The Night You Took Away a Little More Than Just My Breath

"Do I look okay?" Jamie asked as she stood before me in a nice, light blue and purple flannel. She seems to have a thing for flannel shirts.

"Yeah." I said as I pulled my eyes away from her and went back to reading my book.

"You sure?" She asked. She was standing in my doorway looking down at herself.

I sat the book down on my chest as I examined her and nodded my head. "Yes, you look okay." I said. "And I'm sure. Besides, It's just Kennedy."

"So," She walked into my room some more. "But what are you doing? Shouldn't you be fixing yourself up to look good for Alexis?" She said and sat on my bed.

I put my book on my night stand and sat up. "I'm not really looking for a date, or girlfriend or whatever you want to call it." I shrugged. "I just got out of a bad relationship and I don't want to be in another one."

"What makes you think it will be bad?" Jamie said. "I think you'll like her."

"I don't know." I said and got up to walk over to my mirror. "But if it makes you happy, I'll 'fix' myself up." I said as I made quotes with my two fingers. I picked up the hair brush and started to brush my hair as I saw Jamie's reflection smiling at me in the mirror.

It was the end of the second week since Jamie and Casey had moved in. Jamie and I have became closer since then. We still continue to play the question game in gym and I learn more and more about her every day. Her dad had passed away when she was only at the age of ten and I told her about how my mom moved to LA after the divorce. I told her everything about my past life, and she did the same.

Kennedy and Jamie have been talking a lot also. He's been planning on asking her to be his girlfriend tonight. Without a doubt in my mind, I know she's going to say yes. She hasn't told me that directly, but the way she looks at him is just so convincing.

Alexis and I, well. There is no Alexis and I. I've never even seen or met the girl. Jamie insists I'll like her but I highly doubt that. I rarely like girls, and even if I do like one she doesn't like me back.

"Well hurry and fix yourself up." Jamie said, looking at the time. "They'll be here any minute."

Our parents are out with the wedding planner and are supposed to be home in 2 hours, which is at 8. Their wedding is supposed to be in three to four weeks and their honey moon will be four to six days long. They're still deciding on where to go. But all I know is that we're going to have parties and friends over 24/7 when they're gone.

"Well, what else do I have to do to fix myself up?" I said, laughing at myself because I was still using the term 'fixing myself up.'

"Brush your teeth, spray some cologne on yourself, and change those clothes."

"Oh come on, Jamie," I complained like I was her son. She rolled her eyes but laughed and gave in.

"Okay, okay." She said. "You're fine." Just as she finished speaking the door bell rang. Her smile grew wider and so did her big brown eyes. She ran over to my window and looked down. "It's Kennedy!"

"Well go ahead girl, what are you waiting for?" I laughed. She ran downstairs to answer the front door and I was left there to stare at myself in the mirror and remember how it feels to like someone that likes you back.

- - - - -

"You're so cute." Alexis laughed as she ran her hand through my hair.

We both had been sitting on the couch for about thirty minutes alone after Jamie and Kennedy left us to go to her room. Alexis was very attractive but nothing in her personality stuck out to me. She was giddy and very flirtatious. She constantly spoke and never gave me a chance to speak my mind, which I like to do. But surprisingly, I put up with her. I didn't know the reason why though. I never seem to know the reasons for my actions, moods, or thoughts lately. And I wondered if that was a normal thing.

"You're so cute, too." I gave a cheesy reply, but it still made her swoon. In a matter of thirty precious minutes she had told me every event of her life, everything about her family, and even things about her friends, which I have no idea who. She even explained to me about how her and Jamie became friends.

I had no idea why Jamie and her were friends. They barely had anything in common. Alexis is obsessed with the Backstreet Boys like some 6th grader and here's Jamie, telling me all about my favorite bands. I just didn't understand. And the only thing they had in common was their long, straight brown hair and eyes.

The random movie we had been watching soon ended and she cuddled up next to me on the couch. From upstairs, I heard Kennedy say something in that tone of voice he uses that just hooks girls onto him and Jamie laugh. "They seem to be having fun." She said.

"Yeah," I laughed, nervously.

"Are you nervous?" She said as she looked up to me. She must have caught that little hint of nervousness mixed with boredom and awkwardness in my slight laugh.

"No." I looked down at her. "Why would I be nervous?" I said, slyly with a smirk.

Alexis giggled and sat up next to me, "I don't know." She said and took my chin in her hand. "Maybe because I'm about to do this?" Her fruity, warm breath hit my skin as she whispered the slow, seducing words before her sweet tasting lips crashed into mine.

And I played along. I pushed my strong lips back into hers as she got on top of me and ran her hand through my hair. Maybe she's just bad at first impressions, I thought. Maybe, I could get used to this. Or maybe, my hormones were just running high.

"Oh hey, kids." I heard Kennedy's smooth voice call out to us from the stairs.

Alexis jumped off my lap quickly and sat next to me on the couch. I turned around to see Kennedy and Jamie walking over to us, holding hands. "Hey." I said. Kennedy smiled at me and rubbed my head like I was a dog.

A few more minutes passed as we all hung around and talked. Alexis didn't seem so giddy and flirtatious with other people in the room. Maybe she was the one that was nervous. And maybe I really could get used to this. And after all, I do miss this feeling of liking someone that likes you back.

