Beauty and the Jock

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways

Jennifer.

I was so bored...done with homework, done cleaning up my closet, re-arranging my dvd-rack, book shelf...

Yep, that's how cool my Sundays are...something to envy, right? Psht. As if.

I carefully took my guitar off the wall and chose a red plectrum from my pick-holder. Yep, boredom is my muse. Closing my eyes, I started to strum.

"Jen! Phone call" Chris called out to me from downstairs.

"Who is it?" I asked, not wanting to put down my guitar.

"A guy..." he said, his tone teasing.

I rolled my eyes and went downstairs.

"Why did your cell phone have to die? Why don't you get a new one? My life would be so much easier if I didn't have to answer your calls..."

"Shut up," I said, sticking my tongue out at my brother.

He laughed and went into his room, leaving me alone.

"Hello?"

"Jennifer."

I won't lie – I melted. Even after three weeks of being together, just hearing his him say my name over the phone, seemed to awaken the butterflies in my stomach.

"Hey," I said.

"Pick you up in an hour?" He asked.

"Sure," I smiled.

My day was getting better already.

"Where's your purity ring, Jennifer?" my mother asked when I got off the phone. Her tone was sharp – something I wasn't accustomed to.

"Um, I lost it."

"How?"

"I really have no idea," I told her, trying to keep my tone light.

She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Sorry Jenny...you know I trust you." Then, smiling, she said, "In fact, I was thinking about buying you a car."

"Huh?" was my intelligent response.

She laughed.

"Well, it's about time you have your own car, don't you think? I know I'm never home and we don't get to spend much time together, so I wanted to make it up to you. And besides, I don't want you to depend on others for rides when you get into college. So...what do you say?"

"Mom! I can barely drive!" I objected, but I was unable to hide my excited smile.

"You'll learn eventually!"

I bit my lip. "Okay...but nothing too expensive."

She smiled gently. "Don't worry, I've got it covered. Supporting this family isn't easy, but I couldn't have asked for better kids."

I smiled, hugging her. "Thanks mom."

"Okay so, brace yourself Jennifer! Because today, I'll be giving you safety lessons," Jason said, once I was comfortably seated in the passenger seat of his car.

I looked at him, confused.

"Safety lessons?" I asked.

"Yeah. Look, you know I love you right?"

I nodded, wondering what he was hinting at.

"And you also know that knowing you're safe means a lot to me?"

I gulped, "Jason, what – ?"

"Well then it's settled. We're going to my house and I will teach you the basics of how to protect yourself. So if I'm not around when you need me, you can take care of yourself just fine."