Josh was right about this job. Bartending here has many perks, one being all the tips from hot women. I flirt with them to get better tips, but I’m not interested in anything else. I have thrown out the little pieces of paper from the girls giving me their numbers. There’s only one girl I keep watching for, and that is Jackie.

We had so much fun today, even if I fought it at first. I never realized how cool she really was or is. I can easily say, it’s the first time I had a fun time with a girl without trying to push for more. It’s refreshing, and right now, after the fiasco with Julie, it’s very much needed. No pressure, just fun.

It’s ten o’clock now, and Josh and Todd, and Jackie’s friends Maya and Amber show up. Even Josh’s brother Mitch has made an appearance with some girl he met in the club. But still no sign of Jackie.

“Hey, man, are you off soon?” Josh asks as he gets a round of drinks for the group.

“In another hour.” I look around, but still no sign of her. “So, where’s Jackie?” I ask Josh as I hand him a drink.

“Oh, yeah, Amber said she had something come up. She might be here later though.”

“Oh,” I say, disappointed.

“You are doing it again,” Josh says.

“Doing what?”

“You are getting hung up on one girl.”

I stare at him for a second and realize he is right. It is Julie all over again.

“Just look at this place. There are plenty of pretty girls. I’m sure you will have no problem finding company tonight.”

“Yeah, fine. I’ll see you guys in an hour.”

My shift is finally over and I come out to hang with the gang, with still no sign of Jackie. Has she stood me up once again?

No sooner than the thought crosses my mind, I see her walk in and trying desperately to find us. She is wearing a baby blue sundress that sparks memories of many years ago. She reminds me of Cinderella. I shake off the memory, and instead of waving her over, I get up and go greet her.

“Hey.” She smiles when she finally sees me.

“Hey, yourself. You’re late,” I scold her.

“I am? I thought you said you got off at eleven?”

“I did, but everyone else has been here awhile.”

“I know, but I didn’t want to hang with them until you were off your shift.”

“Oh,” I say, pleased that she was thinking about me. I take her hand and walk her to the table to join the rest of her friends. Josh was right, there are many pretty girls here tonight, but right now, I’m with the prettiest one of all.

We make it to the table, but when she goes to slide in, I hold tightly to her hand, keeping her from sitting. “Come on, Cinderella. I owe you a dance.”

“Okay.” She smiles.

For the next half hour, we tear up the dance floor, not stopping at all until a slow sexy song comes on. With a friend, this is where I would move off the dance floor to grab a drink or use the restroom. I take Jackie’s hand and start to head back to the table, but I feel her resistance to leave the dance floor.

“What’s up?” I ask her, wondering if she would like to slow dance, after all.

“I need to go to the restroom.”

“Oh, yeah, sure, I’ll see you at the table. Do you want a drink?”

“Just a soda, please,” she says as she starts walking away.

“Where’s Jackie?” Amber asks, when I return to the table alone.

“Restroom.”

“We’ll be right back,” her friends say as they scoot their way out and head in that direction.

“Isn’t it crazy how chicks have to go to the bathroom in packs?” Todd laughs.

But in my mind, I know they are making sure I didn’t make her cry again.

I order my usual beer and whiskey chaser and a soda for Jackie, waiting for her to return. When I finally see her, she starts getting attention from a dude I have been keeping an eye on since Jackie arrived. I noticed him watching her all evening. He never made a move while we were dancing, but now he is swooping in. As much as I try to fight it, I can’t help but feel a little territorial.

She is smiling and talking with him, and much to my disappointment, they both head to the dance floor and start slow dancing.

“Who’s Jackie with?” I ask her friends when they return to the table.

“Oh, that’s her friend, Steve,” Amber says. There’s that damn word again, friend.

“I thought she wasn’t dating anyone.”

“Steve? Oh, no worries there. Really, they’re just friends, you know, like you two are,” Amber says, matter-of-factly, but it is a direct hit.

If I had a mirror right now, I bet my eyes would not be blue but green as I watch them slow dance. His hands, while not inappropriate, still hover near territory that I’m not comfortable with. Your fault, dumbass. That could have been you, but you didn’t want to step across the friend line. It’s like Jason, all over again.

“So, you and Jackie Winston, huh?” I ask my friend at afternoon practice.

“Shh, dude, keep it down,” he says, looking shocked.

“Why? You’re dating her, aren’t you?” I lower my voice as I notice the coach looking our way.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“But why? You’re the golden boy. I’m sure if anyone could get away with seeing his baby girl, it would be you.”

“He won’t let her date. She’s only fifteen, remember?”

“I tried to tell you.” For an instant, I’m pleased and I can’t explain why.

“Listen, what I’m about to tell you stays between us. Yes, we’re dating.”

“Seriously? How the hell are you managing that?” That pang of jealously hits me again.

“Sneaking around.”

“Oh.” I look over at Jackie as she practices cheers with the other girls. Jason is right, she has grown up a lot over the summer. I got my wish though; Jackie Winston no longer sends me notes or stares at me. She only has eyes for my best friend. The crazy thing is, I miss it.

