Page 10 of Friendshipped
“Yeah, probably. Well, I kept seeing Rob lean into Trevor whispering secrets. I figured he might be saying something about Laura.
“When we ran out of the chips Mrs. Lennox had put out for us, I offered to go inside to refill the bowl. While I was in Laura’s kitchen, Trevor came in behind me. I didn’t think anything of it. I thought he was approaching me as Rob’s ambassador to spill about Rob liking Laura. I set the bowl on the counter and walked toward Laura’s pantry to grab the family-size bag of kettle chips like normal.
Jayme’s eyes widen. I’m sure she sees what’s coming.
“Trevor stepped in front of me and my heart fluttered when I saw the look in his eyes. For about a month prior, I had started having some feelings for Trevor that went past the point of friendship. I didn’t know what to do about my budding crush since Trevor usually would be the first person I talked to about any guy I liked. I thought about asking my girlfriends, but they tended to become overly excited about anything romance related, so I kept everything to myself, like a latent volcano.”
“I see why you didn’t tell Laura,” Jayme says. “No offense to her at all. She’s a woman of action. She’d have pushed the two of you together for sure.”
“No doubt,” I agree.
It’s good to hear my instincts affirmed by Jayme. I don’t feel so guilty for keeping all my feelings and thoughts about Trevor bottled up for all these years. I’ve wanted to tell my friends, but she’s right. Laura would have gone into full-blown matchmaker mode, especially back then.
“So, Trevor kept staring at me in a way he never had before,” I continue. “He looked so good standing between me and the Lennox’s pantry, his body toned and still glistening from his dip in the pool before he came inside, his dark hair slicked back and his eyes roving my face with desire I never expected to see coming from him. I mean, it was tinged with typical teenaged awkwardness, but I’ll never forget the look in Trevor’s eyes. He looked determined.”
Jayme smiles a knowing smile. I can’t believe I’m letting all this out. It feels like a floodgate opened and now I can’t keep myself from sharing all I’ve held in.
“We stood uneasily staring at one another. That detail alone should have set off sirens in my nearly-fifteen-year-old head. Trevor and I never do awkward. We’re like peanut butter and jelly, rice and beans, fries and ketchup. He’s just such a natural part of my life.”
Jayme starts singing her version of a line fromGreasein her sleepy voice. “You go together like shoobity boop de boo rama lama ding dong.”
I laugh. “Exactly. Anyway, the air around us crackled with tension—or maybe it was the usual stifling midwestern August humidity.”
Jayme laughs.
“Not only was I feeling nervous because I wasn’t sure what was going on between me and Trevor. There was also the fact that I had never kissed a boy, and I felt certain this moment would be the one: My first kiss, and it would be with Trevor.
“As much as I wanted to kiss him at the time, so many conflicting thoughts swirled through my head. I almost felt dizzy. I thought,What if I’m a bad kisser? What if we lose our friendship?Does my breath smell like onion dip?”
Jayme laughs out loud. “Sorry!” she says. “I don’t mean to make light of this.”
“It’s totally funny. At least the onion dip part is. First kisses at that age are one big tangle of two people trying to figure out what they’re doing. Forget the kisses, high school in general is so awkward!”
“Tell me about it. My first kiss ended up with locked braces. True story.”
We laugh.
“You’ll have to tell me that one—for sure.”
“I’d rather not,” Jayme says, huffing out a slight breath and scrunching her face.
“Not fair. I tell mine. You tell yours.”
“Deal.”
“Besides, I know mine is the worst first kiss story ever—except it’s not a first kiss story.”
Jayme looks rightfully confused. She shifts and tucks the blanket around herself.
I can see the scene between Trevor and me as it unfolded that day as if it’s flashing on a screen in front of me. Trevor bent toward me. A bead of water rolled down his neck and he reached up to swipe at it. I glanced at his abs and felt unnaturally nervous. My heart felt like it was going to beat out through my chest. Trevor’s hand went to my shoulder. I just knew he was about to lean in and finally claim my lips in a kiss, so I … well, I screamed.
I look over at Jayme. She’s got a look of anticipation on her face.
“When Trevor went in for the kiss, I actually slammed my eyes shut, squeezed them tight and let out a scream that had Laura’s mom running into the kitchen to see what was wrong.”
Not my finest moment.
I definitely wasn’t bringing sexy back.
