The Summer I Learned to Breathe

eight

☼ eight ☼

Gabe, Sam, and I have been back at the house for about an hour, relaxing around the empty fire pit talking. We've been waiting, rather impatiently, for darkness before lighting a fire. It's somewhere before nine o'clock, and dusk is lingering on the horizon. There's a slight chill to the air, but it's not too bad; I took my jacket off after dinner and I haven't needed it yet.

I closed my eyelids a while ago to rest my eyes, but I've decided to keep them shut and entertain myself with a little eavesdropping. From Sam and Gabe's vantage point, I'm asleep on one of the chairs surrounding the fire pit. But in reality, I'm faking slumber the best I can to eavesdrop. So far, the conversation hasn't been interesting. In fact, I've almost drifted off to sleep a few times; it's been a long day, and I'm exhausted.

"So, Sam," my brother says. "Are you into my sister?" This change in subject captures my attention.

I want to roll my eyes, but I resist the temptation. "Of course not," Sam quickly responds, but he doesn't sound truthful. I know his tone well enough to guess that he's lying.

"You really think I'm going to believe that?" I want to laugh, but I can't blow my cover. I focus on maintaining even breaths to fake my nap. "I can tell by the way you look at her," Gabe continues.

I hear Sam lightly exhale. "You can't tell her." I inhale a bit sharper than I had intended to; I wasn't expecting his answer to sound so sincere. I suspected Sam liked me, but I was never positive. Until now, of course.

I hope the boys failed to notice my discrepency in breathing. "Trust me, I won't," I can almost hear the smile in Gabe's voice as he talks. "Because she already knows."

Wait. What?

I wonder how Gabe has any clue about my feelings that are starting to develop for Sam. I haven't been very open about relationships with my brothers because I've been terrified they would act something like this--bombarding my crush with questions to the point of driving him away.

Judging by the silence, Sam is just as shocked by Gabe's statement as I am. "I hear you like pranks?" My brother abruptly changes the subject.

Sam chuckles. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." It's quiet, but only for a second. Then, I notice whispering and I assume they are conspiring against me. I'm not too worried about what Sam would do to me, but I definitely don't trust my brother.

He's pulled nearly every prank in the book on me: hiding a fake spider in the safety of my comforter, replacing my mango-scented shampoo with paint, setting my alarm clock to scream obnoxiously at three in the morning, replacing delicious pudding with mayonnaise, putting Bella's dog food in my lunch box for school, changing the home wallpaper on my phone, and squirting shaving cream in my hand and tickling my nose while I'm asleep.

My heart starts pounding in anticipation. I don't have time to ponder the situation because a pair of arms suddenly wrap around me, and I'm lifted into someone's firm hold. I jump slightly in response to the surprise touch, but I immediately relax to maintain my act.

I'm curious as to where I'm being carried, so I slightly lift one eyelid just enough so I can peek through my eyelash. I can make out a treble clef tattoo on the arm of the person carrying me, and I instantly identify him; I know for certain Gabe doesn't have any tattoos because he constantly complains about how atrocious they are.

It's Sam.

I shut my eye before I figure out where he's taking me. His grip on me is secure, but light. It's like I'm a piece of his grandmother's fine china, and he's afraid to either break me if he holds too tight or drop me if he holds too carelessly. My thoughts focus on Sam, and I am completely distracted; my brain is like a derailed train. I can't help but enjoy leaning against him, and I feel like a middle school girl experiencing her first real crush because I catch myself attempting to memorize his scent.