"Do you think people will make fun of us because we don't have boyfriends?" she asked out of nowhere.

I hadn't even thought about boys that way, I guess I was a late developer. I shrugged.

"I'm going to have a boyfriend within a month," she declared, more to herself that anyone else. Then nodded once as if agreeing to it.

"Ok Meg, just don't go dragging me into any of that, I'm happy with the way things are," I said, rolling my eyes at her.

She snickered, "As if I'd even consider it. Do you think I don't know you at all?" she mocked hurt in her voice and held her hand to her heart.

"I just don't want to be one of those girls that has serious relationships through all of high school. It's so not my thing, and when it's over, I don't want to do that whole... where are you going to college? Should we go to college together? Who's hopes and dreams are more important?' blah yatta blah."

She looked at me for a second then shook her hand, standing up, she started prancing around the roof dreamily, "Well, Miss '15 going to 50'... I want to fall in love...LOTS... and I want to break hearts... LOTS, I want to have so many awkward first dates and first kisses at my front door, with lots and LOTS of boys. I want to chase and be chased. I want to hold hands down the hall with some amazingly gorgeous guy and have girls jealous because that guy only has eyes for me. I want to live high school. And I want to love in high school. And I want to have s.e.x. Oh my G.o.d, like... so much s.e.x!"

I stared at her, my mouth open in shock. She looked at me and broke out in a fit of laughter. It was a joyous sound that to this day still has me cracking up whenever I hear it. We sat on that roof and giggled like the innocent girls we were for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only minutes. Our laughter broke off when we heard a beeping noise. We both looked over to where the sound was coming from, over to the house next door and the U-haul truck reversing into the driveway.

"Oh, G.o.d," Megan sighed, "The house has finally sold. I hope they're not sucky neighbors. I couldn't think of anything worse! Like old people that collect random s.h.i.t to h.o.a.rd, and they have to call the fire department to clear the house, only to find like," she looks to the sky as if thinking "...a 5 billion pound woman stuck under a pile of empty snack sized chocolate pudding tubs, and then a crane has to come to lift her body out of the house like on Gilbert Grape', and they take her to a hospital so they can pump all the fat out of her body. Then 3 years later, some random kid emerges from that house, knocks on our door and asks, have you seen my baseball?'"

I look at her for a second, then burst out laughing. Uncontrollable laughter that has the sides of body aching. I laugh so hard I'm pretty sure colored snot from my popsicle is oozing out of my nose. Hot right? I hear her quietly laughing with me, and then, "Holy s.h.i.t, Mick... what the h.e.l.l is that?"

I stop laughing abruptly and follow her eyes to see what the heck she's talking about, and then I see him, and I think, "What the h.e.l.l is that?"

It's a boy. A boy better than any other boy I've ever seen before. He could be our age but he's built bigger. Like, not an "I work out, I'm a jock" big, but like, I work... lifting heavy s.h.i.t, kinda big. Farm boy big? I don't know. I've never really thought about boys and big before.

"Let's go introduce ourselves," Megan states, already climbing through the window back into her room.

I sit frozen staring at him, as he slowly makes his way up to the front door, taking in his surroundings, like he hasn't seen the house before. Maybe he hasn't. Dark blond hair hidden under a baseball cap, dark jeans and plain grey shirt. I find myself wondering what color his eyes are, when he looks up suddenly and catches me mid stare. Kill me. Kill me now. I'm sure the blush has crept up to my face and I'm even more sure that he can see it. A slow smile lifts at the corner of his mouth and he raises his right hand in a small wave. I force a smile, which I'm sure looks more like I'm constipated than an actual smile. I start to lift my hand to wave back...

"Mikayla... Come onnnn!!" Meg screams at me like a banshee.

I stand up suddenly and hurl myself through the window, tripping on the eave and falling so unladylike, flat on my a.s.s. "What is wrong with you?" She looks at me like I've grown a second head.

"Big boy farm." WHAT? Please, Kill. Me. Now.

By the time I've calmed my rapidly beating heart and convinced Megan that I'm not completely insane, I find myself stumbling down her driveway and onto the driveway next door. We're greeted by a lady who looks to be in her late 30's, wearing sweats and unloading boxes from a cherry red truck. She sees us and instantly smiles. "Hi, you young ladies must be our neighbors?" she says, wiping sweat from her brow.

"I am, my name's Megan," she reaches out to shake the ladies hand. "This is my best friend Mikayla," she nudges me.

"Uh. Hi, I'm... um Mikayla," I say, shaking her hand. My eyes are cast downwards. I don't want to look too much at the ladies face. She's more than likely the mother of the boy whom I've just been eye licking.

"Well, you girls are just the prettiest picture," she drawls in a thick Texan accent. "I'm Sam," she faces the house, "Henry! Boys!"

Im still looking at the concrete of the driveway when I hear the front screen door open and close a couple times.

