A Kiss Behind Enemy Lines

Chapter 5
    Summer school the next Monday was hell. Josh and his friends wouldn’t stop laughing at me as I shot them stiff looks. He nudged me while I was trying to work, “hey.” Josh whispered. “you haven’t talked all day.”
    “Neither have you.” I shot back.
    “So, is he good?” Josh snickered.
    “I don’t know.” I waved him off quickly. My temper quietly flared, “but he’s probably better than you.” Josh gave me a hurtful look, like I’d actually stung at a soft spot in the giant ego of his.
    “You don’t know?” He whispered, kind of more quietly than usually, like he didn’t want anyone to hear him.
    “I’m not like that, Josh.” I told him sternly before brushing him off and trying to focus back on my work. Josh sighed for a moment, but then he went back to finding a way to make fun of me. Was he disappointed? Or just surprised?
    A smile passed across his lips and tumbled down his sneering dimples. His eyebrow raised, if ever so slightly, at me and then the light in his eyes grew larger.
    “Prude?” He asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Not even going to try to deny it?”
    “Nope!” I answered quickly and rushed out the door right as the bell rang, everything just seemed like too much. Warner was waiting out in the parking lot, a smirk plastered on his face when he saw Josh walk about behind me.
    I felt a hand grab my arm and it spun me around until I was facing Josh. “What?” I demanded brutally.
    “Look, I really need help on the homework.” He shrugged and let his voice fall flat. “Can I text you or call you tonight?” For the first time, he might have actually look like he had been beaten or defeated. The morality in me suddenly cracked, I sighed and looked down at my hands.
    “Sure.” I then looked over my shoulder.
    To say the least, Warner was not happy.
    “Can I have your number then?” For a second I hesitated, but then I proceeded to give him my number before feeling almost as defeat as he looked. “Thanks, now you might want to get to your boyfriend before he throws a fit.”
    “You really piss him off, you know?” I added, just trying to make him laugh because I couldn’t stand to see anyone looking like he did.
    “Trust me, I know I do.” Josh smirked before throwing the motorcycle helmet onto his head, jumping onto his bike and driving out of the school parking lot and out of sight.
    I heard breathing behind me before I had even turned around. “I don’t like him.” Warner said the obvious. “He’s not in the same gang as me.”
    “And I’m not in a gang, so why does it matter?”
    “Because you’re my girlfriend, and how does it look when my girlfriend is talking to one of the leaders from the opposite gangs?” He demanded fiercely. Here was the Warner that I remembered. All fire and hatred, fighting and flares of anger.
    I waved him off and walked towards his car, usually after I’d ignore him, Warner would come back and try to make up for it. And sure enough, he did. His hands wrapped around my shoulders as he pulled them back into his chest and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
    “Sorry.” He whispered.
    “It’s fine.” I answered back before hopping into the passenger’s seat of his car. He drove back to my house. Honestly, I would’ve walked, but for some reason he had insisted in coming to pick me up. I jumped out of his car as soon as it pulled up to my house. He sprang out and stopped me before I could get away.
    “Hey, hold no their, baby. Something up?” He asked and pulled me closer. I wanted to be mad, just because he had been an ass, but the way he smiled made my stomach fill with butterflies.
    Gently, his lips touched mine as his fingers pushed themselves in between mine. He had not stayed long, mostly because Clark had set the strict no boys over when he’s not home rule down the night before, and I was always on my toes about it.
    That left me and Owen, plus our drunken father if you counted the slob that was constantly throwing up in the bathroom, home alone when Clark finally got home before dinner. He walked into the living room where I had fallen asleep on the couch with Owen half awake on my chest.
    We’d been watching Lion King, it was one of Owen’s favorite movies, when Clark had started making dinner. Almost instantly, Owen had been up and jumping around Clark to figure out what dinner was going to be. Half an hour later, Clark kissed and my forehead and gently shook my shoulders until I was awake enough to comprehend what was going on.
    “What?” I asked and shoved him away.
    “Dinner time, sleepy head.”
    “Thanks.”
    I didn’t want to fall asleep that night, but I did, Owen got a nightmare that night and came to curl up with me. When I woke up at midnight, I was careful to tip toe around him to make it to the stairs before I made the squeaking venture down the stairs.
    Stopping dead at the base, I heard voices. They sounded angry, and the stances they came from were even worse. One was hunched over with his hands on the table and the other was leaning his back against the counter. Clark, I knew it was him by the way he ran his hands back through his hair twice, spoke first. His voice raspy and groggy, like he didn’t want to be up.
    But who would want to be up at this time?
    “What the hell are you talking about?”
    “It was a terrible idea for you to bring her back here!” Another voice said. Warner, no doubt in my mind.
    Clark ran his hands back through his hair as I cowered farther back into the shadows that gathered along with me at the bottom of the stairs. We listened, silently we breathed as one and waited for Clark to yell at Warner for showing up so late. He took a breath, his chest puffing out as he did. “Owen needs her. I need her here. It has not been the same since she left.”
