“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was home,” she says shyly once her breathing goes back to normal.
I don’t want to embarrass her or myself for that matter since I have been sitting here listening to her, so I decide the better approach is to say, “We just walked in the door.”
Her eyes take me in. I’m covered in sweaty gym clothes; I know this shirt is sticking to my body in a possibly unappealing way. After a few moments, my ego starts to swell—and so is another part of my body with the way she’s looking at me. Holy fuck, Dani is totally checking me out. I need to calm down or she’s going to notice my excitement down below. Clearly, my dick doesn’t want to listen to me and is enjoying the attention a little too much.
Bringing her attention back to me, I duck down to look her in the eyes. “Earth to Dani,” I joke.
She snaps out of her trance. “What?”
“Can I get in there to take a shower?” I ask with a smirk.
“Oh yeah, sure. Let me just grab my things and the bathroom’s all yours.”
I watch her gather up her belongings, and then she slips by me and heads to her room. I let out the breath I’ve been holding and walk into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. As I turn on the shower and strip from my gross clothes, I can still smell her vanilla scent. I wonder if that’s perfume or body wash. It smells heavenly. What the hell is wrong with me?
I shake the thoughts from my mind before I need to rub one out here in the shower…again…with her just a few feet away from me. I’m thankful my post-gym routine includes a cold shower. It is definitely needed.
I WALK OUT of my room after my weekly check-in call with my mom and find Zach on the couch watching what looks like might be home movies. “Hey, man,” I say, and he startles.
“Oh sorry, didn’t see ya there. Have you been standing there long?” he replies.
“No, I just got off the phone with mama dukes.” I take a seat next to him and see a younger version of him and Emmett in a tux—prom maybe?
I can’t help but let out a laugh.
“Dude, what the fuck is in your hair? Is that shit flammable?”
“Fuck off,” he says, punching me in the arm. He laughs and turns back to the TV. “That used to take me an hour to perfect the rolled-out-of-bed look.”
On the screen, Zach keeps adjusting his collar, and he looks like he might want to be anywhere but there. Emmett playfully shoves Zach. “Knock it off, dude. Melissa isn’t going to stand you up. She should be here soon.”
“Ha! I’m not worried about that. She’ll be here. She wouldn’t miss what I have planned for us after prom, if you know what I mean.” He elbows Em and winks. Wow, my best friend, everyone. Emmett playfully pushes Zach, shaking his head.
“Un-freakin-believable. Keep it in your pants, Jacobs.”
“Whatever. I know you have something planned. Don’t act like you don’t. Just keep that shit to yourself.”
They both laugh as he tries to shove him back. Emmett is bigger than Zach and he barely moves.
There is a throat clearing in the background of the video, and they stop their shoving contest to turn their attention toward the front porch of the house. Standing there is a younger version of Dani, the one I’m used to seeing in photos. Wow, she is beautiful, absolutely stunning.
“Dani, wave to the camera,” I hear an adult male voice say. Sounds like its Mr. Jacobs’s voice.
“Dad, you’re embarrassing me,” she says. “Can’t you point that thing somewhere else?”
The camera quickly turns to show another couple. Oh shit! That’s Haylee. Look at her all dolled up.
“That guy was such a douche bag. I can’t believe she went with him.” Zach leans his elbows on his knees and runs his fingers through his hair. He exhales a loud breath. “This is so stupid. I need to talk to her.”
After a moment, the camera goes back to Dani. Sporting a smile from ear to ear, a smile she no longer wears, the camera zooms out and I see the reason for her smile. Emmett is walking up the front porch steps carrying a corsage.
“You look gorgeous, baby.” He then dips her into a deep kiss. That’s pretty ballsy to kiss his girl like that in front of her parents. Emmett places the corsage on her wrist. I really didn’t think she could smile any bigger, but I was wrong. Fuck what I wouldn’t give to be able to see that smile in real life. She smiles sometimes, but it’s a sad smile, mainly forced. Dani and Emmett pose for a few photos. They look so happy, the poster couple for young love.
The song I didn’t recognize earlier begins to play in the background.
“What song is that?”
“‘Forever’ by the Beach Boys. It was their song.” Zach doesn’t even take his eyes off the screen. I notice he is focused on the background and not his sister and Em slow dancing in the front yard. I totally see what Zach was talking about with the grossly cute shit. He’s right, he is not that bad, but pretty close.