Ch.14 - 1-2-3-Rip
Melanie sat on her bed, contemplating her dilemma. It had been a good first step, she told herself, to intentionally injure herself so that Jared would come to her rescue. He had even been far more concerned than she felt the situation warranted, which was a promising development. However, after he’d bandaged her up and made sure she was as pain-free as she could be in that moment, he returned to his work and hadn’t re-entered the house the entire rest of the day. There was that one exception of when he’d come in for a quick drink of water from the sink and a trip to the first floor bathroom, both of which, to her chagrin, she had been napping during. He had said goodbye, but it had been quick and to the point. With both Jeb and Maggie present, she didn’t want to push for something more extended.
But today would be different. Today would be the day of persuasive curiosity. She would not let her cut, still a little painful though it was, be a barrier between any interaction she might share with Jared. She wouldn’t let his unusual focus on work deter her either. They were going to get past this awkwardness, even if he refused to acknowledge its existence.
……
Deep into his work beneath the car, Jared didn’t hear the soft footsteps of shoes on cement until they were right in his line of vision – and after the person belonging to the pair of feet in those shoes had cleared her throat.
“Melanie? Ow-” He cursed under his breath, annoyed that he’d raised his head partway to address his unexpected visitor.
“Are you alright?” she asked, concerned.
“Yeah,” he grumbled to himself and carefully pushed himself out from under the car on the opposite side. There was no way he was waiting until she’d bent down to see him wincing from his self-inflicted pain.
He felt her eyes on him as he stood to his feet, but reached for a relatively clean rag to wipe the grease off his hands and face before turning to face her.
“Do you need something?” he asked. Her jaw dropped momentarily, and he wondered if he’d offended her somehow.
“I…” She cleared her throat again. “Was wondering, if you had time, that maybe we could do the bike thing again.” She laughed self-consciously.
Immediately his eyes went to her leg where the small bandaid still stuck covering her cut from the day before. As his eyes traveled back up to her face, he realized she was wearing a white gauzy dress and wondered if that was on purpose to seduce him – or if she really didn’t know that it would be somewhat of a hassle to ride a bike in.
“How’s your leg?” he asked first.
“Oh.” She frowned, as if she had not considered that an issue. “It’s healed.” She paused and looked down, then ripped the band aid off without flinching. The cut was visible but clearly on its way to a quick recovery. “Hurts a little if I touch it.” She looked back up at him. “But it doesn’t bother me otherwise, and I don’t think it’ll be rubbing against the bike.” She paused. “Do you?”
“Well, no, but I-” He stopped himself before he could say it. The I might, because what did he do when he helped her ride her bike? He hovered, he held, he gripped firmly, whispered against her neck…all friendly, encouraging things before felt like they could be construed as mixed signals now.
He scolded himself for even thinking it. When they’d had their…talk, she’d seemed so convinced that he felt nothing more than friendship for her. So, why, he wondered, did it feel like she was trying to pull those feelings out of him? Or, create them rather. Ha! As if they needed to be created.
“Jared?” She snapped her fingers, and he refocused on her.
“Sorry. No.”
She raised her eyebrows.
He shook his head and cleared her throat. He did not need her to be confused about his feelings for her. He needed her to believe the conclusion she’d come to. The lie, you mean, Kyle’s voice said in his head, which annoyed him, and made him feel guilty.
“It’s just that I’m working on the car right now, Mel-anie,” he finished her name awkwardly and hated himself for it. Friends give each other nicknames too, idiot, he mentally told himself.
But not you, Kyle chuckled in his head.
Despite her facial expression, Melanie gratefully didn’t comment on how he addressed her. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest and fixed him with a stare. He didn’t know if that made things better or worse.
“And what about when you’re finished with the car? You going to return to the roof?”
“The house needs to get done, Melanie,” he insisted.
She laughed bitterly. “Then go work on it now!”
His lips parted but he said nothing, was suddenly rendered speechless.
“What good is it to fix the car if you’re not going to teach me how to drive it? Or –” she gestured vaguely towards where the bike lay in the distance – “if you’re not going to help me along till I can ride the bike on my own? They’re all healed now, but I tried when you were out ‘sick’” she taunted him with air quotes, “and I was not very successful. You saw in the flesh yesterday what happens when—”
“Okay, okay,” he said, coming around the car to her and gripping your shoulders. “I get it. You’re feeling neglected.”
