My Blue River by Leslie Trammell Read Free Book Online Page A

butter joke.”
     
    “Really?” I asked hesitantly. “Because it seemed to me you enjoyed spending time with Aaron.” Crap! I knew I sounded like I cared. I hadn’t even meant to say it or rather, I hadn’t meant to actually care let alone reveal it.
     
    “Oh.” He blushed and looked away. He seemed speechless. I couldn’t believe it. In the brief time I knew Jackson Cooper, he was rarely, if ever, speechless.
     
    We stood in a moment of silence, avoiding stolen glances. The chemistry between us was palpable, and my heart began to beat faster, which was never a good thing for me so I decided to end the moment.
     
    “Well, I agree to a truce,” I announced.
     
    “You do?” His voice went up an octave.
     
    That’s so cute!
     
    “Yeah, I do. You’re an okay guy, I guess.”
     
    “You’re not so bad yourself, Miss Addy.”
     
    Sheesh! He called me Miss Addy. Okay, I have to admit, that’s kinda cute, too.
     
    “Well, I better get back inside,” I pointed in the direction of the house, “My mom has me removing some really ugly retro wallpaper in the kitchen and I don’t want to tick off the warden.” I said, chuckling a little at my joke.
     
    He chuckled, too. “Oh, sure, I understand and again, please thank your mom for the lemonade, okay?” He handed the empty glass back to me. As I reached for it, our fingers touched and just not briefly—more than at the café—as if he had made the effort to make sure our fingers overlapped. It gave my heart a jolt and when I looked up at him, he was smiling. He was feeling it, too, I could tell.
     
    “Oh, y-y-you’re welcome. Guess I’ll be seeing you around, huh?” I stammered through my sentence.
     
    “Yeah, your parents have a lot of work to be done and it seems your dad is kind of a…a…city guy…I guess is what I’m looking to say. I mean, he’s a great guy, don’t get me wrong, but he doesn’t really know what he’s doing when it comes to doing handyman work.”
     
    “Oh, don’t feel bad. I couldn’t agree more. They have NO idea what they’re doing.”
     
    We stood a little longer in silence, both still holding the glass, fingers still touching. I couldn’t help it. I needed to leave, but I really enjoyed peering into those beautiful brown eyes. I didn’t resist the feel of his skin. He no longer seemed like “psycho boy.” In fact, he didn’t seem like the slightest psycho at all. I wasn’t sure why, but it suddenly struck me that I would probably never again meet anyone as authentic as Jackson Cooper. I could have stayed right here in this moment all day, basking in his presence.
     
    He made the first move, finally releasing his hold on the glass. I pulled the glass to my chest, still feeling the excitement of his touch. I barely knew him and none of this was making sense. I was lost in thought when he said, “Oh, hey, I’ll be seeing you at school, too. We’re in the same grade—small school. I’m bound to see you—see you a lot, actually. And I only live a mile that way. You can see my house from here.” He pointed south and he was right. I could see his house.
     
    I gulped and hoped it wasn’t audible. I felt a slight tingle that he lived so close. “Oh, that’s…that’s…great, yeah…okay, then, see you tomorrow…and then at school” Shut up! Addy! Now I was just rambling and I knew I sounded foolish. I was an over-confident teen queen turned blushing teeny-bopper. Even though I was choking on emotion, I managed to say, “See you later.”
     
    I turned to leave, throwing my hand to my heart, as if to keep it in place. I looked up to the heavens and whispered, “Well done—well done.”
     
     
     
     
     
    ********
     
    Jack’s Journal
     
    Wednesday, June 30
     
    I surrender.

4. Just Friends
     
    The sound was a pattern of thumping, then the sound of trickling water, then scraping. It started over again like, lather, rinse, repeat. I had been up late so I struggled to pry my eyes open. I