Take My Hand

Once we got to Jack’s place, we both got out of the car and into the house. Stephen wasn’t back yet so I guess there was no need to check on my house.

We just talked for hours about different things and made hours pass by in a blur. But while we were talking, we kept munching on junk food and PB&J sandwiches. They were my all time favorite from Jack’s Kitchen.

After a while, I got sorta tired and my stomach was making me sleepy from its fullness so I lay down on the couch while Jack stayed in the kitchen to continue eating. That boy had a stomach that was really hard to fill. I didn’t get how he was so thin with how much he ate but then again, maybe he has a really fast metabolism.

I was just staring at the ceiling thinking about the way he reacted when I told him what happened. I didn’t understand why he dwelled more on the fact that my brother called me a bitch and less about my mother. I mean my brother and I get into fights all the time and we call each other stuff a lot so it’s not really a big surprise that he’d let such a vile word slip out of his mouth.

Just then, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I took it out quickly and saw Stephen’s name flashing on the screen. No matter how much I didn’t want to, I had to pick it up.

“What?” I asked as soon as I picked up.

“Listen, Mom and I will be at Grandma’s for the rest of the summer. Good luck with living on your own,” he said sarcastically as he hung up. Did he hang up for dramatic effect or was he still really mad at me?

I looked at my phone, scowling, wondering if he really said what he did just now. Was he being serious? They’re just going to leave me like this?

In this situation, there are several ways to look at it. But I think the pros rule out the cons on this one or maybe the cons did. I wasn’t really sure so I just tried to push it aside as I started staring aimlessly at the things in Jack’s house.

“Who was that?” Jack asked catching my attention.

I got up from the couch and saw him leaning against the doorway that led to the kitchen. He was holding a can of soda in one hand and his other hand was tucked in his front pocket.

“It was Stephen,” I replied and he frowned.

“What did he want?” he asked in a deeper tone. Clearly he was upset all over again.

“No, it’s nothing bad, I think.” I paused scratching the back of my head as one part of my conscience debated with the other. This was a good thing, right?

“Then what is it?” he asked lightly as he walked towards the couch. He sat right beside me and then our eyes met.

“Um, Stephen and my mom won’t be coming back until the end of summer.” I said as confusion played around in my tone.

Jack didn’t say anything for a while. He was probably just as puzzled as I was. I looked away from him and in front of me and zoned out for a while. I really didn’t know what to say at this point.

“Well that means you get to sleep over more!” he exclaimed as he jumped up with probably the most joy I’ve seen in such a long time. It was like handing the biggest toy to a little kid.

I smirked at his proclamation and rolled my eyes. “Jack, I can’t depend on you for the rest of the summer. Maybe if you see my face every single day of your life, you’ll probably get sick of it.” I said and he sat back down, closer this time.

He lifted my chin with his thumb and his fore-finger and looked me straight in the eye. “Brittany Taylor, I could never, ever get sick of you.” He said sweetly and I rolled my eyes as I blushed a really deep shade of red. I took his hand away from my chin.

I felt uneasy and uncomfortable as I sat this close to him. His hand was now intertwined with mine and no words were spoken. I bit my bottom lip as I tried to think of an ice breaker that could send this awkwardness away.

I looked at the clock that was right on top of the T.V. and noticed that it was already 7 P.M.

“Hey, Jack what time’s the party?” I asked him and he looked at the clock.

“Oh shit! I almost forgot!” he said getting up and starting up the stairs. “You should start getting ready,” he called to me as he reached the second story of the house.

A smile of relief tugged on my lips as I grabbed the paper bag that contained the dress and brought it over to my house.

When I opened the door, I realized that it hadn’t been locked. I ran inside just to check if someone broke in but luckily, everything was still in place and nothing was missing – or so I thought.

I shut the door behind me as I ran up to get ready. I shut the blinds as I got out of my clothes to get a quick shower.

Once I was through showering and brushing my teeth, I dried off with a towel and started to work on my outfit. Before I did anything else, I placed the dress on since that was something that I was sure about wearing. I smiled to myself as I zipped it up for the second time today. It fit me perfectly well and it showed off the curves I’ve worked out for since last year.

Then, I ran to the dresser with all the excitement coursing through my veins as I blow-dried my hair. Once it was perfectly dry, I brushed my hair to perfection and let it fall loosely around my shoulders. I spritzed on some perfume around me and made sure I smelled nice.

I put on strawberry flavoured lip gloss and a little mascara before I placed on white flats and some accessories I bought from a store years ago. I stared at the full length mirror that showed my reflection and in my reflection, I saw myself in my outfit, smiling. I was happy.

My phone started buzzing catching me off guard. I ran to pick it up and saw that Jack had sent me a message stating that he was waiting for me in my living room. I went down the stairs quickly to meet him.

When he heard me coming he walked over to the end of the stairs and stared at me with his mouth agape. I blushed as I hooked my arm around his.

“Y-you look amazing,” he stammered as he continued to stare me up and down.

“You look really good, yourself.” I said and he smiled.

Before we left, I made sure to turn off all the lights that I had turned on and got the house keys and then locked the door to prevent unwanted break-ins. Jack told me that he thought it was better if I let him keep all my things for me so he placed both my phone and my keys in his pocket. I mouthed 'thanks' and he winked at me and just like that, he sent chills down my spine.

When we were both set, we both got into the car and Jack started the engine. When he backed away from his garage, he turned the radio on and turned the volume up. We both sang loudly to some of the songs and just had fun.

And then it hit me. Maybe being left alone with the house was a good thing. I’d get to do whatever the hell I want without anyone telling me not to and I’d get to go on tour with the guys without any problem. Summer is finally here.

