Page 4 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“You’re only twelve.”

“Almost thirteen.”

“If they got married, that would make you my step-brother.” I flipped again onto my back to look at the stars. I didn’t like that idea. I preferred that we remained friends, instead being of step-siblings.

“Jo, it was just a kiss, okay? Besides, my mother’s not over my father yet.”

“Nick, it’s been five years.”

“I know, but I can still hear her cry at night.”

“Maybe she’s crying because she thinks her son is an asshat who doesn’t know how to treat women.”

“Jo! How many times do I have to tell you that you’re not a woman?”

“Well, you’re not a man.”

“I know that!”

“Argh!” I hated when we fought. Ever since Nick’s father died while serving in the navy, he hadn’t been the same. I remembered his dad as a brave man. We went to New York when we were in first grade, and Nick’s father ended up securing a man wearing a suicide vest. We later found out the guy was a religious extremist. That experience was one of the reasons I loved living in a small town, one which led to nowhere because it was cut off by the mountains on one side a lake on the other and farms to the west. Unless you were lost, no one ever came here. This wasn’t a drive-through town.

Mr. Tuscan had saved a lot of lives that day, including mine. We were lucky, and Nick was always proud of the fact that his father was a hero. He wanted to be just like him. I’d never forget the day a police officer came knocking on his door with the news of his father’s death while serving our country. I was there at the bakery. Nick was never the same after the funeral. He wanted to protect his family, especially his mother.

“I think both our parents need a change. They need something good in their lives.”

“I think your brain is doing that girl thing again.”

“What girl thing?”

“Where you fantasize about boys, heroes, and happy endings. There are no happy endings. My mom’s alone, and so is your dad. They lost their loved ones and will never have them again.”

“But we’re happy, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, but we’re just kids.

“Well, they still kissed, so I think that made them happy.”

“A kiss doesn’t mean anything, Jo.”

I shook my head and sighed. He was such a boy.

“Have you kissed a girl before?” I asked, knowing very well that he hadn’t; because if he had, he would have told me. And if he didn’t tell me, I would have found out from one of the girls at school, and there weren’t that many of us there. Eight in our class, to be exact.

“Why are you asking? Have you kissed a boy?”

“No. I’m not letting a boy kiss me until I know we’re in love.”

“That’s stupid.”

“You’re stupid. It doesn’t make sense to do it earlier.”

“What if you fall in love and he ends up being a bad kisser?”

I hadn’t thought about it that way. “Then I’ll have to teach him how to kiss.”

“A man who has to be taught how to kiss is not a man.”

“When did you become an expert at kissing?”

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