You Were Always on My Mind

When I wake up, my stomach feels sore from getting hit with the bat last night. I grab a bag of peas when I get into the kitchen and my dad gives me a weird look.

"Are you planning on making peas for lunch, because that's not how you defrost them," my dad points out to me, staring at the bag at my stomach.

"Sammy accidentally threw a metal bat at my stomach when we played baseball yesterday," I inform him and automatically regret it when he starts chuckling.

"Love is painful," he replies still laughing.

"Very funny," I retort sarcastically.

"Son, just because everyone else doesn't see it doesn't mean I won't."

"Sadly," I declare with a sigh.

"Don't worry, she likes you too. I've been around long enough to recognize the look in someone's eyes."

"You just called yourself old."

"Doesn't make you any younger, son."

"Well I'm heading over to Samantha's; she's actually worried about my injuries."

"She might not be there, I saw Nick at the house earlier while you were sleeping in."

"I thought you said she liked me old wise one."

"I did, but she still has friends."

I head over to the house and notice Sammy through the window. I walk in and head toward the dining room, leaning against the large table.

"How's your stomach?" She immediately asks; not even a simple hello first.

"Better than yesterday," I answer truthfully, but she gives me a doubtful look.

"Has it started bruising yet?"

"Not really..."

"Can I see?" She asks getting closer. I lift my shirt up a little. The bruises are pretty obvious and I wish I had said no. She has a worried look on her face and she lightly touches my stomach. She is always gentle when people are in pain.

"It looks worse than it feels," I lie hoping to smooth out those worry lines of hers. It helps a little. She starts to lightly prod at the bruises.

"Does this hurt?" She asks using a little more pressure. I try not to wince, but it was a useless attempt. She pulls away and I put my shirt down. She heads toward the kitchen and I follow. She grabs an ice pack from the freezer and hands it to me.

"I already iced my stomach earlier," I inform her trying to hand it back.

"It won't hurt to ice it some more," she states, but notices that my look doesn't change, "I'll make you the famous Reed hot chocolate."

"Okay," I give in, sitting down and watching as she gets everything she needs for the hot chocolate. She quickly makes enough for two and turns off the stove. She pours a cup for me, then starts putting everything back in its place. After everything is clean, she pours the rest into a second cup for herself.

"So what are you doing today?" I ask her, hoping she didn't make any plans.

"Nick invited me to the movies and I already agreed to go. We're going at 2," she answers, looking down into her hot chocolate and blushing a little. "What about you?"

"I'll probably just work on my car, it'd be nice to not have to borrow Harry's or Alex's," I tell her. I hope that she says she'll stop by after her date.

"I can't wait to see it!"

"I can't wait to drive it!"

"Promise me that when it's done you'll drive me around in it first."

"I promise."

"Pinky?"

"Yes, I pink promise," I reply wrapping my large pink around her small one.

"Good," she replies. After she finishes her hot chocolate, she takes some Advil with a cup of water.

"How's your back?" I ask getting up to put my cup in the sink.

"Sore," she answers trying to roll out her shoulders. I come up behind her and massage her shoulders a bit. "That helps, thanks Jake."

"Not a problem," I reply sitting back down.

"You know you sleep in late, right?" she asks me looking over at the clock.

"I realize it sometimes, why?"

"Because I already have to get ready."

I look at the clock and see that it's almost 1. I put the ice pack back in her freezer and start heading out. "Well, maybe I'll see you later."

"Yeah, maybe," Sammy replies heading toward the stairs. I walk out and head back over to my house.

"She was home, but she's going on a date with Nick," I tell my dad before he has any time to ask.

"Did she say it was a date?" He questions me.

"Nope, but it's just the two of them," I inform him.

"Then she may not view it that way," he tells me. I think about it then heat up some leftovers. My dad eats lunch with me, but doesn't really say much. He heads to the living room to watch TV while I head out to the garage.

My car is a red 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit. My dad got it from a friend of his a few years back that was going to toss it. My dad kept it hoping that it wouldn't cost too much to fix up so that I would have a car to drive when I got my license. I have slowly been working on it, getting most of my pieces from the junkyard. It would be nice to finish my car this summer. Most of the pieces that I need though, I will probably have to purchase and I'm not sure where I'll get the money from. I have a good $300 in savings from birthdays, but that will only be enough for one, maybe two parts.

For hours I work on the car and think about Sammy. She never said the word date so either she was trying to avoid the word because it was me or she doesn't consider it a date. She blushed when she said it though... I cut my finger for the fifth time in the last hour; I need to focus better. I try and think about the piece I'm putting in and how it's supposed to fit into the small space between the engine and the shock towers.

"Hey there."

I look up and almost hit my head on the hood of the car. Sammy stands in the entrance of the garage with a short, pink, summer dress and, of course, a pair of matching converse. She has her makeup and hair done; it was definitely a date.

"Your dad told me I could find you in here, " she tells me looking apologetic. She's holding a plate with a sandwich in her hands. "He also wanted me to bring you lunch..."

"Thanks," I reply heading over to her and grabbing the plate. She bites her lip not sure whether or not she should disrupt me.

"You can take a seat somewhere. There's the inside of the car, on the couch, or on the stool next to the stereo," I inform her pointing out her options.