They finish their dance, hug, and head their separate ways. She comes back to the table and I get up, allowing her to sit, and try like hell not to express the sudden spark of jealousy I’ve been hit with.

“That was some bathroom break,” I say to her, failing miserably on the jealous part.

“I’m sorry, I ran into Steve and he asked me to dance. I hope you don’t mind. I thought maybe you needed a break, since you wanted to stop.”

“No, I was good.”

“Steve and I had chemistry together last semester. He was my lab partner.”

I look at her without saying a word, thinking how it looked like they still had chemistry together.

“He wanted to ask me earlier, but he thought that maybe you and I were together. No worries, I let him know we’re just friends.”

And there’s that damn word again. “If you would rather hang with him, it’s okay,” I say, trying not to sound like an asshole.

“No, I want to hang with you guys. Are you okay?” Jackie looks at me strangely, and I begin to feel bad for the interrogation.

“I’m fine.” I relax, hoping I’m convincing enough.

“You sure?” she asks again.

“Yep,” I say before taking a drink.

“Hey, they’re about to kick us out soon. Would you girls want to come over tomorrow to my place? We’ll throw some burgers on the grill and relax at the pool,” Josh says, trying to break up the tension that Jackie and I are creating.

“Sure, sounds like fun,” Amber says, while Maya nods in agreement.

“What about you, Jackie?” Josh asks her.

I look over at her. She has become quiet and her face is somber.

“I don’t know. I have a lot to do tomorrow but I’ll try. What time, Josh?”

“Around six.”

“I should be able to make it, that is, if you want me to come over, Tyler.”

“Sure, why wouldn’t I? We’re just some friends hanging out, right?” I finally throw the word “friend” back at her.

“Right,” she says as her smile fades.

“Cool, it’s settled then,” I say as I swig my beer down.

We walk the girls to their cab, with the guys giving their dates a good night kiss, leaving Jackie and I in an awkward position.

“I had fun tonight,” Jackie finally says.

“Me too.” I stand there, not making a move.

She sighs and climbs into the cab.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“I’ll be there.”

The other girls finally climb into the cab, breaking the awkward silence between Jackie and me.

We make it back to the condo, where I notice my suitcase is still out from when I was considering heading back home tomorrow. Today was so good, but tonight reminded me that I need to get away from all this bullshit. Dating is no longer fun, and maybe this trip was not what I needed, after all.

I start packing some things in the suitcase when my phone chimes, alerting me to a text. I glance at the message; it’s from Jackie.

Are you mad at me? is all she texted.

I realize I’m being unfair. I was the one who threw the friend card out there first, and now I’m punishing her for using it. I go to text her back but decide to just call her instead.

“Hello,” she answers on first ring.

“Hey,” I say after kicking everything off the bed and lying down.

“Are you all right?” she asks

“I’m fine, just tired.”

“I won’t keep you. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t mad at me “I’m not mad, Jackie.”

“I really had fun today, both at the beach and the club.”

“I had fun too. It was a great day,” I add.

“Oh, good. I was afraid you were just being nice to me.”

“Why would you say that?” I sit up a little, wondering where this is coming from.

“You know, back in high school you said I was annoying you all the time. I just thought maybe I was doing it again.”

“No, you’re not annoying me. I enjoyed spending time with you today. What brought that on?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Did I say that, that night I was drunk? Did I say you were annoying?”

There’s silence for a moment before she answers me. “Yes.”

“Jackie, that was a long time ago.”

“So, I was annoying you in high school?”

“Maybe a little, but you stopped once you started dating Jason.”

“Oh.”

I always wondered about their relationship. Jason was a closed book, once he started dating her. I didn’t push, just in case it was because he didn’t want heat from the coach.

“You don’t talk about him much, do you?” I ask her.

“What’s there to say?” I hear the emotion in her statement.

“Were you upset he broke up with you after he graduated and joined the marines?”

“No.”

“You weren’t?”

“Tyler, Jason and I didn’t break up when he left.”

“You didn’t? But you were just a …” I pause, not wanting to offend her.

“I was what?”

“Nothing. Forget it.”

“You were going to say just a kid? Am I right?” She laughs.

“Yes, you caught me.” I laugh.

“You are right, I was,” she admits, surprising me a little.

“How long did you two see each other?” I imagine, with him being gone, it wasn’t long before she dumped him and moved on. It wasn’t like there weren’t many boys her age waiting in line.

“Until he died,” she whispers.

Now, I’m the one speechless. I had no idea their relationship had lasted that long. The cemetery episode is starting to make sense. “What? Are you serious?”

“Yes, I know what you’re thinking, the best kept secret in Clover.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“We wanted to keep it on the down low.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now, maybe another time.”

“All right.”

“Listen, you’re tired. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I’ll see you at the barbecue, right?”

I glance over at the suitcase I shoved to the floor. Decision time—stay or go? “I’m off tomorrow, so I’ll be here.”

“Awesome. Good night, Tyler. Sweet dreams.”

“You too, Cinderella.”

I toss my phone on the bed, realizing I don’t know Jackie Winston at all. That’s about to change, though, I think determinedly as I get up and start putting away my clothes and suitcase.