My Best Friend Jimmy

And Then There Were Fireworks

The unknown can mess with anyone's thoughts. I had no idea what the hell was going on. I was thinking thoughts that I never thought I'd think. I was feeling feelings I never thought I'd feel. Jimmy and I had been friends for the longest time. I had never felt these feelings towards him before-- even when he was single.

We walked over to where everyone was standing and cheering, right at the side of the pond. They were funneling beers, putting baseball bats on their heads, spinning around 10 times, then racing each other to a finish line. I knew that Jimmy was going to be all over this. We got to everyone and they put their arms around Jimmy and scooted him into the circle.

"You're mine, Fallon!" Jamie yelled throwing her arms up in the air. Jimmy stood there and clapped his hands together and bent over and let out a loud laugh. Jamie pushed her way through the crowd of people and grabbed a funnel.

"You know the rules, right Fallon?"

"Jamie, please. I invented the rules."

"OHHHHH!!!" everyone said in unison as Jamie looked down and gave a small grin. 

"Alright, let's do it then."

I was elected to officiate the race so I said the words, "Ready? On your marks, get set, GO!"

Jimmy funneled that beer like a complete champ, leaving Jamie in the dust. He quick ran and got the baseball bat and put it on his forehead and I started spinning him. I finally got him up to 10 spins and let him go. He took of but could not keep it straight for the life of him. I saw it coming almost before it even happened. He was going too fast and was too dizzy. He was heading straight for the pond. I ran after him to try to catch him, but before I could even get him, he tripped and stumbled right into the pond. Everyone watching erupted in laughter. I stood at the top of the bank and just looked down at him, shaking my head.

"You alright down there, buddy?"

He wasn't saying anything and he wasn't laughing. He slowly got up and he brought his hands up and looked at them. They were covered with blood. He looked up at me with a worried look on his face and his mouth was just hanging open. I rushed down the bank and got in the water with him to get him out of there. What the hell was up with this guy and mutilating his hands? Tom and Jamie got in the water with me and Jamie started looking at Jimmy's hand. Jamie was finishing up her residency as a surgeon at a hospital in Philadelphia at the time so she knew exactly what she was doing. 

"Okay, Fallon. It looks like just a couple of cuts and I think you ripped you cut open from before and that's adding to the blood."

I was holding onto him and I said, "Okay let's go get you cleaned up. I'll get your clothes from the car and Jamie will wrap up you hand for you." I looked over at Jamie, "You got him?"

"Yeah, I got him. He just knew he was going to lose. That's why he did this." Jimmy let out a nervous laugh and nodded his head. I jogged over to the car and grabbed Jimmy's bag of clothes. When I came back, I saw Jamie, but Jimmy was no where to be found.

"Where's the princess?" I asked Jamie.

"Oh, I got him all cleaned up so he went to the tent to get changed."

"Oh okay. Hey, thanks for taking good care of him."

"Jess! Anytime!" She got closer to be and lowered her voice. "Are you sure you're okay? None of us had any idea that shit like that was going on between you and Eddy. I wish you would've told me or Tom..."

"Yeah. I'm fine. It was really over before it was even over. Thanks for asking, though." I started walking away with Jimmy's bag to get him his clothes when she said something else.

"You know what I'm going to say."

"What do you mean?"

"You and Jimmy have been best friends for a long fucking time. You're in constant contact with each other. You spend the holidays together, and he follows you wherever you go."

"Yeah... what're you getting at?"

"Have you ever thought that what you've been looking for has been right in front of you the whole time?"

Shit. Even she saw it. I tried to lighten the mood. "Jamie. Are you trying to make a move on me?"

She laughed at me and said, "Shut the hell up! Go give that walking demolition derby his clothes."

I laughed and went on my way to the tent. I got to the tent and I could hear rustling around so I knew he was in there. I knocked on the side of the tent, "Jimmy? I have your clothes out here for you."

"Oh okay. You can just come in!"

I unzipped the tent and picked up the bag and walked in. I look at him and he's just standing there in his boxers. Shirt off, pants off. Of course he was. 

"Here's you bag." I said with a shaky voice, handing him his duffle.

"Thanks. Hey can you help me get my shirt on? I can't really grab it with these bandages."

"Yeah of course." He tossed me a white shirt and he put his arms up for me to put the shirt over. For a split second, I just stood there and looked at him. I don't think he saw me. I walked over to him and put his right arm through the little arm hole. "Okay. Next one." I put his left arm in the hole and could feel myself getting closer to him. I didn't try to stop it. He poked his head through the hole but the rest of the shirt was still up by his chest. I slowly held it and put the back of my hands on his skin and pulled it slowly down his body. I heard him exhale slowly. I could tell he was feeling it too. Half way down, I looked up at him and saw him watching me pull his shirt down. He looked at me, and we just looked into each other's eyes. We just stayed there for a little while. My hands were still down at his hips holding onto his shirt. I went to take my hands away and I was met by his hands gently holding onto my forearms. Now I definitely knew he was feeling what I was feeling. "Jess."

"Jimmy."

"I've never felt this way before. It feels so right." He ever so slowly started pulling me closer to him. Almost unnoticeable. I saw his lips separate and him lean in. We were so close. I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. It was happening. BANG. We both jumped away from each other.

"What the fuck was that?!" Jimmy said in a startled tone as he held onto my arm. He quick bent down, grabbed his pants, and rushed to put them on. We both went running out of the tent. BOOM. We looked up to the sky, and saw the most beautiful display of fireworks that we had ever seen. We were both relieved and looked at each other and let out a thankful sigh. We stood and looked at the sky. Time stood still. All the things that had happened that day were in the past and I was in the moment and I was exactly where I wanted to be. I felt Jimmy's arm come around my side and wrap around my hip. He pulled me closer and I looked up to him. He looked down at me and said, "I wouldn't want this any other way right now."