"Yeah, Ma?" says a male voice. I jerk my head up and see him, like, really see him. Brown, like the color of syrup, his eyes. He recognizes me and stands in front of me with a smile.

"Honey, this is Megan, she's our neighbor." He takes his cap off and shakes Megan's hand, never taking his eyes off me. "And this is her best friend Mikayla." We shake hands, and I swear, sparks fly and my hand tingles with a sensation that roots me to the floor, something I have never felt before. "Girls, this is my son James, I have another one somewhere, much younger. I'm sure you'll see him soon."

"Nice to meet you." James finally lets go of my hand and I weep internally.

Megan's looking at me like she's watching the third head ooze from the second head I've just grown. Luckily, she saves the day by actually talking to this James kid. I'm still trying to get over the physical shocks that have just sparked my body into life. They talk about school and sports and why they moved here, what there is to do in our small town, and everything else small talk might consist of.

From this, I get that he's a freshman and will be going to our school. Great. I'll be a struck dumb and mute for the next four years.

I hear my name, but I don't know what was said.

Megan nudges my side, I look up at her, her eyebrows raised and head jerking towards James. I slowly look over to him. "Huh?" Im so fricken eloquent I can't even handle it.

He clears his throat, "It was nice meeting you Mikayla, I have to get back to helping unpack. Hopefully I'll see you around school or something." He says it more like a question than a statement.

Before I get to answer a kid comes barreling toward us, he can't be more than 8 years old. He runs straight to Meg and me so fast I don't think he can stop in time. Both Meg and I put our hands out to stop him from crashing into us, but his legs save him and he stops mere inches from us. He glares at Megan, then at me. Seconds which feel like minutes pa.s.s, neither saying anything. Then he smiles, "Hey, have you seen my baseball?"

We can't help it. We laugh.

2 weeks later, James and I are dating.

"You okay there, Miss Mikayla?" Heidi asks from across the limo.

I must've zoned out.

"Yeah..." I huff. "I just... I can't believe I didn't see it coming," I say, as I pick imaginary lint of my dress.

"No one suspects the people they love of douchebaggery," Heidi looks at me sympathetically.

"Or s.l.u.tbaggery," Lucy adds.

Chapter 6.

*Jake*

We get to prom within seconds of the announcement. Heidi goes from the girl we know to the girl everyone expects her to be. She prances on stage, smiles and says a few words. Prom King is Doug, the quarterback. Of course he is.

They pose for photos but it's awkward as h.e.l.l because Doug knows Dylan's watching and you don't f.u.c.k with Dylan. Doesn't matter that physically, they'd be a decent match up. There's only one thing Dylan loves more than basketball and that's his girl. And there's a huge difference between basketball and Heidi. We'd give him s.h.i.t if he weren't so serious about her. He's not the hearts and flowers kind of guy, but he's the heart and soul kind, and f.u.c.k if every girl would rather that than flowers.

We're all watching the stage when I see Casey sauntering towards me, I panic and step closer to Mikayla. It's a d.i.c.k move but I didn't know I was doing it until it was done. Mikayla looks up at me, eyebrows drawn in and I guess she must sense my panic because she follows my eyes to Casey and I think she understands. She wraps her tiny little arms around my waist and her side presses against mine, her head getting comfortable in the crook of my arm as I put my arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, Jake," Casey coos inches away from us. "Who's your little friend? I haven't seen this one around before."

I flinch at he words and I feel Mikayla tense next to me, but only for a second before she recovers herself.

"Casey, this is Mikayla." Mikayla laughs once, "Baby, you don't have to be so formal." She reaches a hand out to Casey. "Jake calls me Kayla. Do you go to school here, Lacey?"

"It's Casey."

"Oh." Mikayla nods once, smiling at Casey. Then she looks up at me. Big brown eyes like Bambi. She rubs her hands up and down my chest. "I'm thirsty, babe. Let's get a drink then head to the hotel," she says loud enough for Casey to hear. Then she gets on her toes and whispers in my ear, "I'm not wearing any underwear." I don't know if Casey can hear her, but I know she can see my eyes widen in surprise. What she can't see is my d.i.c.k twitch at the thought.

f.u.c.k, I'm such a guy.

I look down at her, and she's smirking back at me.

"Well, have a good night," Casey interrupts, and then backs away.

Heidi comes back from the stage, "Was that Casey? What did she do to you this time?" she asks, watching Casey walk back into the dance floor. She turns to us and motions her finger between us, "And what the f.u.c.k is going on here?"

Then we realize we're still locked in each others arms and we both abruptly let go. I'm a bit more hesitant than she is though, and I can't help but try to look down the back of her dress, to her a.s.s, to see if she really isn't wearing any underwear.

I'm an a.s.shole.

"Let's go, I'm bored," Cam says as Logan comes back to the group with disheveled hair and his tux all out of sorts.

