Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits) Read online

  Mr. Tuscan had saved a lot of lives that day, including mine. We were lucky, and Nick was always proud of the fact that his father was a hero. He wanted to be just like him. I’d never forget the day a police officer came knocking on his door with the news of his father’s death while serving our country. I was there at the bakery. Nick was never the same after the funeral. He wanted to protect his family, especially his mother.

  “I think both our parents need a change. They need something good in their lives.”

  “I think your brain is doing that girl thing again.”

  “What girl thing?”

  “Where you fantasize about boys, heroes, and happy endings. There are no happy endings. My mom’s alone, and so is your dad. They lost their loved ones and will never have them again.”

  “But we’re happy, aren’t we?”

  “Yeah, but we’re just kids.

  “Well, they still kissed, so I think that made them happy.”

  “A kiss doesn’t mean anything, Jo.”

  I shook my head and sighed. He was such a boy.

  “Have you kissed a girl before?” I asked, knowing very well that he hadn’t; because if he had, he would have told me. And if he didn’t tell me, I would have found out from one of the girls at school, and there weren’t that many of us there. Eight in our class, to be exact.

  “Why are you asking? Have you kissed a boy?”

  “No. I’m not letting a boy kiss me until I know we’re in love.”

  “That’s stupid.”

  “You’re stupid. It doesn’t make sense to do it earlier.”

  “What if you fall in love and he ends up being a bad kisser?”

  I hadn’t thought about it that way. “Then I’ll have to teach him how to kiss.”

  “A man who has to be taught how to kiss is not a man.”

  “When did you become an expert at kissing?”

  “I’m not. That’s just the way it is. It should be natural. Why are we talking about spit-swapping anyway? Our parents are old enough to know what they’re doing.”

  I hoped they were, because when it came to the matters of the heart, I felt like I was getting more confused with each passing month — especially when I talked to Nick about it.

  “Now, what are you doing on your birthday? It’s in one week,” he asked.

  “Nothing, I guess. Do you have any plans?”

  “Nope. Want to celebrate them together?”

  It was a silly question because I couldn’t even remember one birthday that we hadn’t spent together.

  “Sure. Hey, look at that one. Is that a comet or a satellite?” I pointed to the night sky sprinkled with white dots.

  “Satellite. It’s too steady to be a comet.”

  “I wish we could do this on my roof. I bet you we’d see more falling stars than here.”

  “Well, maybe if you learn how to skip stones better, we can,” he teased. I hated him when he did that. Maybe we were already more like siblings than friends?

  I shook the thought away, because I didn’t want Nick to be my brother. Despite him being an ass-hat sometimes, I liked him as my friend.

  Chapter 2

  “Good morning, sunshine. Happy birthday. You’re officially a teenager now.”

  My father stood in the doorway to my room with a wide smile on his face. I hadn’t asked him about the kiss I’d seen last week, but I hadn’t seen Nick’s mom come around more than once a day to get her bread, so I wondered whether it was a one-time thing, or if perhaps they’d had a fight.

  “Thank you.”

  “Any special plans for today, or are you doing the usual dinner and movies with Nick?”

  “The usual. I wish you could come,” I pouted, knowing very well how much my father’s heart broke when I did that.

  “Me too, baby. But you know I have to run the store. I’ll have a surprise for you when you come back, though.”

  “You don’t need to give me anything, Daddy. I have everything I need.”

  “And I have the most thoughtful daughter in the world. How about a piggyback ride to the front door?” he asked.

  “Dad, I’m thirteen now. I think I may be a little old for that.”

  He pouted. Now I knew where I’d gotten that skill from. “Okay, one last time.” I hopped on his back, and he treaded toward the front door before setting me down.

  “You’re sure you don’t need me this afternoon?” I asked.

  “I always need you, but today is special.” He took me into his arms, folding me in a tight hug. I could feel all the emotions rolling off him and onto me, and I knew that his thoughts were running to the past again. “If your mother could see you now, she’d be so proud. You are the best daughter a father could ask for.”

