Casually Cruel

"i make you come just to watch you leave"



Jenna-Lee ran her hands over her bare arms, trying to create some friction between the two parts of her body. The air was chillier now than it had been earlier in the evening. Drew noticed the goosebumps on the girl's arms from the corner of his eye and stopped in the middle of the deserted street, pulling off his jacket.

“Here,” he said, handing it over to her. “You look absolutely freezing.”

The small girl faltered in her step as she glanced down at the jacket that he was offering her. “Oh no, I'm fine,” she tried to protest, but Drew stepped forward, draping the worn leather coat around her shoulders.

“You're cold,” he stated simply, before continuing the walk along the main road into town.

Trying to ignore the blush that was creeping up into her cheeks, Jenna-Lee slipped her arms into the jacket and pulled it closer around her small frame. As awkward as it was having Drew offer to walk her to town, she was glad he did. There were few street lamps lighting the road and she could've sworn she'd heard a coyote howling once. This was not a walk she would have liked to make alone.

“Sorry about Lisa,” Drew said, glancing over his shoulder at the girl who was dragging behind. He paused to wait for her to catch up, only to continue walking at her pace once she reached him. “She tends to do this a lot.” He looked over at Jenna-Lee to see her eyebrow quirked and a confused look on her face. “Spook off with Colton, I mean. Hell, I remember when they first got together. We barely ever saw them the first few weeks.”

“So I guess I should be getting used to walking home alone then?” Jenna-Lee said, a soft smile on her face.

Drew clutched his chest dramatically. “You wound me, Miss Lee. I think you'll find that I make wonderful company.”

The small blonde shrugged nonchalantly. “You're okay.”

Drew let his arms drop, a smile pulling onto his face. “You intrigue me, Miss Lee.”

“It's Jenna-Lee,” she murmured. He held up his palms in front of him.

“My bad, Jenna-Lee. I'll tell you what: how about I take you out for breakfast tomorrow?”

Jenna-Lee glanced over at the tall boy looping beside her, at the tattoos that covered his left arm and the single piercing in his ear. “I don't know that that's such a good idea,” she replied hesitantly.

“Oh, come on,” he pressed. “Lunch then? Or maybe dinner? I just want to feed you, Miss Lee. It's the least you could do after I walked you home.”

“I thought you were just doing that to be nice,” chuckled Jenna-Lee as the two turned off the main street, now only mere minutes away from Lisa's house.

“Now, now, Miss Lee. No one ever does anything just to be nice nowadays,” Drew said with a grin on his face. “You should remember that.”

“I'll try my best to.”

She was going to be a challenge, Drew noted. It was clear that Jenna-Lee was not going to be one of those girls who simply threw herself at the first guy who expressed an interest in her. This was going to take effort. In fact, Drew had been complaining to Tyler just the other day how boring this town was starting to become. What better way to amp up the excitement then with a project? And Jenna-Lee was going to be the perfect summer project.

“This is me,” she said, breaking the silence as she and Drew came to a stop in front of a white two-story house. “Thanks for walking me into town, Drew. Here.”Jenna-Lee slipped Drew's jacket off of her frame and held it out to him. “Thanks for that too.”

Drew bit his lip and cocked his head. “Tell you what,” he said, taking a step towards the girl and taking the jacket from her hands, only to place it over her shoulders again. “Why don't you hold onto that? It'll give me an excuse to talk to you again.” He noticed a blush creep into her cheeks before she turned away. “What about breakfast?” he called after her.

Jenna-Lee glanced over her shoulder at the boy standing at the end of her aunt's walkway. “Goodnight Drew,” she said, smiling. Opening the front door, she slipped inside, the porch light going off seconds later.

Drew chuckled to himself, his warm breath escaping into the cold night air in a puff of smoke. “Goodnight Miss Lee.”