“Where are you guys going?” Jake asks, standing up, too.

   “Out!” Julie snaps. “And you, Jacarb, are not invited.”

   “What? Why not?” He actually sounds annoyed.

   I nudge Julie a little. “Come on, Julie. He won’t take no for an answer. Just let him tag along. Please?” Honestly, I just want an excuse to spend time with him.

   “Fine! I’ll be waiting in the car. Don’t take too long.” She pivots on her heel and walks away.

   “Jesus Christ,” Jake huffs, adjusting his cap. “What’s her problem?”

   I shrug.

        JAKE

                           The mall. Yay. (Sarcasm.)

   Julie’s been in a bad mood since we left the house. I don’t know what her deal is, but she better snap out of it, because her little brat attitude is pissing me off.

   Kayla’s over at one of those skill-tester machines, trying to cheer her up by winning something for her. But she doesn’t win, and Julie’s now kicking the shit out of it.

   I walk over to her and pick her up to face me. “What the hell is going on, JuJu?”

   “Shut up, Jake. Don’t call me that! That’s a baby’s name, and I’m not a baby!”

   I roll my eyes and set her down. “Okay, Julie. Want to tell me what’s going on?”

   “You! You are what’s going on! You are not supposed to be here. This was supposed to be my day with Kayla, and you ruined it!”

   Kayla’s eyes go big, and she bends down to Julie’s level to speak to her softly. I can’t hear what she says. “Give us a minute?” Kayla asks me.

   If this is Julie now, I’m glad I won’t be home for the teenage years. “Have all the minutes you want,” I say and walk off, shaking my head.

   While waiting, I notice a few girls from school walk past me and wave. I nod back. Then I realize they’re Casey’s friends, and my eyes dart around like a maniac’s, looking for her. If she’s here, I’m getting the fuck out—Casey is no joke.

   Luckily, Kayla and Julie walk up just before I have a panic attack. Kayla takes my hand. I love it when she does that in public. It’s like an unspoken agreement that I’m hers and she’s mine. Even though we haven’t messed around since that night a few weeks ago, nothing’s changed.

   “Julie has something she would like to say to you.”

   Julie steps in front of me and crooks her finger. I bend down to listen to her. “I’m sorry,” she whispers and wraps her arms around me. Thank God she’s back to normal—another crisis averted, thanks to Kayla.

   We walk around the mall with Julie in front of us. “So what was the deal with her?” I ask Kayla, bringing her hand to my lips and kissing it quickly. I can’t seem to keep my hands and lips off her. If we can’t be intimate in the way I want, I’ll take whatever I can get.

   “She’s just growing up. She wanted us to spend some girl time together today. She thinks she needs a training bra and wants to start wearing makeup.” Kayla giggles.

   “What?” I yell.

   Kayla nudges me and tells me to shut up. Julie turns around and eyes us suspiciously. She keeps walking when I fake a smile at her.

   “She’s frickin’ eight years old, Kayla!”

   “I know. I’m just going along with it to amuse her. Trust me, okay?”

   “Fine. But my eight-year-old sister better not end the day looking like a whore.”

   “Oh my God!” Kayla laughs out loud. “I can’t believe you just said ‘eight-year-old sister’ and ‘whore’ in the same sentence.”

   “Shut up! I’m not kidding.”

   We walk around for a bit longer before Julie decides to walk into a store. I don’t pay attention until we’re inside, and I’m surrounded by lingerie. “What the f—”

   A hand covers my mouth. “Shut up, Jake,” Kayla whispers fiercely. “Just play along, please.”

   “Fine, but I’ll wait outside.”

   They come out half an hour later. Julie has a small bag with some Disney princesses on it. Okay, so the store must cater to girls her age, too. Kayla is holding a bigger bag—a nice paper one with a ribbon tied on top. I stand and walk up to her. I try to take the bag from her so I can see what she bought, but she swats my hand away. “What?” I ask, feigning innocence.

   She rolls her eyes. “You can’t look.”

   “Why?” I ask, suddenly a little pissed off for no good reason. “Who’s it for, Kayla? Who’s going to see it?”

   “Jake.” She comes to a halt and squeezes my hand so I stop walking, too. Julie continues a little ways ahead of us. “It’s for you,” she whispers. “Not for anyone but you. I don’t want you looking at it while Julie is here. It’s, uh, too mature and not suitable for girls her age.”

   My eyes widen, and a smile pulls at my lips. I’m suddenly not feeling so annoyed anymore.

   “You’re an ass,” she says, swatting my shoulder and walking away.

   I walk up to her and take her hand. “I can’t wait!” I whisper in her ear, and she laughs.

   After lunch, Julie says she’s too tired to walk. Kayla offers to carry her on her back as a joke, but she does it anyway. My two girls look pretty damn cute.

   “Kayla, get on Jake’s back!” Julie cries out, laughing.

   “I don’t think so, sweetie. We’d break his back.”

   “No way! Jake’s, like, the strongest man who ever lived. Come on, Jake!”

   “You have to pay your ticket to get on the ride,” I tell her, a stupid thing we used to say when we were kids. I stand next to her, and she gives me a kiss on the cheek.

   “Now your entrance fee, little lady,” I say to Kayla, putting my face in front of hers.

   She straightens up, readjusts Julie, and kisses me on the lips—just once, softly and quickly. She was so quick, I didn’t even register what was happening until it was done. She smiles a small smile, a faint blush creeping up her face. She then jumps on my back.

   It’s the first time our lips have touched since the limo ride that first night. In the couple of times we’ve fooled around since then, we’ve never kissed. Even though this kiss was the furthest thing from sexual, it was still intimate—and purposeful. She knew it would mean something. And it did—it meant everything.