County Falls

Chapter 7: Kissing

My mom still wasn't home, which I found unfortunate. I may have been happy that she wasn't here earlier but now I wanted to tell her everything about my night. I contemplated calling Lauren but all she would want to talk about was whether or not we engaged in any physical activity. I couldn't call Aidan because talking to him about this would just be plain weird and I definitely couldn't call Jase, who was still unaware that I went out at all. I flopped on my bed and went over the nights events. The restaurant was romantic, the food was divine, and the conversation came naturally. Oh, and the kiss...the kiss was- my thoughts were interrupted when I heard my window slam close. Jase hovered over me with a scowl on his face. That look told me I was not going to enjoy what he had to say.

"Hey Jase." I said trying to play the awkwardness off. "How was your night?"

"Not as good as yours, from what I hear. Want to explain why you lied to me?"

I sat up slowly. "I didn't lie to you exactly. I told you that I didn't have a date on saturday, which was the truth."

"Quit fucking around Kaia!" Jason yelled.

"Don't yell at me!" I screamed back. "I didn't tell you about rescheduling because I knew it would make you uncomfortable and angry and look, I was right."

I walked away to my bathroom, the threat of tears coming to my eyes. I hated when I cried in front of anyone. It made me feel too vulnerable. A soft knock came from outside the door.

"I'm sorry I yelled. Would you please come out so we can talk?"

I changed in my pajamas slowly to let my anger simmer and for him to soak in his guilt. It was the first time that he ever yelled at me in anger and to be honest, it scared me. When I felt that he had suffered in silence enough, I opened my door. He sat on my bed with his head in his hands, his legs fidgeting.

"You wanted to talk. So talk." I crossed my arms across my chest.

"I'm really sorry. I was at Brian's house when Justin came in and started bragging about his night with you. I nearly lost it on him right there but instead I rushed over here hoping the walk would calm me down. As you can see, that didn't work out so well, I got more worked up and I took it out on you."

I couldn't help feeling sorry for Jase. His face looked so sad and defeated all because I lied to him. I felt horrible.

"Im sorry too Jase." I sat next to him and rested my hand on his.

"I should have never lied in the first place. I know how you feel about me dating a teammate of yours and I was afraid to upset you any more. Guess that didn't work out too well either." A small laugh escaped my lips and he smiled, to my relief. "If you don't want me to see him again, I wont."

Jase stared at me for a while. I imagined wheels turning in his mind as he thought about what I had just proposed. I bit down on my lip, afraid of what his answer would be.

"It's fine Kaia, really, you don't need my permission to see anyone. I didn't like that someone knew something about you that I didn't and I lost my cool, that's it. I didn't even believe him when he first showed up. I thought he was delusional or confusing you with someone else because you said it was cancelled. I looked at him like he was an idiot... Looks like I was the idiot."

"You're not an idiot! I mean, sometimes you are, but in this case..." Jase laughed at me and made himself at home on my bed.

"You comfortable there, buddy?" I asked sarcastically.

"I am. Thanks for asking." He patted the empty space next to him and I joined his side. "So how was it?"

"My date?" You really want to know?"

"Not really, but friends talk about this kind of stuff."

"I do want to talk to you about this because I know how you'll react."

"I'm fine Evans. I didn't mean to take away from your first date experience. I just want you to be happy and if that means listening to you gush over some guy, then so be it."

Jase was so sweet sometimes, it was hard to keep my composure. He made me want to cry all over again. I started from the beginning when he brought me flowers and ended at home, conveniently leaving out the goodnight kiss. He may have calmed down but I didn't want to risk him going all caveman on me again. He was impressed with the restaurant choice and laughed when I mentioned the anecdote about our last drink together. After a long period of silence jase asked the one question I was afraid to answer.

"Did you kiss him?"

He saw my cheeks flush which gave away the answer. "Are you mad?"

He remained quiet for a minute before he responded. "I'm not mad, just concerned. Are sure about Justin?"

I nodded. "He was really nice tonight."

"And you had fun?" he asked.

I nodded again. He let out a strong sigh and remained quiet. After a bit more silence, I was sure that Jason had fallen asleep and as I started to drift off he shifted beside me and grabbed my attention. "Do you remember your first kiss?"

"How could I forget? Greg Castro at the freshman homecoming dance. He took me to the back of the cafeteria and proceeded to drool all over my face. It was awful!"

I remember pushing Greg off of me and running back to the dance in tears. I was so upset that he ruined my first kiss. Jase eventually found me and threatened to beat him up. I swear, violence was his answer for everything.

"You should have let me kick his ass."

"And have you suspended your first month there? Not an option."

He gave me my favorite lopsided grin and scooted closer to me. "Do you remember what I did instead?"

I laughed out loud. It was the first time Jase climbed through my bedroom window. He managed to shimmy up the nearby tree on to my roof and scare the living shit out of me.

"Of course. Its not everyday that someone you've only known for a short while comes through your window and touches everything!"

"I was curious. I'd never been inside a girls room before."

"Why don't I believe that?"

"I was fourteen Evans, give me a break. Your room was my first," He gave me a sly look "but it wasn't my last." I hit him with my stuffed unicorn a couple of times before he surrendered and urged me to continue the story. "Then what did I do?"

I sighed. "You told me that I deserved better than Greg Castro and that my first kiss should be special."

The memory stuck out vividly in my mind. Jason approached me carefully, stared deep in to my eyes and grabbed my shoulders. I stood there frozen, unsure of what he was going to do and then he leaned in and kissed me. The kiss was short but it was powerful enough to replace all of the bad memories of that night. It was the best moment of my life so far, and my eyes got watery for the millionth time at the memory.

"I was pretty smooth, even back then."

"I never thanked you for that night. You made everything better. You always do."

"I would do anything for you Kaia. You know that."

It was true. I knew that Jase would always be there when I needed him and I would do the same for him.

"Jase?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you rub my head like you do sometimes?"

I heard him chuckle and then felt his hand slide through my hair. I felt him kiss my forehead next and hear him whisper 'good night' before I drifted to sleep.

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, if so, please vote and comment. Thank you so much for your support!