Harassenger: Backseat Admirer ✔️

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

"Mick Conrad, put my sister down!" The worst idea was to babysit my sister with Mick around. It was more like I was babysitting two kids. They had built a living room fort, made a concoction of pizza with gummy worms, and now were having a 'who will fall down first' contest while Mick twirls Jamie into the air like a miniature helicopter.

"Don't be lame!" My sister started.

"Yeah, don't be lame! I'll pick you up next." Over my dead body, Mick Conrad.

"You both are too much to handle. I can't watch her that close to the ceiling anymore; it's making me sweat. I'm going get some ice cream."

"Oh, ice cream!" Those were the magic words that had Jamie Fisher kicking and screaming to get down.

"No ice cream for you unless you calm down." I reached into the freezer for my chocolate chip ice cream, putting it to thaw on the counter where Jamie couldn't reach it.

"I will." An empty promise from the girl holding her stuffed animal.

"Why don't we watch some television while we wait for the ice cream to get soft?" I suggested. Mick was up for anything, yet Jamie found looking at a television too somber for her day without mom.

"Ugh, okay." She reluctantly replied, sulking.

"Good sport."

"Mick?"

Jamie tugged on Mick's shirt, for what I assume was to pick her up and twirl her around again, but she didn't.

"Yeah?"

"Are you Natt's boyfriend?" She cooed.

"What? No he's not. How do you know what a boyfriend is? What are they teaching you at school?" I said, hunching over to talk to her.

"I have a boyfriend."

"Uhm, no you don't. Not until you're thirty." Mick chuckled behind, but I was all too serious.

"But I do! His name is Jake. I also have a friend that's a boy. He kissed me on the cheek and it was so gross! Do all boy friends kiss you on the cheek?"

"Who's this boy so I can..."

"Does Mick kiss you on the cheek? You guys are friends." She continued, interrupting my rage of words.

Mick and I exchanged glances, until he hunched over on the side of me, squeezing Jamie's cheek.

"A kiss on the cheek is harmless at our age, but I would not suggest the same for you?"

"So you've kissed her? Ew!" She squealed.

"Watch, it's nothing." Taking my chin in his palm, Mick kissed me sloppily on the cheek without second guessing himself.

Jamie had hidden her eyes with her hands, but looked through the gap to see him kiss me.

"Yeah Jamie, it's nothing at our age, but you, however, better not kiss, or get kissed anymore. Deal?"

"Deal."

As I got back onto my feet next to Mick, I pinched him on the arm for doing that in front of my sister. It may not have meant much to him, but that kiss was more than friendly to me. Unless he is gay, no guy friend should kiss his friend on the cheek, not even as a hello! But then again...we were fake dating. Ugh, this is so confusing; I'm going to be one of those girls to change her relationship status to "it's complicated' on social media.

"She's a kid; if you think this kiss isn't going to get back to my mother, you're wrong." I whispered out of earshot from Jamie.

"It's not like it matters, relax. Your mom loves me."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. It was true. Everyone loves him, apart from Holton.

"Stop talking. Let's do something fun. I don't want to watch TV so can we go play? How about Hide and Seek?" It was always her game of choice. Well, if you don't include chasing birds down the road which I don't advise any babysitting to do.

"Yeah, we can play." I gave in, as I always did with Jamie.

I sat beside Mick on the hardwood floor, which was recently sanded and covered with a beautiful chestnut stain, and closed my eyes. I counted to a hundred, only to see Jamie standing right in my face.

"I want you to hide." She hissed.

"Alright, alright. Go into your room and count to a thousand." I don't think she can count to a thousand, so this should be interesting.

She scurried off into her room, Mick taking my hand and bringing me to my feet.

"I know where to hide." He whispered, finger to his lips reminding me to be secretive.

We scampered to the fort we had created in the living, made of old fitted sheets extending from the couch to the coffee table. It was uneven and totally unacceptable from an engineer like Mick, but it would have to do.

I crawled into the fort first, and as he pushed his way in, I realized there wasn't room.

"There's not enough space for the both of us." I said.

"Sure there is." He pushed me to the side and to the ground, adjusting his weight on top of my body like I was a surfboard. He crushed against him, his thighs against my own, the button on my jeans pressing against my pelvis.

"You're killing me."

He adjusted his weight, but continued to stay on top of me.

"Better?" He asked.

The last time we had been in the dark together was when the electricity went out at the beach, but never skin on skin.

"I guess."

"My sister won't find us for awhile. She's bad at this game, and yet she still loves to play it." I smiled.

"She's cute, and you're really good with her. Do you ever want kids of your own one day?" Not a question he should be asking while he's on top of me. Unless, of course, he was referring to the process of making babies, if you know what I mean.

"I want one, but not any time soon. I want to make sure I can have a future with someone before I jump into having a kid...or even marriage. You?"

"That's interesting. I feel the same way about kids. I want one or two when I settle down with the right person, or settle down in general."

"Do you plan on moving back to Salty Edge or are you going to move permanently somewhere else?"

"Like I said, I have a job lined up elsewhere, but I don't know if I'm going to take it. I have a good job right now, and as we've discussed, I'm not crazy about running away from this town like everyone else is. My mind might have changed; I don't know if I want to leave now."

"Ahh."

"Yeah, I have a life here, new friends...like you. How will I be there for you if I leave?" He asked, his peppermint breath cooling my face close to his.

"Don't stay because of me. I can handle myself."

"That's what I'm worried about. That little word 'I' should be changed." I stared into the darkness, searching for those lips of his. I was going to kiss him, whether he rejected me or not. Well, that was until my sister barged in. Maybe it was fate pulling us away. Or maybe it was fate trying to make me try harder.

"Found ya!"

Perfect timing, Jamie. Perfect timing.