I Almost Killed My Crush's Mom

Chapter 21:: What are you doing to me?

Chapter 21// What are you doing to me?

“That’s awesome.”

I look up from my drawing, squinting in the brightness of the sun. I can feel the heat radiating around me, and the air is humid and heavy: it’s a beautiful day. Jesse stands before me wearing cargo shorts and a thin tank top, and I’m wearing something similar in the heat. He’s staring down at the doodle on my sketchpad, and I instantly hug the book closer to me in embarrassment. “Thank you,” I mumble, my cheeks tinting pink. Jesse had caught me doodling another image of a boy and a girl- this time the loved up couple are walking side by side, both leaning towards the other for an angled kiss. The fact that Jesse has seen the picture, above anything else, makes me want to crawl into a hole and never emerge. Combine that with my half-assed doodling skills and I feel pretty exposed letting him see that romantic side of me.

“Ben,” Jesse turns his head, calling his friend over. “Come and look at this.”

We’re currently all hanging out at the side of Jesse’s pool and relaxing. My brother is at a ‘friend’s’ house (probably Rita’s), my sister is home with my mom and I am here: in the place which is fast becoming my favorite place to be, besides my bedroom where I have Netflix of course. Jennifer is in the pool with her snobby friend Rachel, and Anne, doing yet another physiotherapy session. According to Anne, her leg is improving and she’s building up her strength again gradually. Although it will still be a few more weeks of the cast yet, she’s well on her way to recovery, and she is building up the muscle to start using her crutches more and more which is great.

Ben looks up from his phone at the sound of his name, and ambles towards us. “What is it?”

“Check out this drawing,” Jesse slides the sketchbook from my arms and shows Ben the drawing. Ben’ eyebrows shoot up, and he shares a long stare with Jesse. I shift uncomfortably, wanting with all my might to hide the picture from the boys. I feel like, just by looking at that, Jesse is seeing that I have a crush on him, isn’t that stupid? It makes me feel so exposed. “Isn’t it amazing?” Jesse grins at his friend, and once again it’s as if the pair are conveying a message with their eyes. Unfortunately though, it doesn’t last for long enough to let me figure it out.

Ben breaks the glance, and hands me the notebook back with a smirk. “It’s great Lois. Is it your relationship goals someday?” He wriggles his eyebrows tauntingly.

Act cool Lois. Be blaze.

I snort with laughter, “Yeah well to have a relationship, I’d have to find somebody who thinks I’m attractive. There have been no takers so far, so…”

“You’re attractive Lois,” Jesse rolls his eyes.

“I second that,” Ben nods.

I stare dumbfounded at them both, the heat rising in my skin and basically making me a tomato. “Thanks,” I chuckle nervously. I was not expecting them to be so blunt, or even to reply when I made that joke. Then again, they’re popular. Both boys have girls pining over them: I’m probably making a huge deal out of nothing. Besides, Jesse has called me positive adjectives before. It’s no big deal to them, so it shouldn't be a big deal for me. I calm myself with that thought in mind, until I hear Jennifer yell from the pool. “Hot Damn!” I spin around, laughing, and Jennifer winks at me from the side of the pool. “You’re gorgeous, sweetheart.”

By this point, I’ve gone past the tomato stage and I’m onto beetroot. Who knew one little joking comment could cause so many compliments. I never know how to answer people when they complement me. In fact, I think when I first met Adam and he said that I looked pretty (I didn’t realize he was gay at this point) I almost had a heart attack and said something like. “You I thank.”