The Understorey, Book One of The Leaving Series (23 page)

“Sit,” I barked and he sat, lounging his arms
across the top of the sofa, peering about the room before letting
out a low whistle. “Damn, Elliott. You bagged a wealthy one didn’t
you?”

“Yeah, that’s it Thomas. I ‘bagged’ Jules
because somehow this is all going to be mine right?” I gestured to
the room.

I leaned against the banister, the wood
creaking beneath my weight, as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“God you’re testy. Something botherin’ you
man?”

“Why are you doing this Jesse? The
truth.”

“Dude, you’ve
got
to relax!” He sat
quiet and narrowed his eyes. “Is this about Tanen’s party? Because
I apologized for that already! I’m sorry! How many more times can I
say it?”

“This isn’t about Tanen’s party and you know
it.”

“ I’m just taking her to a film Elliott.
We’ll talk. I’ll get to know her. I’m doing this for you remember?
Then, I’ll bring her right back here. No harm. No foul.”

“No! I mean, no,” I added quietly, “You can
bring her back to my place afterwards.”

I smiled.

“Okay.” He eyed me carefully, the corners of
his mouth turning up. “This is serious for you, isn’t it
Elliott?”

“Very.” I walked across the room and stood
over him. He didn’t even flinch. I kept my arms crossed. “I don’t
feel the necessity to tell you how much I love her Jesse and that
if you let one strand of hair on her head get harmed that we’ll
have serious problems.”

“If it wasn’t necessary, then why did you
even bother to tell me?”

I stared him down but turned toward the
hallway when I heard Jules’ padding down the corridor. She was a
vision in dark red. Dark red with dark hair. Wow. Jesse stood up
next to me and elbowed me.
    “Don’t piss me off Jesse,” I gritted through my
teeth.
He rolled his eyes at me.
    “Hi Jesse!” Jules said.
    “Hi beautiful,” he responded.

I could have hit him. He left my side and
grabbed Jules to hug her. I really could have hit him.
    “That was.....
unexpected
,” she said with
a laugh.
    “Well, I figure I’d make a concerted effort. You
know? For Elliott’s sake.”
I snorted.
    “Here,” he said, “I got you something.”

He pulled a little book from the back of his
jeans pocket and handed it to her. She took it and read the title.
Her eyes shot wide.

    “The Complete Collection
of Poems by Edgar Allen Poe! How did you know I wanted this?”
    “I remember you mentioning it at lunch two weeks
ago.”
Jerk.
I wanted to have been the one who thought to give that
to her.
    Jealousy is one of those things that seem to
take you over, clouds your judgment and makes you crazier than you
ever thought possible. It does funny things to me because I’m
ninety-nine percent sure I think I go a little out of my head.
Green doesn’t even begin to cover it. I was jealous. Insanely
jealous because I knew how things went down when girls were with
Jesse, not that I couldn’t trust Jules, it was he who couldn’t be
trusted.

Before Jules, if we were at a party, or
anywhere in public really, Jesse was the one the girls made a
beeline for with his pretty boy features and trendy clothing. So,
naturally I may be a little self-conscious about this whole
thing.

I
am by no means a ‘pretty boy’. I’m
tall, big, broad, yet lean. I have hard, rugged features, except
for, I’ll admit, a bit of baby fat on my face. I don’t wear any
kind of hair product. I’ve never even seen moisturizer. I wash with
bar soap and if someone dared to come at me with an emery board I’d
tell them to stick it where the sun don’t shine. I only wear
cologne because Jules seems to like it.

    “Oh, well. Thank
you.......This is so
thoughtful
,” Jules said.
    “No problem. You ready?”
    “Yup.”
She stuck her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
    “Bye sweetheart,” she said, turning her eyes
onto mine.

Oh, no. You’re not getting away that
easily.
I grabbed her, bent her backwards and kissed her like
Jesse wasn’t even in the room. She resisted at first, but the
electricity sizzling between us made her forget where she was and
she kissed me back, really kissed me back. She removed her hands
from her back pockets and wound them tightly bound around my
neck.

I brought her back up for air and set her on
her feet again before she was ready for me to stop. I really loved
that she melted for me in front of Jesse. It was a little reminder
for Jesse, just in case he got any ideas. I needed him to know the
deal and I think that it worked because man did he look surprised
when I finally locked eyes with him.

I slapped her on the rear, “Have a good time
Jules.”

