Wake up Under the Sun

After spending the entire day at the water park, John and I went to his house. We practically fell into the foyer, laughing as we recounted all of the day’s fun memories. He closed and locked the door behind us, and when he turned around he laughed again.

“Your cheeks are so red, Laney,” he said as he lightly pressed his fingers to my cheek.

“Stop,” I whined, pushing his hands away. I was well aware that I had burned today; I didn’t need him to poke and prod at me to prove it. “You look like a lobster.”

John ducked slightly so he could examine himself in the decorative mirror on the wall. He laughed under his breath, poking his own cheeks. “Well,” he said with amusement in his voice as he pushed his finger against the red of his skin. When the white fingerprint returned to the angry red of the sunburn, he looked at me. “Let’s get showered and changed. I think we might need some aloe later.”

I nodded, following him up the stairs and into his bedroom. He really did get a lot of sun, and I had a feeling out of both of us, he’d need the aloe later to soothe the burning. He rifled through drawers, pulling things out and setting them aside. I dropped my bag by the door and dug for my phone. I hadn’t checked it all day, and I had two missed phone calls and two voicemails. He handed me a pile of clothes, covering up my phone, and gave me a little push toward his bathroom.

“You can shower first, Lane,” he practically ordered. I didn’t object, even though I knew it was only because he wanted to poke at his red stomach and watch the colors fade some more.

After closing and locking the door, I set the clothes on the counter and turned the shower on. One of the phone calls and messages was from my parents’ home number. The other was from Lex, no doubt informing me she had come home. I decided to be brave and listen to what my parents had to say first.

“Hi baby. I know you’re probably mad at us for not calling sooner, but the truth is we didn’t know if you wanted to talk to us or not. After you left for Grandma’s, we realized what we had done to you. But that’s in the past, and right now we will do anything we can to get you to understand just how sorry we are. You’ve been home for a month or so now, right? I’m sure you love being back. Um, look, honey. The reason I’m calling is because your brother – Kaden – is having his fourth birthday tomorrow. We want you there, to meet him. Please let us know if you’ll attend. And if you can’t make it, please just… Laney, I just want to hear your voice again.”

The shower had steamed up the mirrors already. Hearing my mother’s voice, if only over the phone, caused my throat to close and tears to sting my eyes. There was a brief moment between messages, then Lex’s voice took over the room.

“Hey Laney, your parents called me because they didn’t get through to you. But I guess it wasn’t you ignoring them, you’re just not at your phone. I’m assuming you’re out with John and everyone, since your car is here and I know he stayed the night. Which is cool by me. You figured out what I meant, didn’t you? Anyway. Call me when you get this. And really consider calling your parents, too. I talked to your Dad – he sounded broken, Lane. They know they messed up and they miss you. This could be the perfect time to start over. Okay, well, call me later and tell me all about your day!”

I braced myself against the counter. It took everything in me to focus on my breathing – in steady, out deep. Both messages took five minutes total but the room was hot and sticky from the steam. John’s counter was lined with miscellaneous crap; shaving cream, razors, lotions, toothpaste bottles, toothpaste stains, mouth wash, deodorant, cologne, and at the corner by the wall was a cup with a toothbrush in it. Taking inventory of his items helped me get my mind off of what I had just listened to, and I carefully peeled my clothes and bikini off.

I spent a while under the steady stream of hot water. I used John’s shampoo and body wash, twice actually. When I finally shut the water off and wrapped a towel around myself, I stepped into a thick cloud of steam. I hadn’t realized it had been so long, or that the water had been so hot. I quickly dried off, changed into the clothes John had lent me – a pair of boxers, basketball shorts, and a baseball t-shirt.

The door creaked as I pulled it open, and the TV instantly shut off. I slowly walked to the bed, where John sat cross-legged. His hair was dripping and he had changed clothes.

“Sorry I took so long,” I apologized quietly. I stuffed my clothes into my tote and then sat on the edge of his bed.

“I, uh- I heard the voicemails,” he stuttered, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to listen in, the walls are just really thin. I went to use my brother’s shower.”

I bit my lip. “Sorry.”

John held my gaze for a few seconds before he stood up and held his hand out to me. I cautiously placed my hand in his and allowed him to pull me up. “We need to get aloe.”

