Jude

My first date with a girl.

If this is a dream, I want to be pinched now.

What if I do something embarrassing? What if, god forbid, Emi stands me up? If it's our last rodeo, I want to make it count. 

While Abbey's in the shower, I steal a gift for Emilia from her Peterbrooke prize. Abbey can't eat half of the stuff in it without almost overdosing on Lactaids anyway. She'll live. 

Without her warmth, my room's temperature drops a good fifteen degrees. I miss her beautiful, melt-your-heart smile and sparkling brown eyes. That summer tan looks so much better in person, her skin now a dark, glowing honey. After fighting her to bring my clothes home with her, she gave in. Ugh, her legs look so good in my sweatpants. 

Emi's not my only new friend though. Through her, I managed to get a hold of Rishi and Carson from the beach party. Despite his scary first impression, Rishi is turning into my confidant. Naturally, I begin to let him know what transpired, but he'd rather me come to his for some "guy talk". 

"Dad. I'm going to see a friend."

Abbey has a field day about my statement. "The man has friends!"

"Abbey Anne." Dad scolds. "Have fun and don't come back late."

I acquire his house number from the Snapchat map and drive over. Interestingly, it only takes half of a song for me to arrive. I pull into the driveway of a sizable navy blue home with a wooden front porch that welcomes me. 

A woman in her early to mid twenties steps out to greet me. "Are you here for my brother?"

"Yes, Aneesa." I can tell they're related from the get-go. Aneesa is essentially the female version of Rishi with shoulder length hair and a smaller frame. 

The house has one floor but plenty of space. It's immaculate, almost as if two kids didn't live here. There are no crumbs nor dirt on the kitchen's tile. A can of kombucha sits on the island.

A dimple forms in Aneesa's cheek. "Come in! Real quick, do you mind taking those off?" She requests, gesturing at my shoes.

I comply and leave them close to the front door. Aneesa explains, "It's a pretty long story." 

No wonder the floor is so clean.

"All good." I say. "Hey, where's your brother?"

Aneesa picks up her drink and sips it. "Either flexing in his bathroom mirror or texting his friends."

Speak of the devil. Rishi appears from a corner wearing a simple pair of Champion slides. He makes eye contact with me and turns into a little kid on Christmas morning. Before he can reach me, Aneesa swallows him into a hug.

"There you are! How's my favorite not so little brother?"

"What's up, Nee?" Rishi says, obviously trying to get out of his sister's hug. "Can you let go of me? Jude and I need to talk" 

Aneesa nods, stepping away. "Gotcha. We better hang out when you're finished, mkay?" 

"You're my favorite cool older sister, but this is kinda urgent."

"I'll miss you!" I hear her scream as we retreat to his room. It's the first door to the right inside of a short hallway. 

"Get comfortable, man."

The room I enter is massive. Lacrosse sticks are displayed on the walls, and a basketball sits on a blue rug. Lights decorate the crown molding and a pair of shoes sit on his paper-filled desk. In addition to the soft glow of the lights, natural light from the big window behind us illuminates the room. 

"This is neat."

"'Preciate it, man." Rishi takes a small couch in the corner and I sit on the ground in front of him. "So, what's going on?"

I freeze. What happened almost three hours ago plays in my mind. I can't get the smell of her vanilla perfume off my mind. Without her next to me, I'm freezing to death. I can try to explain it to Rishi, but he wouldn't understand.

Rishi nods slowly. "Should I get popcorn or something? This sounds dramatic."

"I'm probably overthinking this whole thing."

An earnest look overtakes his features. "Jude, sometimes people assume the smallest things will affect everything in the worst way possible. I'm not saying this doesn't matter to you because you're talking it out with me."

"Ok..."

He continues. "Once I had this important basketball game. Y'know, scouts and some of the big dogs were watching. I remember taking a lot of the shots. Did I make all of them? Not even close. Just when I thought I blew my D1 career, one of those scouts saw past my mistakes and saw a tenth grader doing what he loves and having fun." I watch his eyes fill with stars as he tells his story. "He said he wants to work something out with me in the future!"

"Is this some basketball team promotion? You know I'm not athletic."

"Not even close, man." He laughs. "My point is, not everything has to be bad and you shouldn't sweat stuff that won't matter when you're eighty."

"That's so much easier said than done."

Rishi gets up and pulls the window's blinds. "Someone needs to clear his head." On the other side of the transparent glass is a massive swimming pool. "Wanna swim?"

I think about it. Nowhere did it say he had a nice pool with the cleanest water I've ever seen and we're swimming tonight. "I don't have-"

"Gotcha." He opens a drawer with an ungodly amount of swimming trunks. "You look the same size as me." 

"This isn't necessary." I protest, yet Rishi throws a pair at me. 

"Be out there in ten." He leaves me alone in his room.

I stare into his mirror and second guess my choices. The shorts in my hand are black, sharks covering every square inch. After ten rounds of telling myself I have the right to hang out in my new friend's pool without spending our time together in a hoodie, I slip the trunks on. 

To my surprise, they fit as if they belong to me. Rishi wasn't lying at all. He also didn't lie when he told me to be out there asap. I watch him meander around the yard, evidently not wanting to swim without me. 

I open the glass doors to see him staring at me, ripped arms across his chest. Right off the bat, I feel self-conscious next to Rishi. By no means has he said nor done anything to evoke insecurity from me, but I would give anything to have his hefty but well-muscled frame.

"That didn't take long." Rishi comments. "Oh well."

My eyes travel between him and the water. "Is it cold?"

He shrugs. "I don't think so, but get used to it." Excitement overtakes his face as he cannonballs into the pool, leaving some wet evidence behind. He slicks back his dark hair and motions for me to join him. 

Before I can even consent, a hand attaches itself to mine. The water isn't freezing, but I can't stop concentrating on the chill that rushes through my body. 

Rishi and I have a field day, splashing the water on one another and having a damn good time. Life has come full circle as we goof off like we did when we were best friends. He eventually climbs out and sits on the edge. 

"What did you want to talk about?"

I guess I'm not here to have fun. We have to actually talk about what happens in Jude's brain, about a certain cute Cuban.

"Emi and I are going on a date." I blurt out, hoping to get this over with.

He nods. "So he's a ladies' man. I saw this coming."

"You're not helping. I'm nervous as hell."

"Just be yourself, man." If he calls me man one more time, he better say his prayers. "You're the only sophomore boy who isn't as dumb as a post. Emilia clearly likes you."

"The number of times she friendzoned me is pretty high."

"She came to her senses." He finally picks up on my nerves. "I know you're not too certain about this, but we live on a floating rock. I'm cheering you on from my pool."

"Thanks, Rishi. I'm definitely coming back for more guy talk." Rishi's advice is essentially Leo's remarks paraphrased. It calms my thoughts a bit, but I can only hope I don't embarrass myself.

He smiles. "My pleasure. Be sure to remind her how gorgeous she is, mkay?"

~

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