Jealous.

"John! What are you doing?!"
He laughs from the roof of the garage, ignoring my horrified expression. "Relax, darlin'!"
I groan. He was going to get hurt for being an idiot.
Joel suddenly appears next to me, grinning. "Don't worry. He does this all the time. It's sort of a tradition to dive into the pool from a roof."
"That's the stupidest tradition ever," I mumble as I watch Peter climb up with John.
He smirks from high up and winks at me. I roll my eyes, sticking my tongue out while suppressing a smile. It was my first time attending a summer barbecue with the boys, and I was grateful everyone was friendly. I'd just met Joel today; he was the sweetest.
"Can I get you a soda or something?" he asks politely. "You haven't drank or eaten since you got here."
"It's fine, thank you."
"You sure? The Coke's are nice and cold." He nudges me with his elbow, and I bite my lip. "Well...I wouldn't mind a Coke."
He laughs. "Comin' right up."
I smile. "Thanks, Joel."
When he walks away, I return my attention to John, who was watching me with a side glance. He looks away when I catch him staring and turns to talk to Peter.
I walk over to the girls and giggle when I see Joel searching with me with two cans in hand. "Over here!" I call.
Joel grins, approaching and holding my Coke out to me. "Pour vous, madame."
I chuckle. "Oh, so you speak French now?"
"Actually I know a bit here and there." He holds his thumb and index finger up when I accept the soda. "Un peu."
Well, that was impressive, considering I took Spanish and my fluency in that was limited. The most I remembered was how to order food. So 'Merci' was about the only thing I knew in French.
"Babe!" John calls from above me and I look up. He grins. "Wanna join me?"
Before I could say a word, he sits on the edge and hooks his arms under mine, pulling me up. My breath catches in my throat as I reach the top of the roof. I look down and feel my head whirl. It wasn't that high up, but I HATED heights.
He kisses my forehead and drapes his arm around my shoulders. I wriggle away. "John, put me down right now."
"Aw, come on, it's not that big a jump," he laughs, standing and pulling me up with him. Oh my God, we were standing on a roof.
I start to panic, my breathing growing heavy and coming fast. "Get me down from here now."
He frowns. "Darlin'-"
"I'M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS, YOU JERK!" I cry, feeling my eyes water.
Joel climbs up onto a chair and waves his hands. "Hey, it's okay. Just take a deep breath. Sit on the edge, I'll help you down."
I feel my lip quiver as I distance myself from John, sinking down until I was sitting and scoot closer. He doesn't even move.
"What happened?" Kennedy asks as he jogs toward us. "I heard screaming-"
"It's okay," Joel says softly to me, ignoring his question.
Tears were streaming down my face. I felt pathetic.
I take Joel's outstretched hand and let him pull me down. "It's okay," he whispers again. I nod once my feet were firmly on the chair. He climbs off to let me step down and I breathe in relief.
John hops down from the roof and stands in front of me, his eyes wide and guilty. "Sweetheart, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I didn't know you were afraid of heights."
I shake my head, rubbing my arms. "Don't talk to me right now. You're such an asshole."
His shoulder slump and Peter jumps down next to him and slaps his back. "Just give her some time to cool down."
Joel rests his hand on my head, giving me a concerned look. "Are you alright, Mallory?"
"I am now, thanks," I mumble, feeling myself trembling slightly. I was still shaken up.
He grabs my soda and hands it to me. "Here, it'll help."
John stares at me as I accept the drink from him and take a sip. I sit down, blushing when I see I've attracted a crowd. The last thing I wanted was to draw attention.
The guys ask me repeatedly if I was okay and I assure them I'm fine. Joel wouldn't leave my side and I was comforted by the fact that he seemed genuinely worried.
"Thank you," I tell him gratefully. "Sorry that I freaked out like that. You handled it really well."
He chuckles. "It's no worries. I have a niece that cries every time I put her on my shoulders so I'm used to it."
I roll my eyes playfully. "Good to know I'm equivalent to a toddler."