"I'll sit on the stool, do you mind if I turn on the stereo?"

"Sure, but no weird music," I answer with a grin as I watch her twist around on the spiny stool. She turns on a country radio, not my favorite, but I got used to it last summer. She quietly sings along to most of the songs. I lean against my work bench and start to eat my sandwich. I go to my mini cooler and pull out a pepsi.

"You want one?" I ask.

"Sure," she answers and I toss one to her. She easily catches it, but waits a minute before she opens it.

"I don't want to steal your freedom, I don't want to change your mind, I don't have to make you love me, I just wanna take your time. I don't wanna wreck your Friday, I ain't gonna waste my life, I don't have to take your heart, I just wanna take your time," Sammy sings softly. I finish my sandwich and pepsi then toss the can into the bag next to the cooler. I head back to the car and work on it for a few minutes without interruptions.

"Does your stomach still hurt?" Sammy asks, but this time her face looks more curious than worried.

"No, the work distracts me," I answer trying to focus my attention on the work instead of her presence.

"Huh."

"What?"

"I need to try that sometime. Gymnastics usually did that, but I don't have that out here really."

"Feel free to come over and work on it anytime. Anyways, how was the movie?"

"Good, we watched a comedy. I think he chose it because he knows I find everything humorous. He tried to hold my hand halfway through it," she informs me, but that last bit comes out in a whisper. I almost hit my head again, stupid hood, stupid date.

"And?" I ask dying to know what else happened.

"I told him I had to go to the bathroom, so I hopped up quickly and headed out of the theatre walking at a fast pace. I took about five minutes in the bathroom. He said he almost went looking for me, he thought I got kidnapped," she answers smiling yet blushing. I laugh nervously, thankful that nothing happened. I face toward her, but look down at the ground afraid of what she may say next.

"So it wasn't a date?"

"Kind of. I mean, I didn't want it to be, but he attempted to make it into one. He tried to take me out to an early dinner and I told him that I wasn't hungry, but he insisted. We ended up going to McDonald's and I got a happy meal. I'll show you the little toy later. I kept that toy in my left hand the whole time so he couldn't hold it."

I look up at her and she's smiling, thinking back at the memory. I smile at her, leaning against the car, and she walks over to me. She's humming along to the song on the radio as she comes toward me. Not once, did she mention Nick's name...

"Can I help?" She asks eyeing the tools in my hands.

"Yeah, I have a work apron if you want to wear it over your dress," I say pointing toward the pegs in the wall. She gets the apron and attempts to put it on.

"A little help tying the strings?"

"Sure," I reply setting my tools down. She pulls her hair away from her neck as I take the strings, careful not to touch her neck. I quickly tie it then put her to work. I explain all of the parts that need to be worked on and tell her what needs to go where. She has difficulty working around the spots where pieces are missing, but she seems to understand what to do. Sometimes she needs help and I'd just do the part for her.

"So how do I connect these?" She asks.

"Here, I'll just do it," I offer moving closer to her so I can easily reach what she pointed to.

"I want to learn how," she says looking up at me with those big blue eyes. A stray lock of hair had fallen out of her ponytail and I have the urge to slip it behind her ear, but I decide against it.

"Okay," I say coming behind her and putting my hands over hers. I help her connect the two parts then quickly pull away. She has a huge smile on her face when she realizes that she did it right. Her face comes closer to mine as we both lean in.

"Ouch!!! Stupid trash can!" I hear Alex yell from right outside the garage door. Sammy and I both take a step back and she almost trips over herself. I grab onto her arm to steady her and Alex enters the garage seeing my hand on her arm. I immediately let go. He's slightly soaked, but he smiles at Sammy and I.

"You said you needed help on the car," Alex explains as he takes in the car. "I see you already got a little helper though."

"I was just about to take a break, my back is actually really bugging me" Sammy states moving away from the car, head down, and taking off the apron. This time, she sits on the couch and rests her head back against the wall.

Sammy leaves after she gets bored with the stereo bidding us a good night.

"You've gotten pretty far with this car in just the past year," Alex comments examining everything under the hood, "I think you'll pretty much have to buy the rest of the parts though."

"That's what I'm thinking too, but I'm probably going to stop by the junkyard this week and see if I can find anything good from cars they tossed in there," I inform Alex.

"Maybe I'll join you, just tell me when," Alex replies.

"How's Claire?" I ask moving back from the car thinking about what else I could do tonight.

"Pretty good, we haven't been seeing much of each other lately because her sister just had the baby."

"I forgot she was pregnant. You two are getting pretty serious though."

"Yeah, she's pretty great... Well, I don't see much else to do, so I'll probably see you tomorrow."

Alex leaves the garage alone with my thoughts. I stay in the garage afterwards cleaning up a bit. I return the apron to it's makeshift peg then sit in the car. I stay there for a while just reflecting on the night. It wasn't really a date and she was definitely going to let me kiss her. She wouldn't even let Nick hold her hand!

I finally return to the house around 9 and head to my bedroom. I quickly get ready for bed then plop down on my bed. That almost kiss will continue to bother me for the rest of the summer. I quickly fall asleep, completely drained and wrapped up in the Batman blanket Sammy got me from San Diego.