I Give My Heart To You

Alice pulled into her driveway later that night with Jimmy passed out in the passenger seat. She chuckled as she reached forward and turned the radio down. She undid her seatbelt and gently nudged Jimmy’s shoulder that she could already see sunburned from their day at the beach. “Jimmy,” she said softly, “wake up. We’re home.”
He slowly opened his eyes and wiped the sleep from the corners of them as he stretched and yawned. He slid his glasses back up into their proper place since they had fallen on the ride home while he was asleep in the passenger seat. He sat up straight and undid his seatbelt. After opening the door on his side, he clumsily hopped out of the truck and landed on the soft grass in Alice’s front yard. Goose bumps covered his skin as he realized how chilly it had gotten since they left the beach and no longer had the fire to keep them warm.
Alice had thrown on one of her baggy sweatshirts that she kept in the back seat of her truck and was carrying a couple bags that had all of their pillows and blankets from the daylong excursion at the beach. Jimmy took one from her so she would have less to carry and Alice gave a small smile along with a quiet thank you as the two of them walked towards the back door of the house.
“Shit,” Alice said under her breath as she tried to reach into her sweatshirt pocket for the key to her house. Jimmy couldn’t help but to laugh a little bit at her exhaustion and frustration. He reached over and pulled the key out of the one pocket that was on the front of her oversized Under Armor sweatshirt. A crooked smile crept across her lips. “Thanks,” she said quietly as Jimmy unlocked the door.
The two of them walked through the house as quietly as they could. They set the bags down by the coffee table that was in the living room before tiptoeing up the stairs and into Alice’s room.
Alice shut the door and flicked the light switch on. The both of them squinted their eyes as they tried to adjust to the sudden change in light. Alice walked over to her dresser to get a pair of pajamas to wear while Jimmy collapsed backwards onto her bed. She couldn’t help but to chuckle as she used her knee to close the dresser drawer.
She slid an over-sized Motley Crüe on over her bikini top before undoing the ties of her bathing suit. Jimmy shot her a curious glance as she pulled on a pair of black and white checkered pajama shorts. “Isn’t that my shirt?” he asked as he stifled a yawn. Alice shrugged and nodded, “I stole it when I slept over at your place a few week ago.” He nodded but was too tired to continue the conversation any more.
Alice flopped onto the bed beside him. They both stared up at the ceiling that Jimmy had helped her paint a few years before. They painted it black and Jimmy had helped her put glow in the dark stars up so it was like looking at the actual night sky instead of a teenage girl’s bedroom ceiling.
“Ali?” Jimmy whispered after a couple minutes of silence between the two of them. When he didn’t get a response, he turned his head to the side and saw that she was fast asleep, her hair falling over her face. He smiled as he gently tucked it behind her ear and got up to turn the bedroom light off again.
He laid down on the opposite side of the bed and closed his eyes. It had been a long day. And, while it was probably the perfect way to start the summer before he went to college, he couldn’t help but to be nervous about what the rest of the summer held for him and his group of friends. Especially now that Alice, the girl who had been like a little sister to him for all those years, was going to be a part of his little pack of friends. What worried him even more though, was how Zach had been handling the situation all night. If he was that bad for just one night, who knows how he would act if Alice and Johnny ever became a serious thing.
All of his worries were soon cast aside though when he felt Alice’s hand land lightly on his stomach. He looked and saw that she was still fast asleep. He smiled as he put her hand back down by her side and kissed the top of her head. “’Night Ali,” he whispered before finally closing his eyes and passing out.
When he woke up the next morning, Jimmy turned and saw that Alice had already woken up and gone downstairs. He yawned and stretched as he got up and stumbled his way downstairs. He walked into the kitchen and couldn’t help but to smile as Alice danced around with her headphones in. She spun and smacked right into Jimmy’s chest. He caught her arm before she could fall completely over. She smiled as she ran her hand through her hair and pulled her headphones out.
“Sorry about that,” she said with a laugh. Jimmy shook his head, “No problemo Ali-bear.” She smiled as she turned around and went back to making breakfast for Jimmy, her parents, and herself.
