Torn (Torn Heart) (13 page)

             
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll freak out at first, but at least I didn’t dye it all like I originally planned.” I pour a glass of tea for both of us, sitting at the kitchen table.

             
She grins at me. “Skylar, I love your hair honey. It’s not too drastic, but a bit of a change nonetheless.” Her hands run through the strands. “And it’s shorter too, I just noticed that. I love it!”

             
“Thanks, mom. I love it too. I thought a new look would be nice. You know, new date, new ‘do.” I move my head from side to side, feeling my hair fly around my face. We sit at the table, talking about trivial things.

“Hey, Sky? Do you have One Tree Hill on Netflix?”
Randa asks from the living room. My mother shoos me out of the kitchen to entertain my guest. I plop down onto the sofa next to her and grab the remote.

             
“No, but I have it DVR’ed. Wanna watch it?”

“Yes, I’m behind. What episodes do you have on there?”

              I flip through the menu and find what episode she’s looking for. We talk about our favorite characters and the situations they find themselves in. I love soap operas and drama TV shows. Sometimes it makes me feel better about the way my life is turning out. I mean, Haley is the nerdy tutor girl but she’s so sweet and friendly. I even think she’s really pretty. She and Lucas were best friends for so long but they never had a romantic relationship. I almost feel like at times, I’m Haley but who is Jackson? Maybe Nathan, yeah, he’s definitely Nathan. He’s my favorite, and so is Haley. I love Brooke too! Jared is definitely Lucas.

             
“Dan is the biggest douche bag, I fucking hate him.” I glance at Randa, giving her the look that says “language, mother present” and she clamps her mouth shut. “Sorry, I freaking hate him.” She whispers. 

             
Two episodes later, we start getting ready. “Hey, what time is Ian picking you up?” I asked Randa as I laid my clothes out on my bed.

             
“About 6:30. When’s Jackson coming over?”

             
“I don’t know, he just said he’d pick me up later.” I send him a quick text asking when he’s picking me up. “I’m gonna take a quick shower, I’ll be right back.” She nods and I leave the room.

             
I take the quickest twenty minute shower possible, dry my hair and enter my room wrapped in my towel. “Okay, my turn.” Randa grabs her clothes and hits the shower. I plop down onto my bed and check my message; one from Jackson.

             
Hey, I’ll be there in thirty minutes.
             

             
I’m still perfecting my makeup when the doorbell rings. My mom answers and entertains Jackson for a little bit. Nerves start soaring through my body. I can feel the anxiety set in.

             
Randa slaps my hand, witnessing the shaking. “Relax, Sky. It’s gonna be a blast.”

             
“I know, it’s gonna be amazing. But I don’t know the first thing about dates. What to expect, what not to expect. How to act, when is the right time to kiss? Or do you wait? Ah! I’m a basketcase.”

She grabs me by the shoulders, sitting me down on the toilet seat. “You need to simmer way down, dear.” I finally laugh. “First of all, forget the rules. Just be yourself. Live in the moment. Whatever happens, don’t fight it. If he makes a move, go with it. Unless you just flat out don’t want to. But knowing you, that won’t be the case.
With Jackson at least. I’ll be there if you start to panic. But really, just relax and enjoy the evening.”

             
We enter the kitchen where my mom and Jackson are sitting at the table eating a cookie.

When he becomes aware of my presence, he stands up and his eyes widen at the sight of me. I watch his throat move up and down as he swallows. Positive sign, I note. “Hi.”

“Hi.” I reply lamely. “You look nice.” He’s wearing a blue dress shirt tucked into a pair of khaki pants, which fits his physique pleasantly.

He smirks, his blue eyes roaming my body. “You look beautiful.”

“Awwww.” We both turn to my mom and Randa watching us in awe, embarrassing the hell out of me.

“Okay, it’s time to go
.” I announce, grabbing my purse. “See ya later, mom.” I hug her. She kisses my cheek, wishing us a great evening.

“I’m meeting Ian at my house. I’ll see you guys in a bit.” She gets in her car and takes off.

