You Were Always on My Mind

"Don't forget, 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 grabbing a drink from the fridge.

"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."

I hear someone knock at the door and walk over to see who it is. Before I reach the door, Amy and Nicole let themselves in with Becka trailing them. Becka has somehow grown three inches since the last time I saw her and her muscles are all toned, but she looks healthy as a horse. I hug them all then lead them into the kitchen to get all the supplies out. I manage to get everything out before Jacob enters through the patio door. Since everything that doesn't need to be in the refrigerator is out, we migrate to the living room and watch TV. Amy, Nicole and Becka take the large couch while Jake and I share the love seat. I notice the girls watching us, but I ignore their looks.

"So Becka, you're feeling a lot better?" I ask, I hadn't seen her in over a month and I've really missed hanging out with her.

"Yeah, your dad helped out a lot," she tells me with a smile, "it was just some weird form of a fever that I got. It was pretty bad, but I feel good as new."

"That's great to hear," I say then hear the doorbell ring. I get up and find Nick, Johnny and Adam at my doorstep. "Come in."

"We're ready to make the best tacos ever," Johnny says giving me a hug. The other two give me quick hugs before heading toward the living room.

"Ready to cook?" I ask as they all nod their heads and follow me to the kitchen.

Jacob and Johnny are in charge of cooking the carne asada for the tacos while the other boys chop all of the vegetables for the tacos. I notice that Nick is trying his hardest to show off with the knife as he calls me over to show me how fast he can chop. The girls and I make tea and lemonade as well as set the table outside.

"So you're still trying to tell me that nothing's going on between you and Jacob," Nicole says bumping my hip as we tie the outdoor pillows to the benches.

"Absolutely nothing, but friendship," I tell her. I decide not to mention our little trip in the mountains and the kiss on the cheek that happened two days ago.

"Keep telling yourself that girl," Nicole says finishing her last pillow. We head inside and I check on Jacob and Johnny with the meat. I lean over Jake's shoulder to see how much longer it will take. Seconds after leaning against him, I hear one of the guys scream behind me.

"Shit, I just cut myself!" Nick yells frustrated. I quickly head to him and inspect his finger; the cut is actually deep. I grab a paper towel and give it to Nick so he doesn't bleed all over my house.

"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. Make sure you're applying pressure to it."

I look around under the sink and grab everything I need. I carefully unwrap the paper towel and examine his cut.

"Warning this will sting," I say applying the antiseptic. He winces a bit, but tries to play it off as if he was a tough guy. I put a gel over the cut that's supposed to help keep it closed and apply the bandaid.

"Hey, Sammy?"

"Yeah Nick?" I reply looking away from his cut. All of a sudden, Nick's leaning in and I trip and fall backwards hitting my head on the wall trying to get away. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Nothing," he mumbles looking at his newly bandaged finger.

"Well don't try that again!"

"I just thought that..."

"You thought wrong Nick," I say getting up and rubbing the back of my head, tears stinging my eyes from the pain.

I walk out of the bathroom hoping that he's smart enough not to follow. Jake gives me a worried look noticing my hand on my head. I quickly move my hand, grab the plates and utensils from the kitchen, then finish setting the table outside alone. Nicole joins me after a minute and quietly helps set the rest of the table. We take a seat on the porch swing after since I don't want to go inside yet.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Nick tried to kiss me, the dumbass didn't even give me a heads up. He just swooped in as if I had given him a sign that I wanted to be anything more than friends. In the haste to create some space between us, I tripped and fell against the wall and hit my head."

"I'm sorry. On the bright side, he should've clearly gotten the message that you weren't interested," she says with a small smile on her face.

"I hope so," I reply. Jacob joins us outside and Nicole excuses herself to grab some more stuff for the table.

"Need ice?" He asks holding up an ice pack.

"Yeah, thanks Jake," I answer. He presses it against the back of my head, easily finding the spot I bumped my head. I close my eyes and lean on him feeling perfectly at peace. We sit in silence for a little bit and once the ice is too cold for either of us to handle, we head back inside. "Thanks again."

"Anytime."

Nick is sitting at the island looking very grumpy but putting the vegetables and toppings into their separate bowls that I had laid out while Adam chops the last of it. Amy, Nicole, and Becka start taking out the hot tortillas, drinks, toppings and condiments outside. Johnny and Jake put the cooked carne asada into three large plates and I add large forks and spoons to whatever bowls need them.

"Hey, Sammy! Make some of that special hot chocolate tonight," Johnny insists. "We can even have s'mores around the campfire!"

"If you can all stay, we can make s'mores later and have hot chocolate," I assure Johnny. Everyone agrees that they can stay.

I notice that Alex and my dad are moving everything off of the lawn and onto the porch or into the shed. Alex starts setting up cones which means he'll want to probably play football later with everyone. We finish taking everything outside and Jake and I clean up the kitchen together, playfully bumping hips. We join the others outside after a few minutes and we all dig in. The tacos are perfect. Once I've had my sixth taco, I lean against Nicole too full to even move to the soft grass. We all sit around chatting while we let the food settle in our stomachs.