    “Dude, it’s not very smart, though!” Warner said really quickly.
    “Owen! Go back to bed!” Clark screamed as his head snapped towards me. “You know you’re not supposed to be awake past eleven!”
    “Dude, you’re little brother annoys me.”
    “And that’s why I need Shea back here, she makes everything so much better with the family!” Clark threw his hands up. “She keeps Owen busy, when she’s around Dad doesn’t go all crazy when he gets drunk, and I feel better when I know where she is. When she was at her boarding school, I missed her.”
    “I missed her, too, but that doesn’t mean that you should bring her back into this! And why now?”
    “Alright fine!” Clark threw up his hands. “Owen, get out!” He screamed again, before I could get in any more trouble, or before one of them would come check, I sprinted up the stairs, though my steps were a lot heavier than I thought they were going to be. They weren’t the steps of a little boy, but I doubted that either of the boys really noticed.
    I jumped into bed, curled up next to my little brother, and tried to fall asleep, but it seemed a little difficult to concentrate on sleeping when I had their conversation flowing through my mind a thousand times. It just seemed to be on an endless loop, it made me wish that I wouldn’t have ever woken up.
    Eventually, I did fall asleep, but by the time I did, I was only a few hours away from summer school. That was until the rain started coming down. And then the floods, so much that the river by the school was threatening to over flow, and Clark turned off my alarm clock in the morning so that I wasn’t able to wake up that early. He was gone by the time I woke up at noon, and Owen was still curled up against me.
    “Hey, sweetie.” I rubbed his shoulder to wake him up. “Wake up, baby boy.”
    “What?” He rubbed his eyes and sat up.
    “I’m going to make breakfast, what do you want?” I noticed the note on my alarm clock saying what had happened, only to find that it was true when I looked out the window. Rain flooded down from the sky, like all the angels of the heavens were pissing on our very flesh. The ground looked like a dozen mini lakes, was I in Minnesota or something?   
    Owen looked at me. “Pancakes?” His face lit up.
    “Sure, boy.” I rubbed the hair on his head for a second before jumping up and running down to the main room to start making food for me and my little brother. Dad was already done, thank goodness, and I knew that Clark wouldn’t be home for a long time, so it would just be us for the day.
    The pancakes were ready a little while after Owen came down with his dinosaur pajamas and his hair all in tangles as he held a small teddy bear up close to his chest. I squatted down on the floor in front of him and took the bear from him before planting a kiss on its nose. With a squeal, he took the bear back and yelled that girls had cooties. Before I even had a chance to pull him back and plant a kiss on his cheek, my little brother was gone from my sight, probably running into the other room to watch a movie or some TV show.
    “Owen! Breakfast is ready!”
    He came screaming into the room, his heels leaving skid marks across the floor. Before I could even tell him that they were too hot, he chowed through two of them and threw another few in his hands. Then he slammed back into the couch in the living room, not even caring that he had sat on the remote and turned it to some wilderness channel.
    I felt like I should tell him, but he was too interested in his pancakes to even notice the change in the channels.
    “Don’t worry, kid, no one is going to take the pancakes from you!” I teased him. Owen shot me a face, realized he’d changed the channel from his cartoons, and was rushed to hit the remote again until it went back to the roaming animals that were half naked and said stupid stuff that barely made any sense.
    He looked at me for a second, pancakes flying out of his mouth and landing on my lips. Then he asked to go outside and play in the rain. Laughing, I tried to convince him that he’d only be getting sick if I allowed him to go outside, but then again, it looked so inviting outside. The way the rain drizzled off of the roof of the house made me want to go outside.
    “Sure.” I finally said and helped him slip into jeans, a rain coat, and water proof boots. Then I suited myself up, my rain boots were too small so I stuck Clark’s boots on my feet and chased after my younger brother who was already slipping and sliding along the side walk as he tried to keep his balance.
    “Shea!” He screamed to me as I carefully made my way down the stairs and towards him. “Come dance with me.” He started humming some small tune that was probably from some wiggles show or cartoon animal show. I ran out to him, still scared that I was going to fall, but ready to slip and slide with him in the pouring rain that made it hard to see more than three feet in front of me.
    Within a few seconds, we were both instantly soaked to the bone in chilling rain that only made us want to run and dance more to keep ourselves warm. The clouds danced with us, their feet spiraling around us as they did. Owen’s laugh filled the air and I started to remember how much I had missed him, how much of his life I had missed. Because of Mom’s death, Clark barely even being around, and Dad being his drunken-self Owen really needed me. And he had needed me when I had been off living my life.
    Why hand’t I noticed him before?
    Why hand’t I cared more about him and less about me?
