"What are you guys doing?"

Madeline and I looked up to see Jamaica staring at us, with a raised eyebrow and hands on her hips like a mom who was about to scold her kids.

"Throwing m&m's at Gaige," said Madeline simply.

We were hiding in the bushes at the front lawn of the Aces Estate, while Gaige was asleep in a lounge about ten feet away from us.

I closed my left eye and tried to shoot an m&m directly at our sleeping friend's open mouth, but missed. Jamaica's eyes went from us to Gaige, then back to us again. Eventually, she knelt down and got some m&m's before throwing one, too.

"Why are we doing this?" she asked.

"We're bored." I sighed.

Madeline shrugged. "And Gaige is an easy target."

Jamaica nodded, as if that made complete sense.

"What's up with you?" asked Madeline distractedly.

"Nothing," replied Jamaica quietly.

It didn't seem like it was nothing. I was about to ask her about it, when a warm pair of hands grabbed my waist and pulled me back.

"Hey, you."

It was Scout.

"Aren't you supposed to be helping me wash my car?" he said.

I scoffed. "When did I ever promise that?"

"Yesterday, when you told me I should wash my car," he replied easily, without missing a beat.

"Hmm." I pretended to think. "Sorry, I don't remember."

"C'mon, I promised you food afterwards." He was already dragging me towards his car that was parked along the driveway of the Aces Estate.

"You just want to see me wet," I accused him.

He laughed at that. "Oh, I think there are other ways to make you wet."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

He stopped and faced me. "Don't test me".

"Maybe I should," I dared.

He stared at me like he was about to give in to the challenge but then he shook his head and nodded to the bucket of soap water.

"You do the hood side, I'll do the back."

"Ooh, sixty-nining already? You haven't even reached second base yet."

He groaned. "Connie."

"Fine, I'll stop." I laughed. "You owe me for this."

"I'll make it up to you," he promised, with a grin.

I rolled my eyes, but then I remembered something. "By the way, congrats on finally being able to play on court last weekend."

A huge smile appeared on his face. "Yeah, but it was only in the last quarter."

"You still got to play."

He nodded, looking really happy. "If I do well, I think Coach might let me play more this season."

"Good," I said sincerely. "You deserve it."

"Thanks, Anderson."

After about half an hour, I was intently scrubbing the car when Scout came up behind me and put his arms around my waist.

The warm tingly feeling was back. This time, it went straight down between my legs. Shit, I was turned on by Scout's half-naked body.

"Thanks for washing my car with me," he said.

Instead of answering, I turned the hose on him and sprayed water all over his face. He yelped and instantly stepped away, turning his back on me as I continued to wet his back. Damn, he looked yummy enough to lick.

"Still wanna thank me?" I laughed, hard.

"Oh, that's how you like to play it, huh?"

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I'm coming for you, Anderson," he warned.

Something flashed in me after hearing his words, but I didn't let it show. Seeing an opening, I winked at him playfully.

"Yeah, baby. Go ahead and come for me."

That was when he pounced.

We chased each other around his car and kept laughing until our stomachs hurt. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed this loud, felt this light, and smiled so hard. It was freeing.

As my laughter died down, my eyes stayed on Scout. I didn't do anything. I didn't say anything. I didn't think anything.

I just stared at him.

When he caught me looking, he stopped. "What?"

"Nothing." I shook my head, my eyes wandering up to the cloudy sky.

"You're falling for me, aren't you?"

A smile reached my lips. "Who knows?" I shrugged, before looking at him. "Maybe I am," I added, throwing his words back at him.

At first, there was a shocked look on his face and he didn't move. Then a slow smile stretched his lips, and he turned away.

"Good to know."

With nothing more to say, he went back to his car and started rinsing it.

* * * * *

"Okay, what's up with you and Brody?"

Madeline turned in her seat and fully faced Jamaica.

We were at the Brick with the boys. It was a busy hour so they were by the bar, getting our food so the waitress didn't have to go all the way to our table. It gave us girls time to grill Jamaica and how weird she was acting with Brody.

But she only shrugged and said, "Nothing."

"Bullshit." I called her out on it.

They barely acknowledged each other's existence anymore. When they did, it was too cheerful – almost like they were trying to cover up something.

"Didn't you win that gift certificate with him?" I asked. "I thought you guys went out and used it."

She sighed. "We did, and it was great. He's funny and all. Mostly, he tolerates my non stop babbling. We really got along well. But..."

"There it is," said Madeline. "The big 'but.'"

"But what?" I urged.

"But I'm a virgin," whispered Jamaica. "It might not be that obvious, but I am."

"There's nothing wrong with that," I pointed out.

"I know, but that's when it went downhill."

"Ugh." I made a disgusted face. "Don't tell me he treated you like you had the plague." Some douchebags did that, thinking all virgins would get clingy and they'd rather steer clear from those because they still wanted to live the bachelor life.

Boys were stupid.

"No," she admitted sadly, her shoulders slumping. "But he thought I waited this long so I might as well wait for the right one. He said he wasn't it."

Madeline gasped. "Jams! You were ready to sleep with him after one date? You, who gave us shit about making the first move?"

Jamaica covered her face. "It wasn't our first date."

Madeline and I didn't say anything, mostly because of the shock rendering us speechless. We waited for Jamaica to explain more.

But when she didn't say anything, I asked, "How often have you been seeing each other?"