“Elliott!” She said, red faced, her left hand
rubbing my hand print.   

What can I say? I’m a possessive Neanderthal.
I readily admit it. Never saw that coming either, always thought of
myself as a progressive kind of guy. Guess not.

They left with Jules glancing over her
shoulder at me. She didn’t want to leave without me. I could see it
and I couldn’t have been happier about that. I just hoped that kiss
would last her until he dropped her off at ten that night.

    When I got home, I opened
the screen door to the kitchen and heard my mom cooking or baking.
She was always cooking or baking
something
.
    “Hi baby!” She said.
    “Hey,” I said, unenthusiastically.
I slumped into a kitchen table chair.
    “What’s wrong with you?”
    “Oh, nothing. Jules is out to a movie.”
    “Well, why don’t you call up Jesse? See what
he’s up to.”
    “That’s who she’s at the movies with!” I almost
yelled.
    “What?” She asked, confused.
    “Yeah, you know how Jesse isn’t the biggest fan
of Jules?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Well, I guess I pressed him often enough to
make an effort with her that he actually took me seriously and now
I’m regretting that I ever did.”
    “Oh baby, you’re so silly! I know that Jesse is
a, what’s the word, ladies man?”
I snorted.
    “Well, whatever he is, I know he isn’t the type
of guy you would normally want your girlfriend to spend time with.
I know he’s a ‘whatever the word is for what he is’ and it’s made
you feel uncomfortable at times but you can trust Jesse honey. He’s
been your best friend since you were knee high in diapers and
besides, even if you couldn’t trust him, you can trust
Jules.”
I softened a little bit.
    “Thanks mama,” I kissed her forehead. “What ya’
makin’ here?”
    Jesse brought Jules to my house at ten fifteen
and I nearly burst from the kitchen door when I heard them pull
through the gravel. I had stayed in the kitchen with my mom the
entire time they’d been out, pretending that I wasn’t waiting for
Jules. I could hear them laughing and my God did that irritate
me.

“Cost you to keep me quiet,” I heard Jesse
tease.

What the heck does that mean?

Jules opened the screen door and peeked her
head inside.
    “You’re late,” I said as coolly as possible
given my extreme unexplainable rage.
    “So we are,” she said, without any other
explanation. “Hi Shelby!”
My mom tugged her into the kitchen and kissed her cheek and hugged
her tightly as if she didn’t just see her the day before.
    “Come in here Jesse boy!” She laughed and hugged
him fiercely.
    “Hi Shelby,” he said in his best Eddie Haskell
voice.
    “I’ve missed you boy!” She said. She sobered,
bringing her fists to her hips, “Why haven’t you been to church
lately?”
    He shifted from foot to foot, “Well, you
know.....”. He rubbed the back of his neck, exposing his
tattoo.
    “Land alive!” My mom said forgetting her
question. “What is that foolish thing on your neck Jesse Thomas!”
She gasped. “Does your mama know about that?”
I sat up a little.
    “I got a tattoo. You don’t like it?” He asked,
sheepishly.
She grabbed his chin and turned his head this way, then that way,
examining it from all sides.
    “Hmm, I guess it ain’t that bad,” she
lied.
    “What are you cooking there?” He asked her,
desperate to change the subject..
    “I’m not cooking baby. I’m
baking
. A pie.
Blueberry. Want some? It’s almost done baking. I’ve got vanilla ice
cream to go with it.”
    “Heck yeah, I do!”
    I sat in my chair and bristled while my mom
showed Jesse some new kitchen contraption that he could probably
have cared less about. Jules came and sat on my knee.
    “Hi,” she whispered in my ear.
    “Hi,” I said, trying very hard not to
smile.
    “Feel like explaining your kiss to me? Or maybe
the slap on my bum?”
    “No,” I said, defiantly. “It felt like the right
thing to do. That’s all.”
    “Mmm, hmm.”
She kissed my neck softly and let me know what she was thinking.
Disappointed
with a twinge of satisfaction.
    “Liked it, did you?”
    “Didn’t you catch the main feeling?”
    “Yeah, but that’s not the one I’m most
interested in.”
    “You’re incorrigible,” she laughed.
    “Well, I’m gonna’ head out,” Jesse said
suddenly.

“Not staying for pie?” My mom asked.

“Nah, I’ve got a
friend
I’d told I’d
meet and I don’t want to keep them waiting.”

“Okay, if you have to, son. It was good to
see you. Don’t be such a stranger!”