When Alice’s parents came downstairs ad saw the two of them in front of the stove making breakfast, they couldn’t help but to crack a smile. Jimmy had become like a son to them. He was always over at their house, but they didn’t mind in the slightest. He was respectful to them and their daughter, so there had never been ay reason for them not to trust him. The rest of his friends were another story, but they never came around so that wasn’t really a problem either.
“When did you two get in last night?” Alice’s father asked as he sat down at the counter in their kitchen. Alice chuckled as she set the plates of food in front of her parents, “Oh jeeze, not until late. We hung out at the beach to watch the fireworks and then hung out for a while after that before heading back here.” Her dad nodded.
“Do your parents know that you’re here James?” Alice’s mom asked as she made herself a cup of coffee. Jimmy shrugged, “If I’m not home, they usually assume that I’m here.”
When they had all finished eating and cleaned everything up, Alice went upstairs to change into a regular pair of clothes that weren’t pajamas. She came back downstairs in a pair of black shorts and a gray tank top with black lace on the neckline and bottom hem of it. She pulled her hair into two loose pigtails and smiled as Jimmy fussed with his glasses.
“You want me to drive you home?” she asked, “Or are you going to meet up with the guys somewhere?” Jimmy shrugged as he hoisted himself up onto the counter that her parents were no longer sitting at. “I don’t really know what I’m doing. What day is it again?” Alice laughed, “Well, yesterday was Thursday, so that means that today is Friday.” Jimmy nodded. “Friday,” he said quietly to himself. He looked up at Alice, “Fuck! It’s Friday!” Alice laughed, “Yea, I just told you that.” Jimmy shook his head as he hopped down from the counter, “No, you don’t understand. It’s Friday! I have a date later! Fuck! I totally forgot!” Alice put a finger up to her lips, “Try not to scream the f-word in my house alright? My parents love you, but they will still hit you for that.” Jimmy nodded, “Sorry. But seriously! I totally forgot! Jesus-H, she’s gonna be pissed.” Alice looked at him curiously, “Well, what time is your date?” He shrugged, “We were gonna hit up the town around six. And kinda just see where it goes from there.” Alice laughed, “If your date isn’t until six, why are you freaking out now? It’s only like, two.”
Jimmy sighed, “You don’t understand.” Alice chuckled and put her hands on her hips, “Apparently I don’t. So please, explain.” Jimmy looked at her, his blue eyes alight with worry behind his glasses, “My date is with Katherine.”
Alice’s jaw dropped. “You’re going out with Katherine? How the fuck did you manage that?” Jimmy threw his hands up, “I don’t even know! We were at a party, and we were drunk, and we were joking that it’d be a good idea. I figured that she’d forget about it, but the next Monday in school, she asked me about it.” Alice laughed, “Oh this is just too good. Do the guys know?” Jimmy laughed, “Hell no. Are you kidding me? They’d kill me if they found out I was going out on a date with her.”
She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, “Alright, how abut this, I’ll lend you my truck for the rest of the day, okay? Just get it back to me tomorrow. ‘Cause tomorrow I have a date and I need it.” Jimmy wrapped her in a hug and picked her up, “You’re the best!” Alice laughed as her feet hit the floor again, “Yea, I know. Now get going to you can get ready for your big date.” Jimmy kissed the top of her head, “You’re a life-saver Ali.” He called out a goodbye to her parents before sprinting out the door and pulling out in Alice’s car.
When Jimmy had pulled out and disappeared down the road, Alice’s phone went off. She looked at the screen and cocked a curious eyebrow at the name that was flashing across her screen. “Hello?” she said inquisitively. “Hey Ali,” came Zach’s cheerful voice from the other end of the line, “What are you up to today?” Alice sat down at her counter, “Well, considering that Jimmy has my truck for the day, probably nothing haha. Why?”
“I was just wondering if you wanted to do something today or whatever,” he responded. Alice was oblivious to what had conspired between the guys the night before when Zach had admitted that he had developed a crush of sorts on her. “Oh, that sounds cool. I’d love to get out of the house haha.” Zach chuckled, “Cool. When do you want me to pick you up?” Alice thought about it for a moment, “Well, doesn’t really matter to me. Seeing as how I can’t really go anywhere without a ride, whenever you want to pick me up is good,” she laughed. Zach smiled to himself, “Alright, well, I’ll pick you up in half an hour, sound good?” Alice grinned, “Sounds awesome.”