"I'm ready," Logan says, as we all stare at him. "What? I just gave some band geek a night they'll never forget."

We're all in the limo and driving through some heavy woods. I can tell Mikayla is getting worried because her eyes keep darting out the window, then to her phone.

I nudge her, "Don't worry, I told you, I'm not a psycho, I'm not going to kill you. We can drop these guys off and you can take the limo home if you want."

"It's okay," she smiles. "I'd rather be here than anywhere else."

*Mikayla*

The limo stops at a clearing in the middle of nowhere and we all file out. There's an old truck that surely doesn't run anymore, and a bonfire. Logan and Dylan start lighting the fire and Cam and Jake jump into the bed of the truck and pull down a couple chairs and a cooler full of beers. They start pa.s.sing the beers around while the girls set up the chairs.

Cam and Lucy take up the seating on the bed of the truck and there are three chairs around the fire. Dylan's on one with Heidi on his lap, Logan in the other. Jake is holding the back of the left over chair, "Here, take a seat, I'll stand."

"Sorry," Heidi holds up her beer, "we weren't expecting extra, not that you haven't been a great surprise though."

I face Jake. "It's fine, I'll stand, it's your chair, your bonfire, you-"

"I gotta place for you right here, sweetheart," Logan says from behind me, patting his lap. I scrunch my nose at him. Lucy notices and laughs. Logan is a good looking kid, don't get me wrong. If I was any other girl I'd be swooning over him. But the fact he spilt beer on me, was an a.s.s, and then most likely just screwed some innocent girl at their prom and left her there, well, it kinda downplays his swoon-worth.

Before I know it, an arm is wrapped around my waist and my a.s.s lands on Jake's lap with both my legs to one side. My side is to his front. "I think she'd rather not." His accent makes it sound like I think she'd ruhthuh not'.

I admit to myself, accents turn me on. James had a s.e.xy accent, it was a nice Texan drawl, not too dirty', it was perfect. I used to love how he'd dip his cap forward a little and say, yes ma-am' when I asked him to do things. It was cute, and s.e.xy, and he knew it turned me on, so he used it as often as possible. f.u.c.k James, I really did love him.

Before I can react, two hands are wiping away tears I hadn't realized were falling. Jake placing his hands on either side of my face, looking into my eyes. He must see so much sadness, and hurt, and anger, and regret, and all I see in his, are comfort and understanding. He nods his head once and uses his hand to pull my head to his lips, he gives me one short, sweet kiss to my temple, and it's everything I need to make the world keep spinning around me.

Chatter goes on around us and I realize I've totally s.p.a.ced out.

"I can't wait to hit the bars around UNC," one of the boys says. I don't know which one.

"Huh?" I look up. "Who's going to UNC?"

Cam laughs, "We all are. Why? Are you?"

"Yeah, I am," I say wide-eyed. "What? All of you are?"

Cam eyes Jake for a second then back to me, "Yeah, your boy Jake there's got a full ride, athletic scholarship," he smiles like a proud dad, "he'll probably be starting pitcher as a freshman."

I whip my head to Jake and see him nodding shyly. "No s.h.i.t?"

"s.h.i.t," he deadpans.

"And what about the rest of you?" I eye Lucy in particular, because I think were probably heading towards the same thing.

"Partial academic scholarship, majoring in either creative writing or journalism, haven't decided yet," she shrugs.

"No effing way!" I say, my voice laced with disbelief. "Me too. Like, exactly. Partial scholarship and all."

"No s.h.i.t?" she says.

"s.h.i.t," I return.

"Jake and I are the only ones lucky enough to get scholarships," she states. "Cam and Dylan will be sharing a dorm, Heidi and Logan will be majoring in The Greek system." She laughs and the rest join her. I see her glance at Jake and feel his body move behind me.

"What about you?" I ask him.

He shrugs, "I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

The rest of the night is completed by beer drinking and s.h.i.t talking. I'm feeling slightly buzzed, okay, maybe a little beyond it, but I seem to be smiling and having a good time. The ache in my heart from earlier tonight is a fraction less painful.

Lucy starts shuffling through her bag to get her e-reader.

"Seriously, Luce?" Heidi says.

"No, let her read," Cam says with an evil smirk. His eyes are hazy, he's definitely drunk.

"Shut up..." Lucy mumbles under hear breath.

"What... what's going on?" Logan looks up from his phone.

Cam starts laughing, "Oh, I love it when she reads." He turns to Lucy who's face is starting to contort and turn to a bright shade of red, "She reads these s.m.u.tty books, like full on dirty s.h.i.t, full of s.e.x and like... bdsm s.h.i.t."

"Oh my G.o.d, Cameron. Shut the h.e.l.l up!" She reaches her hand to cover his mouth but he's too quick and jumps off the truck bed and starts walking around.