“I think I love Nick…” she whispered to her friend. The two girls sat next to one another, heads bent together as they whispered secrets to each other. Their feet dangled in the swimming pool of the 15-year-old blond boy. Jess looked up and caught Nick’s eyes from across the pool. Grinning his infamous lopsided grin and then turned as his best friend yelled and passed a football to him. She watched him acting up and showing off for the girls at the party then turned to her friend Rachel. Watching her for a moment Jess had to laugh. “Love Nick? Oh come on Rachel! You so do not!” Rachel glared at Jess, “SHHHHHHHHH! Oh my god! Shut up Jess! He’ll hear you!” She hissed through teeth grit into a smile for Nick’s benefit. Jess laughed again, “I’m sorry Rach, but come on…its NICK…I mean, he’s such a dork!” Suddenly she found herself emerging from the water where Rachel had shoved her. “What the heck! Why’d you do that!” she coughed and spit out water as she pulled herself back up to the pool deck. “Because YOU’RE the dork!” Rachel shot back, “I can’t believe you can’t see how cute he is.” She sighed dramatically and ran a hand through her long blond hair. “Jess, come on, you’re his best friend. You have to know if he likes me even a little!” Jess grinned and shook her long auburn hair out, stripping the water from it. “I don’t keep up with his girlfriends Rachel. I mean last I heard he had it bad for Cheryl Snow.” Rachel made a gagging sound at the name, “Jeez, I thought he had better taste than that! But you have to slip my name in somewhere, during a conversation or something…Please!” Jess just shook her head at yet another request from another girl begging for romantic connections with her best friend. She turned and walked into the house, still shaking her head. Glancing back she watched as Rachel pranced over to Nick, practically pulling an arm off as she hung on him, giggling at his every word. “I don’t know what everyone sees in him. He’s just Nick for pete’s sake!” She sighed, sliding the door closed behind her.
“She’s HOT Nick! I mean look at her!” Nick glared at his best friend and shoved him. “Shut up Matt! It’s JESS! I mean, she’s such a dork!” Nick rolled his eyes as Matt practically drooled over his best friend, “Damn man, stop already, you’re sickening me.” The two boys watched as Jess and Rachel whispered to each other. Nick looked at his best friend, trying to see what Matt saw…what a lot of guys saw…and all he saw was the girl who had shoved him into the dirt the first time he’d met her when he was 8. They’d grown up together, become best friends, even though the first words he’d ever heard her speak were, “I hate boys, they’re gross.” He smiled a little at the memory…she’d grown out of that phase not too long ago. He had to admit, yeah, she was probably cute to a lot of guys, but to him…she was just Jess. The idea of being romantic or anything past putting grape Kool-Aid in her showerhead…well it was just…he shivered at the thought…gross. Kissing Jess? Not a chance! He shook his head and watched as Matt headed towards the house, following Jess inside. Then groaned as he saw Rachel heading his way. He could almost feel his arm detaching from its socket as she grabbed onto him. “Jess is so going to pay for this,” he thought to himself, trying to pretend to pay attention to Rachel’s chatter, and then groaned again as he watched Cheryl Snow making out in the corner of the yard with some guy he’d never seen. “Oh hell Jess is so going to pay for this!” he muttered under his breath.