Emilia

Touch.

When something new and beautiful comes into this world, it wants to know it deserves to be here. It cries and cries until the doctor gets the message it wants to be held by the emotional woman it came from. Its fragile skin is against hers as the new creation realizes it can't live without being held and nurtured several times a day. The feeling of another person's skin is a necessity from the day we're born and is part of our lives in more ways than one. From random kisses on our cheeks to high-fives from sweaty hands after a softball game, the feeling of being touched is necessary for our well being. 

In addition, we need eight hugs a day to manage stress. If it were up to me, I want to be embraced by Jude all eight of those times. His unexpected hug from behind last night and his arms around me as I'm crying are my favorite memories of him.

He feels like one of those weighted blankets, his warm body shielding me from the world. I try my best to stay in his arms for as long as possible before he eventually relinquishes me. 

"You're the best." I sniffle. My voice is nasally from crying my eyes out and I know for a fact my eyes are as red as a methhead's after snorting shit that'll get me kicked off my favorite sports team.

A crease forms between his eyebrows. "I don't know about that, EJ." I can't complain about him at all, but Jude is way too modest. The bullying crushed his confidence and he doesn't believe a thing I say.

"I'm going inside." I walk back inside the off-white house with Becca's face on the lawn. 

Speaking of Becca, she ambushes me with a hug. Hugs from teammates are the best, but nothing can beat Jude.

"Are you okay, EJ?" She studies me with a worried expression. 

I nod. "It's so weird that an asshole like that is your brother." Although they share the same dirty blonde waves and hazel eyes, they don't have the same personalities. Hunter...well, he has his issues. Becca, however, is the best team captain ever. I love throwing myself at every fastball that leaves her hand during a game. Silver Palms will miss our favorite star pitcher while she does great things in Boca Raton. 

"I gave him a talking to, sweet girl." She reassures me. "If Hunter lays a finger on you, I'm driving  four hours from Boca to kill him." 

"You're awesome." I say, hugging her again. "You coming to the party tomorrow night?"

Becca shrugs. "Maybe. I just don't want to fail the mandatory drug test when I pull up to FAU."

"Drugs aren't going to be a problem." Tori puts in, reminding us of her presence. Her face says, I feel bad for you, but this isn't what we talked about, but instead, she says that she wants to go home. 

"Thank you for everything, Beck." I wipe my nose with the back of my hand and the three of us head back to Silver Palms. 

Tori turns her car on while I take the passenger seat and Jude sits in the back without making a sound. I forget he came to this party not knowing anyone, but remember to review my Biology flashcards during the drive home. 

"Welcome home, lovebirds." She says flatly, her car centimeters away from the curb. I get out and realize Jude didn't come out with me. Panicking, I pound the back door's glass windows. The noise fails to get him out of my best friend's Jeep.

"This ain't funny." I open the door to see...aww!

His chest rises and falls and his eyelids twitch. Jude fell asleep during the drive. If I'm being honest, he looks really cute doing so. His cherry lips are parted, tiny breaths escaping the hole. Even though he's sitting upright in his seat, he looks quite comfortable. 

I poke his cheek. "Get up, Sleeping Beauty."

"We're home?" His accent is significantly thicker than usual, similar to his mom's. A dimple forms where I touched him.

"Come on." I watch him rub his heavy eyes and let out a grunt. He complies, limping as we enter our respective houses. 

"Emi!" My mom's excitement quickly gives way to concern when she notices my red eyes. "Did something happen, baby?"

Suddenly, the events of tonight tumble out of my mouth. Mom looks at me with a wide-eyed stare. "I'm so sorry." She rubs my back. "Rebecca's brother sucks.

"It is what it is, Mom." I say.

"I want you to know that you're an amazing girl and he fucked up." She tightens her grip on me. 

I start crying into her nice pajama shirt. The pain of the past week exits through my tears as she gives me the same pep talk as my friends did. 

"Oh, Emi. If he has a problem with you showing off your gorgeous curves, fuck him." She whispers in my ear.

 "Switching gears, you do realize Jude has a thing for you?"

"Good night, mom." I giggle, wiping my face. My legs threaten to give out as I climb the stairs and retreat to my room. Before I can dive onto my inviting bed, my phone starts screaming like a banshee and I'm forced to check who it is. When Jude Merryweather sent a snap appears on my screen, I stab the notification with my index finger.

He sent me a photo of his sleeping pit bull. The same dog that barked that one time I sent a ball flying into his yard is resting instead of getting her energy out.

Aww is that Lucy? I inquire, a smile taking over my lips.

Jude replies with a thumbs up emoji, and I follow up with she's so cute! my parents dont have time to put up with a dog :)

I know, right? My dad named her after the Beatles song. He informs me. With his thick British accent, I'm not surprised Ron is a fan of The Beatles. 

