Page 82 of The Second Kiss
Jacob looks confused. “Why’d you take the bus?” He raps on The Nag’s hood. “Is this beast giving you problems again?”
“No more than usual, but it’s a gas hog. Riding the bus is cheaper and I need to save money for college next year.”
“Wow. College. That makes me feel old.”
“Ancient,” I deadpan. He’s trying to pull me into the teasing we’ve done a thousand times, but I’m not in the mood for it. “Can I get you a drink or—"
“I’m good." He indicates the water bottle next to him.
“Okay, thanks for the oil change.” I head toward the house. Standing next to him is killing me.
He steps back. “Actually, I could use some help. I couldn’t find anything big enough to catch the old oil. I’m going to have to switch containers in the middle. It’s kind of a dirty job and it involves climbing underneath the car. You want to ask Tyler–”
“He’s at a track meet.”
“Oh. Could you help? It will just take a minute,” he asks, like he’s afraid I’ll say no.
I hesitate for a minute. Most of me wants to get away as soon as possible, but there’s another part of me that still wants to be with him. “Sure,” I look down at the sweats I threw on after the gym. “It’s not like I’m wearing white pants.”
He doesn’t comment on my obvious reference to Laini’s pristine slacks. “Thanks.” He climbs underneath the Nag and waits for me to join him. There’s a piece of cardboard under the car, but it’s not quite big enough for both of us. We’re lying shoulder to shoulder under my car. It would be cozy, romantic even, if there wasn’t an invisible barrier between us.
“Have the second pan ready to go.” He slides an old metal pan next to my side. “I’ll tell you when.” He works his fingers around the bolt to drain the oil. “Your mom said you’ve been working a lot of extra hours.”
I shrug, even though he’s not looking at me. “Like I said, college money, and I’m thinking about replacing this beast. I need something that will get me to and from Pullman without costing a fortune or leaving me on the side of the road. And school is kind of in a big push to the end.”
“How’s school going?”
“A lot of work, but I think I'll make it."
“That’s good.” Jacob is distracted. I could have probably said 'I'm failing all my classes' and he'd have answered the same way.
We both watch the oil drain for a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.
“You rode the bus? Your parents let you walk by yourself from the stop at the end of the road? I don’t like the idea of you walking that far alone, I don’t think it’s safe."
I start to say something about being a big girl now and about being able to take care of myself. But I like the concern in his voice. If I don’t think too much, I can almost believe that things are still good between us, the way they were before Laini.
He has to ruin it. “So, what do you think of Laini?”
“She’s very pretty.” It’s the only nice, yet sincere statement I can make about Laini.
“Yes she is.” I hate the possessive pride and admiration that comes through in his voice. I roll my eyes and hope that Jacob will leave it at that and not press for more. “Is that all you have to say?”
“Pretty much.” I’m trying to sound nonchalant. There are a lot of things I would like to say to him on the subject of Laini. It’s probably better if I don’t.
“What is it, Jess?” He turns to face me, his hand still supporting the pan catching the oil.
“Nothing.” I can’t meet his eyes. “It’s none of my business who you date.”
“True,” he looks thoughtful. “Laini doesn’t think you like her very much.”
I can only imagine what else Laini might have said about me. I work to keep my voice neutral. “She wasn’t here that long. I barely had a chance to talk to her.”
“But you formed some kind of opinion about her. What do you think?”
I hesitate. He brought up the subject, not me. I take a deep breath. “She’s not good enough for you.”
Jacob laughs. “She’snot good enough forme?”