She narrowed her eyebrows.
“You’re avoiding me,” she said bluntly.
“I’m not-” he began, but she wouldn’t let him.
“Yes, you are.” She sighed and he dropped his hands to his sides. “Look, I know you’re feeling awkward because of that…talk that we had. It’s weird for me too. But…” She sighed again. “God, Jared, I don’t want it to be like this all summer” she held up her hand when he tried to talk, “and for any more now either. So just…stop making excuses and…” she grabbed his hand and squeezed it warmly, “be with me.”
He groaned inwardly and just knew it came out in his facial expression as he looked down at their linked eyes.
There’s nothing I want more…
“I do have to get stuff done…” he started again. She tried to rip her hand away, clearly irritated that her smooth persuasions supposedly hadn’t worked, but he held firm. “But you’re right. After all, your Uncle did assign me to spend time with you.” He smirked, turning briefly into the shed to put away some tools. “More or less.”
“Jared, I don’t—”
“And I want to spend time with you,” he cut in, his eyes glittering as he returned to her. She looked suspicious. “I’ve missed you too.”
She nodded hesitantly and one of the corners of her lips twitched.
“Are you sure you want to try riding again in that though?” he asked, looking her over again, and then meaningfully looking into her eyes.
She frowned, looking genuinely confused.
“What’s wrong with my dress?”
“Well, nothing, it’s just—” But before he could finish his sentence, she was unzipping the back and slipping the garment down her body. Beneath it was a white tank top and some very light blue shorts. Still, his breath hitched.
“I came prepared,” she said, smiling now.
He wanted to ask what the purpose of the dress was, but decided against it. From one question came others, and many of them he probably couldn’t ask aloud. The wondering alone would kill him.
She held out her hand to him and picked up her dress with the other.
“Shall we?” she asked, shamelessly batting her eyelashes in an over-the-top manner.
He laughed and took her hand.
“Lead the way.”
About ten feet away from the bike, she released his hand and ran up to the bike.
“Are you ready?” she asked, practically bouncing with energy.
“I thought you hated this thing,” he said, resting his hand on the seat of the bike.
“Oh, I do,” she nodded, turning to look at the bike. Then her head turned back to him, her hair whooshing around her in a wave. “But I’m excited to ride it and not fall off and cut myself.”
His lips twisted as the guilt trickled in again.
“If for no other reason, I’m sorry that happened. If I had been here, if I’d been helping you, it wouldn’t have.”
“Yes, well-” She hopped onto the bike casually, but it quickly started tilting to the left. Jared steadied it just in time. “Thanks.” She swallowed loud enough for him to hear, then fell into silence.
He took a step closer and, pushing his own swirling sensations aside, whispered against her neck, “Whenever you’re ready.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”
When she still didn’t move, he steeled himself but followed through, sliding his hand down her side to her hip, and then her thigh, encouraging her to pedal. He squeezed gently and wondered if a cold shower would be permitted in the middle of the day. He felt the shivers that erupted all over her because heat suddenly consumed him.
But, she started to pedal, and he brought his hand back up to grip the seat of the bike by her hip.
He realized, regretfully, that he was going to feel somewhat sad when she finally learned to ride the bike on her own. There was no way he could get this close to her when he taught her to drive…and what after that? Would he be permitted to do that?
Friends do that too, his inner self told him, annoyed.
Friends who want to be more than friends but can’t be though? He wondered. His mind did not answer, and Kyle’s assumed voice did not speak up either. He imagined his friend was somehow glaring.
“I want to help you,” she said, bringing him out of his thoughts. She was still concentrating on keeping the handlebars straight and pedaling at the same time, but now she was able to hold a conversation too. Or at least she was going to try. He brought his hand to rest on her waist instead of the seat, just in case.
“With what?” he asked, genuinely confused.
“The tree house.”
“The wha—”
“You said you were going to make me a tree house. So that I wouldn’t fall out of the tree if I wanted to climb it again.” She stopped pedaling and turned her head to look at him. “Remember?”
“…I remember,” he said carefully.
“Are you still going to?” she demanded as nicely as he guessed she could. “Can I help?” she asked before he could answer.
Her stare was intimidating and her lips were distracting. So were the curves of her body. He just barely resisted squeezing her hip in this moment. There was no doubt but that she would notice.