Jackson opens my door and I hop in. “Thank you.” I sniff the air, inhaling the scent; orange. The inside is clean and newly vacuumed. He gets in and shuts his door, noticing me. “It smelled like an ash tray. I didn’t think it’d be appropriate to take my date out in the stench.”

I cross my legs, sitting as ladylike as possible. “
It’s okay, Jackson. You don’t have to change your habits for me. I know you smoke; it’s a nasty habit, but I won’t ask you to quit for my benefit.”

He buckles his seat belt and starts the engine. He watches me for a minute with a wide smile, before leaving my driveway. “You’re
really something. You know that?”

“I hope that’s a good
some
thing.” I hesitantly remark.

“It’s a really good thing.” He reaches out to touch my hair, “I didn’t get to tell you before, but your hair looks amazing.” I blush, thankful it’s dark in here so he can’t see how easily he affects me.
“Also, you don’t need makeup. Your natural look is perfect.” Another blush. Well, I don’t need blush when he’s saying such things to me. But I’m glad he likes me without makeup, since I don’t like wearing that stuff anyway.

He turns the music on; playing Incubus as we cruise to the restaurant.

We pull into the little restaurant in town.
Randa and Ian show up shortly after. It’s typically busy for a Saturday, which is no surprise. The place has the best steaks and mashed potatoes. I’m still getting used to my hair being shorter, not being able to put it back in a bun the way I used to. But I like it.

             
We’re seated in a booth. Jackson sits beside me and every once in a while, I feel him brush up against me. I don’t know if it’s on accident or it’s a sly, subtle gesture, until he pushes against me a little harder, shoulder to shoulder, and winks at me when I glance between us.

My eyes scan the menu, all the while trying to keep chest from exploding with all the sensations coursing through me with his proximity. I already know what I want, but damn, I can’t focus. My hands itch to reach over and touch him. I don’t even have to go that far.
Take it slow, don’t rush this.

“Hey, how is everyone doing tonight? I’m Holly; I’ll be taking care of you.” says the pretty brunette. I smile. We give our drink orders and she scampers off, giving Jackson a flirtatious smile. He doesn’t notice.

We soon order our food and chat amongst ourselves above the loud chattering going on around us.

“So, how’s football?”
Randa asks, making small talk.

Jackson scowls. “It’s fine. I’m sucking hardcore right now. My head’s just not in the game.”

Dinner goes smoothly; Randa observes closely. My phone beeps in my purse. When I check it, I laugh out loud, look up to see Jackson’s curious eyes and clamp my mouth shut. That makes Randa laugh too. It was a text from her;

Girl, you’re doing great. I’ve been noticing his stares when you’re not paying attention and the subtle touches. He’s so into
you it’s not even funny. The tension hanging over our table is freaking hot.

I discreetly read it over and over; my face growing warm. I stuff my phone deep into my purse and close it.
Randa’s eyes shift from me to Jackson. He’s talking to Ian so he doesn’t notice our secretive observations. When we finish our dinner, the waitress lays our check down and we pay.

Jackson stretches his upper body and announces he’s going to the restroom. “Okay, so you’re on your own.”
Randa tells me. “You’ve got this; go to the beach alone and enjoy the nice evening.”

“What are you going to do?” I ask, on board with the idea of spending time with Jackson by myself, but still curious of her plans.

“We’ll just hang out at my house watching movies or something. Don’t worry about me.”

Jackson returns and I grab my leftover box and we pile out of the restaurant
after paying. Another dinner bought for me.

It’s a little windy tonight, but perfect for taking a walk on the beach. And I’m no longer nervous about being alone with him or what to expect. Instead, I’m eager to get out on our own.

“Okay you two, we’re outies. I forgot I had some homework I needed to get done.”

Jackson gives her a look; he’s on to her.
“Right.” His head bobs up and down.

She asks.
“What?”

“That’s the lamest excuse,
Randa. It’s Saturday. No one does homework on Saturday. No one.”

“Well, I’m lame. What can I say?”

