She never came home in the summer, and when
school was over, she was gone for good. I knew she got a job teaching
not far from the college she had gone to. Tim had mentioned it a few
times. He didn't like the fact that he couldn't look after her. It
tore him up that she'd never come home. Those two were the closest
siblings I had ever known. Every single time he mentioned not seeing
her, it tore at my heart. I couldn't help but feel I had something to
do with it.
Who
was I kidding, I thought? It probably had nothing to do with me.
She'd given me shit every chance she could. I'd never forget her
turning me down for that kiss at her thirteenth birthday. I really
had wanted to kiss her, but when she shot me down, I made a joke of
it. There was something about that girl that got to me. I was popular
and had girls lining up to talk to me. Not Tiny. That was my nickname
for her. She was so damn little when I'd met Tim. The first time I
called her that, she was only seven. That little thing got in my
face. She named me Jackie. It pissed me off. I wasn't a damn girl.
Tiny used that nickname every chance she got. Even at their
graduation/birthday party she used it. That night was the only time
I'd ever heard her use my real name. I would have done anything to
hear it say it again. That was a night I would never forget, and it
probably meant nothing to her. It was a night that changed my life
and made me feel horrible. She was usually so quiet and shy. I liked
that about her. She wasn't in that moment. I'll never forget the word
please coming from her sexy mouth. The way her lips reddened after I
sucked them was etched in my mind. I would never forget the way her
body looked, naked on the sand, as she waited for me.
I
jumped off the treadmill and moved to the bag I had hanging from the
ceiling. There was no way I was letting her get to me. I had too much
I needed to concentrate on. There were some big things happening for
me, and I needed to give my decisions all of my attention. I couldn't
afford to let my mind slip. It would cost too many people way too
much. My hand came up, and I punched that damn bag as hard as I
could. Then the other came up to do the same. Right and then left,
over and over.
There
was no way she was coming to Tim's wedding, and I couldn't blame her.
I'd fucked her and moved on like it meant nothing to me. Even if she
didn't give a shit about me, I knew that couldn't have felt good. I'd
been away from her for almost an entire year before that night. When
her friend didn't know where she'd gone, I had to find her and make
sure she was okay. I walked up to see her on her back with her eyes
closed, and something stirred in me. It was something I'd fought
constantly when I was around her. I sat down next to her and we
talked more than we had talked in all of the years I had known her.
Something came over me, and I couldn't fight it. In my mind, I knew I
was supposed to, but I couldn't.
I
had no idea she was a virgin. The moment I realized it, I thought
about stopping. When she pulled me to her, I couldn't do it. I
couldn't walk away from that moment. If I had known, I never would
have gone anywhere near her. Not for one second did I think she
hadn't been with a guy in that way. It still wouldn't have been right
of me to do what I did. Tim had mentioned her going to prom and boys
she had gone out with. I didn't want to hear that shit, but he needed
to talk to someone so he wouldn't pummel their asses. As his best
friend, I listened to each of the stories about who he wanted to beat
to a pulp. I'd find myself wanting to beat some asses as well, but I
never let him know that.
It
was never easy to hear about the guys that wanted to be with her. I
wanted it to be me, but I knew it never could be. I'd made her
brother a promise that night of their thirteenth birthday party. It
was the only thing he'd ever asked of me. Tim was never one to want
or need things. He was always there for his friends and would have
given