Grace; misanthrope // Jai Brooks

Chapter 20

We sat in Jai's room, I on his bed and he in his desk chair with his feet propped up on the bed. He had lent me dry clothes; a nice warm pair of sweats and an oversized T-shirt. It had been a long day; after school and the waterpark, we were pretty worn out. The sun was setting and a cool breeze came in through the window. Jai was fiddling with a rubix cube. As I watched him I noticed the redness on his nose and cheeks from the sun today. I smiled softly to myself in awe.

"Should we maybe have that talk?" I say hesitantly.

He glances up at me from the rubix cube, "What talk?"

I just look at him and the corners of my mouth make a small frown. I wasn't sure if he was tantalizing me or if he was truly unsure what I was referring to. When I don't say anything he finally looks at my face.

"Oh," he says with raised eyebrows once he realizes what I'm talking about. He sets the rubix cube down, "Okay. Let's talk."

He gives me his full attention. "All right. Let's hear what you have to say."

"No way," I protest. "You first."

"Why me?" He scoffs.

"You were the one who said it in the first place, that we needed to have a talk."

He rolls his eyes and smiles, "Fine, I'll go first."

He slid his chair closer to me, hugging his knees. He looks like he's searching for the right words.

"It's so nice sitting with you in study hall, it gives me something to look forward to every day. I feel like you're my sidekick. Or maybe I'm your sidekick. You're the only girl I think about. Part of me feels like I've known you forever, but at the same time I don't know you at all. But I know that I have so much fun with you." He gushes.

My cheeks burn and I'm unable to meet his eyes.

"Well," he presses gently and nervously brings a hand to his neck. "Do you have anything that you want to say..."

I can hear the anticipation in his voice. The longer I am quiet, the more tension fills the room. I can tell his eyes are burning on me and he wants me to look him in the face. I hesitantly open my mouth to speak but close it, trying to collect my thoughts.

"I can't tell you how much I really couldn't stand you before. But once I actually got to know you, really got to know you... you aren't so bad. I've been feeling nervous around you, and I'm never nervous around people." I laughed. "You're smart, kind, you have a big heart. You're really sweet. I have fun when I'm with you."

"Soo..." Jai trails off, looking up at the ceiling. "Are you saying... Am I hearing that maybe you like me?" He teases me.

I roll my eyes and shrug. "All right. Yeah, I feel safe with you. You're starting to feel like my new best friend. I feel like I've known you forever."

He's watching me. His eyes were glued to me with a childlike curiosity. He rises from the chair and kisses me. Then he wraps his arms around me in a huge bear hug. I giggle as he squeezes me tightly, my arms pinned at my sides.

"Jai," I laugh.

He pecks my neck with a bunch of small kisses and then lets go of me. I know that my face is cherry red so I burry my face in my hands.

"What's wrong?" He snickers, trying to pull my hands aways.

"Nothing," I say into my hands, trying to resist his grasp.

He is able to pull my hands away from my cheeks.

"Awh," he grins. "Somebody's bashful,"

I groan in embarrassment. My phone begins to ring. To my surprise, Bella's name appears on my screen. I can feel my face light up with excitement having missed my best friends. Jai watches me with a big smile on his face.

"Answer it," he whispers with enthusiasm, leaving the room.