"Almost everyday since the mixer," she mumbled, fiddling with the hem of her scarf.

Our jaws dropped then.

"Okay," said Madeline, with a calculated look. "Okay," she repeated, firmer this time. She sat up and nodded, before saying with finality, "Okay, let me get this straight. So you guys have been secretly seeing each other for the past few weeks. Then, you had a fancy dinner date that almost led to you having sex. But when you confessed you're a virgin, he bailed saying a bullshit excuse that he wasn't worth it?"

Jamaica looked up at the ceiling, as if she was trying not to cry. "Yeah."

"Sounds like he doesn't want a relationship, babe," concluded Madeline, patting Jamaica's arm in comfort.

"What do you want?" I asked our queen bee friend.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you have feelings for him? Do you wanna be in an actual relationship with him?"

She thought about it. "Not really."

Madeline raised her palms up and pulled back her head. "I'm confused."

"I don't know," whined Jamaica. "We're in college. I'm not looking into anything serious. I just want to have fun and live the next four years without anything or anyone tying me down. And... that includes this virginity thing."

"Ohhh," we said in unison. But I added, "Did you tell him that?"

"Yes, and he thought I should wait."

Madeline made a face. "Wait for who?"

"For someone I'm in love with."

"Wow," I breathed out, deeply impressed. "Never thought he'd have that kind of a mindset."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Jamaica, gesturing to me. "He made me feel pathetic and desperate. It was mortifying."

I exchanged looks with Madeline. Without saying anything, we put our arms around Jamaica at the same time.

"Don't worry, Jams," comforted Madeline. "At least he wasn't a jerk who swiped your V-card and ghosted you right after."

"Did that happen to you?"

"Hmm, more or less." Madeline rolled her eyes. "Except I had to look at his face everyday at school."

I winced. "That sucks."

"No, what sucked was when I found out he had a girlfriend in Oregon and I was the sidechick."

I remembered the time I was cheated on by my first boyfriend. It was fucking awful, but I wasn't in love with him or anything.

Looking back on it now, maybe I was just using him to cover up the fact that the one I was really in love with was my best friend, Alfie. He was beyond pissed when he found out what Parker did. He was about to hunt him down, too. But I guessed he saw my face and stayed with me throughout the night instead.

That was also the night I lost my virginity. No regrets.

"How 'bout you, Cons?" asked Madeline. "No sob stories?"

I shook my head. "No, I didn't regret my first time. But that's because I lost it to someone I really cared about." I looked at Jamaica. "It's all a matter of what's important to you."

"It matters who I do it with last," she answered, starting to smile. "After all, he's the one I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with."

Aw, that was cute.

"There's our hopeless romantic friend!" Madeline laughed. "I thought we'd lost you."

"I don't think I'll be able to talk to him for a while," Jamaica admitted.

"You don't have to," I told her.

"Ugh," she groaned, hanging her head. "Why can't he be more like Scout?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You know, more like a knight who sweeps you off your feet and saves you even when you don't ask for it," she added, sighing dreamily.

"Ah, yeah." I nodded. "I still can't believe he went to Naomi to save my ass."

"Not to mention, talk to his brothers for you," Madeline said. "I'm no damsel in distress but if it was Scout Crimson who'd rescue me, then yes please."

"Talk to his brothers about what?" I questioned.

"Come on, Cons. Stop playing."

Jamaica laughed. "Like you don't know."

My forehead creased. "Know what?"

What the hell were they talking about? What else did Scout do?

Madeline narrowed her eyes at me, before blinking in realization. "Oh, my God. You don't know, do you?"

Jamaica gasped. "No way. How come you don't know?"

I raised an eyebrow at them, and repeated, "Know what?"

And then, they told me.

It was Scout who was responsible for the rumors about me to stop. He used his newly made connections (his brothers) to spread the word that it was all a silly ploy to ruin our relationship.

It seemed like a small thing, a silly little drama, a petty issue. But him dealing with it like it was his own problem spoke volumes to me. He wasn't just there for me, he also had my back.

I glanced to where he was, drawn by him. He looked unbelievably... mine.

Like a magnet, he turned his head and locked his eyes with mine. An angelic Scout-ish smile appeared.

Without thinking about it, I got to my feet and walked across the room to Scout. I grabbed his coat, and pulled him down to kiss me in front of my sisters and his brothers and everyone else dining and drinking at the Brick.

His body tensed for a second, then he relaxed as his arms went around my waist and kissed me back. I pulled away and tried to catch my breath. He grinned and went in for another quick peck.

"What was that for?" he whispered.

"I'm in," I breathed out.

He opened his eyes and met mine. "What?"

"I'm in."

He looked shocked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, dumbass." I let out a small smile. "I'm with you."

With a shit-eating grin, he grabbed my waist and pulled me up against him. The most embarrassing thing was, he swung me in front of everyone. And because this was Scout, everybody cheered for him – maybe even for us, though they had no idea what exactly they were cheering about.

"You are so cheesy." I laughed, but I secretly loved it.

He stopped and put me down, breathing hard as he stared at me. He reached up a hand and pushed a stray hair behind my ear before leaning down and kissing me softly. I closed my eyes and savored this moment.

"My girl," he whispered against my lips.

Who knew the Golden Boy could be possessive?

_____________

Next update: Thursday (April 9)

Coming up next... Chapter 28: I Think I'm In Love

#SavageMeWP