“Okay…”
“Great!” she said, and flashed him a brilliant smile.
Before he could make any further inquiries, she was back to pedaling and focusing entirely on riding the bike. A fact, he told himself, he should be grateful for.
Still, he worried what exactly he’d gotten himself into, and if there was any way to get out of it.
And if he wanted to.
But today would be different. Today would be the day of persuasive curiosity. She would not let her cut, still a little painful though it was, be a barrier between any interaction she might share with Jared. She wouldn’t let his unusual focus on work deter her either. They were going to get past this awkwardness, even if he refused to acknowledge its existence.
……
Deep into his work beneath the car, Jared didn’t hear the soft footsteps of shoes on cement until they were right in his line of vision – and after the person belonging to the pair of feet in those shoes had cleared her throat.
“Melanie? Ow-” He cursed under his breath, annoyed that he’d raised his head partway to address his unexpected visitor.
“Are you alright?” she asked, concerned.
“Yeah,” he grumbled to himself and carefully pushed himself out from under the car on the opposite side. There was no way he was waiting until she’d bent down to see him wincing from his self-inflicted pain.
He felt her eyes on him as he stood to his feet, but reached for a relatively clean rag to wipe the grease off his hands and face before turning to face her.
“Do you need something?” he asked. Her jaw dropped momentarily, and he wondered if he’d offended her somehow.
“I…” She cleared her throat again. “Was wondering, if you had time, that maybe we could do the bike thing again.” She laughed self-consciously.
Immediately his eyes went to her leg where the small bandaid still stuck covering her cut from the day before. As his eyes traveled back up to her face, he realized she was wearing a white gauzy dress and wondered if that was on purpose to seduce him – or if she really didn’t know that it would be somewhat of a hassle to ride a bike in.
“How’s your leg?” he asked first.
“Oh.” She frowned, as if she had not considered that an issue. “It’s healed.” She paused and looked down, then ripped the band aid off without flinching. The cut was visible but clearly on its way to a quick recovery. “Hurts a little if I touch it.” She looked back up at him. “But it doesn’t bother me otherwise, and I don’t think it’ll be rubbing against the bike.” She paused. “Do you?”
“Well, no, but I-” He stopped himself before he could say it. The I might, because what did he do when he helped her ride her bike? He hovered, he held, he gripped firmly, whispered against her neck…all friendly, encouraging things before felt like they could be construed as mixed signals now.
He scolded himself for even thinking it. When they’d had their…talk, she’d seemed so convinced that he felt nothing more than friendship for her. So, why, he wondered, did it feel like she was trying to pull those feelings out of him? Or, create them rather. Ha! As if they needed to be created.
“Jared?” She snapped her fingers, and he refocused on her.
“Sorry. No.”
She raised her eyebrows.
He shook his head and cleared her throat. He did not need her to be confused about his feelings for her. He needed her to believe the conclusion she’d come to. The lie, you mean, Kyle’s voice said in his head, which annoyed him, and made him feel guilty.
“It’s just that I’m working on the car right now, Mel-anie,” he finished her name awkwardly and hated himself for it. Friends give each other nicknames too, idiot, he mentally told himself.
But not you, Kyle chuckled in his head.
Despite her facial expression, Melanie gratefully didn’t comment on how he addressed her. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest and fixed him with a stare. He didn’t know if that made things better or worse.
“And what about when you’re finished with the car? You going to return to the roof?”
“The house needs to get done, Melanie,” he insisted.
She laughed bitterly. “Then go work on it now!”
His lips parted but he said nothing, was suddenly rendered speechless.
“What good is it to fix the car if you’re not going to teach me how to drive it? Or –” she gestured vaguely towards where the bike lay in the distance – “if you’re not going to help me along till I can ride the bike on my own? They’re all healed now, but I tried when you were out ‘sick’” she taunted him with air quotes, “and I was not very successful. You saw in the flesh yesterday what happens when—”
“Okay, okay,” he said, coming around the car to her and gripping your shoulders. “I get it. You’re feeling neglected.”
She narrowed her eyebrows.
“You’re avoiding me,” she said bluntly.
“I’m not-” he began, but she wouldn’t let him.
