this as motive to continue, he sloppily kissed her, behind her ears, down the length of her neck, and across both sides of her collar bones. He was practically holding her up when he finally pressed their shaking lips together. She was breathing hard and he was breathing roughly, so they broke apart, and Emily sputtered out something about seagulls and stars. Jamie laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the sand dunes.

As the pair laid down next to each other on the sand to watch the seagulls flying along the dark night sky, hidden from view of any houses, the curtains of a nearby window fluttered closed. Jenny leaned her back up against the glass, covering her giddy smile with a hand.

Notes