The Art of Life (55 page)

               
“If I win, I am going to tickle
you until you pee in your pants,” Jeremy retorts.

               
“Okay, then no, because you
probably would win, because I wouldn’t actually hurt you,” I grumble.

               
Jeremy bends down and kisses me
on the head.
 
“I will gladly spar with
you anytime.
 
It will be good for you to
keep learning moves.”

               
“Well, I am going to get ready,”
I state, turning to go to the bathroom.
 
I suddenly feel a hard slap on my butt.
 
I spin around.
 
“Jeremy!”

               
He just smiles.
 
“What?
 
Pay back isn’t nice.”

               
Sticking my tongue out at him, I
turn to go get ready.
 
When I get dressed
and open the bathroom door, Jeremy is standing there.
 
“Are you done?”

               
“I have to do my hair,” I
say.
 
“Otherwise, you know it’s all
crazy.”

               
“Well, I really want to get into
the shower.
 
So, come out of the
bathroom, I will get in and then you can do your hair,” he instructs.

               
My jaw drops.
 
“You want me to do what!?”

               
“Oh come on, you won’t see
anything!
 
Kent and I are starving, and
Cassandra is on her way here!” Jeremy practically whines.

               
I open my mouth and then shut
it.
 
Finally, I spit out, “Fine!
 
I can’t believe I am doing this.”

               
“You need to learn to RELAX,”
Jeremy says.
 
“Now, come out of there and
I will yell for you when can you come in and I PROMISE you won’t see anything.”

               
“Alright,” I mumble, walking out
into the hallway.

               
Jeremy shuts the door and I just
hang my head.
 
“What am I doing?” I
whisper, ever so quietly.

               
A little time goes by and then I
hear him yell.
 
Taking a deep breath, I
open the door and walk into the bathroom.
 
I take out my blow dryer and start to dry my hair.
 
“So,” Jeremy teases.
 
“How nervous are you right now?”

               
“Shut up,” I snap.
 
“I am trying to get ready.”

               
“
Mmhmm
,”
he hums in reply.
 
“Your shampoo smells
good.
 
What is it?”

               
Rolling my eyes, I say,
“Eucalyptus and mint.”

               
“I am going to use it.”

               
“Whatever,” I groan.
 
“Just shower.”

               
He softly sings to himself while
he showers.
 
“I am rubbing soapy water
all over my
studly
body,” Jeremy exclaims.

               
“Jeremy!” I scream.
 
“Shut up!”

               
There is laughter from the other
side of the curtain.
 
“What, you don’t
like thinking about that, my hotness?”

               
“Why do you push me?” I ask.

               
“It’s in my job description,” he
replies.
 
“Washing,
washing, washing.”

               
I put down the blow dryer.
 
“I swear if you tease me anymore, I will get
back at you!”

               
“What?
 
Like how I was going to ask you to help me
wash?” He chuckles.

               
Walking over, I say, “I warned
you.”
 
With that, I flush the
toilet.
 
That makes him scream in about
two seconds.
 
He throws open the curtain.
 
Now, I squeal and turn around.
  
“Thank God that I didn’t see anything!”

               
I sense him standing there.
 
I have no idea what he is going to do.
 
“You….missy…..are in SO much trouble!”

               
“I am sorry, but you were
teasing me!
 
Please, shut the curtain!”

               
“N-O-P-E!
 
We are having a standoff.
 
Are you going to stumble your way across the
whole bathroom in time, before I get to you?”

               
What!?
 
“Jeremy, don’t you dare!
 
I swear, I will hurt you.”

               
“Apologize then,” he sternly
says.

               
“I am sorry, really, really
sorry!
 
Please, shut the curtain!”

               
Scoffing, Jeremy retorts, “Well,
I have to wait for the water to turn down from 1000 degrees.
 
So, we will just stand here and wait.”
 
So, we do.
 
Why is it taking the toilet so long to fill!?
 
Finally, Jeremy says, “There, the water is
back to normal,” and draws the curtain.

               
A few seconds go by before I
take my hand away from my eyes.
 
Thankfully, he is back in the shower.
 
“I LOATHE you sometimes!” I shout.

               
“You love me, don’t lie!
 
Anyway, you started it!
 
Don’t start things you can’t finish, and I
will always win because I know how to make you blush.”

               
That makes me mad.
 
I can finish my hair later.
 
I sneak back to the toilet, flush it and then
run for the door.
 
Jeremy just screams
again, and I slam the door behind me.
 
Kent looks at me from the dining room table.
 
“What in the world are you two doing in
there?”

               
“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” I
giggle, waltzing to my room.

               
Only a few minutes later, the
bathroom door opens.
 
