Twitter Pated

Chapter 8 of Love from Above

From my head to my toes, I feel an electric current running through me. It is the most amazing feeling I have experienced in my 16 years of life. I twine my fingers into the hair at the nape of Jeremy’s neck. One of his hands moved from cupping my face to snake around my waist, curving my body against his. All too soon, we break apart, both of us breathing raggedly. We stare into each other’s eyes for the longest time. I’m not entirely sure what he sees in mine as my brain feels more than a little scrambled, but in his I find pure joy and something that I can only interpret as contemplation. Contemplation of what though, I’m not entirely sure.

 

“Wow,” I whisper after a few moments of near hyperventilation.

 

“You can say that again,” he murmurs, grinning hugely. I grin back and out of the corner of my eye I see the curtain in the living room twitch. I groan and hang my head. Jeremy tilts it back up so I am looking into his eyes again.

 

“What could possibly be the matter?” He says, his grin fading infinitesimally.

 

“Janie and Libby were watching. They’re going to badger me with questions when I go inside,” I say, laughing lightly.

 

“Aw, I’m sorry,” he says as he pulls me into another hug. My ear is pressed to his chest and I hear his heart beating to match my own’s rapid pace. We stand there for another immeasurable moment. The only thing that splits us apart is the sound of Jeremy’s phone blasting Three Days Grace. He takes it out of his pocket and checks the caller ID. By the look that darkens his expression, I can only assume his father is calling.

 

“Hello?” Jeremy answers. I can hear the yelling on the other end of the phone. Jeremy flinches away from the receiver before breaking in, “Dad, relax! I’m still in the neighborhood! Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” Jeremy says, sounding seriously irked. He hangs up and looks at me regrettably.

 

“You have to go?” I say, a little dejected. A pained look skitters across his face.

 

“Unfortunately, but hey, there’s still tomorrow,” he says, flashing a smile that instantly makes me feel better. He leans in for one more gentle kiss before turning and jogging through the rain toward his house. I stand there looking after him until I begin to shiver. I hadn’t noticed the cold of the rain with Jeremy here. Now that he is gone, the chill has me running inside. I shut the front door and head into the living room, braced for the onslaught. Janie and Libby are sitting as far away from the front window as possible in the spacious room. Janie is innocently reading a book while Libby is crocheting.

 

“You guys can drop the innocent look; I know you were watching. Oh, and Janie, how are you reading that book upside down?” I say laughing. They both thaw out and assume the eager position.

 

“Well, spill the details then!” Libby says, looking like she is about to jump out of her skin. I gush about every detail of the day, lingering on the most recent. When I finally finish telling them about the day’s festivities they sit there slack-jawed. Libby is the first to regain composure. Her open mouth, wide-eyed expression quickly transforms into a teasing smile.

 

“Get a little twitter pated did ya?” She says with a giggle.

 

“I guess I did,” I say thoughtfully, staring out the window into the rain. Absently, I wonder if he is feeling the same.

 

Janie suddenly realizes that I’m dwarfed in the hoodie I’m wearing, “That’s not yours,” she says, smiling knowingly.

 

“No, I forgot mine,” I say, inhaling the scent of Jeremy and rain coming from the hoodie.

 

“Sure, 'forgot',” Libby air quotes. “Mighty convenient.”

 

I roll my eyes at her, “I’m going to go take a shower,” I say, heading for the laundry room. I toss my towel and swimsuit in before peeling out of my soaked clothes and starting the laundry cycle. I throw on my fluffy robe and run upstairs to the bathroom. I turn the shower on and step into the steamy spray.

 

After my shower I head back downstairs to move my clothes from the washer to the dryer while I get ready for bed. Once the dryer is done, I collect my clothes and take them up to my room to put away. I place the pile on my bed and set to hanging up shirts and folding up jeans. I eyeball Jeremy’s hoodie for a moment when it is the last item left, trying to decide what to do with it until I see Jeremy again. I shrug and pull it over my head before crawling into bed, letting his scent still clinging to the fabric lull me to sleep.