We arrived in the party scene half an hour later. We both got out of the car and walked alongside each other to the house that held the big party and the loud music that could probably wake the whole neighborhood up.

Jack slipped his arm around my waist as I caught the attention of some guys that were going to the same party. I laughed at Jack as I realized that he was getting jealous. He rolled his eyes at me as we reached the front door of the house.

“What’s up my man?” A guy with a red cup in hand greeted Jack and gave him a manly hug. His gaze then dropped on me. “Why hello there,” he said taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. “And what might your name be?”

“Brittany,” I said with quite a big smile.

“Wow, a pretty name for a pretty lady with a cute smile,” he slurred and Jack rolled his eyes with his arm around me. “I’m Alex, the very host of this party.” he announced with a cheeky grin. “Welcome to my very humble abode,” Clearly, he’d had too many drinks but I wasn’t one to judge.

“Thanks, Alex, it’s a pleasure to be here,” I said and he winked at me.

“Where are the others?” Jack finally spoke up.

“They’re somewhere in there I guess,” he said walking off to a certain direction.

There was a sea of people in the house. Some were dancing, others were making out while the rest were playing games like beer pong.

The whole house smelled of alcohol and everyone was having a good time. I was in a blissful mood and I enjoyed the scenery before me as we walked towards a group of people.

“Brit, this is Zack and Rian,” he introduced as he pointed at the two boys in front of me. They stared me up and down before meeting my eyes to give me a big smile. “Zack is the bassist while Rian is the drummer of the band,” he continued and I gave out an ‘oh’ as I nodded politely towards them. “Guys, this is Brittany, my new neighbor,”

“More like your smoking hot, new neighbor,” Zack said and I blushed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said holding out a hand for me to shake.

“The pleasure is all mine,” I said before taking his hand and shaking it.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” Rian said and placed his hand out as well. I replied with ease and shook his hand.

“I’ll go get us something to drink,” Jack said and I nodded before he disappeared into the large crowd.

“So what’s it like having Jack as a neighbor?” Zack asked as soon as Jack left.

“Well, so far it’s been really surreal,” I said and they both raised their eyebrows.

“How so?” Rian asked me while taking a swig from his red cup which – from the smell coming from the cup – contained beer.

“Well, maybe if I was some other person, it’d be a whole different experience but having Jack as a neighbor and friend, I’ve never been happier.” I said with a sheepish smile.

“Well I guess that’s good, I mean at least he’s not scaring you off with his goofy attitude,” Zack said and I laughed.

We started talking about how old I am and what I’m going to do for college and small things just to make conversation. Once I answered all of their questions, I started to ask them about their lives and how they got into the band and about their music and I found out that they were both pretty cool guys and that Alex – the host of this party – was actually part of the band as the lead singer. But with all this information, I don’t think I’d have that much of a hard time hanging with them when I join them for tour. I’m actually getting more and more excited by the hour.

“Hey, sorry I took so long,” Jack said appearing behind me holding two cups. He handed one to me and took a swig from his cup.

“It’s fine, really.” I said smiling.

“Yeah, Brit’s pretty cool,” Zack told Jack and then winked at me.

“Well I’m glad you guys think that,” Jack said with a smile. “She’s going to be joining us on tour!” he proclaimed with bursting energy that I guess came from the drink in his hand.

“You are?!” Rian asked with surprise in his voice. I nodded excitedly as I took a sip from my cup.

The drink tasted like a mixture of several types of juice with vodka and tequila blended together. It tasted really good and it didn’t give off any burning sensations. I gulped more of it and then noticed that I was in a lighter mood.

Zack, Rian, Jack and I talked about tour and they told me who else they were touring with and some possibilities that might happen during the whole thing.

“So you’re most probably going to be handling merch,” Zack said and I laughed.

“No! I’m gonna be taking photos of things,” I said and they laughed.

“Things? Really?” Jack asked and I smiled and nodded as I pretended to keep my face straight.

“Yes!” I exclaimed as the music got louder.

It was getting harder to hear the conversation that we were having but from what I understood, Zack and Rian went to the kitchen to go get refills.

“Hey, do you want to dance?” Jack asked me as soon as we both finished our drinks. I nodded ecstatically as he took my hand and led me to the dance floor.

We started moving to the beat as we danced real crazy. We were just out here having the time of our lives and I knew that from this point on, life would be more exciting as long as I had him by my side.

With him, I didn’t care if I broke any rules. If my mother knew that I was drinking, she’d totally ground me for a month but luckily, she’s far, far away from here and she can’t do anything about it.

I started to feel more of the alcohol kick in as I started to move with so much energy. We were closer now and the beats started to go a little faster. Jack smiled at me and I smiled back and just like that, it lit up my whole world.

When we finally got tired of dancing, we went back to the kitchen to get a refill of whatever Jack gave me. I drank it quickly knowing that it won’t hurt if I drink it too fast.

“Whoa, slow down there,” he said pulling my arm down and taking the cup away from me.

“Hey, no fair! That cup is still half full,” I yelled and he laughed.

“Ha-ha, you have a juice moustache!” he teased and I used my fore-finger to wipe my wet upper lip.

“Is it gone? Is it gone?!” I asked in panic as he cracked up.

I narrowed my eyes at him as he wiped the tears he had in his eyes. “Not quite,” he said in a more serious tone.

“You do it!” I demanded jokingly.

He leaned in closer and placed his thumb on my lips and just then, our lips met and the whole world crashed before us. His lips felt so soft against mine and all I wanted to do was kiss him back and that’s exactly what I did.