Crushing On The Enemy (Crushing on You 1)

After they finished eating Jake drove Alyssa to pick up her car. They stood in the parking lot between their vehicles awkwardly saying goodnight.

“I hope to see you soon,” Alyssa smiled.

“You will,” Jake assured her, “I have to work this weekend, but maybe Monday afternoon?”

“I'm going to hold you to that, Jake,” she said and leaned in close to him.

Her lips met his for just a moment and then she pulled away.

As she drove to Mattie's house she thought about the kiss and kissing in general. Most girls her age had been kissed plenty of times, but Alyssa had always been too nervous to kiss anyone. It seemed to be complicated and hold promises that she wasn't sure that she was ready to make. She hadn't known Jake too long and she didn't know him well enough. Ryan had taught her how important is was to really know someone before you invested your heart into it.

Alyssa knew she should have waited until tomorrow and not interrupted Mattie's homework, but she felt like she bursting at the seams with secrets and she had to tell someone. Fortunately, Mattie had already finished her history report and was watching some reality television show when Alyssa arrived, bouncing on her heels.

“Tell me everything!” Mattie squealed.

“I will,” she said falling onto the sofa next to her friend.

“Did you guys kiss again?” Mattie asked.

“Yes, I think, but I don't think it was a real kiss,” Alyssa sighed.

“Did your lips meet?” she asked.

“Yes,” Alyssa nodded.

“Then it was a real kiss,”

It wasn't until Alyssa was driving home that she realized that she had left her favorite scarf in Jake's truck.

“Dang it!” she said and sighed, “I still didn't get his number. I guess I'll just have to live without it until after school on Monday.”

She arrived home to find her mom still up watching television.

“Cody came to get his stuff,” she said.

Alyssa nodded and joined her mom in front of the television. She wasn't sure what to say, so she just sat there in case her mother wanted to talk about it.

Chapter 10: Jake

Jake's first weekend working at Dave's Sporting Goods went by in a blur. He loved the atmosphere and the people it drew in, but his mind was on Monday afternoon when he would see Alyssa again. He hadn't lied to his father about his date and the old man wasn't happy. It wasn't that he was ready to get serious with anyone, but he really enjoyed hanging out with Alyssa.

The guys still refused to speak to him on Monday, but Jake enjoyed the unusual quiet that surrounded him. He was more exhausted than ever from working all weekend, but it was worth it.

Jake hung out at his locker killing time before he left school that afternoon. They had agreed to meet at Alyssa's school and Jake wanted to make sure most of the others would be gone by the time he arrived. He didn't want to deal with drama ridden cheerleaders. He had enough of that at lunch today when the girls kept giggling. One girl had even had the gull to suggest perhaps Jake only liked Alyssa because she had money. Jake had rolled his eyes and refused to respond to their prodding.

He ran his hands through his blonde hair and made a mental note to get a haircut sometime soon. After glancing down at his watch and confirming that he had waited long enough, Jake headed out.

Upon discovering Alyssa's forgotten scarf he had put it in the glove box for safe keeping, he pulled it out and tossed it on the dash, so he wouldn't forget to return it.

Alyssa was waiting alone outside of the school when Jake arrived. She was wearing a knee length skirt and a green sweater that made her eyes look even bluer. Jake grinned and held out his hand to help her climb into the truck.

He noticed that her fingernails were painted to match the sweater and grinned. It was the first time a girl had ever dressed up to impress him. Jake decided it was something he could get used to.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” Alyssa said, retrieving her scarf and hanging it over her shoulders.

“So where to?” Jake asked.