love me like you • jeremiah fisher

chapter seven

"Oh, sorry." I apologized. "Don't worry about it." He said moving over to sit by me.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the book party?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure Jere. I haven't swam in awhile so I just wanted to take a break." I reassured the boy, sending him a small smile.

"Want me to stay with you?"

"No, it's okay. Have fun at the party." I replied. "Are you sure bumblebee?" He asked again.

"I'm sure Jere." I smiled genuinely, turning to go back to swimming. It wasn't long before everyone left the house.

I enjoyed the time I had alone spending it swimming and wandering around the house. I strongly debated going to the party so I could hang out with Jeremiah, but ultimately decided against it.

~

I looked at the clock noticing it was getting late, everybody should be getting back soon.

I walked into the bathroom closing the door and stripping myself of my bathing suit. Turning the water on, I hopped into the shower.

The shower had a door instead of a typical curtain.

It was a clear color, but not exactly see through. I sighed, letting the warm water wash over me. I hummed a few tunes to myself as I washed my hair.

Once I began finishing up, a loud sound startled me. Someone had just came into the bathroom.

I opened the door to the shower slightly, using it to cover the rest of body, my head peeking out.

"Oh Bri, sorry I didn't know it was you.." Jeremiah said quietly. "Jere you scared me, did you guys just get back?" I questioned. He nodded, his cheeks a bright red.

"Uhm can you toss me a towel?" I asked him nervously. He got one from the shelves and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I smiled, wrapping it around my body before stepping out fully. "How was it?" My wet hair already dripping onto the floor. "Good, boring but good." He chuckled, looking down at his feet.

"Uhm Jere?" "Yeah Bri."

"What did you need?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "I uh don't remember.." He replied, scratching the back of his neck.

With a new wave of confidence I took a step closer to him. "You had to have known I was in here, everyone else just got back." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh-" His words died in his throat.

I looked up at him due to the obvious height difference. "I did." He whispered. I smiled, shaking my head lightly. "You're such an idiot." I began to laugh, but stopped quickly when he brushed a wet strand of hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear.

His hand lingered on my cheek for a few seconds before tilting my chin up. "Jere.." I whispered.

"How is it that you still look beautiful when your drenched like a wet dog?" He smiled softly.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" I teased, tilting my head and leaning further into his touch. "Y-" He was cut off by loud knocking on the door.

"Bri, why are you taking so long?" Reign yelled.

I rolled my eyes, moving away from Jeremiah. "Give me a minute!" I yelled back, obviously annoyed.

"1..2..3" Reign began counting out loud. "Leave, I'll tell you when I'm done!" I heard him sigh before leaving. "I'm gonna-" "Yeah." I slid past Jeremiah and practically ran to my room, closing the door.

I fell face first onto my bed and screamed into my pillows.

I didn't know whether I wanted to punch Reign in the face or no I definitely wanted to punch him in the face.

That's the second time Jeremiah and I almost kissed. Maybe it's not so crazy to think he might actually like me back?

~

As we were getting things ready for Belly's birthday, she walked in. "Morning, everyone." She smiled. I ran over, hugging her tightly.

"There's the birthday girl!" I cheered. Everyone else greeted her, congratulating the girl. "Your mickey mouse pancakes are ready." Laur informed the girl.

"Actually, I'm not really hungry." Belly grinned.

"We luckily for you, we are." Reign laughed as he and Jeremiah ate a mouthful of pancakes.

"Shall we open gifts?" Susannah suggested. We all nodded, moving towards the living room. Laurel handed her daughter her gift first.

"It's a first edition, I got it from a rare book dealer." She smiled. "Thanks mom." "Turn to the bookmarked page. It's your favorite poem." Laur motioned to the girl.

"Oh yeah! I remember Susannah teaching us to recite this." Belly said excitedly.

She began to recite the poem, with everyone joining along. "Okay my turn!" Susannah began, handing Belly a box.

She opened to reveal a gorgeous pearl necklace. "My mom gave me these pearls when I turned sixteen." Susannah mentioned, clasping the jewelry around her neck. "Radiant, isn't she?" Belly looked absolutely beautiful.

"Oh, me next." Jeremiah cheered, handing Belly another box. "It's a good luck charm! To help you pass your driving test." Jeremiah grinned and she opened the box to reveal a charm for her bracelet.

"Think fast Belly!" Steven yelled, throwing Belly her gift. "Steven." His mom scolded.

"Wow Steven. I can't believe you actually spent money on me." It was a Princeton sweater, the school that Steven was planning on applying to.

"Okay okay, here's our gift! It's from Reign and I." I smiled, handing Belly a slightly bigger box.

"Oh what's this?" Belly said shaking it slightly before tearing off the wrapping paper.

"You didn't?" She squealed, opening it to reveal a pair of shoes she's been wanting. "We did." Reign and I said simultaneously. "Weren't these like over a hundred dollars?" She asked worriedly.

"We saved up. We know you've been wanting them." I reassured the girl.

She nodded, saying thank you and putting them to the side.

"Conrad, uh, do you wanna give Belly your present?" Susannah asked. "Sorry, I forgot." He muttered. I looked at him confused before turning to Belly.

"Oh that's uh cool..I wasn't really expecting anything anyways." She shrugged it off, trying to hide her disappointment. "Oh and uh I gotta go, I promised Cleveland that I would show him some knots today. Happy birthday, Belly." He waved before leaving.

I looked down at my shoes, frowning, Conrad never forgets Belly's birthday.

"Hey. Why don't we take my car and practice driving before we have to pick up Taylor from the bus station?" Jeremiah asked the girl. "Yeah, sure. Bri wanna come?" She turned to ask me.

word count: 1122
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