Thieving Florida

chapter 7

"Won't your boyfriend worry about you?" Xander said. We were sitting on the sleeping bags, talking about our bet. I snorted.

"Boyfriend? Chris is just a friend. I haven't had a boyfriend since Noah," I said.

"First of all I have no idea who Noah is," Xander said. "Second, are you sure 'Chris' knows that you're just friends?" Xander asked.

I bit the inside of my cheek. I won't play dumb and pretend that the possibility of Chris liking me is impossible. I've read too many stories to know that the best guy friend will most likely end up liking the main character, but this is real life. Not everything is like the stories. Right?

I've thought about Chris liking me. While he's a nice guy and everything, I just can't imagine being with him. He's always been the guy who I can be free around. Burp or fart and laugh about it, eat to my hearts content, not have to worry about taking 'selfies', and just relax. He hasn't really shown any signs of liking me, he makes fun of me and goes out on dates with other girls.

"Of course he knows," I assured Xander. "And Noah is the guy I was dating when I first bumped into you. He ended up cheating on me, so in return I had Chris sneak into his house and put a few drops of jalapeño juice in his contact solution. Boy, I could have heard his screams all the way from here!" I said.

"Holy shit Jes! That's evil!" Xander exclaimed. I glared at him, Xander just smirked.

"Trust me, it's not one of my proudest moments. It wasn't my idea! Chris said he would get revenge for me, causing him the pain he put me through. I had no idea he would do that until Noah came to school after the doctor's with his eyes red. Which in a sense is what he did, I thought my eyes were burning at the sight of him kissing that other girl," I said. Xander just shook his head.

"Remind me to never push your buttons too much," he said.

"Too late," I replied, winking. Xander's eyes got really wide. I chuckled as he hit my shoulder playfully.

"Man, I can't wait to take a proper shower again. Actual clean, hot water and proper soap, having privacy..." he muttered. I raised an eyebrow.

"You assume you're going to win? And when was the last time you took a proper shower?" I asked curiously.

"I am most definitely going to win," Xander said, ignoring my question.

"Over my dead body!" I said.

"That can be arranged," Xander said. I regretted saying that because I saw the challenge in his eyes. He got up super quick and lifted me up by the waist. He secured his arms around me and took me to the edge of the roof. Suddenly I was hanging in the air, two stories above the ground. I screamed and hung onto Xander's arms for dear life. Then he decide that he wanted to put me through hell and did the worst thing possible.

He started tickling me.

I started laughing, screaming, and even crying. Finally I was back on the roof. I knew Xander was strong, but I didn't think he was that strong.

"W-w-what the heck was th-that!" I said breathlessly. Xander only smiled. I heard Eden snicker somewhere in the background, but I paid no attention to it.

"You said over your dead body, I'm sure you could have died," Xander said. "But c'mon, that would mean no one would be able to fulfill your side of the bet."

Eden suddenly decided to join the conversation, and of course she had nothing good to say. "Really Alec, she most likely wouldn't have died. She would have only suffered of shattering almost all the bones in her body, which I can't decide if that's better or not."