  My mom had died at my birth, so my only memories of her were from the photographs my father had saved from before they had me. I didn’t own a single photograph of the two of us together, and the only female figure in my life was Nick’s mom next door, who was a pastry chef. Marge’s store smelled ten times better than ours did, but that was because of all the frostings, fruits, and sugar creations she used to decorate her cakes, muffins, cupcakes, and cookies. Still, I bet having my mom would have been a million times better.

  “I love you too, Dad. See you tonight?”

  “Yes, I’ll see you tonight.” He pulled a few bills out of his pocket and handed them to me. “Have a great time at the movies.”

  “Thanks!” I grabbed my backpack with the bathing suit and ran out the door. We were planning to go for a swim at the beach later on. Outside, I turned right and ran back up the three steps that led to Marge’s bakery.

  “Hi, Mrs. Tuscan.”

  “Happy birthday, Joelle.” She came out from behind the counter where she’d been shelving a new batch of cookies and hugged me tight. I loved it when she hugged me, especially the sweet way she always smelled, like a mother.

  “Thank you. Is Nick ready?” I started heading for the door to the back where I hoped to find my best friend.

  “Oh, you can’t go in there, Joelle.” Her eyes went wide with fear.

  I stopped. “Has something happened?”

  “No, it’s just that…”

  “It’s okay, Mom. I’m done.” Nick came out from behind the swinging back door. At the front of the house, the Tuscans had the store; at the back, a ginormous kitchen that took up the rest of the downstairs. There was a small sitting area with a door out to the patio, just like at our house, that they called a dining room. It was just a table with four chairs in the back of the kitchen. One day, when I had a job, I dreamed of buying my father a real house with a fireplace, a family room, a proper dining room, and a way smaller kitchen than the one we had now.

  “Done with what?” I asked, swiping the buttercream frosting off his shirt pocket.

  “I’ll tell you after the movies. Ready?”

  I nodded, and we hopped out the door. We were meeting a few friends from school at the theater and were going to go out for pizza later on. Although our town was small, we did have a movie theater. There was only one screen, but at least it was there. I’d heard theaters in large cities had several screens, but I was sure that ours was much more intimate. Different movies were scheduled at various times during the weekends, and the theater was closed during the week — except during the summertime when kids were off school, and they held camps and acting classes. I hadn’t heard of anyone from our town obecoming a famous actor, so I wasn’t too sure about the quality of those classes. Perhaps it was just another activity to pass the time.

  “Be careful.” Marge waved us goodbye and we ran out the door.

  “Which guys are coming?” I asked, once we were on our way.

  “Andrew and Carter.”

  “You three are inseparable.”

  “I could say the same thing about you, Molly, and Daisy. That’s who you invited, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” I laughed. “Why are you wearing your swim shorts already?”

>   “Because they’re a two in one. They’re shorts – and you can swim in them. What’s the point of carrying both around?”

  “What about a towel?”

  “Did you see the sun outside? They’ll air dry.”

  “You’re such a boy.” I shook my head.

  “So?”

  “So nothing. Let’s just go.”

  He pulled out a granola bar from his pocket and chewed it. One thing about Nick was that he always had something to eat in his pockets.

  We walked along the side road, not talking to each other, which was very odd. Any other day, it’d be difficult to get one of us to shut up so that the other could speak. I saw Nick sneak a look at me once every few minutes, but I pretended not to notice it. I wasn’t sure what it was about today that irked me, but something was off.

  The heat wave the past two weeks had dried up the grass, road, and anything else the sun had touched. Each time a car passed us, yellow dirt rose up, swallowing us in its cloud. By the time we got to the theater, I could taste it in my mouth and shake it off the curls of my hair.

  We walked up to the concession stand. The aroma of melting butter and popcorn filled the air.

