Through The Lens Read online

  “Ouch, you guys are lame,” Brandon said. “I’m getting a beer.”

  Josh with his hand around my waist, but not crossing the line said, “Coach said no boozing tonight. He doesn’t want us hung over tomorrow.”

  Brandon, on his feet, said, “Nothing that sleep can’t overcome.” And he was off, headed to the kitchen I assumed.

  “So, Jessa, are you coming to the game tomorrow,” a voice said. I’d been staring off into the space where Brandon had gone. I wasn’t sure who had spoken.

  Then, a girl, I was pretty sure her name was Joy or Joyce spoke. She had rich brown hair that complimented her brown skin. “She may not like football,” she said to her boyfriend. Brett was cute with a boyish grin, which he flashed at her. Hitting him with another pillow, she proffered from her back, he laughed and raked a hand through his crew cut blond hair.

  Feeling like a bad girlfriend because I hadn’t gone to any of Josh’s games, I announced, “I’ll be there.” Tilting my head, I saw Josh’s smile. His dimples made that rare appearance when he smiled.

  Brett said, “So you’re coming to our victory party, right?”

  “Absolutely,” I said, with no hesitation.

  “That’s my girl. Josh, I really like her.”

  Josh said, “I like her, too.”

  Brandon was back, and there were a few whispers and nods. The next thing I knew the couples were leaving. “Man, do I smell,” Brandon said, sniffing under his arms. Then he took a long drink from his beer bottle.

  Looking at Josh, I wondered what was going on. Slyly, he shook his head at me. Speaking up, he said to Brandon, “Where’s Dana?” Dana was Brandon’s on-and-off-again girlfriend. I may not know them well or personally, but rumors always told stories.

  “She broke up with me, man. I don’t get the woman,” Brandon proclaimed. “Maybe I should do that shit you did.” And then, Brandon’s eyes found mine.

  Shrugging, I said, “Couldn’t hurt.”

  Nodding back, he said, “You guys can take my parents’ room. I trust you Josh.”

  Then I got it. That’s where everyone hung out. After all we’d been through, had Josh brought me here to try and hook up? I could feel the anger building.

  “Nah, man, we’re headed out,” Josh said.

  “You just got here,” Brandon said. His puppy dog look now made me get the sense that this wasn’t Brandon’s first drink.

  Josh’s hands unwound from my waist. I took the hint and stood. Josh got up, “I was just stopping by, but we have plans.”

  With Josh’s hand at the small of my back, leading me to the front door, I didn’t see him. I only heard Brandon say, “Oh, okay.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder if they’d traded looks. Sighing, I told my pessimistic side to back off. If this was going to work, I would need to trust Josh. Otherwise, I would be paranoid about everything.

  In the car, Josh said, “I’m sorry about that. I should have guessed that with the absence of a real party, people would “hook up.” I hope you don’t think that’s why I brought you.”

  It was what I’d thought. But I didn’t voice that. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and I’d agreed to give him a second chance. “No, of course not.”

  “Good,” he said, taking a breath like he had held it. “Movies?”

  “Sure,” I said. There wasn’t a whole lot to do that I could think of without planning.

  We ended up at the latest Marvel superhero movie. Action-packed, it was funny, too, and very entertaining. We talked about it on the car ride home. Cutting the engine, Josh walked me to my front door.

  “I had a good time tonight,” he said.

  Smiling, I said, “Me, too.”

  Then he leaned down to brush a kiss on my cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said, before retreating to his car.

  I wanted to cry foul. He’d taken his vow seriously. I kept my lips pursed. I was the one that had thrown the penalty flag for him crossing the line. So, I would endure this slow-moving relationship, and I grinned thinking that maybe he liked me just that much to try and behave himself. There were certainly easier targets than me.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  After my morning run, I pulled out my camera. Walking all over the house, I took candid pictures of my family getting ready for the day. I’d even caught Kyle with drool coming from his mouth while he slept. No doubt, he’d crept into the house after curfew.

  Even my Mom was home, which was rare.

  “Hey,” I said brightly, while she kneaded dough. “You’re still home.”