Wait are u named after a Beatles song too? It's hard not to notice the similarity between Jude's name and a catchy song that everyone has definitely heard. 

Hey Jude! My theory has been confirmed! Soon, Abbey's named after an album of theirs, follows. 

That's really cool! Unlike Jude, my name doesn't carry any significance. When I arrived sixteen years ago on a sunny April 24th, Emilia was essentially picked out of a hat. If anything, Jocelyn comes from a relative on my mom's side. 

I catch a glimpse of myself, courtesy of the phone's camera. The girl staring back at me is smiling like an idiot. My round face is red due to either the crying I've done or Snapchatting Jude. Either way, I can't deny that I've taken a liking to my tutor who won't be helping me with my homework for much longer. If junior year is difficult and he needs to actually help me instead of casually talking about life, I'll take it if it means listening to him ramble about math. We may have only known one another for a week, but every tutoring session leaves me wanting more of our talks about life, school, and Dr. Pepper. 

Since talking to my tutor was much more enticing than my beauty sleep, it just now occurs to me that it's almost ten o'clock. A sharp pain attacks my head, indicating that I should get some sleep before I bomb my impending exams. Silver Palms makes us take them all in one day, making it exciting to get over with. 

It also means that I can't afford to forget a thing Jude and I went over. That's why I splash my face with some warm water and cleanser, followed by a moisturizer that smells good enough to eat. Next, I force my hair into a bun and rip an oversized shirt and Christmas pajamas from my drawer. I collapse into my bed and fall asleep.

~

Jude Merryweather: Good morning! You got this emi!!! 

As with every time he texts me, my cheeks burn up like the sand at Ponte Vedra's white sand beaches that not even the freezing Atlantic Ocean can cool down. I almost squander the patience that should be helping me get A's on all of my exams making my typo-filled reply more readable. Finally, Nooo you can do it big guy! escapes me.

My bare feet connect with the soft and warm carpet and I take off the shirt I slept in, leaving me in a C-cup bra and plaid pants like some girls on social media. There's no one else in the room, but I can hear Hunter's unnecessary comments on my body as I pass by the full length mirror. 

Of course I don't want him anymore. He doesn't give me the time of day, and every interaction comes with an insult or two. Sadly, he was one of those annoying guys who treats the girls he doesn't find attractive poorly. Hunter is quite immature and I recognize that, but his comments hurt like a severe sunburn.

I seriously think about taking my exams in my lacy bra just to piss him off, but end up in one of my beloved Lululemon tank tops. 

After I'm ready, I make sure my bed is straight out of HGTV before I leave for the day. My mom always says that making my bed can make any day a good one. As a girl who shit happens to, arranging my pillows is my personal four-leaf clover. My phone sits on the wrinkle free comforter with a sweet message from Jude before I tackle today.

Jude Merryweather: what if we're both going to do well??????

Me: you're gonna do better just saying :)

Jude Merryweather: no emi you're sooo smart!!!

Me: fine big guyy, u win. good luck! 

Jude Merryweather: you too my gorgeous tutee

With the final morale boosting text, I'm ready to conquer every single test. I head downstairs and collect my backpack with studying materials.

"Buenos dias, Emi." My dad's wearing his realtor uniform: a suit and wrinkle-free pants. "Estás bien?" It hits me suddenly that Jude's pet names are enough to turn my brown cheeks pink. 

"I'm good."  I answer, knowing that I'm not putting my A-plus in Spanish to good use. "Te amo, papi. Hasta luego." 

Several hours later

I finish my math exam with a few minutes left to spare. My classmates panic as they rush to get it done in time, some only speeding through it so they can party like there's no mañana at Jacksonville Beach tonight. While their thoughts surround getting extremely inebriated in a few hours, mine tell me to look for the guy that helped me get an A.

Unsurprisingly, Jude finished his math exam in the first hour. This environment doesn't make him the flirty and smiley guy I've come to know as his bored gaze is fixed on the view outside. Gravity pushes the corners of his lips down as he waits to leave. His hoodie and shorts look comfortable, yet he's pretty fidgety in the uncomfortable chairs we're all sitting in.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that's all the time we have. Enjoy your summer!" Our proctor, a young and well-liked substitute teacher says. We leave the room faster than a baserunner steals home plate. Like my peers, I search for my friends when I hear my name from behind me.

"How does it feel to be done with tenth grade?" Jude's smile wasn't stomped on by exams, my favorite dimple denting his cheek.

I offer him a thumbs up to avoid reaching out to squeeze that dimple. Is it normal to always long to feel my tutor's soft skin? The time his hands gripped my thick love handles from behind replaying in my head like a bad movie? The hug we're in that leaves me wanting more? 

I'm jealous of Lucy, the dog that probably hogs his bed. She gets to cuddle with him just by being there.

"All we can do from here is have the summer of a lifetime."

~

hey!