Chapter 16

Andrew

I wake up in a daze, and the first thing I notice is that my door is closed. I never close my door just in case my sisters need me.

I chug the glass of water my mom has left for me and make my way to my sisters’ room. As I push my door open, I frown at the sound of someone reading out loud.

Sitting on the floor having her hair played with in front of Sammy is Gina, Lottie curled up in her lap with a book.

She turns another page of the book in her hands and starts reading, putting on a deep voice for the part of Captain Hook.

“Good form, Mr. Smee? Blast good form! Did Pan show good form when he did this to me?”

Gina looks relaxed and content, even with my little sister messing up her usually perfect hair. I try to hold back, but a chuckle escapes my lips.

“Andy!” Sammy drops Gina’s hair from her little hands and runs over to me, Lottie not far behind. Gina looks around, eyes wide and a deep blush on her cheeks.

I scoop up my sisters and hold them in either arm. Their little arms locked around my neck.

“Hey, munchkins. Whatcha up to?”

“Gina is looking after us!”

Gina stands up awkwardly, seemingly out of snarky comments for once, combing her fingers through her hair.

“Yeah? That’s surprisingly nice of her.” I wink at her, and she scowls. I set my sisters down and motion for Gina to follow me.

Surprisingly she does, albeit slowly on her crutches. I sit down on the edge of my bed and rake my fingers through my hair. She perches on the edge of my desk and narrows her eyes at me.

“What the hell are you doing here, Gina?”

“Your mom asked me to stay and babysit when I brought your homework over.”

She brought my homework over?! Who knew the ice bitch Gina had a heart.

“By the way, thanks for lending me your car.” She smirks at me.

“Excuse me, what?”

“Yeah. After I got you home and dragged your ass up the stairs, put you to bed, and cleaned up your puke, your mom said I could use your car for the next few days.”

She pulls the keys out of the pocket of her skirt and twirls them around her finger.

“I wonder if she’d let me keep it over the weekend, seeing as you're not going to be using it?”

I growl and launch myself at her, trying to grab my keys. She squeals, and we both crash off the desk to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

“Get OFF me, McGabe!” Gina’s skirt has ridden up a little in our skirmish, giving me a glimpse of her white cotton panties. I feel myself getting a little excited in my sweats.

She obviously feels it, too, as her eyes flick down to where our bodies are touching and then up to my eyes with a raised eyebrow, her cheeks slowly getting redder.

We both hastily try to disengage ourselves, but her plastered leg catches my balls. I hiss and roll away from her as the sick pain grows in my lower guts, and my nuts start to throb.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry, AJ!”

I can hear the laughter in her voice. I hobble back to my bed, hands clutching my bruised balls. I roll over to face the wall, groaning, and hear her leave.

A couple of minutes later, she comes back, holding a bag of frozen peas and a stack of paper.

“Here.” She offers me the cold pack, and I gingerly place it on my crotch.

She sits down on the end of my bed and holds out the papers. “I got you all the assignments from this week, and I put copies of my notes from class too.”

“Thanks, Gina. That’s…I mean, you didn’t have to.” I flick through them, Gina’s neat handwriting annotating the printed handouts from the teachers.

“I know I didn’t. I’m just that nice.” She flashes a shit-eating grin at me.

I scoff. “Yeah, right.”

Her face falls. I actually feel kinda bad.

“Well…I guess I’ll leave you to it then.” She goes back to my little sisters’ room, pulling the door closed behind her.

~Well, fuck! Who’d a thought I could hurt Gina the bitch’s feelings.~

~

An hour or so later, I hear my mom thanking Gina for watching Lottie and Sammy. Gina gushes about how cute and sweet they both are.

My mom shouts up to me that she’s dropping Gina home and will take Lottie so to keep an eye on Sammy. As the front door closes, Sammy creeps into my room and curls up on the bed next to me.

“I really like Gina,” she whispers into my ear. “She looks like a princess.”

“Yeah…she does,” I whisper back, squeezing my little sister till she giggles. I can’t stop thinking back to that innocent flash of underwear I saw earlier.

~Damn, am I starting to like queen bitch herself, Gina?~

~

***

After a weekend in bed, I am actually looking forward to going back to school on Monday. Not gonna lie; I never thought I’d say that sentence!

Missing a week at school sure seems like a lifetime at my age. So much can happen in a week. I am beyond shocked to find we had Katy and Gina at our lunch table.