I quickly slam my
bedroom door.
 
There is a light knock and
I hear, “Isabelle….darling…we need to have a talk.”

               
“No!” I laugh.

               
“Open the door, or I am coming
in there myself,” he demands.

               
I go over and brace myself
against the door.
 
“Go away!”

               
He tries to open it and I hold
my own.
 
Jeremy sighs, “Isabelle, I don’t
want you to get hurt.”

               
Trying hard to keep the door shut,
I growl, “Then stop pushing.”

               
“I warned you.”
 
Jeremy shoves the door, and I skid across the
floor.
 
He is standing there in a
towel.
 
“Now, you have been a naughty
girl.”

               
“Hey!” I yell.
 
“You said no more towels!”

               
Jeremy crosses his arms, “That
was before your little stunt.
 
Now it’s
time for paybacks.”
 
He comes walking
over and bends down.
 
Suddenly, I am
thrown over his shoulder.

               
“Put me down!” I scream.

               
“Nope,” Jeremy replies.
 
He turns and walks us to the bathroom.

               
I hit him on the back, “Put me
down Jeremy!”
 
There is no response other
than his laughter.
 
“What are you doing?”
I snap.

 
              
“I
am giving you a whole new experience,” he answers.
 
I try to get out of his grip and fail.
 
I also really don’t want to fall.
 
Jeremy shuts the bathroom door.

               
“What in the world are you
doing!?” I ask hotly.

               
The only response I get is
laughter.
 
Jeremy steps us into the
shower.
 
“Payback is a bitch.”
 
He drops me to the floor.
 
I instantly try to climb out of the shower,
but he grabs me and holds me around the waist with his arm.
 
“Nope, you aren’t going anywhere.”

               
“What are you doing!?” I
yell.
 
“Let go!”

               
“Nope, now you can say you took
a shower with a guy.”

               
Squirming, I say, “I am NOT
taking a shower with you!”

               
“Yes you are,” Jeremy assures.
 
“My
studliness
got
you all hot and
bothered,
now you need a
nice…..COLD….shower.”
 
With that he
flicks the water on, and it is ice cold!

               
The shock of it takes my breath
away.
 
Jeremy just pushes me under the
water farther.
 
It’s then that I
scream.
 
“JEREMY!”

               
He wraps his arms around me and
whispers, “Yes, Isabelle.”

               
“Turn it off!
 
Turn it off!
 
It’s freezing! Turn it off!”

               
Jeremy bends over and turns the
knob farther.
 
The water starts to get
warm.
 
“Now,” he murmurs into my
ear.
 
“Who wins?”

               
“You are such a jerk!” I
gasp.
 
Jeremy grabs me and turns me
around.
 
“You know my clothes are all wet
now.
 
Thank you very much!”

               
“Who is king of paybacks?” He
asks, smiling his awesome smile.

               
Sticking my tongue out, I sneer,
“You are, but you wait, I will think of something.”

               
Leaning down, he says, “I can’t
wait.”
 
We kind of just stand there for a
while, staring at each other.
 
You would
think us standing in the shower, with clothes on, would make us think, but for
some reason, we just stay where we are.
 
Jeremy looks like he is going to say something, when there is a loud
bang on the bathroom door.
 
“Yeah,” he
calls out.

               
“Can you two please stop doing
WHATEVER it is you are doing, and get ready?
 
Cassandra is here and we are hungry,” Kent yells through the door.

               
“Yeah,” Jeremy says.
 
He looks back down at me.
 
“Are you mad?”

               
My mouth opens and then
closes.
 
The tension in the air is really
thick.
 
It’s like I can’t find my
voice.
 
Finally, I whisper, “No.”

               
“Good,” he whispers.
 
Jeremy pushes past me and turns off the
water.
 
Turning he grabs my towel off the
wall.
 
I take it from him and our hands
brush each other.
 
It sends shivers
through me.
 

               
I wipe my face, and say,
“Thanks.”

               
“Here,” Jeremy says, stepping
out of the tub.
 
“Let’s get you out of
there.”
 
I take his hand and I climb
out.
 
Suddenly, I slip.
 
My hands reach out and I grab him.
 
We go down, slamming onto the floor at full
force.
 
I land on top of Jeremy.
 
We lay there for a second, not moving, not
saying anything.
 
Suddenly, we burst into
hysterics.
 
“OW!” Jeremy exclaims.

               
Suddenly, the door to the
bathroom opens.
 
Kent and Cassandra are
standing there, staring at us.
 
Jeremy
and I look at them.
 
Cassandra starts to
laugh, while Kent raises his eyebrows.
 
“Are you guys okay?” He asks.