“I know. I can feel it.”
I grimaced.
“Uh, can you feel anything else?” I asked, one eye closed and my nose bunched, already knowing her answer.
“Uh, yeah,” she blushed, nuzzling her face in my neck.
“That doesn’t help the cause princess,” I laughed. “Besides, it’s only natural Jules, you can stop blushing now. I like feeling attracted to you and I like you knowing that I am.”
“I like it as well. Quite the ego boost.”
I carried her in silence and we traded feelings back and forth. First attraction, love, more attraction, heat, embarrassment, awkwardness, back to attraction, then love again. All the while, she unknowingly bit at her lower lip to keep from laughing and I didn’t bother correcting it. I grinned like the overeager idiot that I was. God, but I didn’t care.
When we reached the bridge, I let her legs go but clutched onto her waist not letting her feet touch the ground. I kept my face next to hers and grabbed the basket to set on top of the natural rock bridge before lifting her up to sit on the surface next to it.
“Stay there,” I said.
I took the handkerchief that my mom always insists I bring to church out of my pocket and bent toward the water, soaking it in the chill spring before wringing it out.
“Finally a use for this ridiculous thing.”
I lifted each foot by the ankle and wiped the dirt from the bottom of her feet.
“Ssssttt, that’s cold,” she winced.
“Should have just let me carry you love.”
“And miss this? Never. If I had a camera you’d be immortalized right now. Never had such delicious blackmailing material before. It’s a shame,” she said over my shoulder while holding onto my back.
I laughed before soaking the handkerchief once more and wringing it out to continue wiping the dirt from her already clean feet.
“That tickles!”
She started wriggling her feet but I clutched harder at her ankle to keep her still.
“This is what you get when you don’t cooperate with me.”
“Okay, okay!” She giggled. “They’re clean enough! They’re clean enough!”
She fell back onto the rock and held her laughing stomach.
“I’ll stop if you agree to a condition.”
“What is it?” She desperately pleaded through chuckles.
I stopped only to state, “When I want to carry you. You must let me. No questions asked.”
“No way!”
I continued my torturous ways.
“Okay! Okay!” She pleaded. “I promise. I promise.”
“Good.”
I swung her legs over the rock and lifted myself next to her. I stood up and helped her to her feet, keeping my hands on her hips.
“You’re so much shorter without your heels on. I can see the part on the top of your head,” I teased.
“I’m five foot eight Elliott. That’s actually tall for my sex, though not all that unusual. You’re the only anomaly here.”
“Six foot four is an anomaly? What are you trying to say Jules? I’m abnormal?”
“In more ways than one Elliott Gray,” she teased.
I pulled her tightly into my chest, pinning her arms to her sides. I buried my face into the skin just above the shoulder and blew against her neck.
“Stop! Stop!”
“Take it back.”
“No,” she laughed.
I blew harder.
“Take it back Jules.”
“No,” she laughed again.
I blew even harder.
“Okay, I take it back! I take it back!” She laughed hysterically. I pulled away. “Eww, I can feel your saliva on my neck.”
I threatened to do it again by inching closer.
“No! No! Not again! Please! I’ll do anything!”
I raised an eyebrow, “Anything?”
“Anything. Just stop,” she exhaled hard, trying to catch her breath.
“Alright, I’ll let you go only if you agree to go with me to Matthew Tanen’s party on Saturday night.”
She pushed away, no longer being playful. Her eyebrows pinched together.
“No way Elliott. No way will I be going anywhere Taylor Williams or her cronies will be. How dare you even ask me that? You know how I feel about them and their cruelty.”
“Taylor Williams? Who the hell cares about Taylor Williams! It’s not even her party. She may not even be there.” She gave me a disbelieving, sarcastic look. “Okay, she’ll probably be there but come on! The whole team will be there as well. We can avoid Taylor like the plague that she is. We’ll pick a corner of the house, camp there, and laugh at everyone making fools of themselves. It’ll be fun.” I softened my tone and edged closer to her, “I’ll take care of you Jules. You know I will.”
She strained her neck to look up at me, “I’m a big girl Elliott. I don’t need anyone to take care of me. You forget. I’ve made it my entire life being ridiculed by Taylor. I think I can survive my senior year without any assistance.”
“I know you don’t Jules but I’ll do it anyway because it’s my job. I’m protective over the girls I’m in love with.”
“The girls? Plural? Nice,” she chided.
“Wait, wait, and wait. You know what I meant.” I exhaled gruffly, “How did this turn so quickly?”
“I don’t know,” she said, looking away.
After a few seconds, the electricity seemed to have calmed us both down.