Props and Mayhem

Emme marched out across that lawn like she owned it. Well, technically, she did. Whatever.
Jayne and Kellin followed a step or two behind her, and Jayne pulled her car keys out of the pocket of her jeans. She clicked the unlock button and then went about fixing the cowl of her olive-hued sweater. “Be nice,” she cautioned Emme.
I’m always nice, thought Emme, and then she realized she’d been stomping the life out of the grass. She softened her steps and nodded at her friend. “Of course. I know.”
Kellin rubbed his bare, goose-pimpled arms.
Emme opened the door to the backseat, where she could see Jaime on his phone, texting. She was quiet for a moment, and then she grinned wickedly at Jayne. “It’s cold out! Don’t you want to come in?”
He jumped, as he’d been intent on his phone conversation. “God, you scared me,” he said, slipping his phone into his pocket and glancing up at her hesitantly.
When their eyes met, Emme wanted to hug him. Or slap him really hard. Her emotions were jumbled again. But she thought that maybe— just maybe—she had come to a decision.
“Some coffee would be nice,” Jaime added with a wink. He was clearly referencing their London coffee shop escapade. He rubbed his hand through his dark hair, clearly more uncomfortable than he was letting on. He hadn’t spiked his hair, either, she noticed.
Emme caught her reflection in the car window. Her cheeks were dark, pink, and she couldn’t tell whether she was blushing or whether it was from the cold. “Yeah, because it’s too cold for ice cream,” she responded with a wink of her own. She wasn’t sure what messages she was sending him, but she knew enough to realize that they were flirting.
Jayne and Kellin had moved back farther down the driveway. When, Emme didn’t know, but it actually made it more awkward instead of less.
“Come on,” she sighed, pulling him out of the car by his forearm. “Really, though, aren’t you cold?”
Gently, he pried her fingers from his arm. “I’m not nearly as cold as you are.” He closed the car door with his hip and followed her up to the front steps.
She glanced back at him, rubbing her hands together, her breath puffing out into the flat, dry air. “Sorry.”
He shrugged. “I could help warm you up.”
Emme quirked an eyebrow. “Thanks, but no thanks. We’ll get cocoa or something inside.”
“Shot down,” he noted, holding the door open for her. He turned towards Jayne and Kellin. “Hey!”
Emme hoped they weren’t making out or something. When she cut her eyes over to the driveway, though, they weren’t. They’d been pretty quiet, but they were just being respectful, she figured. Jayne being as quiet as she’d been was a rare occrence. The girl was a social butterfly.
“You guys coming?”
Jayne nodded. “Ready when you are!” she called back, and the two began trekking up the incline of the driveway. Jayne paused, turned and locked her car again. “It’s a habit,” Emme could hear her explain unapologetically.
Emme stepped inside, not bothering to wait for them. Jayne knew how to get in on her own, and Emme didn’t want to leave the door open and let all of the cold air in.
Jaime turned her around in the doorway and smiled down at her. His hands didn’t leave her hips.
They were practically picking up where they’d left off, Emme reasoned to herself. He was so close. All she had to do was get up on her tiptoes and close the gap between them…
She didn’t even realize that her hands had traveled to his upper arms until she was gripping them tighter.
Jaime was raising his eyebrows at her expectantly. “What?”
Emme blinked, tearing her gaze away from his soft lips. “I—”
The door slammed open behind them and Kellin and Jayne entered, laughing about something, as per usual. At the same time, Emme’s mother, now the queen of bad timing, entered the room from who knows where.
“Who are they? And where’s Jayne? I thought Jayne was coming over,” she added, one hand on her hip and the other gesturing at the two men.
Jayne poked her head out from behind Jaime and waved weakly. “I’m here.”
“Well—” Emme chewed her lip. She was so busted. Unless she shocked her mother enough to distract her, which wasn’t likely.
Kellin opened his mouth to say something, and probably to apologize. The whole thing had probably been his brilliant plan. But Emme cut him off.
“I know, Mom. And I’m sorry, but—uh—this is Jaime.” She took her hands off of his arms and smacked his chest, gently. “This is my boyfriend, Mom. This is Jaime,” she stressed.