Page 3 of Closely Guarded

I’m heading back to the picnic table that’s set up next to the Jeffries’ deck when I see her, standing next to some flowers and sipping iced tea.

Even though this woman’s back is to me, I can tell that she is absolutely gorgeous. She’s got on this navy sundress that hugs her curves in all the right places. She reminds me of an old-fashioned pin up model from the nineteen fifties. Waves of shiny dark hair are partially tied back with a white ribbon.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out who she is. Maybe a new neighbor? I really hope she isn’t somebody’s girlfriend. Food forgotten, I make my way over to introduce myself. When I rest my hand on her shoulder and she spins around in a swirl of blue, I get the shock of my life. I would know those wide navy eyes anywhere.

It’s Claire.

Zach’s kid sister Claire Jeffries. Only… she’s hardly a little kid anymore. She’s grown in to a very attractive young woman. Somehow, she’s even more beautiful from the front. I was right about my earlier comparison: With that hourglass body, pale skin, and dark hair, she looks like she should be modeling in Old Hollywood.

Claire recognizes me instantly. “Nick, hi! Zach didn’t tell me that you were coming home as well. How are you doing?” There’s genuine interest in her deep blue eyes and I want to tell her everything that I’ve been up to since I left Hot Springs, but I can’t seem to find the words.

Zach saves me the trouble by appearing out of thin air. “Ah, I see you found our old shadow!” He teases Claire about how she would play with us as kids, follow us around as we grew up. I see her grimace slightly as Zach ruffles her perfectly curled hair. “What finally dragged you out of the kitchen?”

“Wait, you made all of this?” I ask, incredulous. I remember that Claire liked making cookies when we were younger, but baking bread from scratch is a whole other game. “My compliments to the chef, it’s all damn delicious.”

“Baker, actually. I can’t take all the credit.” Claire ducks her head with a smile, biting a glossy lip as she blushes. God, if it wasn’t for those eyes, I don’t know if I would have recognized her. She’s so grown up.

“So,” I say and lean back against the deck railing. “What have you been up to? You’ve graduated high school, right?” I’m almost positive that she did, but it’s also a way to surreptitiously confirm how old she is now. She should be eighteen, right?

“She sure did! Moved out of this place too,” Zach gestures to the house. “She’s all grown up now, an apartment, a job, the whole nine yards.”

As Zach is talking, I can’t help but feel a wave of irrational irritation towards my best friend. We’ve been together for years, and I’ve just seen Claire again for the first time in five. I want to talk to her without Zach around. That surprises me. I want to talk to Claire like I would a girl on a bar during leave, but more so. I don’t want to just smile and nod and listen with half an ear to what she has to say, all the while wondering when I can make a move and suggest we go back to her place. I want to know more about this more mature, grown up Claire.

She still likes baking, that’s obvious, but what else? What sports does she play? Where does she work? Does she want to grab lunch with me so we can catch up?

Thankfully, Zach gets distracted and bounds off to the excited shouts of some old friends from high school, leaving Claire and I standing on the deck. I wander a bit closer until I’m next to her, partially hidden from the crowd of people by the flowers and house wall. I want to talk to her without being interrupted.

“So, take a look at you, all grown up.” It’s such a cheesy line, but it’s true. I want to see if I can get her to blush again and to my delight, she does.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Claire murmurs and takes a sip of her drink. “The Air Force has been good to you.”

If I didn’t know better, I would say that she just checked me out. Well, only one way to find out for sure. I shift so I’m leaning against the deck railing again and brace my arms behind me. Not to sound too full of myself, but the Air Force really did whip me into great shape.

I was just a skinny kid when I left but years of hard, dedicated training has left me with well-earned muscles. I was right: Claire watches as my t shirt shifts and I feel warm air between the hem of my shirt and the band of my jeans. I don’t think she realizes that she licks her lips slightly as she eyes my exposed skin. She certainly isn’t the little girl that said goodbye to me at the bus five years ago.

“Thanks. I’m actually back for more training. Medical.” I tell her.

“Oh wow, that’s impressive. How long are you going to be around?” She asks hopefully.

“A while, but I can always use something sweet to persuade me to stay especially close.” I’m only partly referring to her amazing baking skills. The sweet thing that I’d like to be close to is Claire herself.

Chapter 4- Claire

The simple fact that Nick is back in town is almost enough to make me forget about my problems with Lenny. Zach didn’t tell us that he was coming home as well, but maybe that was a good thing. If I had known that Nick would be at the barbeque yesterday, I would have been so nervous about seeing him again! Him being there was such a surprise, I hardly had time to be.

I was really glad when Zach left us on the deck, since it gave us a chance to talk for a couple hours and really catch up. I don’t think that my big brother has ever noticed the major crush that I have on his best friend.

Who am I kidding, it is way beyond a crush. I’ve been in love with Nick Howard for years. He never saw me as anything other than Zach’s little sister, an extension of his best friend’s family. But the way he was looking at me yesterday… maybe he finally sees me as more than that? He seemed to appreciate the food I made, and told me several times how good it was.

Mixed into those compliments and stories about what we both had been up to in the past five years were flirty looks and comments… from the both of us. I felt beautiful and even a little bit sexy when I noticed him looking at me in my vintage style dress. I thought that I might be too overdressed for a family barbeque, but now I’m very glad that I dressed up!

Even if he does see me as a grown woman instead of just a little kid, there’s the issue of my brother. He is so overprotective of me, simply the idea of me dating someone is enough to get him riled up. As much as he loves Nick, I can’t imagine him being okay with the two of us dating. The idea has probably never even crossed Zach’s mind: After all, I’m only his kid sister.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that Nick was flirting with me yesterday. He wasn’t forward in a scary or offensive way, like Lenny has started to get. Instead, he was flattering and friendly. Oh, and that smile!

I thought Nick was attractive back in high school. Now, I know that time has done wonders for him. Not that he didn’t look good back then, because he did. But he’s moved on from what I realize was being cute to being incredibly handsome. He’s still as tall as he was back then, but he’s filled out a lot, hard earned muscles under skin that’s several shades tanner. His mop of dark hair is cut close in what I’m pretty sure is in the required style for the military. Always such a deep dark brown, there was an intensity to Nick’s eyes that I had never noticed before when he talked to me.

I wanted to reach out and touch him so badly, but I didn’t. We were surrounded by practically everyone we both knew and it just didn’t feel right. While I would like to, I can’t even blame that all on Zach: I’m not really big on public displays of affection, even among the safety of family. Sure, I’ve never been in a relationship, but I’ve certainly thought about what I would want out of one. All those boys I tried to date… the reason that none of them ever got a second date was Nick.

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