Gem City

Chapter 6-1

“All The Small Things” – Blink 182

“Fly” – Sugar Ray

“Sugar We"re Goin" Down” – Fall Out Boy

Over the next two weeks, the four were inseparable. They had undertaken almost every possible dating opportunity available in the small town: the movies, mini-golf, and every restaurant in a five-mile radius. They had ordered in pizza, Chinese, and Mexican food. Ethan, true to his word, had happily chatted away during each outing, stealing some serious kisses whenever he could, but not pushing her any further. While Courtney was grateful he was giving her the time she needed to grow more comfortable, she missed some of the heat from those first few days together.

They all ventured to the city pool late one morning. The boys were playing basketball, and Courtney took the opportunity to seek out her friend"s counsel while lounging by the pool. “V? I need your advice.”

“I am at your service.” Vanessa pushed her sunglasses on top of her head and leaned in like they were in a secret meeting.

“I feel dumb even asking this. I don"t know, you are so, like, in control when it comes to how you act with Luke, and I feel like I need to be more… I don"t know, confident?” She didn"t know why she felt nervous talking to her best friend about it… just the whole development with Ethan was outside her normal comfort zone. Deliciously outside your comfort zone, she correct internally. “I know I"m good at saying "no," but I"ve never tried to say "yes" to anything before, because, well, it hasn"t really come up. Not like this, anyway.”

Deliciously outside your comfort zone,“You don"t need my advice,” Vanessa replied swiftly. “You just need to make up your mind. Is he going too fast or too slow? He"s been with you every night for almost two weeks, and he does exactly what you want him to do, so you"re already in control. You just need to own it. If you want to move forward, you"re going to have to do it yourself. He"s totally afraid of doing something you don"t want him to, which is sort of weird. For him, anyway. Just accept that his feelings for you are real, and then do what feels right for you.” Her sunglasses went back down, signifying the end of the advice-giving.

“You"re such a wise old owl. What would I do without you?” Courtney asked, lightening the mood. “But you"re right. I do need to take control of what I want.” She looked towards the court and appreciated the drop in her stomach when she saw him. “Speaking of which, right now I want that red-headed lifeguard to stop undressing Ethan with her eyes.”

“Ah, welcome to the world of having a ridiculously hot boyfriend,” Vanessa commiserated. “I want to put a sign on Luke sometimes that says he is taken. Like "beware of dog," but "beware of crazy blond chick who will beat your ass if you touch her man." I"m still working on the specifics.” Courtney giggled, imagining Luke wearing such a statement.

“Well, even if he"s not my boyfriend, I think I have to do something about this situation.” There was something about being around Vanessa that pulled out a brave-girl-warrior side Courtney didn"t know she possessed. She took to glaring at the lifeguard through the comfort of her sunglasses and chewing her bottom lip.

“Do it up, girl.” Courtney slipped on her flip-flops, adjusted her skimpy yellow bikini for emphasis in the right places, and sauntered over to the basketball court.

“Hey, sexy,” Ethan called, admiring her. She remembered feeling envious of other girls when their boyfriends would look at them that way. Like no one else existed. She almost had to convince herself not to be jealous when she glanced up at him-because everything in that stare was for her.

“Come here,” she told him from the sideline. He jogged over.

“What"s up? Everything okay?”

“Well, it will be in a minute.” She was unconcerned with the fact that there were several people waiting for him to return to the game. Her heart was pounding for more than one reason; she just hoped what she was about to say made things clear for him. For where she wanted things to go. “See, there"s this lifeguard over there, and I sort of don"t like that she"s drooling over you. I think she"s hoping you drown in the pool so she can perform CPR.” Being this directly flirtatious with any guy was unfamiliar, but it was giving her a sense of power all the same.

Ethan looked up, apparently not surprised. “And you want me to go tell her I"m taken?” he asked, confused. Courtney was slightly taken aback that he"d been okay with referring to himself as "taken," but she pressed on.

“Nope. I want you to show her.” Courtney grinned, taking his hands and placing them very low on her back. His smile widened and he kissed her playfully. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, bolting back for the pool. Courtney squealed in protest, but she was secretly overjoyed. This should make things clear, she thought smugly. Ethan tossed her into the pool when he reached the edge and jumped in after her. When the sun hit him, light bouncing off of the water droplets clinging to his skin, she thought she might lose her mind. He swam over to her. “Well, now that I"ve fulfilled your request, you have to do something for me.”

This should make things clear,“What"d you have in mind?” Her thoughts were wandering as she got used to the water.