  “Yes,” she said, working it like she had something on her mind. “I’m going in late this morning.”

  “Do you need help today?” I offered. Mom’s café had pretty brisk traffic on most days. She was able to hire and staff the shop so we weren’t forced to work there. She knew we didn’t share her passion. But I’d worked my fair share. She just didn’t burden us with the task.

  “No, I think we are okay. Sandy hasn’t called me to say we are short staffed.”

  “Okay, so what are you baking?” I asked.

  Lowering her head and her voice, she said, “Today’s your father’s and my anniversary.” Shock filled my face. How could I forget? “It’s okay, honey. I’m making cinnamon rolls for breakfast for your Dad, and then I’m headed to work. He has to go in, too. Tonight we are off to a bed-and-breakfast. Don’t tell Jenna and Kyle. They will break curfew for sure. But I trust you Jessa. I’ll text you the information where we will be tonight. And be home on time,” she warned.

  It felt monumental that my Mom trusted me enough to tell me. It also felt good that I shared a secret with her that my sister didn’t. “You crazy kids have fun,” I said, winking at her. A blush spread across her face. And with my camera stashed in my lap, I pulled it out in time to capture that and a few more shots.

  Thinking that my pictures could make presents for my parents’ anniversary, I stalked my sister, catching her putting on makeup. Then I had her take a picture of me. Coaxing her into it, we stormed my brother’s room to wake him up while I got off a few more shots. Jessa didn’t know why I wanted the pictures, not the real reason anyway. I told her I wanted to finish the roll. Plus the idea of pulling a prank on our brother was appealing to her.

  After Kyle finally woke up, he snatched the camera from me and took pictures of me and Jenna. All in all, it was a fun morning. My parents had breakfast in their room. But my Mom had left us yummy cinnamon rolls on the counter. They tasted divine. I’d have to ask her how she made the healthy stuff taste so good.

  The house slowly emptied. My Mom first, followed by my father. Then Jenna, and finally Kyle stumbled out of the house after a loud car horn and a jingle of his phone. Curious, I looked out the front to see Kyle getting in the car with a girl. And she looked like a girl I knew to be a junior.

  Shaking my head, I had to wonder why my siblings were so popular, and I wasn’t interested in being so. I spent alone time in my room reading for a while. When noon neared, I grabbed the keys to the car, which Jenna graciously left me because she was riding with her friends, I hopped in the car. And with my camera in a bag, I headed out.

  Walking in the bistro, I took in the rich scents of the menu items. “Honey, what are you doing here?”

  The place was packed as it was now lunchtime, and I didn’t think my Mom would spot me. When I didn’t answer, she pointed to the far wall. I maneuvered my way and plopped into a bar seat in front of the bar counter that lined the back wall. The rich chocolate color of this wall reminded me of the sofas in Brandon’s house. However, here the color bloomed and took root that gave way to a warmth that I felt as if I was at home.

  “You don’t have that camera with you,” my Mom said, coming up on my side. “I swear you are so like your father. He had that thing aimed at me every time I saw him.”

  Remembering the look in my father’s eyes when he spoke about the camera and my Mom, I thought it was so fitting that an album of our family was the
perfect gift. “No more pictures,” I teased.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked.

  Nodding, I said, “It’s busy. Are you sure you don’t need any help?” I was bored. Where I’d become accustomed to being by myself this summer, with Madison and Bradley exploring their relationship, now I had Allie, Ethan, and Josh. And I got lonely at the house. I didn’t want to call Josh. I’d only seen him the night before. We were taking things slow, and I didn’t want to appear to be clingy.

  “No, it’s crazy, but I’ve got it handled. Give me a minute, and I’ll bring you something.”

  Turning in my seat, I looked out in the crowd. The place was filled with all different kinds of people, the young and the old, singles, couples, and families. My Mom really had something going here. But cooking and feeding people weren’t my passions. I couldn’t help but be happy that my Mom wasn’t forcing her dream on us.

