Fusion (Explosive #5) (4 page)

“Sierra?” Mom asked, sounding all too interested.

I groaned when my sister nodded with enthusiasm. Mom’s interest had clearly been piqued.

“Yep. She’s—” Her voice was muffled as I slapped my hand over her mouth again, chancing another bite while I tried to shut her up. Sisters could be so annoying.

“Shut up, Jenna,” I pleaded through clenched teeth.

“Jeremy, let go of your sister. Jenna, let your brother tell us himself,” Mom said, her voice soft and soothing.

I dropped my hand as ordered even though I didn’t want to. Jenna opened her mouth to pipe up again, but my mom gave her an index finger, warning her to keep her trap shut. Thank goodness.

I ran a hand through my hair. “You know the new family that moved in next door? They have two daughters. One is our age, and she’s going to be in my class!”

Mom raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?” she asked.

I nodded, humming my answer. “Mmm hmm! And I’m the first friend she’s made in Navarre! She’s cool, too. She was wearing a Michelangelo shirt and everything. He’s her favorite, just like mine! Isn’t that so rad?”

“Wow,” Mom responded, smiling. “It is, indeed, rad. Sounds like you’re going to be good friends.”

My cheeks warmed up at the memory of us being best friends, but I wasn’t going tell Mom that. After all, she was going to be my first girl friend, and Mom was already amused by it. Instead, I changed the subject. Well, at least a little bit.

“Hey, Mom?” I asked.

She twisted to look at me. “Yeah, Jer?”

“What’s an R.O.U.S.?” I asked, frowning at the memory.

Before she could answer, Dad barked his laughter.

“Where’d that come from, Jer?” he asked, his eyes shining with amusement.

My brow wrinkled, and I frowned when Jenna giggled from the other side of the kitchen. “We were playing near the gazebo and Chris started chasing her little sister. Her name’s Lexi, by the way. Anyways, Sierra took one look at him and called him an R.O.U.S. before shoving him down into the sand.” I smiled at the way she had stood over him and told him to leave her sister alone. She was protective, and even though Chris had been joking around, it was nice to see she could stand up to the boys.

“It’s from a movie, Jeremy. It means rodents of unusual size,” Mom informed me, chuckling. “It’s called
The Princess Bride
. Maybe we’ll have to invite this Miss Sierra over for a movie night. In fact, why don’t we go over after dinner and introduce ourselves? I’ve been meaning to do that anyway.”

“Can we?” I asked, a little too excited at the thought even though I’d just seen her a few minutes ago.

“Well, Lydia,” Dad said, grinning. “It seems our boy here is smitten with the girl next door.” He gave me a wink.

My cheeks turned red with a hint of warmth. “Eww, no. She’s a girl, Dad. I’m not smitten,” I protested, practically choking on the word. I wasn’t exactly sure what it meant, but the last thing I wanted was my dad thinking I had a crush on the new girl next door. Jenna would go blabbing as soon as she could. Big mouth. “That’s the cool thing. Sierra isn’t girly or anything like that. She didn’t mind playing in the mud or the sand, and when we said we were going to play kickball tomorrow, she got excited. We’re just friends.”

What I didn’t tell my parents was that Sierra was the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. Or that her big, blue eyes were the color of the sky over the ocean. Her smile was as white as the sand, and so friendly, too. Something about it warmed me right up, so much more than the sun ever had.

“Just friends?” Dad teased with an eyebrow raised and a half-cocked smile.

“Yep. And I think she’s going to be my new best friend.” I didn’t tell them we’d spit on it. Mom might have scolded me for that one.

“Well, then,” Mom said, smiling at me. “We better get on over there. I need to meet this girl who you already know is going to be your new best friend after just one afternoon.”

I was antsy all through dinner, eating quickly and silently wishing for Jenna to do the same. She spent the meal telling my parents about playing with Lexi, Sierra’s younger sister. Even though we’re twins, I was secretly glad Jenna had Lexi to play with. I didn’t want Sierra playing with her instead of me.

By the time we finally went next door, I could barely contain my excitement. I rocked back and forth on my heels, only stilling when the door swung open wide as tall man answered our knock. My parents made their introductions, and I peered around the house once we had been invited inside, waiting for a glimpse of her. Her dad called for the family, and another round of introductions happened as her mom, Lexi, and Sierra came in.

My stomach did a weird flip-flop when I saw her. She was still wearing her Michelangelo shirt, and I couldn’t stop the grin from forming on my face.

“Mom, this is Jeremy, the boy I was telling you about,” she said.

Something about knowing she’d told her Mom about me made me happy inside. My grin grew even wider.

“Ah. Your new best friend?” her mom asked.

Sierra’s face turned pink. My own mom laughed and handed over the cookies she’d brought.

Leaning in close, my mom gave my own secret away. “Jeremy said the same of Sierra. I guess we’re fortunate you moved in when you did.”

When Sierra smiled, I didn’t even care that I’d been outed.

Her mom smiled warmly and looked from me to my mom. “The girls were just about to watch a movie. Would Jeremy and Jenna like to join them? We can go into the kitchen and chat over a glass of wine if you’d like. Get to know each other.”

Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.
The chant was so loud in my head that I was almost surprised they couldn’t all hear it.

“They’d love to,” Mom responded.

I barely resisted the urge to let out a resounding “Yes!”

“Sierra, why don’t you go get the movie started? We’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything.” Then she turned back to Mom. “Wine?”

