Scorched

Chapter Six - Seat Belts

Raymond

It was just my shoulder. I don’t know why my body was making such a big deal about it. But I could swear I could still feel the warm weight of his hand on my body even as I finished my last class and headed for my locker. Other kids were pushing and shoving for the exits, hurrying after buses or running to their cars in the student parking lot. I was walking home, so I had no particular hurry. I organized my books neatly, putting away the ones that I wouldn’t need, and added others back into my back pack. I shut the locker door and nearly jumped out of my skin when I found Jackson leaning against the locker beside me.

“Hey,” he said, with a crooked smile. Was it weird that his asymmetrical smile actually made him more attractive? I felt my cheeks warm and tried to look anywhere but at him.

“You walking today?” He asked casually.

“Uh, yeah,” I swung my bag up on my shoulder. “My mom has to work so...” I shrugged and started to walk toward the doors. Jackson fell into step beside me.

“Want a ride?”

I almost tripped over myself. “Uh, thanks, but I’m okay.” I mumbled, keeping my head down.

“Come on Ray! I’m going that way anyway.” He stopped abruptly, and my body just stopped automatically, like it was already attuned to his. I looked up into his face, and he had this silly puppy dog look. What kind of bad-boy can pull off a pouty, big-eyed puppy-dog look? In a leather jacket, with a skin-tight black t-shirt molding to his muscles?

“Yeah, alright.” I mumbled, because my foggy brain couldn't think up a good reason not to. His pout immediately transformed into a happy smile.

“Great, let's go. I’m parked way at the back.” He started walking again, faster this time with his long legs, and I practically had to trot to keep up with him. Little warning bells were going off in my head. This was extremely abnormal. What if this was part of some sick joke on the resident school nerd? I felt eyes on me as we crossed the parking lot, but I didn’t dare look around me to see who was staring.

I stood by the passenger side door and waited while he unlocked his car. When I heard the lock click, I opened the door and slid in, balancing my bag on my lap. He slid in next to me, his big body suddenly making the car seem really small. He glanced at me with a smile. “Buckle up.”

“Right,” I fumbled with the seatbelt, but for some reason the asinine thing wouldn’t click in the buckle.

“Here,” Jackson twisted in his seat and reached for it. The belt had locked in place, so he had to stretch across my body to let it retract before he pulled it out again, his hand grazing my chest as he did so. I sucked in my breath and held it as he slid the clip into the buckle and it clicked into place. “It's a little fussy sometimes,” he said, and then patted my thigh ever so casually before he settled himself back in his own seat.

I let out my breath slowly, trying not to make a noise. It wasn’t a big deal, and I had to stop acting like it was something it wasn’t. I was starting to think that maybe Jackson was just one of those touchy-feely people, and all this just came naturally for him. I racked my brain for some neutral conversation. “So, uh, you have work tonight?”

“Yeah,” he grimaced slightly as he made his way out of the parking lot and out on to the road. He rested one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gear-shift. The guy had really big hands. I looked at my own hand curled around the strap of my backpack and frowned. My hands look like pudgy little kid hands. Being around Jackson had my brain all befuddled. I was awed by him on the one hand, and felt incredibly inadequate on the other. The whole thing made me feel irritable, because it was all ridiculous. I silently reminded myself of Brooke sitting on his lap at lunch. If memory serves me right, they used to date each other too. Obviously, chubby boys are not his type.

He’s just being friendly, I admonished myself. Was it possible that this whole big, bad wolf persona was actually a ruse? Was Jackson Lockheart really just a nice guy who liked the dark broody look? It was puzzling why he would befriend someone like me though. It was too late in the year to try and get me to write his papers for him.

He chuckled beside me. “Relax, Raymond,” he said easily, “the wheels in your head are turning so hard I can smell the burning rubber all the way over here.”

I felt my face heat up. Why did I have to be so socially awkward on top of everything else? “I was just thinking,” I grumbled, looking out the window so he wouldn’t see me blush. “How late do you have to work?”

“Till Nine,” he said with a sigh. I felt his eyes on me for a moment, before he focused back on the road.

“Must be hard to get your school work done,” I said, mostly just to fill the gaping silence.

“Yeah, sometimes.” He shrugged. “I’m usually so tired when I get home, I just shower and fall into bed.”

My brain immediately pictured Jackson dripping wet, a towel slung low around his hips. I almost groaned out loud, and I shifted the backpack to cover the growing bulge. You are a freak, Raymond, I scolded myself. Get your mind out of the goddamned gutter. It didn’t take long to get to my house, and Jackson pulled into my driveway. He put it in park and turned to me with a serious look.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said, as I fumbled with the door handle. I started to try to exit the car, completely forgetting that I was still buckled in. Jackson chuckled and reached over to release my seat belt. For a moment, his warm hand rested on my forearm. I could feel the hardness of callouses against my skin. I just looked at his hand like a blinking i***t.

“Have a good night, Raymond. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I don’t know why, but that sounded like a promise, not just a goodbye. I scurried out of the car, feeling like a clutz, and hurried to my door. I looked back as I pulled my keys out of my pocket. He gave me a smile and a small wave before he pulled away.