"I swear Sammy, somehow all of my best meals are from your house," Becka says rubbing her stomach and laughing.

"You kids did a great job," my dad comments from the end of the table with Alex.

"Thanks dad," I respond getting some more iced tea for myself.

"So who's ready for some football?" Alex asks as soon as we start to regain some energy. All of the boys are excited since they're all on the team at school.

"Let's do this!" Johnny says hopping up from his bench.

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 we have a large backyard to play in. Since Alex and Johnny were the first to declare they wanted to play football, they get to be captains. I'm on Johnny's team with Adam, Amy and Becka. Nicole, Alex, Nick, and Jacob are all on the other team. We start the game after creating simple game plans, 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, Johnny just carries me to the touchdown and we fall several times on the way. Nick keeps trying to catch my eye from the opposite side of the field, but I ignore him. Jacob tackles me a few times and takes a bit too much time to get off, but I honestly wish he would take longer. He constantly intercepts the ball when it's passed to me as well.

"I won't steal the ball or tackle you anymore for once small price," Jake whispers in my ear, winks and laughs, "all you have to do is give me one tiny kiss."

"I'll pass on the offer this time," I reply winking back. Sadly, it's all just a joke and not a real offer...

Soon enough, Alex's team catches up and starts beating us. They end up being first to 36 points and win the game.

"Guess I should've accepted your offer," I say bumping Jacob.

"Too late now," he responds bumping me back.

"How about some baseball?" Nick suggests. We all agree and head over to the street. Alex and Jacob get some bats, baseballs, and mitts then meet us back out front, away from any houses. Teams end up being Jacob, Amy, Johnny and I against Nick, Nicole, Adam and Becka. Alex is mutual and insists on being pitcher for the whole game although I should have been pitcher. 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 before Alex starts with the real pitches. With Jacob's help, I hit it on the first try and make it all the way to second base. Jacob is up to bat next and hits the ball two houses down, a home run in our terms. Jacob and I take a stroll around the bases earning us two easy points. Amy is up to bat and she struggles a bit, but ends up hitting the ball and makes it to first. I notice Adam and Nicole goofing off in the outfield and Nicole has the biggest smile on her face as they exchange looks.

We change positions after our team gains 6 points and I'm at first base. Adam helps Nicole with swinging the bat as well, but not in the same way that Jacob helped me. It's not as intimate, but it's really sweet. I watch as Alex gives Nicole a bunch of easy pitches. Adam is much better at batting and Alex gives him a curve ball. Luckily, the ball comes my way and I get Adam out. Becka is the star on the softball team and Alex is unaware of this when he gives her an easy pitch and she makes a home run. Nick gets the hardest pitches since Alex actually knows he's on the baseball team, but Jacob shockingly catches it.In the end, my team wins by two points.

Once it starts getting dark, we head back over to the patio and start the fire. I head inside with Jacob to make my famous hot chocolate. Jake just hands me ingredients as I ask for them while I do all of the hard work.

"Taste this," I insist holding out a spoon with hot chocolate.

"It taste amazing as always," Jake comments.

"Just had to make sure I had the right amount of everything."

Jake helps me carry out the hot chocolate and s'mores ingredients. Everyone grabs a cup, marshmallow and skewer. I hear many 'thank you's and 'this is delicious' as I sit down grabbing my own cup of hot chocolate. I add a bit of whip cream to mine as I watch the others fight over a spot to roast their marshmallow.

"Want one?" Jake asks holding two marshmallows.

"Sure," I answer and take a sip feeling the hot chocolate warm my insides.

"You got a little..." Jake starts to say before wiping my nose and eating the whip cream that had gotten there. I blush a bit, but he goes back to making us s'mores.

Once everyone is satisfied, I get up to start throwing away trash and bring stuff in. Becka and Amy help me bring in cups and the last of the s'mores supplies.

"So we're setting up tents and camping out right?" Becka asks. "I'm really sad I had to miss the last campout."

"Yup, just as soon as everything's cleaned up," I tell her. Amy and Becka wash and dry all of the cups while I clean up all of the hot chocolate ingredients. We head back outside and Jake has already brought out all of the tents while everyone grabs their sleeping bags. We quickly set up tents in my backyard, closer to the woods. We head back up to the porch since that's where the fire is at and chat for a while. Amy and Nicole are the first to head back to their tent since they're drained from all of the sports. Johnny and Nick soon follow.

"I wish we could do this every night," Becka says looking into the sky. The only light in the area is coming from the fire so it's easy to see all of the stars.

"You can always star gaze at your house though," Adam points out. Becka looks tired as if she's been working instead of getting better. I think I see her lips move and say something, but I can't make it out.

Adam and Becka head to their tents, leaving Jake and I alone. I'm curled up against him enjoying the warmth under our blankets. Now would be the perfect time to tell him how I feel, to kiss him, to just do something. Instead, I sit there and enjoy his company while I'm in La Push. I stare up at the stars trying not to think about how fast summer is passing by.