Mom laughed and looped her arm through Sierra’s mom’s. “Vicky, I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

I couldn’t help looking at Sierra and thinking the exact same thing. By the beaming smile that was returned to me, I could tell she agreed. At least, I hoped so.

She mimicked her mom and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the living room, where Jenna and Lexi were already sprawled out. For the next couple of hours, our sisters played together on the floor with Barbies while Sierra and I watched
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II
. I might have watched her more than the movie, but I didn’t mind. I’d already seen it at least fifteen times and could recite almost all of the words—much to Mom’s annoyance. I wasn’t sure why I was so fascinated by the way her eyes lit up every time there was a “cowabunga,” but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was entranced by the movie; I was entranced by her.

When the movie was over, we chanted, “Go Ninja!” repeatedly, not plopping down on the couch until we were worn out and out of breath. Still, it felt all too soon when Mom and Dad came into the living room, saying it was time to go home. I wanted to protest, but Mom reminded me that Sierra lived right next door and I’d probably see her the next day. I didn’t know what my problem was, but I wanted to be around her all the time. Saying bye, even if just for the night, sucked. But, as I went to protest again, Mom gave me her
don’t push it
look and I zipped it.

Later on that night, I was lying in my bed, tossing my football up into the air, unable to sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about Sierra and how pretty she was the first time I’d seen her. Her long, blonde hair, which looked so soft that I wanted to touch it to see if it really was. Her skin, tan and smooth, with freckles I wanted to play connect the dots with. Bright, blue eyes that watched my every move. And her smile, big and wide. I wanted to make her smile all the time.

I shook my head at the thought.
She’s just a girl.

Just a girl.

A girl I was going to marry one day.

It didn’t quite hit me like a bolt of lightning or anything like that. I just knew. It kind of dawned on me, and I had no reason to question it.

Because let’s face it. Why wouldn’t I want to spend my life with a girl who was as pretty as she was and who liked the same things I did? To me, we were already a match made in Heaven. It was kind of a no-brainer.

And, with that, I fell asleep, a smile on my lips and the memory of Sierra Sullivan in my dreams.

When my parents sat Lexi and me down to tell us that we were moving to Florida because of my dad’s job, I was devastated. Even though I was only eight years old, I’d already thought I’d made lifelong friends, and I couldn’t imagine saying goodbye.

Those friends had nothing on Jeremy Banks, and from the moment I met him, I knew he was going to be my new best friend. I just hoped he’d felt the same.

I soon found that he did. He didn’t look at me like I was another annoying girl trying to pal around with him. In fact, I fit right in with him and his other friend, Chris—even if I had threatened him for messing with Lexi the first time we met. All the kids from the neighborhood played together, and I was excited to make friends before school even started. Still, I was drawn to Jeremy the most. No matter what kind of mood I was in, he never failed to make me laugh. I liked being around him. He was so nice and inviting, and he made me feel brave. I’d like to think I did the same for him.

Late one night, we were in his backyard, pretending to be camping. School was starting soon, and we wouldn’t be able to hang out as much, so we were both savoring our last “sleepover.” We lay in our sleeping bags, looking up at the stars as the crickets chirped around us. Lexi and Jenna had already fallen asleep, but my dad was snoring, keeping me and Jeremy in a fit of giggles. I snuck a peek at him, thinking about the scary story Chris had told us about some creature called Big Foot, who apparently liked to eat little kids.

“Did that story scare you?” I asked.

He looked over at me and shook his head. “Sierra, I’m a boy. Nothing scares me,” he declared, his jaw set tight.

I sat up and narrowed my eyes, peering at him. “Oh, come on, Jeremy. There has to be something you’re scared of. Like me… I’m scared of the ocean.”

His eyes widened as he rose, twisting so he was facing me. “You are? Why?”

Dad let out a deep snore, so I scooted over until I was closer to him. “Jellyfish and sharks,” I admitted, feeling silly.

“Really?” he asked.

I nodded as I bit my lower lip. “Yeah. My mom says I don’t need to be worried about sharks and just that I need to keep my eyes out, but it still scares me. I’ve only put my feet in the water so far. I haven’t even been able to go into the water completely.”

“I’m scared of sharks, too,” he whispered in return.

I choked on a gasp, my eyes widening. “You are?”

“Yeah. My dad made me watch
Jaws
and it scared the crap out of me. I haven’t gone in the water since.”

I laughed and poked his shoulder. “I thought you weren’t scared of anything.”

He shrugged and then yawned before lying back down. “Just sharks. But if you want, maybe we can face our fears and go in the water together.”

I snuggled up in my sleeping bag and looked over at him. “You’d do that for me?”

Jeremy smiled. “I’d do anything for you, Sierra.”

That was the last thing either of us said before we fell asleep, but I knew I’d do anything for Jeremy, too. I hoped he knew it.

The next morning, we got Jenna and Lexi to beg our moms to take us to the beach. Fortunately, they said yes, so they packed a picnic lunch and we all went to play. The girls started building a sand castle, and our moms were talking about some book they’d both been reading.

Jeremy seemed as nervous as I felt. When I scanned the water and saw no signs of predators, I knew I had to force myself to do this. It was now or never, and the last thing I wanted was to act like a chicken in front of him. At the same time, though, I didn't want to force him to face his fears if he wasn't ready.

“Are you sure about this, Jeremy? I know you’re scared of sharks, too, and that’s okay. I won’t be mad at you if you want to stay here.”