He didn’t let go of my hand as we headed out to his truck. And even then, he reluctantly let go so he could drive. We ended up at a Target super store, which confused me at first because we could have gone to any drug store for aloe, but then I remembered that he had overheard the voicemail.

John grabbed my hand as soon as we met at the end of his truck. He idly swung our hands back and forth as we made our way across the parking lot, the sun setting and the temperature gradually dropping to a tolerable degree. The store was so cold inside, I felt goosebumps rising on my arms as soon as we walked inside. John gently tugged me closer to him, though, his arm slung around my shoulders.

We found aloe first, since that was our top priority, then we made our way to the toy section. It was overwhelming looking at all of the toys for little boys, and it was even more distressing when I realized I had no idea what he liked.

“What would you get for someone you’ve never met before?” I asked John.

“Uhh, you don’t want me to answer,” he chuckled nervously.

“Why not?” I questioned, intrigued. I looked up at him; he had an amused smirk on his face.

“I usually just buy them booze,” he laughed. I shook my head, stepping forward to pull a toy from the shelf. “Hey, you asked. I’ve never had to buy for a toddler before.”

I set the toy back in its place. “Yeah, neither have I.”

We spent the next 25 minutes arguing over which toy was better, completely forgetting that we were supposed to be buying for my brother. We ended up venturing past the toddler aged toys and into the older kids section, which brought out the children in us. We were hula hooping in the aisle, throwing bouncy balls at each other, and John even tried to open a package of bubbles.

Almost an hour had gone by in the toy section when I realized we weren’t getting anywhere. “Maybe a card will be fine for the first time,” I said, tossing a Frisbee at John. He was standing at the end of the aisle.

“Yeah,” he agreed, and threw it back. “I mean, at least get to know the kid first. You can always buy him a belated birthday gift if you wanted.”

I looked at the disc in my hands. “Will you go with me?”

John gave me a look that said I was crazy to think otherwise, then motioned for me to throw the Frisbee back to him. We continued for another five minutes before we gave up the toy search, picked out a card, and went to check out. When we returned back to John’s house, there were a few more cars in the drive than when we left.

“My parents are home,” John said once he had parked in the driveway. His keys were in his hands, his eyes on mine. “Do you want to stay for dinner?”

“I mean.. I don’t know. Would they mind? I don’t want to intrude.”

He shrugged, “They’ll be happy to meet you. They like having guests to entertain.”

I wasn’t entirely ready to meet his parents – I wasn’t ready to meet anyone’s parents, for that matter – especially after our frequent kissing earlier in the day. I guess it was the uncertainty of what we were – friends or something more – that created the nerves in my stomach. But John had made his way over to my side of the truck without me realizing, and he opened the door. He carefully grabbed my knees, being careful not to grab too hard, and he pulled me toward him. He leaned in to quickly kiss me.

“We can go upstairs first,” he said. “Aloe up to soothe the burns, then we can go to the kitchen to see what’s going on.”

I meekly nodded. He grinned a crooked little smile and helped me hop down from the truck. We snuck upstairs to his bedroom without his parents noticing. They sounded nice from the brief little snippet of conversation I heard from the kitchen. John closed his bedroom door and tossed the aloe at me before peeling his shirt off. He gave me puppy dog eyes, just begging for me to help him. Laughing, I slathered the aloe on his back and shoulders, then made him finish his chest and stomach. When he was done and motioning for me to lift the shirt so he could get my back, I froze; it was then that I realized I didn’t have a bra on and I didn’t use my bikini top as one. How I hadn’t realized this earlier was beyond me.

“Shoot,” I mumbled under my breath.

John laughed loudly. “Oh my god, you don’t-”

I glared at him. “I didn’t exactly think to put one in my bag.”

He bit his lip to keep from laughing again. “Okay. I’ll close my eyes and you take the shirt off and cover up. I promise I won’t try anything.”

Even after he closed his eyes, I made him turn around so his back was to me. I took the shirt off, the cold air hitting my bare skin. Chills ran up my spine as I held the shirt tightly against me. “Okay,” I said to him. “I swear, if you mess with me-”

“Laney, chilax,” he chuckled, then I felt his hands on my back, rubbing the aloe in. He passed the bottle over my shoulder and I took it, holding it close. “You have a really intense tan line.”