  “The usual?” Nick asked, heading for line.

  “I’ll have a water instead of a coke today.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s less calories.”

  “Since when do you worry about that stuff? You’re like a toothpick, no matter how many cookies my mom tries to stuff in you.”

  “Since I’ve seen the way Carter looks at Daisy. She’s skinnier. I have to watch what I eat. I can feel my body changing.”

  Was I really talking to Nick about my body? It just sort of slipped out, but I’d caught him sneaking a peek at my growing boobs on several occasions, so I knew that he’d noticed.

  Nick stopped and pulled on my hand, “Don’t do that, Jo. Don’t let anyone else question how beautiful you are. Daisy’s a toothpick. You’re… you’re perfect.”

  I felt my cheeks heat. If it were any other day, Nick’s compliment wouldn’t have affected me, but it did today, and I didn’t know why.

  “Thanks.”

  “I mean it, Jo. I never want to hear you talking about your weight again.”

  Who was this boy? Even though I didn’t want to admit it, Nick was right. When I didn’t think about how other girls looked, I felt much prettier.

  “Maybe I’ll have a root beer, then. After all, it’s our birthday, right?”

  The drink was one of my and Nick’s favorite’s.

  “That’s more like it!”

  Once we got our popcorn and drinks, we went inside the theater where the others were already seated. I followed Nick down the aisle. The first seat was empty. I found it odd that our friends hadn’t filled the beginning of the row, and then there was another one between Carter and Molly.

  “You sit here.” Daisy pulled on Nick’s hand so that he’d take the first empty seat, and I felt my face heat with anger. Nick and I always sat together at the movies, especially on our birthdays. Why did Daisy have to separate us?

  “Wouldn’t you rather sit with the guys?” I asked.

  Nick shrugged, which again rubbed me the wrong way. As Nick took his spot, I frowned and moved over to the only other seat available and plopped down between two of my friends.

  “Hey, cupcake girl.” Carter looked at me in a dreamy way before leaning in for a hug. “Happy Birthday.”

  Carter had always called me cupcake. It just so happened that I’d dropped one in a school hallway once and then slipped on it, falling flat on my ass, and the nickname had stuck. He’d had a crush on me for a long time, but I never saw anything more in him than a friend. Besides, I was only thirteen, and my dad always told me that I’d have plenty of time to think about boys in my life after I finished school. That’s why he was so proud of my friendship with Nick. We looked out for each other like best friends should. When I leaned over and saw Daisy tickle Nick’s hand with her finger, I felt a shiver of jealousy hit me, so I leaned into Carter and held him for a bit longer than usual.

  “Thanks, Carter. You must be excited about the movie.”

  So was I, but we all knew that Carter was the biggest Transformers fan ever.

  “I’m gonna see it again with my brother tomorrow.”

  “But you don’t even know if you’ll like it.”

  “Oh, I know I’ll love it. There’s no way this movie will fail.”

  “Happy Birthday, Joelle,” Molly said from my other side. “Thanks for inviting us over.”

  “You’re welcome. How’s your little brother?”

  Molly’s mom just had a baby a month ago, so she’d been spending a lot of time outside the house to avoid the colicky cries.

  “He’s gotten bigger, and Momma says that his tummy should settle soon and he’ll stop crying. She’s tried everything, I tell ya, but then we found this trick of turning on a hair dryer. He stops crying and listens to the buzzing as if it was the most fascinating sound in the world. Babies, I tell ya. I’m not sure I’ll ever want kids.”

  “Well, you’re lucky you have a sibling.”

  This was coming from a child who had always wished for a large family. But I always had my father, and that made me a very lucky girl because there were enough foster kids and orphans in the world.

  “It doesn’t feel like luck right now,” she sighed.

  “It will get better.”

  “I hope so.”

  I got another peek at Daisy putting her hand into Nick’s popcorn bag – as if she didn’t have her own – and fluttering her lashes. Didn’t he see that she was flirting? Why lead her on?

