Two weeks following that night, my mother told me to text Jesse and invite him over. She wanted Charlie and I to watch a movie, but she also wanted to spice the night up by inviting him. He agreed with no hesitation and arrived only two hours after I sent the initial text.
"Jesse, are you allergic to anything?" My mom asked him upon his arrival. "I'm going to make some snacks."
"No ma'am, I'm not allergic to anything." He said. I led him to the living room where Charlie was already sitting. She was taking up the recliner beside the couch, leaving the rest of the seating space to Jesse and I.
"I'm going to go get Callie." I said once everyone had settled down. Jesse had already seen her once before, but he never got to hold her. "Hold out your hand." I said when I rejoined the group, Callie perched on the meat of my thumb. He did as I had instructed, so Callie went from resting on my hand to gingerly stepping onto his own hand to skittering up his shoulder.
"I can't see her." Jesse said quietly once the bird was right beside his ear. He tried to slowly turn his head to see Callie, but she chirped loudly in response to his movement. Jesse's head snapped back to its former position. I smiled and guided her back to his hand.
"Guess who I have!" Charlie said in a loud, sing-song voice as she came down the stairs. I didn't even realize that she had left. Jesse and I both turned to see her, only to reveal the snake that was being cradled in her arms. His breath caught and he returned my bird to me before stepping back, giving Charlie and Bastian plenty of room.
"Jesse doesn't like snakes." I said to my sister, who's eyes widened with glee.
"You're afraid of snakes?" She asked with a high-pitched voice.
"No, I am not afraid of snakes!" He said stiffly, looking over at me with a reddened face.
"Have you ever held a snake?" Charlie asked as she draped the snake over the back of her neck.
"I'm sure I have at some point." Jesse said, brows twitching once. He then took a deep breath and asked, "Can I hold him?"
"Absolutely." Charlie said with a wide, toothy grin. Jesse held his breath as my sister took his hand and situated the snake around his forearm. The arm that held the snake was held as far out as possible. "Remember, he's cold blooded. You have to keep him close to you."
"Okay." Jesse nodded as he reluctantly pulled the snake closer to him. Bastian began to slither up Jesse's arm. His hazel eyes widened and he hastily thrust his arm back to Charlie, who laughed and unraveled the snake.
"At least you tried." Charlie said. The two of them then engaged in a conversation about crazy things that they've done. While they did that, I helped my mother bring a few plates of food into the living room. When we had set the plates down on the coffee table, she grinned at me and glanced at Jesse. I rolled my eyes jokingly as she ushered me back into the kitchen.
"Nothing you say can convince me that you don't want that." She said in a hushed tone. "I see that way you look at him. You haven't stopped smiling since he got here."
"Maybe I'm a smiley person."
"You're missing a huge opportunity here!" She said urgently. "He's perfect for you!"
"I don't like him like that." I said with a shake of my head, trying to knock the feeling of excitement from my head. Memories of kissing him took their place.
When I returned to the living room, Bastian was curled around my sister's neck again like a necklace and Callie was perched on Jesse's wrist. He was sitting on the couch and she was, once again, in the recliner. Feeling left out, I opened Harper's cage and invited her to jump onto my hand. When I rejoined them, my mother brought out Monopoly.
"Dibs on the hat." Charlie said once the board had been set up. Jesse decided on the thimble and I opted for the wheelbarrow.
"Ironic." She grinned, stroking Bastian's head and rolling again after her initial roll had given her snake eyes. Then it was my turn, which landed me in the nosebleeds of Monopoly, but I decided to purchase the property. After my turn, I went upstairs to return Callie to her cage. When I returned, I realized that Jesse had bought the matching property, thus hindering my path towards wealth.
"No!" I said shrilly.
"Yes!" He laughed copying my tone.
"I'm gonna trade you for that once it's my turn." I said. He had a new expression on his face when he looked at me. My cheeks grew warm when I couldn't figure out what was displayed over his features. He obviously saw my face flush, which provoked a sheepish grin. Charlie observed the situation with wide eyes.
The game continued until it was disgustingly late. At this point in the game, I owned many unmatched properties but my wheelbarrow was a permanent resident of Poverty Ville.
"Okay, Jesse. I will trade you my Marvin Garden." I said. I had two of the orange properties, but Jesse had the remaining one.
"Not a chance." He said with a shake of his head.
"Marvin Garden and Electricity."
"No way, Electricity isn't any good without Water Works." Jesse said with a grin. "I might, however, let you have it if you gave me Park Place." My most prized property had caught his attention.
"Fine." I said, slapping the card into his hand and taking the remaining orange property.
The game continued well into the night. Charlie went to bed the very instant the game ended and our mother had long since gone to sleep.
"Do you have coffee?" Jesse asked, voice groggy. "I might not survive the drive home."
"Yeah, come on." I stood up from the couch and led him into the kitchen, where I set up the coffee maker to brew a small amount of coffee. While it was brewing, Jesse was leaning against the kitchen counter, hands buried in the pocket of his hoodie and eyelids beginning to droop. The walls were painted the lightest green, the counters were black marble, and the fridge matched the wooden cabinets. Just like every other room in the house, it was clean and very organized. My mother can't stand clutter, and it must have been hereditary since Charlie and I both shared that quality.
"Your house is nice." Jesse said, breaking the quiet.
"Thanks." I said with a smile as I took two mugs from the cabinet and poured the freshly brewed coffee into them. I then handed him one of the mugs, watching with amusement as his face soured when he took a sip.
"Do you want some sugar?" I laughed.
"Desperately." He nodded quickly. I passed him the black sugar jar so that he could sweeten his drink.
"You don't like bitter?" I guessed, grinning while taking a sip of my own coffee to flaunt the fact that I could, in fact, handle the overpowering bitterness of it, though it wasn't really all that enjoyable.
"I would if I could." Jesse smiled while stirring the sugar into the coffee. "I've tried, I just can't."
"Fair enough."
"Miles wants to know when I'm going home." Jesse informed me after his phone buzzed from his pocket. It was the ripe hour of 2:00 AM.
"You should probably go soon, it's late and minors can't be on the road after midnight." I said. Jesse nodded and sent his brother what I told him. When he turned to cap the sugar jar, I grabbed the collar of his hoodie and tugged him toward me. Taken by surprise, he stumbled. When he realized what I was doing, he met me halfway. He looked at me for a moment, hands on my waist as he pulled me closer to him, before gently pressing his lips to my own. My hand remained on his hoodie and it ended just as quickly as it had begun.
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top