The Humdrum Life of a Hero

Chapter 6

As it turns out, Jay never had bunk beds as a kid and had always wanted them, so when I took him up to the twins' room, it was like watching a kid open presents on Christmas morning.

"These train sets are wicked!" He'd said as he bent down to examine the various trains strewn across the sets. I watched him fiddle with the trains for a minute before I said, "Jay, it's bedtime."

He looked embarrassed as he straightened up. I put a new pillowcase on the bottom bunk's pillow when Jay cleared his throat. "Yes?"

"I was kind of thinking that I wanted the top bunk," he had said quietly, as if that was inconveniening me. I smirked at him and shook my head. I stood up on my tiptoes and grabbed the pillow from the top bunk and switched it with the pillow in my hand. I turned back to face him when I caught him red-handed looking at what I'm guessing was my ass.

His face had turned a dark shade of pink and he quickly closed his wide-open mouth. Feeling a tad uncomfortable, I pulled my sweatshirt down and made my way to the bathroom door. I stopped just short and looked back at him. "Goodnight, Jay," I had said sweetly.

The pinkness had begun to recede when he said, "Goodnight, Sarah."

I dropped my head when I felt the smile coming on and slipped in the bathroom the connects to my room. That smile didn't disappear until I had fallen asleep almost an hour later.

And it had reappered the moment my eyes fluttered open ten minutes ago.

I don't encourage the sizing up of women like meat, but Jay just further cemented the hunch that he has a crush on me, and I have one on him too. Unfortunately, it seems neither of us is going to do anything about it. I would, but I know if I did something rash and stupid like kiss him, my hunch about him harboring a crush would be totally wrong and I'd lose him as a friend. That's the just the way my luck swings.

Now, if he were to do something, I would like to think I would reciprocate, but I know I'd make up some excuse about having to focus on the twins, which is true, but they're able to take care of themselves half the time. Even before I became a responsible adult, I had committment issues as evidenced by the fact I have yet to be kissed. I was always afraid to put myself out there, and I was always afraid of how my dad would react.

But until either he or I summon the courage, we're just going to continue this awkward, sexual tension.

I throw the covers back and roll out of bed. I start for the door when I smell my breath. Knowing that I'll see Jay very soon, I can't help but shuffle into the bathroom. I brush my teeth and comb my hair. I give myself another glance and realize I don't have a bra on. So, I hustle into my room and shove one on. Feeling like I no longer just rolled out of bed, I head downstairs.

The house is eerily quiet because all of the four boys in this house are still asleep. I walk by the twins still sound asleep on the couch as I go into the kitchen. I start a pot of coffee and turn on the radio.

On Sundays I usually have fun with breakfast unlike during the week when I make it as fast and as painless as possible. I dance around the kitchen and grab the pancake mix from the pantry. I mix all of the ingredients all together and begin to plop blobs of pancake goo on the griddle.

A song comes over the radio that I start to sing along to, loudly. I can't sing at all. Sometimes I think I could break a window with how off-key and high-pitched I sound. I also can't dance, but I don't let either of those things stop me.

I'm in the zone flipping pancakes and acting like a wannabe back-up dancer when Jay walks into the kitchen. Actually, I don't even notice him at first. I only notice him when he starts laughing. I turn down the radio and say, "What?"