He doesn’t buy it, and I watch the scene with amusement. “You’re forgetting, I dated the Queen of excuses, herself. Amber used every excuse in the book for everything.” He glances at me briefly, “And anyway, you could’ve just said you’re giving us space, so you and Ian are going to do something else. In which case, I’d say, thank you…I kind of wanted to spend alone time with Sky tonight anyway. But we enjoyed dinner. Let’s do it again sometime.”

After a moment of silence, we al
l laugh at our ridiculousness. “ Well, fo have fun.” Randa gives me a quick hug and a wink before pulling Ian away. “Call me later Sky; I’ll be in suspense knowing how it went.” She shouts.

Jackson opens my door and says to her, “I’ll be sure to take pictures so she has proof.” He winks at me. Ugh, their ability to wink is making me feel pathetic. But I can’t help the crazy feelings that run amuck when he does that and I love it. It’s so sexy.

The drive to the beach is quiet. I sneak peeks at him, his hand on the gear shift, his leg resting against the side. My mind conjures up an image of him using those hands on me. I close my eyes, letting it take me there, to a place I wanna go but won’t initiate it. At least not now.

With the wind whipping my hair around my neck and my dress flaring around my feet, we walk along the beach. I took my shoes off in the car, loving the feel of the sand beneath my toes. Other beach-goers mill around, playing ball or chasing each other in the water. Jackson finds a secluded area in the sand; I plop down next to him. “It’s nice out here,” he begins, “It’s windy but it’s nicer than the heat we’ve had.”

I lean back on my hands and cross my right leg over the left one at the ankle. Luckily my dress is long. “Yeah, I’m ready to be in cooler climates.”

He looks out to the water. “Being out here takes all the stress away. I feel like I can tell the wind anything and it would just get washed up, but I’d have it all laid out, feeling the pressure lifted.”

I look at him. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

He moves his head, he nods slowly. “I know. That’s one of the things I always appreciated about you, our friendship. You never judged me or thought less of me.”

I sit up and cross my legs underneath me. “Why would I think less of you?”

“I’m not Jared. I’m not smart like him. I’m not respectful or considerate. I can’t do calculus as well as he can. I don’t always take life seriously. I curse worse than a sailor.”

I hold my hand up, stopping him. I don’t get it. “Okay, you’re not Jared.” I state the obvious. “First of all, if you were, we wouldn’t be on this date. Second, you’re smarter than you give yourself credit for. Third, everyone lives their lives differently. You like to live life on the edge, you’re adventurous. There’s nothing wrong with it. You have to stop comparing yourself to your brother. You’re total opposites, night and day, chocolate and vanilla.
Mysterious and predictable.” He laughs a little. “Oh and the cursing, I like. I might not do it that often, but…I like when you do it. Don’t ask me why, I just do.” Jackson makes the ‘F’ word sound sexy, which is weird considering that it’s offensive, but nonetheless, I love it out of his mouth.

Silence stretches out for miles between us while he watches me and looks out at the water as if he doesn’t know what else to say, making me feel further from him than I’d like to be. Finally, I get up and pull him up with me. “I’m not spending this date in silence. I could do that at home in my dark room.”

“Okay, so how do we remedy that?” I start walking toward the shore and it’s like the lightbulb just goes off in his head. He starts shaking his head, not keen on the idea. “Oh Sky, we don’t have extra clothes.”

I ignore him, walking further in. “Oh come on, you’re the adventurous one. They’re just clothes, they’l
l dry.” The water laps around my ankles, the bottom of my dress getting wet, biting my legs.

I hear his voice grow closer from behind. “We’re not eight anymore.”

I laugh, remembering all the times we came out here with my dad. I never went in the water with a bathing suit on. I always had regular clothes and nothing to change into, but I survived. It beats just sitting there quietly. I move further away from him, the water coming up to my knees now. Jackson finally plays along, chasing after me, making loud noises. I can feel the rocks under my feet cut into my heels as I rush to the opposite side. But I kind of
want
him to catch me, so I slow down a fraction.