Well, not so surprised about Katy. She was all PJ had been talking about since his last party. But Gina. Especially when she was cozied up to Drew. Now that was a fucking surprise.

Even more surprising is the trickle of jealousy that I feel as she grabs his hands when he tries to tickle her, the two of them laughing together.

I drop my lunch tray onto the table with a clatter. “What the fuck is she doing here?”

“Dude! Chill.” PJ shakes his head. The girls excuse themselves to go get food. “Smooth, man. Very smooth. Thought you were a fucking ladies’ man?”

“Yeah. Lay off George. She’s actually pretty cool.” Drew waves his phone in front of me. “Check out this TikTok of her and Jake skateboarding.”

I frown and push his arm out of my face.

“I don’t give a shit if she can stand up for more than thirty seconds on a skateboard. I have to deal with her in every fucking class. I just wanted an hour to chill with my friends.”

I catch Gina glaring at me from the lunch line. “Fuck this. I’m out.” I grab my things, ignoring my friends’ pleas for me to stay.

By Wednesday, everything is back to normal. Jake is back at school. The girls have migrated back together, although it still looks a little frosty between Gina and Macy.

After a particularly grueling football practice, the four of us are trying to catch our breath, watching the cheerleaders finish up.

“So, boys, what’s the plan this Friday? My folks are actually both off work, so I’m free for once.”

Drew and PJ look at each other. “Sorry, dude, but we’re out on a double date after the game.”

“Looks like it’s just us!” Jake swings his arm around my shoulders. “Marvel marathon?” His wide grin is infectious.

“You’re such a fucking nerd.” I laugh.

“Yup!”

***

After three films, I’m fucking done. Jake lives for all this comic book shit. The first summer we met at football camp, I ripped the piss out of his collection of superhero boxer shorts.

He proceeded to give me a full and extensive history lesson in who was best and why.

He said the one thing he and his friend George ever really fought about was which was the better label: Marvel or DC.

Especially after finding out that George is Gina, I’m even more surprised she’s into all that dark Batman shit.

Jake is spread out hogging most of my bed, and he spent almost all of the last movie glued to his phone. I pull myself up off my bean bag and nudge his overhanging foot.

“You made me watch this shit, and you’ve spent like the last hour on your phone.”

“Sorry, bro.” He flashes me a grin. “But this girl started following my Instagram, and we’ve got a bit of banter going on.” He sits up and pats the bed next to him.

He pulls up her page, and I admit, she looks cute, kinda like a young Winona Ryder.

“Hey, doesn’t she go to our school?”

I pluck the phone out of his hand and scroll through her posts. There’s one of her and her friends in the library. “I think she’s a junior. She’s definitely your type, dude. Go for it.”

He takes his phone back and smiles down at it. “Yeah. I think I will. I need to expand my social group, especially if tonight goes well.”

“What do you mean if tonight goes well?” I look around at him.

“With the double date?” He shrugs.

“Double date?”

“Are you a fucking echo?” Jake laughs, lying back down. “Yeah, the one going on right now with PJ and Katy, and Drew and George.”

“Excuse me, what now?” Drew has gone on a date with Gina? Jake laughs louder.

“Yeah, Drew and George. You jealous, bro?” He pokes me with his toe.

I slap his foot.

He pretends to look hurt but can’t stop laughing. “I knew all that bickering was just a front. You like her, and you’re just pissed she won’t give you the time of day.”

I run a hand down my face. ~Is that true?~ ~Am I really just pissed she won’t let me get in her panties or am I starting to catch feelings?~

“I don’t know, man. I mean she’s fucking hot and everything, but she’s so vapid.”

“Nah. My George is nothing like the Gina you think you know.” He taps on his phone again then chucks it at me.

His Tiktok page is up, and I watch the videos he’s posted of him and Gina. Videos of them doing tricks on their skateboards, videos of them goofing around in the sea, videos of them playing on the computer.

In all of them, she looks nothing like I see her at school. Her hair is messy, usually tied up under a snapback; in none of them is she wearing a dress or a skirt or a tight top.

In all of them, she wears a genuine smile, one that warms her whole face. I realize how lackluster she actually is day to day.

Jake smiles smugly at me and nudges me with his toe again. “She’s totally worth getting to know better. And if you’re kinda sorta at all interested, I would suggest doing so before Drew gets much further.”

~Fucking Drew better keep his grubby little hands to himself~.