I never could.
The three Stonewood boys moved in next door four years ago, and our quiet, undisturbed block morphed into a revolving hangout for kids our age. The Stonewoods drew attention, and I didn’t have much choice joining in when Jax and Jay tackled me one day to steal my candy. Their older brother, Jett, couldn’t be bothered with their antics.
I admit, I cried to my mother, and they ended up having to apologize.
Jax and Jett tolerated me tagging along when they were in the neighborhood. After all, I was the homeschooled girl that their little brother had formed a bond with. Maybe the bond formed because we were close in age or because Jett and Jax left out their little brother a lot. Either way, it just happened.
Over the years, my crush for Jax just happened too.
Even right then, knowing he was going to smash snow in my face, I thought winter couldn’t have agreed with him more. His normally broody, calculating eyes glittered like the snow with mischief and fun. The cold reddened his cheeks just right, and the wind tousled his dark hair to look unruly. The wind, the cold, the snow loved him like everything else in the world.
The only people immune to his charm were his family, and I appreciated that Jay tried to shield me from it. “You know Mom’s not kidding either. She’s going to be pissed if she finds out you facewashed Brey.”
Instead of Jax acknowledging his little brother, his eyes stayed on mine. Then, they moved to my hat. With the hand that wasn’t holding snow, he ripped it off. “What’s with you and this bun all the time?”
I started to wiggle under him. “Let me up. My clothes are getting soaked from the snow.”
“Right.” His eyebrow quirked. “I guess I can’t mess with your pretty little face.”
My stomach dropped.
He was teasing me. I knew that. None of the Stonewood boys saw me as pretty. I'd seen the girls that paraded around them and in comparison … Well, there was no comparison.
They were tall. I was short.
They wore shirts that showed off their cleavage. I didn’t have any cleavage to show off.
They were women. I still felt like a girl.
I wanted to believe him if just for a second though. I wanted him to want me even though I knew he was older, hotter, and had much better-looking options to choose from.
That thought ignited my temper.
I bucked under him, trying to get him off. His smirk thinned, his blue eyes darkened. His head tipped closer, and I felt his breath on my lips. I could smell the mint of the gum he always chewed. He stared at my lips and then glanced back at me, like he was assessing everything in me, figuring out what made me whole. For a second, I thought he might even lean the extra whisper closer to touch my lips with his.
Instead, he squeezed his eyes shut and crushed the giant snowball I forgot he was holding into my hair, grinding it just hard enough that my bun fell apart.
I screamed.
Jay groaned.
Jax rolled off me, laughing hysterically.
My cheeks heated with embarrassment, and then it got even hotter as my embarrassment turned to rage.
Instead of dusting myself off and trying to save my bun, I scurried to scoop up as much snow as possible and slammed it into his face, smearing it all around.
“You’re such a jerk!” I yelled.
Jay hauled me back quickly as Jax made a grab for me. He whispered in my ear, "Don't make it worse, Brey. Just go inside and get cleaned up. My mom just made lunch for us.”
Jax was standing with another snowball ready to launch and glaring at both of us. "Would you stop babying her, Jay? After winter break, us upperclassmen get to teach the underclassmen a lesson. You know Sophomore Kill Day includes her too."
My eyes widened.
I’d heard about the water balloons launched at underclassmen on their way to school in the fall.
I'd heard about lockers being filled with pudding and about the lockers being stuffed with underclassmen as well. The high school administrators turned a blind eye to the bullying that happened. They called it just a little bit of good old fun.