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“See you guys later. I’m going to put these balloons in my parents' car.”
“Later, Ash! And be careful with those, please. I know they signify something special to you.”
Ashlynn turns to smile at Jet.
He is a thoughtful person underneath that “covert” persona of his.
Kourtney smirks as she sends her friend off, with a frantic waving motion coming from her left hand, “Too-da-loo, Ash! Love you girlie.”
And with hope abound, Ashylnn exits the dressing room leaving her friends to deal with their own unexpected heart-to-heart encounter.
Jet chuckles a little at what they all just experienced, with Ashylnn’s radiant smile from being with Maddox and a tight-knit encounter between his body and his crush’s - that ignited a purity in his soul.
While Kourtney is staring at the floor; she’s overcome with immense emotion towards Jet in this moment.
Jet.
Jet.
Jet.
The boy who constantly gave her her props. If she was having a bad day, that all turned around once she was around Jet. He was pure lightning in a bottle. She gathered he wouldn’t describe himself as that, but she would. He lit up a room with his positivity. The broodiest boy in the world showed her so much kindness. Friendship. Playfulness. He was the worst flirt she’d ever met, but she found even that to be endearing and not unappealing. She hasn’t had any luck with boys, and after the latest stunt with Howie, she promised herself she was through with them until she was almost a senior =in college - but Jet. This summer, and right here and right now, has changed her view on that. She enjoyed being around him. He made her giddy. He saw her - the real her. He pushed her into excellence, in the calmest way possible…and she would be lying if she said she didn’t find him attractive. The boy was mad cute. And he was madly in love with her. Well- that’s what he said before.
Nevertheless, when they locked eyes a minute ago a flutter went off in her belly. There was an ache in her chest when he pulled away from her first. She knows exactly what this means.
However, she doesn’t know how to phrase her next sentence out loud. So she keeps looking down at the floor to gather her thoughts until she can speak.
Jet looks up from his stupor and sees Kourtney standing in a trance. He reaches over to tap her shoulder, “Hey, you good?”
As if his touch was all she needed to face what she’s been trying to conceal. She immediately gains the confidence to blurt out, “I like you.”
“W-What?”
Kourtney slightly nods, championing herself to be bold at this moment. This is the second time where she is deliberately putting herself out there. For some reason, this time feels different.
This time feels special.
“I like you, Jet. And I-I t-think you like me too. You don’t have to say whether or not you do right now, though. We’ve been circling this for a while now and I’m tired of playing games.”
With a resolute posture in her stance and a warm smile she continues, “I don’t play games.”
She tries to read Jet’s facial expressions to see if maybe his face will show her what his heart is trying to say, but his blank stare is throwing her off.
Maybe he’s processing like I was just a minute ago…or maybe he doesn’t like me anymore…
Kourtney anxiously tries to snuff out the awkwardness by snorting out, “I just like to be honest in these situations. You don’t have to say anything back. I only said something because when you protected me from Ash just now I felt a flutter in my stomach. And…I wanted to be honest about my feelings for once.”
And in my mind, his gorgeous lips can be very enticing…
“But no biggie, friend” Kourtney slightly punches his arm and makes a beeline for the door as fast as she can. All of a sudden, Jet gains the courage to pull her back to him in one swift move.
He is securely holding her to him now. Very securely. Their lips are inches away from one another, and it’s taking everything in his power not to throw caution to the wind and kiss her with all of his soul - but he knows Kourtney.
He knows her.
Right now more than anything she needed reassurance that her bravery was not in vain, and so he would give that to her.
“I really, and I mean really, do like you too, Kourt.”
She gazes up at him in amazement, which baffles him, “You do? Even after you have seen that I’m not perfect. And-and sometimes I am too fearful for my own good. I’m as messed up as Elsa was, Jet.”
“Hey, don’t do that. You constantly talk down to yourself and I won't have it any longer.”
Jet retracts one of his hands behind her back to place it on her chin, “When I look at you, Kourtney Greene, I see perfection. You are nothing like Elsa. An angel is what you are; a talented, fierce, kind, and beautiful angel in the flesh.”
“Jet?” Kourtney breathes out in astonishment at his kind words towards her. It was never easy for Howie to express how much he liked her. But Jet was not him - he thoroughly knew how to communicate his feelings. Even when those said feelings were confusing.
He begins to nuzzle her nose, and those butterflies return to her stomach.
They stay in that intimate embrace until Kourtney asks, “So what do we do now? I leave this fall, Jet. And I don’t want to start something, potentially wonderful, and then have to leave you. I don’t want your first relationship to be that way.
Kourtney knows what it’s like for a lover to leave you behind when they go off to college. She doesn’t want to hurt Jet in that way at all. Plus, she knew she’d be his first girlfriend and that carried a lot of weight. He deserved a good first experience with love. Would she be able to provide that?
Jet looks into her eyes; he’s completely smitten by her and doesn’t want to let her go - figuratively or literally.
“How about we go on a date? Let’s go wherever you’d like, and just start there. The road may be tough, windy, and long. But I’m willing to try it out with you. Are you willing to try it out with me?”
The biggest smile known to man befalls Kourtney’s face and she complies with her heart and not her mind, “I can try too, Jet. I’m definitely willing.”
“Great!” Jet exclaims as he pulls her back into an embrace, and in the crook of her neck, he proclaims, “I will make this the best decision of your life. I promise.”
All Kourtney can do after that declaration is cling on tighter to Jet.
Their futures were not set in stone, but she was so excited to see what adventures awaited them. Hopefully, with all the important ones they would be able to encounter them together. Kourtney was finally admitting out loud that Jet was an important person in her life. He meant a lot to her, and she prayed that she would always do right by him. Since she had a strong sense that he would do the same for her.