I groaned, making my way into his bathroom. I rubbed aloe over my stomach and arms, and lightly rubbed some into my cheeks. I then returned to John after pulling the shirt back on. He was holding my bikini top out toward me. I grabbed it, returning to the bathroom. It didn’t make much of a difference – the gift of being small – but if I didn’t put it on his parents would have noticed and that was something neither of us needed.

“Much better,” I said, again emerging from the bathroom. “Although it’s really uncomfortable.”

John smirked, a thought ready to slip out into the open, but he was stopped when he heard his mother call his name up the stairs. He offered his hand to me, instead of just grabbing for it, and I latched right on. I was nervous, and I knew I wouldn’t be if we hadn’t kissed. If we were still “just friends” this wouldn’t have been such a big deal. But we had crossed that line; we held hands and we kissed. We weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend but we weren’t just friends, either. The awkward in between had me unsure of what to do, say, or think.

“Ma,” John called once we reached the bottom step. He led me down a small, dark hallway that took us right into the kitchen. His parents were cooking together and two boys were sitting at the table.

“Dinner will be ready in- Oh.” She looked at me, shocked and unaware of what to say next. His dad turned around next, wondering what had caused his wife to stop. He looked a little stunned, too. The boys at the table, however, were nothing less than amused.

“This is Delaney,” John introduced me. “She’s going to join us for dinner.”

I wasn’t sure what was going on, or why his parents were more nervous than I was, but all throughout dinner they kept asking me if it was okay, if I needed anything. I assured them each time that the meal was great and I was fine, I didn’t need anything else. The two boys were John’s brothers, I had learned, and they both looked like they had a thousand questions on their mind; some, I’d venture, were on the perverted side.

When the meal ended, I hesitated at the sink. “Where should I put the dishes?”

“Oh, it’s okay, sweetie,” John’s mother said from beside me. “I’ll take care of it.”

I heard John talking to his brothers in the living room and I bit my lip. “Dinner was great, thank you for having me,” I said to her. I rocked back and forth on my heels, the tile feeling amazing against my feet. “I’m sorry it was unplanned.”

“No, no, don’t you worry about a thing,” she chirped, dunking the dishes into the hot, soapy water. She rinsed them off and placed them in a dishwasher. She did a few more plates before turning her full attention to me. “We don’t mind. As a matter of fact, if I may be honest with you, I was only shocked to see you because, well, John doesn’t bring home girls.”

“No?” I questioned, eyebrows raised.

She shrugged. “Not one. We’ve heard him mention dates, and he went on plenty in high school, but we never met the girls. Don’t get me wrong, though. I loved meeting you, and I’m glad he brought you home. You’re such a sweet girl, Delaney. So grown up.”

I felt my cheeks blush, which was saying something since they were so burned. “Thank you. I- I don’t know what’s going on between us, but he’s kinda become my best friend since I’ve moved back.”

She smiled a warm smile. “You mean something to him if he introduced you to the family.”

I smiled slightly, the thought settling in my mind. John came into the kitchen to drag me away from his mom, and he brought me upstairs to his room. Yawning as he carefully climbed into his bed, he patted the space next to him and flipped the TV on. I fit myself between his side and arm, resting my head on his chest.

“They like you,” he said over the volume of the television.

“I heard,” I yawned. “Your mom is very nice. She told me all about your secrets.”

“Like what?” he asked sleepily.

The effects of the sun were finally setting in. We were exhausted and sleep was taking over. “You’ve never brought a girl home before.”

He laughed softly, smoothing out my hair. “No, I guess I haven’t.”

It was simple, and it was unintentional, but hearing him confirm it made me feel.. happy. I was the first girl he had ever taken home. Of course, it wasn’t like he had planned it that way, but it still boosted my confidence a little. His mom had to have been right – I meant something. Maybe it wasn’t much, and maybe tonight’s dinner was just coincidental, but it had happened. He could have seen his parents’ cars in the drive and taken me home, with an excuse that they hated unexpected guests. But he didn’t.

I shifted around, untying the knot behind my neck. I tossed the bikini top toward my bag and sighed at how much better it felt without something digging into my sunburned skin. He kissed my forehead and I melted into the sheets.