  When she came over, offering a plate with some sort of mystery meat or filling in the sandwich, I took a bite. Groaning, I asked with my mouth still full, “What is it?”

  Waggling her eyebrows at me, she said, “Good, huh?”

  Nodding, I swallowed. A thought hit me. “Hey, do you think you could wrap up another of these.”

  Frowning, she looked like a lecture was coming on. “Just because its healthy food, doesn’t mean you should eat more of it.”

  “No. It’s not for me,” I protested.

  Smiling at me, she said softly, “Josh.” She gave me a knowing look. My Mom was actually cooler than my Dad when it came to the subject of boys.

  I opened, then closed my mouth. Should it have been Josh whom I thought of? Because it wasn’t. “No, Ethan.”

  She frowned again. “No, Ethan and I are just friends.” Scrambling, I needed to give her an explanation without giving her the whole truth. I hated to lie especially when she’d given me so much trust this morning. But this was a small lie, I told myself. “His Mom is out of town.” Which was true. “I thought it would be nice to bring him a home-cooked meal so he’s not eating junk.” The home-cooked part, I said using air quotes with my hands. And I hadn’t totally lied. I just hadn’t given her the whole truth of it.

  Mom went into mommy mode. “Oh, that is so sweet. Let me go bag up something for him.”

  I left twenty minutes later with a bag full of food. I was sure it would last him all weekend.

  Driving to Ethan’s, I did a quick mental check about Josh. This wasn’t anything. It was me being a friend. And well, I’d used up my film roll and thought I might try my hand at developing the film today, if Ethan had time.

  When I pulled up in his driveway, I considered that maybe I should have called first. Without turning off the car, I pulled out my phone. After a quick dial, the phone rang.

  “Hey,” a gruff voice said. He sounded as if he were sleeping.

  “Ethan, you busy?” I asked.

  Clearing his throat, he said, “No, why? What’s up?”

  “I wondered if I could come over,” I said, hoping this wasn’t a wasted trip.

  “Sure, alright,” he said sounding confused.

  “Um, I’m outside,” I admitted.

  Silence.

  “Are you there?” I asked tentatively.

  The door opened, and he spied my car. Turning off the ignition, I grabbed the food bag and my backpack. I hurried inside while he still held his phone to his ear. In a loose tee shirt and baggy sweats, he was still rather cute. Especially with his bed hair.

  I put the phone to my ear. “You should hang up now.”

  Smiling, he ended the call, and so did I. “What brings you to my door this morning?”

  “First of all, it’s not morning. Second, I brought you food.”

  That had his eyes opening. “Food, you cooked?” he questioned.

  “Not exactly. I told you my Mom owned a restaurant, right?”

  Watching him nod, I wasn’t exactly sure if I did, or if he just wanted to get to the answer. “I got lunch and I thought about you. I know you don’t get home-cooked meals everyday now. And even though this isn’t home-cooked, it’s pretty darn close. And, I kind of wanted to develop the roll of film you gave me, if you have time?”

  “Bribery, huh?” he said, lifting an eyebrow. Giving him my pearly whites, he capitulated. “Who could turn down that face? Now what did you bring me? I’m starved.”

  I pulled out the tubs of food and making myself home in his kitchen, I served him. It was the least I could do, considering I showed up with no warning.

  “This is really good,” he said.

  “Yeah, Mom is good at what she does,” I said, proudly.

  We didn’t speak for a while after that. I hadn’t seen anyone eat like Ethan other than my brother. Boys surely can pack away the food. And damn it if they didn’t have weight issues.

  Leaning back, looking completely satisfied, he said, “I’m going to go upstairs and put some clothes on, unless-,”

  “Go put some clothes on,” I said exasperatedly.

  “If you’re sure,” he teased. Shaking my head, he said, “Fine, I’ll get dressed, and we’ll head out to the lair.”

  Nodding, I watched him walk away. And darn it, I couldn’t help but appreciate the view. He was stretching his back, and his sweats slid lower on his hips. And boy, I nearly shivered. That was just wrong, I thought. You have a boyfriend who is totally hot. Stop pilfering on your friend’s man.