“Yes, you are.” She sighed and he dropped his hands to his sides. “Look, I know you’re feeling awkward because of that…talk that we had. It’s weird for me too. But…” She sighed again. “God, Jared, I don’t want it to be like this all summer” she held up her hand when he tried to talk, “and for any more now either. So just…stop making excuses and…” she grabbed his hand and squeezed it warmly, “be with me.”
He groaned inwardly and just knew it came out in his facial expression as he looked down at their linked eyes.
There’s nothing I want more…
“I do have to get stuff done…” he started again. She tried to rip her hand away, clearly irritated that her smooth persuasions supposedly hadn’t worked, but he held firm. “But you’re right. After all, your Uncle did assign me to spend time with you.” He smirked, turning briefly into the shed to put away some tools. “More or less.”
“Jared, I don’t—”
“And I want to spend time with you,” he cut in, his eyes glittering as he returned to her. She looked suspicious. “I’ve missed you too.”
She nodded hesitantly and one of the corners of her lips twitched.
“Are you sure you want to try riding again in that though?” he asked, looking her over again, and then meaningfully looking into her eyes.
She frowned, looking genuinely confused.
“What’s wrong with my dress?”
“Well, nothing, it’s just—” But before he could finish his sentence, she was unzipping the back and slipping the garment down her body. Beneath it was a white tank top and some very light blue shorts. Still, his breath hitched.
“I came prepared,” she said, smiling now.
He wanted to ask what the purpose of the dress was, but decided against it. From one question came others, and many of them he probably couldn’t ask aloud. The wondering alone would kill him.
She held out her hand to him and picked up her dress with the other.
“Shall we?” she asked, shamelessly batting her eyelashes in an over-the-top manner.
He laughed and took her hand.
“Lead the way.”
About ten feet away from the bike, she released his hand and ran up to the bike.
“Are you ready?” she asked, practically bouncing with energy.
“I thought you hated this thing,” he said, resting his hand on the seat of the bike.
“Oh, I do,” she nodded, turning to look at the bike. Then her head turned back to him, her hair whooshing around her in a wave. “But I’m excited to ride it and not fall off and cut myself.”
His lips twisted as the guilt trickled in again.
“If for no other reason, I’m sorry that happened. If I had been here, if I’d been helping you, it wouldn’t have.”
“Yes, well-” She hopped onto the bike casually, but it quickly started tilting to the left. Jared steadied it just in time. “Thanks.” She swallowed loud enough for him to hear, then fell into silence.
He took a step closer and, pushing his own swirling sensations aside, whispered against her neck, “Whenever you’re ready.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”
When she still didn’t move, he steeled himself but followed through, sliding his hand down her side to her hip, and then her thigh, encouraging her to pedal. He squeezed gently and wondered if a cold shower would be permitted in the middle of the day. He felt the shivers that erupted all over her because heat suddenly consumed him.
But, she started to pedal, and he brought his hand back up to grip the seat of the bike by her hip.
He realized, regretfully, that he was going to feel somewhat sad when she finally learned to ride the bike on her own. There was no way he could get this close to her when he taught her to drive…and what after that? Would he be permitted to do that?
Friends do that too, his inner self told him, annoyed.
Friends who want to be more than friends but can’t be though? He wondered. His mind did not answer, and Kyle’s assumed voice did not speak up either. He imagined his friend was somehow glaring.
“I want to help you,” she said, bringing him out of his thoughts. She was still concentrating on keeping the handlebars straight and pedaling at the same time, but now she was able to hold a conversation too. Or at least she was going to try. He brought his hand to rest on her waist instead of the seat, just in case.
“With what?” he asked, genuinely confused.
“The tree house.”
“The wha—”
“You said you were going to make me a tree house. So that I wouldn’t fall out of the tree if I wanted to climb it again.” She stopped pedaling and turned her head to look at him. “Remember?”
“…I remember,” he said carefully.
“Are you still going to?” she demanded as nicely as he guessed she could. “Can I help?” she asked before he could answer.
Her stare was intimidating and her lips were distracting. So were the curves of her body. He just barely resisted squeezing her hip in this moment. There was no doubt but that she would notice.
“Okay…”
“Great!” she said, and flashed him a brilliant smile.
Before he could make any further inquiries, she was back to pedaling and focusing entirely on riding the bike. A fact, he told himself, he should be grateful for.
Still, he worried what exactly he’d gotten himself into, and if there was any way to get out of it.
And if he wanted to.
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