First Kiss (Heavy Influence) by Ann Marie Frohoff Read Free Book Online

interfere with whatever was happening. My bag dropped to the floor and I leaned over, taking out Jake’s shirt and draping it over my face. I lay on the sofa like that for an hour; peaking out every so often to see how many minutes had ticked by. Finally it was time to check if Jake’s band mates were gone. I sprinted up the stairs to my room and stared at myself in the mirror as if my reflection would tell me what to do. I was a mess. Jake was more than “just Jake” now. He was the ignition that started my engine.
                  I ran to my parent’s room, the only room in the house that had a view of Jake’s back yard and of his bedroom window. When his window blinds were open there was a clear view into his room; one of the otherwise not so wanted benefits of living in suburbia, but I was happy about it. I didn’t see anyone.
    I bound down the stairs and slowly opened the front door. I was happy we had a courtyard, so no one could see me unless they were standing right in front of the gate. I crept over to the fence to see if I could hear anything. There was no longer any muffled music or voices. I pulled over a nearby chair and peeked over the fence to see if see if any of the guy’s cars were still parked in front. They were gone.
                  I walked back into the house with my stomach in knots. I felt silly all of a sudden. Would he think I was a cling-on, a groupie or whatever they called those fan girls? I thought about that movie Almost Famous – come to think of it, Jake and I had watched that movie together with my brother. There was no weirdness then. I wanted there to be no weirdness now. I needed to snap out of it. Finally, after talking to myself forever I made my way to his house.
                  “Hey,” I said softly as I approached his garage interior.
                  “Hey, I was just wondering if you were gonna come back over. I was gonna wait a little bit longer and then head over to Dump’s house.” He flashed his thousand-watt smile at me. My hands began to sweat as my blood rushed to my head. “Are you ok?”
                  “Yeah, why?”
                  “I don’t know. You look flushed.” He looked concerned.
                  Oh my God! I was totally blushing! What a fucking freak, I had to get a grip! My thoughts smacked against each other as they ran around my brain.
                  “It’s hot out here, aren’t you hot?” I said, fanning my face with my hand. Now I was light headed.
                  “Let’s go in the house, I’ll get you some water.”
                  He grabbed my hand pulling me toward him so he could put his arm around my shoulders. What he didn’t realize was that when he touched me it made my heart pump faster and my light-headedness even worse. We went into the house and immediately the cold air gave me relief. He sat me at the kitchen counter and handed me water from the fridge. I pressed the cold bottle against my cheek and closed my eyes. I breathed in deeply; telling myself it was no big deal. I could smell the faint scent of him, and I breathed in deeper. Opening my eyes, I felt an instant surge. Jake was still standing there, staring at me. His mouth was slightly open and he was watching me. My insides melted into my feet.
                  He cleared his throat. “Are you feeling better?”
                  “Yeah, thanks. I should probably go home and lay down.” I got up and stumbled a bit, grabbing the counter. “This sucks, I really wanted to listen to more of your music and….”
                  “You can lay down on my bed…come on,” he interrupted, and grabbed my hand. “You probably just got a little heat stroke or something.”
                  He led me through the house to his room. I thought I was dreaming.
                  He released my