You Were Always on My Mind

“It’s taco night!” I declare as I come down the stairs.
“I’m not going to help make any of the food,” Alex informs me.
“You don’t have to worry about it. We all know how to cook.”
“Do you need any help getting everything you need?” My dad asks, “I don’t mind helping.”
“No, I’ve got it all, but thanks dad.”
All of a sudden, the door knocks and Nicole and Amy walk in. We all hug then head to the kitchen to get all the supplies out. Soon enough, Jake joins us. While we wait for everyone else, we hang out in the living room and watch TV. Amy and Nicole are on one couch, while Jake and I share the loveseat. I notice Amy and Nicole watching us, but I can’t help but be close to him. After about twenty minutes, Johnny and Nick show up and we get started on the tacos.
I leave Johnny and Nick to use the knives. Jacob offers to make the meat and us girls set the table. Nick is trying incredibly hard to show off with the knife and be close to me as much as possible. As Jacob cooks the meat, I lean over his shoulder to see how much longer it will take. Seconds after leaning against him watching the meat, I hear Nick scream.
“Shit, I just cut myself!” Nick yells frustrated. I quickly head over to him and expect his finger, it’s actually a deep cut.
“Come with me and I’ll clean this up,” I say taking Nick’s arm and leading him to the bathroom.
“Sit here on the counter for me so I can take care of that finger and put some toilet paper on with some pressure.” I look under the sink to find some antiseptic and a band-aid. ”Warning, this will sting.”
I carefully unwrap the toilet paper and apply some antiseptic to the wound. I then use a sealing gel to help close the wound and apply the band-aid.
“Hey, Sammy?”
“Yeah Nick?” I question looking up at him. All of a sudden, Nick leans in and I fall backwards and hit the wall trying to get away. “What are you doing?!”
“Trying to kiss you,” he says nervously. He looks down at his newly bandaged cut.
“When did I say you could do that Nick?!”
“Well… I just thought…”
“You thought wrong,” I say getting up and rubbing the back of my head where it hit against the wall. I walk out of the bathroom hoping he doesn’t follow. Jake gives me a worried look noticing my hand at the back of my head. I slowly move my hand down and go back to setting up the table. I make some juice then sit outside on the porch swing. Nicole follows me out and sits next to me.
“What’s wrong?” She asks.
“Nick tried to kiss me of course, dumbass didn’t even give me a heads up just swoops in. I even fell back against the wall and hit my head.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe he’ll know that you’re not interested now,” Nicole states trying to cheer me up.
“Yeah, maybe.”
Jacob comes out and Nicole excuses herself to check on Nick.
“Need ice?” Jacob asks handing me an ice bag.
“Yeah, thanks Jake,” I respond. He holds the ice against the back of my head and I lean on him feeling perfectly at peace. We sit in peace for two minutes then head back inside. “Thanks again.”
“Anytime.”
When we get back in the house, Nick has gone back to cutting vegetables with Johnny. The iced tea is finished by Amy and the table is completely set.
“Hey Sammy! Make some of that special hot chocolate tonight,” Johnny suggests. “We can even have s'mores around a campfire!”
“If you can all stay, we can make s’mores later and have hot chocolate,” I tell Johnny. Everyone agrees that they can stay. I notice that Alex and my dad are moving everything off of the big grass lawn. Alex is setting up cones which means he wants to play football.
I help Jacob cook the rest of the food and we playfully shove each other the whole time. Luckily, neither of us have knives. When we finish the food, the guys head out with trays of food while the girls finish cleaning up the counters. We all eat our lunch, stuffing our mouths with delicious tacos might I add. After we finish our sixth servings, we sit on the benches in the shade and let the food settle in our stomachs.
“Okay, who’s ready for football?” Alex asks eagerly, hopping up from his bench.
“I am!!” Johnny exclaims. We all get up and follow Alex to the center of the makeshift football field. Luckily, my dad likes to keep his lawn in good shape and there is a lot of it to play on. Since Alex and Johnny were the first to declare they wanted to play football, they were made captains. I’m on Johnny’s team with Nick and Amy. Nicole, Alex, and Jacob are all a team. We start the game and after a few minutes, my team is winning. Since we’re ahead, we goof off when we try and score touchdowns. At one point, Nick carries me on his back and we fall as soon as we reach the touchdown. I quickly try to scramble out from under him. I see that he’s blushing. Nick tries to catch my eye, so I try to avoid him. Jacob tackles me a few times and he takes a little bit too much time to get off, but I honestly don’t mind. He also steals the ball from me very easily.
“I won’t steal the ball or tackle you anymore if I get just one kiss,” Jake whispers in my ear, then winks and laughs.
“I’ll pass on the offer this time.” I wink back.
Soon enough, Alex’s team catches up and starts beating us. They end up being first to 21 points and win the game.
“Guess I should’ve given you that kiss then,” I say bumping hips with Jacob.
“Too late now,” Jake responds bumping me back.
“How about some baseball?” Nick suggests. We all agree and head over to the street. Alex gets some bats, baseballs, and mitts and meets us out front.
Teams end up being Amy, Jacob and I against Nick, Nicole, and Johnny. Alex is mutual and insists on being catcher for most of the game. We are up to bat first and Jacob insists on helping me bat so that I don’t hurt anyone. He stands behind me once again, his hands on my hands. We do a few practice swings, then when Nick pitches for real, I actually hit it, with Jacob’s help. I run toward first base, and even make it around to second. Jacob is next and hits the ball two houses down, a homerun in our terms. Jacob and I take a stroll around the bases earning us two easy points. Amy is next to bat and makes it all the way to first. I notice Johnny and Nicole goofing off in the outfield. Nicole has the biggest smile on her face as Johnny and her exchange looks.
We change positions and now I’m pitcher, my specialty. Johnny helps Nicole with swinging the bat as well, but not the same way Jacob helped me. It’s not as intimate, but it’s really sweet. I give Nicole a bunch of easy pitches. I also give Johnny some easy pitches since he’s not the best batter. I give Alex and Nick super hard pitches since they’re the better players of the group. In the end, my team wins.
Once it starts getting dark, we head back over to the backyard and start the fire. I head inside with Jacob to make my famous hot chocolate. Jake just sits on a chair near me and watches as I pour all of the ingredients together.
“Come taste this,” I insist holding out a spoon with hot chocolate.
“It tastes delicious as always,” Jake comments.
“Just had to double check.”
Jake helps me carry out the hot chocolate and s’mores ingredients. Everyone digs in and I hear many ‘thank yous’ and ‘this is delicious’. After they eat and drink the goodies, I throw away all the trash and we all get some tents and sleeping bags. Once again, Jake and I are the last ones out. Now would be the perfect time to tell him I like him, to kiss him, to do something. We’re wrapped up in two blankets cuddling with each other for warmth. We sit there quietly enjoying each other’s company and staring at the stars.