My Kind of Woman

7. Bothered, In A Pretty Way

Soon enough, Giana grew jealous of Jackie and I going to swim together after school. I knew she didn't like me not walking her home often and instead, spending time in Jackie's pool. She never complained - of course! You wouldn't in that kind of situation, but I knew from her dejected body language when we parted ways and her constant hints that she'd love to come along. So, Jackie allowed her to come, saying to me that she had to join our swim sessions at least once. I was in no opposition, really.

After school ended, we all three ambled there with Giana excitedly chattering. Her and Jackie had been strangely clingy that day—not that I minded with Jackie at all, but from Giana it was slightly odd. Halfway up the road from school, Jackie had insisted she was exhausted so I hoisted her up onto my body and gave her a piggy-back as we walked. So I had to carry my backpack against my stomach. Giana stared at Jackie, who had her head laid against the back of mine and her legs secured around my waist.

"Are you really that tired, Jack?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. That, and Fish is my personal slave, of course." Jackie muttered into my hair.

"Glad I know where I stand in this friendship." I grumbled, shrugging her up on my back.

"Isn't she heavy?" Giana asked bluntly. Jackie and I both stared at her.

Jackie sounded a tad irritated. "Excuse me?"

"No, no, she's as light as a feather." I joked, trying to swerve the conversation away from a near fight. Jackie may have been small but it didn't diminish her confrontational nature; the short girl wasn't afraid of a row.

We came up to Jackie's house and I tried to put her down at the door but she tightened her limbs around my body so I couldn't do so. Giana stared some more.

"Do you mind pushin' the door open, Gi? Jackie's kinda got me locked." I said, smiling apologetically.

Giana just nodded and opened the door, stepping aside so that Jackie and I could pass through. Mio was pottering about downstairs as she was when Jackie and I usually got in from school, and at the sight of Jackie on my back, she frowned. She walked past us into the kitchen, swatting Jackie's leg playfully.

"Get down, Jackie. Leave Norah be."

I followed her through, dropping my bag by the counter and feeling Jackie reluctantly slide down off my back and fix her skirt. When I looked over at Mio, I noticed she was studying Giana as the new person in the room. I wondered whether she recognised Giana as the one I'd been telling her about, I was dying to gush to Mio about her. But, I saw that they were about to greet one another.

"Hello, you're...?" Mio started, smiling politely.

"I'm Giana, hi." Giana sounded a little shy. But surprisingly, Mio stopped talking then, the conversation cutting sharply short.

Mio looked over at me instead and I could help but laugh quietly at her. She smiled and shook her head back, scooting subtly around the kitchen. Jackie and Giana had started to talk loudly again, sounding a little like they were having a tiff but before I could interject myself, I felt warm breath on the shell of my ear.

"Is that the one?"

I turned my head to see Mio leaning against the counter beside me.

We spoke in quieter voices, and I said, "yeah, that's her."

Mio glanced over at Giana's pretty, moonish face and then looked back at me with a straight mouth. "She's very pretty."

By then, Giana had stopped yapping with Jackie and was motioning for me to move. I looked back over my shoulder and grinned at Mio in response to her compliment, but she just raised her eyebrows. Whenever she looked at me, she often looked like she couldn't help but be amused, like she couldn't help but smile at the sight of me. I didn't mind it at all.