  “Hey, pay attention. It’s about to start.” Andrew, another Transformers fan, called Daisy out. If I were brave enough, I’d have kissed him right then and there.

  The credits began rolling, and we all turned our attention to the screen. I wished I could concentrate as much on the movie as I did on Daisy, who every so often leaned into Nick to whisper something in his ear; maybe I would have enjoyed it much more. When it was over, pulsing with excitement, the boys couldn’t stop talking about it. Instead of going to the lake for a swim, we ended up hiking through the forest. Daisy twisted her ankle, or at least she was good at pretending that she did, and hung onto Nick’s arm for the remainder of the hike. That’s why we didn’t go swimming at Pebble Beach in the end – because of Daisy’s supposedly twisted ankle.

  We passed old Mr. Grafton’s house. The rumor was that it was haunted, yet it was still the best place to trick-or-treat. He always put up the spookiest decorations, although with the way his yard was kept, that really wasn’t too difficult to do.

  Next was Mrs. Gladstone’s ranch. We all stopped by the fence, staring at all the activity as Betty Sue, one of her cows, was calving.

  “Is it time, Mrs. Gladstone?” Andrew asked.

  “It sure is. Probably another hour or so and we’ll have a brand new calf.”

  “What are you going to name it?”

  “Well, if it’s female, Betsy, after her mother. If it’s male, Duke, after his father.”

  “Good luck!” I yelled out.

  “Thank you. And happy birthday, Joelle and Nicholas!”

  “Thanks!” We waved.

  “I bet you it will be Duke,” Carter said with pride.

  “I’m betting on Betsy,” Molly countered.

  “How do you know?”

  “Girl’s intuition.” She shrugged.

  “Feminine intuition is fiction,” Carter laughed.

  “That’s bull,” Molly argued.

  “It’s not. It’s ridiculous. You girls justify everything with intuition, even when it’s the most illogical scenario, so long as it suits you.”

  “And I see you still haven’t learned when to keep your mouth shut.”

  “I’m just saying how it is.”

  Molly just shook her head. Those two always argued, and their minds worked at the opposite sides of the spe
ctrum.

  As soon as we passed the farm, Nick and Daisy fell behind, and I joined Molly, Carter, and Andrew ahead. We found the sweetest blueberries and blackberries near the cliffs. Carter had a knack for finding the best ones, which he gave to me. Soon enough my stomach was full of berries, and my mouth and tongue were stained purple.

  Once I forgot about Nick and Daisy behind us, my mood lifted.

  “I can’t wait until high school,” Molly sighed.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because Carter’s older brother goes there,” Andrew teased.

  “Shut up. That’s not the only reason.”

  “Yeah, but it’s the main one. Who wants high school? All that homework and long classes. This is the life!” He looked down, swinging his legs back and forth.

  We were sitting on the high beam of an abandoned barn. The town often held parties and carnivals there. It was smack in the middle of town, just beyond the forest, and a stone’s throw away from the lake. Andrew passed me the last slice of pizza from one of the two boxes we’d brought. The air was dense, swirling with visible heat waves. Part of me wished for a swim to cool off, but that would mean I’d need to get into my bathing suit, which in the heat felt like a hassle. Besides, I could have used a few more minutes in the sun to tend to my summer tan. My skin was already brown, and while my freckles were waiting to pepper my nose and cheeks, Molly’s were more prominent than ever. The sound of thunder rolled behind us.

  “We better get out of here if we don’t want to get wet. Nick, can I have your shirt if it starts raining?”

  I felt my nose wrinkle up. Nick only shrugged, obviously confused by Daisy’s request.

  “It’s time for cake, anyways,” I said. “Let’s go.” I jumped off the beam, right down onto the stage below.

  “Jo, are you crazy?” Nick yelled out.

  “What?”

  “You could have broken a leg.”