His laugh is light. "You're a lot easier to handle, trust me. You actually listen."
He stands and smiles. "I'll be right back, okay? I smell Jared burning some burgers and I call first dibs."
"Okay," I giggle, leaving him to get himself some food. He greets one of John's friends and they slap hands. I watch him until John suddenly sits next to me with a paper plate in his hand. He runs a hand through his hair, sighing. "Please don't be mad. I brought your favorite chips."
I clench my jaw, trying to ignore him. He groans. "Mal. How come you let Kanitz be all gentlemanly around you and I can't?"
"Because you're my boyfriend, John! You should know better!"
"But I didn't know better!" he insists. "If I had known you were scared of heights, I never would have dared."
I'd give him that. I never told anybody about my fear of heights except my mom and dad.
John hands me the plate full of chips. "Fine, here. You and Joel talk all you want, I'm going back on the roof and I don't care what you say."
I raise an eyebrow. "John...are you jealous?"
"No," he scoffs, standing. "Not that it matters, it's obvious you would rather spend time with him."
Biting back a smile, my lips quirk up. He was so jealous.
"You're going to fall," I tell him as he jumps onto a chair and pulls himself up. "Don't worry about me, sweetheart. You go back to gushing over Mr. Nice Guy."
Joel appears by my side, munching on a burger. "What is he talking about?" he asks through his mouthful.
"He's jealous of you talking to me," I chuckle. He grins, wiping his mouth. "I say we show him more to be jealous about. We should teach him a lesson."
I purse my lips, looking up at his sculpted form, looking too proud to ever admit he hated seeing me with other guys.
"Sounds good to me."
~
After I've had something to eat - Joel was kind enough to serve a hot dog and burger on my plate - I head inside to change into my bikini. John's eyes widen when he sees the tiny blue piece I've come out in. A few of the boys whistle to get him angry. At this point, they all acknowledged he was being stubborn and were in on us trying to make him jealous.
Joel chuckles. "Lookin' good."
I roll my eyes and hand him the sunscreen. "Mind helping me?"
"I know what you're doing!" John shouts from the roof as Garrett and Pat join him, snickering about something. "It's not gonna work."
"If you say so, Cornelius," Joel shoots back playfully. I couldn't lie that I enjoyed seeing John acting annoyed. He was pretending that it didn't bother him when it couldn't be more clear on his face.
Turning around, I let Joel spread the sunscreen onto my shoulders and back, holding my hair up on my head. He suddenly leans into my ear. "Wanna get him really mad?"
I bite my lip, curious as to what he was thinking. "What do you have in mind?"
"Outta the way!" John says, getting closer to the edge and in jumping distance of the pool.
He adjusts his trunks, getting ready.
Joel chuckles and spins me around, pressing his lips to mine. I jump in surprise as I hear John scream. "Kanitz, what the fuck?!"
"Geronimo!" Garrett shouts as him and Pat shove John forward, sending him lurching with his arms and legs flailing. I wince as he lands in the pool with an unpleasant splash.
I run toward the pool, kneeling down as he emerges to the surface. "Are you okay?" I ask him worriedly as he sputters and shakes his head and pushes his hair back. I frown, thinking the worst. "Are you hurt, did you hit anything? Did you-"
He clutches the back of my neck and pulls me down to meet his lips. His mouth pressed hard against mine, deepening the kiss when I gasp.
"Don't you dare do that again," he orders as he pulls away, his eyes fiery.
"But I didn't-"
"DO NOT EVER TRY TO MAKE ME JEALOUS," he restates more firmly. I bite my lip, resisting the urge to kiss him again. He looked hot mad and glistening with water.
Joel makes his way over, laughing. John's head snaps up and he glares at him. "You're dead, Kanitz."
"Come on, John, no harm done," he teases, smirking. John rolls his eyes, returning his attention to me. He looks me up and down for a moment before licking his lips. "Don't expect that bikini to stay on for long, sweetheart. We're heading home very soon."
Oh, I think I liked jealous John.