Jorden - Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

I awoke on my sixteenth birthday not knowing how to feel. On the one hand I was ecstatic that this was the day I was going to get my license; on the other hand I was upset with all this drama. I had talked to Tyler about seeing him down at the river with the same girl who Jamie had described to me before; he had reassured me that they were just lab partners in Biology. He had apologized for worrying me. I still wasn’t sure what to think. I rolled over and saw a Starbucks cup and blueberry muffin top on my bedside table; Mika was here. On the coffee cup I saw a sticky note in Mika’s familiar handwriting.

Jordypoo,

With great power comes great responsibility. So take a deep breath, drink your iced coffee, snack on your muffin top and go get your license. I have the utmost faith in you. I’ll be here when you get back.

                Love,

                        Your Mikapoo

I smiled at the note and stuck it in my forever box. I took a sip of my iced drink; iced white peppermint mocha, Mika’s favorite and the ultimate stress reliever; for us at least. She was right I just needed to forget Tyler and Avery and everything and just focus on myself. I got dressed in my favorite skinny jeans, my soft gray sweater and my cute little boots. I did my makeup and finished my muffin before going downstairs. Alex was quizzing Jamie at the counter while Mike laid on the couch with the booklet close to his face. He looked up when he heard me approach.

“Why aren’t you panicking like the rest of us?” He asked. I shrugged before taking a sip of my coffee.

“I’m tired of being stressed and panicked. Whatever happens; happens.” I said easily. Mike looked at me in awe.

“Good for you Jordy.” He said before going back to his studying. After a few minutes, our mom came in telling us it was time to go to the DMV. We all piled into the SUV and drove down there. On the way I was starting to get nervous, but I didn’t let it show through. Once we got to the DMV we all grabbed our numbers and took a seat, waiting to be called. Jamie’s number was called first and Mike’s shortly after. I was watching the counter with great anticipation for it to switch to number 13. Once it did and I heard a lady’s voce call out I got up and went over to her.

“Hi, I’d like to take my license test.” I told her. She looked at me and smiled.

“May I see your identification?” She asked. I reached into my purse and pulled out my permit, social security card and my birth certificate and showed her. She nodded and typed into the computer. “Is this correct Miss Connelly?” She asked and I nodded. “Okay you can head down to that computer over there.” She said indicating a computer at the end of the counter with a man standing behind it. I thanked her and proceeded down the length of the counter. He assigned me computer 24, which I thought must be a sign, since it was todays date. I went over and began my exam. It was not as hard as I imagined and about half way through, all the worry I had been experiencing vanished. When I finished I had only missed two. I was so excited that I did a little hop and a tiny shriek. I covered my mouth and ran over to my mom.

“I did it!” I exclaimed. She grinned at me and gave me a hug.

“I knew you could baby!” My mom enthused. Mike ran over next.

“I passed by four!” We all gave our congratulations and then Jamie came over.

“I passed, but just barely.” She was still smiling, but you could tell the almost failing made her uncomfortable.

“Well onto part two my wonderful children, the driving test. Let’s go and get you all scheduled, oh wait, I did in advanced.” She grinned when we all gave her incredulous looks. “That’s right, I’m on top of things” She added.

“I thought you couldn’t do that?” Jamie asked confused. I saw our mom look back and wink at someone behind the counter.

“I’ve got connections.” She said eerily.

My instructor was a guy named Brody. He looked about twenty something and was very cute. It reminded me of the episode of Degrassi where Paige had a crush on her driving instructor and Spinner crashed the car.

“Alright Jorden, whenever you’re ready.” He said. His clipboard made me a little nervous, so I looked everywhere but at it. I adjusted my seat and mirrors, buckled my seatbelt and turned the key in the ignition. I was doing really well and I even remembered to stop at the railroad tracks. By the end of the test he looked at me and smiled.

“Congratulations Jorden Connelly, you are now a licensed driver.”

When we got home I saw a little indigo ’97 Ford Escort sitting in the driveway.

“Who’s here?” Jamie asked gesturing to the car. My mom shrugged.

“No one.” She pulled up next to the mysterious car. We got out and started examining the car.

“Hey look the keys are still in the ignition.” I said pointing through the window.

“Odd.” My mom said. “Why don’t you two go take a look inside?” She suggested. We gave her an incredulous look. She shrugged and smiled. As we got in we noticed something sitting on the drivers’ seat. It was a birthday card. We quickly scanned through it, but the last eight words stuck out to us; We hope you girls enjoy your new car.

Both Jamie and I started screaming and I faintly heard my mom laugh. Mike looked confused. We ran out of the car and over to our mom.

“You got us a car!?” I shrieked. My mom nodded and laughed.