  Trying to get rid of stupid thoughts about how it felt to put my arms around him when I rode on his motorcycle or how it felt to kiss him. I organized what was left of the food and put it away. Then I washed the few dishes he had, wiped down the counters and threw the trash away.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Ethan’s voice rang out, scaring me half to death.

  Clutching at my heart, I tried to catch my breath. He chuckled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He came closer and put a hand on my shoulder. “I would have cleaned up.” His hair was damp. He was so close, I could smell his minty breath. He’d showered and taken care of other things while I was busy cleaning.

  “It’s okay. I had nothing else to do,” I said.

  “You didn’t have to clean the whole kitchen,” he said.

  Had I? I was so lost in my thoughts, I was just keeping busy.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “No problem,” I replied.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  Picking up my backpack from the floor, I followed him out. He wore jeans and a tee now. The sight was just as nice.

  Down in the “lair” as he’d dubbed it, I took my camera out to get to the film while he seemed to mix chemicals and set up.

  “Do you remember what you did last time?” he asked.

  How could I forget? He’d been so close, and it was a first for me. It’s hard to forget memorable firsts. And the first time I developed film would be burned into my memory forever. “Yes,” I said.

  “Okay, let me show you what chemicals go where and how we set up.”

  An hour later, I’d processed the film by myself. He stayed behind me, but I did it all by myself. He only had to stop me once to explain something.

  “You did it,” he said while we sat outside. And I remembered being here with him before, sleeping in his arms. It had been so easy.

  The cloudless day was warm. The grass swayed with a gentle breeze. “I did.”

  “So, now you can come anytime you want and develop film.”

  “I wanted to make prints,” I said.

  “That is a whole other process. I’ll show you though. We’ll probably have to do it in the lab in the house.” He seemed to drift off in thought. This was bringing up memories for him.

  “It’s okay. I can take it to like CVS or Target to make prints,” I said.

  “You could do that,” he said absently.

  Not saying anything else, I let him think. Leaning back on my arms I tentatively closed my eyes hoping I wouldn’t fall asleep again and just enjoyed the pea
ce. It was quiet back here. We were far enough from the road that we heard very little noise from the neighborhood. Just nature doing its thing was all you could hear.

  “Ethan,” I said.

  “Hmm,” he replied.

  “Do you miss Allie?” I asked. I did. Allie was that bright spot in the room. She was that person that made you laugh even if you didn’t want to.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “What do you think she’s up to?” I didn’t ask if she’d called. Because if she hadn’t I didn’t want to give voice to it.

  My eyes were still closed, my face raised to meet the sky. “Probably trying to make everyone happy,” he said absently. It had to be hard on the guy having a girlfriend who was a TV and movie star. But I didn’t say it. “So what was the real reason why you stopped by today?”

  “Can’t a girl just want to hang out with a friend?” I answered with my own question.

  He gave me the look that said he wasn’t buying what I was selling. “Okay, I was bored. But truthfully, I did want to develop the film. It’s my parents’ anniversary. And I thought it would be cool to make an album for them.”

  “I guess, that’s one thing Josh can’t do for you,” he muttered, looking back up in the sky.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, watching his profile.

  Turning back to me, he said, “It’s nothing.”

  “You brought it up,” I said stubbornly.

  “Fine, I just wondered why you are here with me and not with him.”

  Darn it. I’d wondered the same thing myself. Why did he have to, too? “I saw him last night and I’m going to his game tonight. I don’t need to spend every waking moment with my boyfriend.”

  “Touché, let’s go make pictures then,” he said, standing up. Holding out a hand to me, he helped me to my feet.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Sitting next to Ethan on the bleachers, I thought about my whirlwind day. After we made prints of several shots I’d taken, . . . well, Ethan did most of the work . . . he’d asked who I was going to the game with. Madison had to work, but I’d gotten Bradley to agree to go with me. I think he’d felt bad about not hanging out with me so much since he and Madison got together. But Ethan told me to let Bradley off the hook because he would go with me. And here I sat. Thankfully it was almost over. It was the last quarter of the game.