Janet rolled her eyes.
"Jack doesn't think so."
Kaylie lit up and clapped her hands together.
"Oooooh…. I knew something was going on!"
"Unfortunately, that is not the case."
"Do you like him? I could have sworn I saw some sparks flying."
"I thought I did. But he has no interest in me whatsoever."
Kaylie chewed her lip.
“Well, I’ve never seen him with any of- the girls who hang around. Dev said he doesn’t mess around with the easy pickings.”
“Really?” Janet sat up and then slumped down just as quickly. “He doesn’t like me though. I thought he did but… I was wrong.”
"I wouldn't be too sure. Jack's the most loyal person I know. He hides his feelings though. Still waters run deep."
Janet just snorted. That was one way to put it. Kaylie nudged her in the shoulder.
"What happened? Tell me!"
Janet sighed. She might as well tell Kaylie. At least then she might feel like it really happened, instead of feeling like some sort of dream.
"He kissed me. It was- Kaylie, it was amazing.”
“So Jack is a good kisser?”
“Understatement.”
“Ooohhhh! And then?”
“And then he told me to forget it ever happened. To forget him. Some bullshit about him not being good enough for me.”
Kaylie started laughing uncontrollably. Janet stared at her, annoyed.
"I'm pouring my heart out and you think that's funny?"
"I'm sorry- it's just- oh my gosh - the fact that he said anything to you is kind of amazing. He never talks. Especially not to girls!"
"Well, he didn't say much. Just told me to stay away from him."
"That's interesting. Because it doesn't look like he's staying away from you."
"What?"
Janet sat up hastily at the sound of bikes out front. She pulled the straps of her sundress back into place and fluffed her hair.
Kaylie hadn't been kidding. Devlin and Jack had just parked their bikes out front and were walking around the side of the house toward them. It was strange seeing him in Mrs. Thomas’ backyard with all her begonias in bloom.
Jack was so… big. So intimidating as he walked towards her. His eyes were hooded, but she knew he had seen her.
She closed her eyes, willing her heart to slow down. Then she laid back down on her stomach and stared blindly at the application. She picked up a pen and started filling out the paperwork.
Well, she filled her name in anyway.
"Hey babe."
"Dev!"
Kaylie was on her feet and leaping into Devlin's arms in an instant. The squeals of happiness behind her made Janet cringe. She pretended to be engrossed in what she was doing.
A pair of enormous boots came into view, less than a foot away. Jack was standing beside her, looming over her. He wasn’t ignoring her, that was for sure.
That put all sorts of illicit thoughts into her head.
"What are you doing?"
She rolled over to her side so she could see him. He scowled, so she scowled. Two could play at that game. If anything, the gruff biker just frowned even more.
"It's an application."
"For what?"
"School. What do you care?"
He just grunted and walked over to a lawn chair nearby. He sat down and stared at her moodily. She sighed audibly and turned back to her papers. She lifted her calves and crossed her ankles, stealing a peek to see if Jack was still staring.
He was.
Behind her she knew that Kaylie and Devlin were watching the exchange. She could tell from Kaylie's muffled giggles that they were finding the whole situation vastly entertaining.
“Nettie, there's a party tonight at the clubhouse. Devlin said we can go!"
She rolled to a cross legged position and smiled at Dev. He was nice to her at least.
"I thought you didn't go to the parties, Kay."
"This is a cookout so it starts early. Things start getting a little crazy after ten or eleven."
Janet chewed her lip thoughtfully.
"I doubt my folks will let me out. It was hard enough to get them to let me out of the house in broad daylight."
She sneaked a glance at Jack who was still watching her. Frowning as usual.
"But I'll ask."
Kaylie sat back down on the blanket with her and threw her arms around her.
"Come on, it'll be fun! Dev says they make the best homemade barbecue sauce."
“I guess, if I am wanted there.” She slanted a meaningful look at Jack. “I’ll definitely try.”
Kaylie's mom came out with more lemonade and a couple of beers for the guys. She seemed to like Jack almost as much as Devlin.
Janet ignored them all and tried to finish filling out her application. After twenty minutes she'd only gotten through one page. She was about to give up and leave when she glanced up and saw that Jack was staring at her again.