    Guilt jolted through me as I watched him slip and fall. Before I could even jump in to help him, Owen started cracking. Then he climbed back up to his feet, pushing away the rain from his eye lashes. “I’m okay!” He answered quickly and flashed me a rather large and cocky smile that Clark always wore.
    Then the dancing wasn’t the only thing warming our soaking wet bodies, a car rolled up and flashed us with its headlights.
    “What are you guys doing?” Warner screamed at me.
    “Dancing.” I shouted back as he jumped out of the car and Owen grabbed onto my legs, shoving his head into my stomach.
    “I’m cold!” He muttered.
    “Then go back inside.” I tore him off of my legs and pushed him back. Owen nodded without even a second of hesitation before he sprinted back into the house and closed the door behind him, leaving me and Warner alone out in the rain. Like every girl, I was somewhat wishing for that sappy rain kiss that all fantasy moments were based off of.
    Not even caring about the rain that rolled off of his sweatshirt, Warner walked out towards me and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.
    “Nice boots.” Was all he said before I shoved his hands off and turned towards him. Instantly his hands sunk back to my hips as he pulled me back up against him, his chest bumping into mine as he bent his neck to look me in the eyes. “Are you cold?” He whispered, his lips brushing by my ear in a very seductive manner. It sent chills down my spine, gosh I wanted him.
    “A little.” I answered with a small grin.
    “I can warm you up.” Now we were both soaked to the bone with freezing liquid. His fingers tangled in the sides of my sweatshirt, yanking me even closer and closer as he brought his mouth down to mine, softly at first until the kiss deepened slightly.
    He smiled against the kiss, pulling away for a second before he failed to resist the urge to slip his tongue in between my lips. His lips pulled back into a smirk, “better?”
    “Totally.” I answered and before I could take another breath, he pressed another kiss to my lips, taking my breath from my lungs. I didn’t even notice as my hands slipped under his shirt and gripped his belt to steady myself against the slippery water that threatened to yank my feet out from under me.
    It was like every girl’s greatest fantasies, making out with their boyfriend as the heavy rain came down, swelling around our toes as we stood their in pure bliss. His arm wrapped around my lower back, pulling my hips into his, like we were supposed to fit perfectly together. His other hand gripped the back of my neck, pulling my face closer to his like we already weren’t close enough.
    My finger tips grazed his abs, my spine chilled.
    “Wanna stay for a little while?” I asked him and started pulling him towards the front door.
    “Well I didn’t just come here to make out with you for a few minutes.” He chuckled. “But I have dry clothes in the car, let me grab them. Go change, you’re completely soaked.”     
    I nodded and rushed inside the house, Owen was already upstairs in his room playing with dinosaurs, he wouldn’t notice if Warner came over for a few hours to hang out. When I got in my room, I slipped off all my clothing in a hurry and changed into a new bra and underwear before I heard a knock on the closed door.
    “Owen, go play in your room.” I called before I heard the door open. Clutching the jeans and t-shirt against my bare form, I slowly turned around to look at him.
    Warner’s eyes looked down my body, making me blush. I shot him a sour look, “Get out!” I screamed at him as he stepped towards me, his wet hair spraying me with small drops.
    “Why? You look so cute.” His hands gripped either side of my neck before he smashed his mouth back against mine. Before either of us had the chance to melt into the kiss, I pushed away from him.
    “Come on, go change! You’re still soaking wet.” I looked down at myself and noticed how he had gotten my bra and panties wet because of the water soaking through his clothes.
    Shooting him a distasteful look, he shrugged and walked into the bathroom while I tried to shake off the feeling of his hands exploring my bare back. The taste of his lips on mine still lingered, like heaven. I could still feel his hands on my back as I tossed on jean shorts and a tang top, knowing that if he had it his way I wouldn’t be wearing anything.
    “Ready?” He asked when he knocked on the door.
    I looked his over, obviously it had been his work clothing that he had in his bag. It was no secret that almost all the guys worked in a garage, it reminded me of the movie Grease, but the thing was that many of them didn’t do it for the money. Half the guys didn’t need the money, most just liked to get their hands dirty.
    He wore a black shirt with the sleeves torn off and old ragged jeans that had holes over the thighs.
    “What do you want to do?” He asked me before motioning down towards the living room. I followed gladly, not wanting to disturb my younger brother as he tried to play with his toys.
    As I started walking down the stairs, he came up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist and threw me over his shoulder as he ignored my protest. I kicked and threw fist into his body, but nothing seemed to move him at all. When I was dumped onto the couch, I closed my eyes at impact and felt something land on top of me.
    “What happens when Clark comes home?” I asked him.
    “He kicks my ass and then you sneak out tonight to come over to my house so we can have some real fun.”
    “Well the first part is right.” I giggled as his lips came down on mine, and then his tongue slipping into my mouth. I could feel his breath in my mouth as the kiss deepened as his hands pushed themselves under my back. There I lay, for what seemed like hours, falling into his kiss and allowing my hands to roam over his body.