- - - - -

"The wedding is going to be in three weeks." My dad as he took a bite of the dinner Jamie and I just made. "The exact date is Saturday, April 8th."

"Are we going to be in it or what?" I asked.

"That's what I was getting to." He said. "You're going to be the best man."

"And Jamie, you're going to be the maid of honor." Jamie's mom said to her. Then she turned to both of us and said, "Both of you will walk down the aisle after all of the groomsmen and bridesmaids with arms linked together. Then you guys will split up. Jamie goes to right, and Johno, you go to the left. Both standing closest to us." Casey explained. I've never been in, or even at a wedding before so I had no idea how it goes.

"What are the colors going to be?" Jamie asked. She seemed excited to be in the wedding. I didn't really care.

"Well, we were thinking the dresses will be light yellow and the table cloths, cake, etc. will be a light orange. Then the suits will be either black or white." My dad explained. "But we still aren't sure yet."

"Light yellow and orange is nice. It's like a sunset." Jamie said. "When are we going to get fitted?"

"This weekend, possibly." Casey replied. "We're going to the wedding planner again, tomorrow. Then the next day, which is Friday, we'll be set on all the colors and stuff like that."

"So either Saturday, or Sunday we'll start looking at the suits and dresses." My dad said. "Do you have to work this weekend, Johno?"

"Nope!" I smiled. "My friend is running low on hours so she took over mine. Which I'm completely fine with."

My father nodded to me and took a sip of his water. Jamie's cell phone began to ring and she looked at the caller ID. Casey gave her a stern look but Jamie began to get up. "If you would please excuse me," She said politely and then looked over at her mom. "Business." Casey relaxed right after Jamie said business and watched her daughter walk over the the stairs.

"Of course, I'm free." Jamie's faint voice said in a cheerful and polite way. "What's the theme?"

I finished the last few bites of my quickly made pasta and drank the last bit of water that sat in my cup. I waited for Jamie to come back to the table until I got up to go back to my room.

"Who was that?" Casey exclaimed as Jamie sat back down at the table. "What did they say?"

"It was the Almost Famous talent agency." Jamie smiled. "They want me to go to their studio in phoenix after school on Friday."

"Right after school?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, at 3:00. Gives us an hour to drive to phoenix." Jamie said. "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah, I'll be at work." Casey frowned. "You need to find a ride."

"I'll take you." I told Jamie.

"You sure?" She said. "You might get bored of just watching me taking pictures. Plus, there will be no one to talk to. All you can do is just sit there." She rambled on.

I laughed. "It's fine." I said. "I'll take you."

"Okay." Jamie said, but it sounded like she wasn't so sure.

Everyone finished their dinner and my dad and Casey cleaned up the table since we made the food. I followed Casey into her room and fell onto her bed as she looked through her closet. "What am I going to wear on Friday?" She asked herself.

"Hey, Jamie," I said as I stared up at her ceiling.

"Huh?" She said as she pushed a few of her shirts to the side.

"It didn't sound like you wanted me to take you to your appointment thing." I said as I rolled on my side to face her. She turned around and smiled.

"It's not you." She said. "It's just that, the pictures are going to be a little provocative and it'd be awkward if you were there. But you can still take me."

I laughed. "What are the pictures going to be like?"

"Well, the agency was like 'oh, you're beautiful. we want you to model for us, but first you have to take a picture for our website like all the other models.' So I was like, sure, no problem. Then they asked if I was comfortable taking my shirt off." Jamie explained as she kept rummaging through her closet.

"So, I'm taking you to go get nudes?" I laughed.

"Hah, no." She said as she picked out a shirt and threw it on the bed. "I'll have my back turned to the camera slightly, and you'll only be able to see my face and back."

"Oh." I said. "Have you taken pictures like that before?"

"Yeah, many times." She said.

"And your moms fine with that?"

"Yeah. She's the one that always wants me to do it."

"Damn." I said as I got up. "Well, I'm going to sleep now."

"Night." She said to me as I walked towards her door. On her dresser I noticed a little diary with a lock on it and wondered why she never told me she had kept one.

"Hey, you never told me you had a diary!" I picked it up.

"You can't read that." She laughed and took it away from me.

"Why not?" I asked.

"It has stuff in there that I don't want you to see." She said.

"Oh, what? Stuff about kennedyyy?" I said and made kissy faces to her.

"No." She laughed. "Someone else."

"Ohh." I winked. "I'll find out sooner or later." I said and she threw the book on her bed.

"No, you won't." She said in a serious tone.

"What makes you think I won't?" I laughed.

"You just won't, now good night."

"I won't won't, I will." I laughed.

"You don't make any sense." She laughed. "Now goodnight." She pushed me out of her room a little. I laughed and left her room to go to mine.

As I undressed and got into my bed, I thought about Alexis and how I probably won't see her again. Even if I do see her again, it will hopefully be only as friends. She didn't really catch my interest at all.

Then I thought about the wedding and how all that would go. I thought about how the dresses and tuxedos would look and who else was going to attend.

After that, I thought about Friday. It is going to be awkward seeing Jamie half naked but hopefully I can just sit outside of in my car the whole time or something like that. It's just plain weird to see your step sister half nude, right?

Getting wrapped up in all my thoughts, I drifted off to sleep as Death Cab for Cutie flowed out of my stereo speakers.