“Well, I like to think I"m pretty secure in my manhood, but since you brought it up first, do you see that group of guys over your left shoulder?” She looked and nodded. “That"s half the JV football team. And while you"ve been prancing around in this ridiculously tempting bathing suit all morning, they"ve been eyeing you like they"ve got a shot. So just to be certain that everyone"s aware you"re here with me…” He reached down and grabbed her thighs, wrapping her legs around his waist under the water. She laughed and indulged his wish, holding on tightly and letting him kiss her very publicly, never wanting that kiss to end. After he was satisfied, they challenged each other to various tricks off the diving board until Vanessa and Luke reappeared. They all agreed to get cleaned up, and that the girls would plan something for that night.

* * *

“So, I think I have an awesome idea,” Courtney relayed excitedly to Vanessa on the way home.

“Do tell.”

“I think we should have a "Throwback Thursday" night tonight. We should make our favorite foods from when we were kids- I"m talking mac and cheese, PB&J, Kool-Aid, Ho-Hos, and Sour Patch Kids. Then we can play games from our old middle school parties. Spin the Bottle might not be so appropriate, but we could play Truth or Dare, Twenty Questions… watch Empire Records. What do you think?”

“Well, I think you are a freaking genius. That sounds even better than night canoeing. Get on your phone and text Ethan and I"ll get ahold of Luke. Let"s not tell them the theme though; it can be a surprise.” Vanessa looked positively giddy. This was exactly what they needed. They used to plan stuff like this all the time, and it made Courtney feel like they were back in their old rhythm.

“Done and done,” she said, after texting with Ethan. “This is going to be so much fun. Let"s make ourselves pretty. Let me re-phrase. Let"s have you make us both pretty.” She smiled and batted her eyelashes at her friend for effect.

“Yes!” Vanessa agreed. The girls washed the chlorine from their hair and got ready to tackle the greatest throwback evening ever. They ran through the store, collecting anything that reminded them of the past. There was an exorbitant amount of candy, but that was to be expected, of course.

In the last aisle, Courtney noticed Vanessa grabbing an unusual amount of toilet paper. “Um, are you planning to pee a lot in the next several hours?” she questioned.

“Nope,” Vanessa replied. “Why don"t you think about it for a minute and get back to me.”

“OHMYGOD we"re going TPing! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I haven"t been since we were like thirteen and your mom took us when I was here visiting. That is perfect! Have I told you lately how much I"ve missed you?” she questioned, and gave Vanessa a giant hug in the middle of the grocery store.

“Aw, girl, I"ve missed you too. And us. Tonight is going to be perfect.” They paid for their nostalgia-inducing food and headed back to the house. Vanessa loaded up her iPod with songs from their past- namely Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, and a small selection of 90s pop-punk at Courtney"s request. “Oh, Ethan is going to HATE this music selection,” Vanessa laughed. “Wanna make a wager on how long it takes him to come over here and unplug my iPod?”

“I"m gonna go with the length of “Baby,” Courtney countered.

Vanessa"s mom had suggested they pull some old clothes out of the attic and dress the part, but they had decided against it. Neither of them was fond of their wardrobe choices from back in the day. “There"s no reason we have to look like fashion victims. The ambience will be enough,” Courtney justified as she took her new red sundress out of the closet. It wasn"t her usual casual garb, but she needed a boost that night. Vanessa swore it was perfect as she picked out her own skimpy blue halter dress. V"s mom was almost as excited about the party theme as they were, and had agreed to make all of the food while they got ready.

“She just likes to live vicariously through me,” Vanessa complained. “Shoot me if I ever stop living my own life, will you?”

“Oh, stop, she"s just being nice.” Mrs. Roberts had always been good to her. She got the impression she hoped Courtney"s school habits would rub off on her daughter.

“I guess,” Vanessa sighed. “I do think she"s coming to terms with the fact that this is who I am, though. She seems to be letting me make my own decisions more. I mean, we will be getting ready for college this time next year. How insane is that? I remember us freaking out about going to sixth grade and having lockers.”

“Oh, yes. I was convinced that I would forget my combination and be humiliated in having to get the custodian to come and cut the lock off,” Courtney recalled.

“You always did worry about weird stuff, friend. I was worried my braces would get stuck if I kissed a boy who also had braces.” Vanessa laughed. “You have to have priorities, right?”

“Obviously,” Courtney replied, wishing she had been able to go to middle school with Vanessa instead of moving. Checking her phone before leaving the room, she laughed at the text from her mom. She had delivered on the promise to send a picture of Ethan, and apparently, her mom approved.

M: Holy crap Courtney. He looks like one of those Holli-town models. Wherever it is that you shop. Make sure he is nice to you. Or I will come there and find him. Love you <3.