He nodded then turned to Jules.

“Julia, it was fun. We should do it again
sometime.”

    “Of course,” she said,
tossing her head toward me, “but next time I think we should bring
a certain someone with us.”
    “Oh, I couldn’t possibly. I’m too old to tag
along with y’all,” my mom chimed in.
    I drove Jules home that night and could no
longer postpone my curiosity. She knew I wanted to know how the
‘date’ went but she also knew I didn’t want to ask about it first,
my pride in the way. I wanted her to volunteer the information but
she refused my game. Eventually I caved. What can I say? I’m a weak
man, a weak, jealous, hopelessly in love, Neanderthal
apparently.
    “Just tell me already!”
    “Tell you what Elliott?”
    “Don’t play coy with me Julia Jacobs! My
patience are at an all time thin.”
    “Man, I’ve never seen you so jealous before
Elliott. Green is a good color on you.”
I shot her a look of disbelief.
    “I’m serious,” she said. “It gives a girl
encouragement to see her man squirm at the end of her hook. It
makes quite the
impact.
”
    “Stop toying with me!”
    “Okay, okay.” She laughed. “He was the perfect
gentleman and we had a surprisingly good time.”
    “How good?”
    “My God Elliott! We saw a film, we talked about
you, and then he took me to your house! It wasn’t quite the
debauchery you were expecting. Which I resent by the way! What kind
of girl do you take me for!”
I grabbed her hand.   
    “I’m just a big fool Jules.”
That was enough of an apology, I guess, because she just smiled at
me.
    “He is an incredible kisser though,” she
teased.
    “Jules!”
    “I’m only joking! Jeez, lighten up! Will
ya’?”
I kissed her hand, deciding I didn’t need to kill Jesse after
all.

The following Monday, at school, we got all
kinds of reactions to Jules
defensive action
on the football
field, some of disgust, some with humor, and some with awe. Funnily
enough, even Taylor Williams decided it was a good idea to leave
Jules alone for awhile and Jules said she lived peacefully without
Taylor’s cruelness for at least two days.

    “That’s a record,” Jules
said, laughing. “I think I might have scared Taylor.”
    “Yeah, I think so too,” I agreed. “Who knew you
were a lion masquerading as a mouse.”
    “Very funny. Listen, I’m not proud of myself but
after enduring the fight at Tanen’s, after the knot it made in my
stomach, I promised myself I’d never have to see something like
that again and not at least try to do something about it.”
    “Well thanks Jules, but next time a two hundred
and fifty pound lineman socks me one, it might be best your skinny
butt stays out of it.”
    “Try and stop me,” she joked.

We both chuckled as we walked to AP English
together. It was an exceptionally exciting day, not because of
Friday’s game, but because Mr. Cray would be handing out our
packets for our trip to London. Jules was all giddy as she sat in
her seat and I couldn’t help but be affected by her happiness.

“I’ve got the packets you’ve all been waiting
for. It’s taken me a bit longer than it would normally this year
because we were short two adult chaperons and we finally found two
volunteers. You wouldn’t believe how unenthusiastic people can be
about a trip of a lifetime when they find out it’s with sixty
eighteen year olds.”
We all laughed.
    That evening Jules and I sat sprawled out on my
living room floor in front of the television sifting through the
packet and reading its fine print.
    “I feel like a million bucks Elliott,” said
Jules.
She dramatically rolled over the papers spread out on the floor and
I laughed at her.
    “You’re an idiot,” I joked.
    “Takes one to know one,” she replied, facing the
ceiling, staring at me through ornery eyes.
We grinned at each other. I leaned over her beautiful face and
kissed her lightly.
    She whispered, “I love you,” but paused,
“despite your being an idiot.”

I pinned her shoulders to the ground and
kissed her neck aggressively. She frantically laughed and tried to
squirm away. My mom came in and cleared her throat.
    “Oops, sorry mom,” I said.
    “Sorry Shelby,” said Jules, red as a
lobster.
We knew she wasn’t stupid. We just didn’t want to offend her.
    “Yeah, yeah,” my mom said. “Next time, I’ll make
a shuffling noise with my feet.”
All three of us howled with laughter.

My dad got home thirty minutes later and my
mom asked if Jules wanted to stay for dinner. All five of us
squeezed around our little kitchen table and only Maddy complained.
There was more room in the dining room but we never ate there. Too
stuffy. We preferred homey and overcrowded, I guess.