“Yes.” She replied. I faintly saw Mike’s face fall. Mom noticed it too. “We didn’t forget about you, follow me into the garage.” We watched as she typed in the code and the garage door opened, to reveal an old car. It looked kind of damaged, but you could tell it used to be beautiful.

“No way!” Mike exclaimed. I got a closer look and saw that is was a ’69 Barracuda. Mike started jumping up and down.

“As you can see it needs some fixing up, so until it’s ready you can drive Jamie and Jorden’s car.”

“Thank you!” He yelled hugging mom. He pulled open the door and jumped into his new car. He was grinning ear to ear. Mika waltzed into the garage grinning.

“Saw the wheels.” She said gesturing behind us. I smiled and nodded. “Whoa.” She said when she saw Mike’s new car.  She came over and inspected it. He smiled and started telling her all about it. She seemed pretty interested and knew quite a lot, it was probably from all the time she would watch Colton, Dylan and her dad fix up the old car. I walked over and tapped Mika on the shoulder.

“Wanna go for a drive?” I asked. I saw her face brighten up.

“Yeah!” I turned and looked at my mom.

“A short one. We still have cake and stuff later. Also if any one asks Mika is your sister.” My mom warned. I hugged her and Mika and I ran into my new Ford Escort. I adjusted the mirrors and seat knowing that both Jamie and I would have no problems with these settings. I cranked the engine and started the radio; “Days Go By” was playing on the country station. Both Mika and I threw up our hands and cheered. I backed out of the driveway and drove down the street; I had never felt more free.

We drove down to Dutch Bros so I could get my free birthday drink, I decided on a Peach Red Bull and I got Mika a muffin top. We drove around a little longer and stopped at Subway for a late lunch; I loved having the freedom of my license.

“Let’s go get Letty.” I suggested. I made a left turn and started heading towards her grand house. I pulled up in her driveway and honked as Mika sent her a text. I honked two more times until I saw Juliet’s head appear in the window facing the front. Even from a distance I could tell there was a look of shock on her face. Her brother Benji walked out the front door and towards the car.

“Your ride Crackle?” He asked. He nicknamed Letty, Mika and I after Rice Krispies. I was Crackle, Letty was Pop and Mika was Snap.

“Sure is Benji.” He did a look over.

“Not too bad little Crackle.” He looked over his shoulder and saw Letty coming down the stairs. “Oh look, it’s Pop.” He said. Letty shot him a look.

“Happy birthday honey!” She yelled. She got in back and handed me a present. “Nice car by the way. I’m quite impressed. Great color.” She said. I laughed. Letty had a brand new Lexus; it was gorgeous. I opened my little present from her and gasped.

“Oh Letty!” Inside the box was a little glass pig. “It’s so cute!”

“I know it’s not much, but I thought you might like it.” She explained.

“I love it.” I handed it to Mika so she could keep it safe and then drove off towards my house.

Once we got to my house I saw an old pickup truck sitting on the curb beside my house.

“Did you get another new car?” Letty asked eyeing the truck. I shook my head.

“No it’s my uncle’s old truck. I think he gave it to Drew.” I mused. I saw Mika tense beside me. I turned and looked at her incredulous. “Please don’t tell me you still have that irrational crush on him?” I asked. I saw her face grow pink. “Mika! What about Paul?” Paul was the guy who she had been flirting with at school and who I knew for a fact liked her. She shrugged.

“It’s not like I can do anything about my crush anyways; Colton pretty much forbid it.” I shook my head as I turned off the ignition and opened my door. Once we got inside I saw Drew and Dwight sitting on the couch. When Drew’s eyes reached Mika I saw him adjust in his seat.

“Ladies.” He greeted. I walked over and hugged them both. “Having a good birthday?” He asked. I nodded.

“Yeah I got a car and a glass pig.” I said smiling.

“And this.” He said handing me a gift.

“Plus mine.” Dwight chimed in.

“Yeah and I still haven’t given you mine.” Mika said with a secret smile on her face.

“All right, all right.” I said embarrassedly. Drew handed me his gift, which was wrapped in newspaper. I peeled away the comics section to see a plain cardboard box. When I opened it I saw leather belt with an intricate design and decent sized belt buckle. The buckle had a pink stone in the center and there were a couple hearts around it.

“Aww Drew it’s beautiful.” I gasped. He smiled and I gave him another hug. “I love it.” he mumbled something about how he was glad I liked it. I laughed. Next Dwight handed me his gift. It was also wrapped in newspaper. I smiled as I tore away the want ads and came upon a similar cardboard box. When I opened it I saw a very cute western straw hat. I smiled.

“Yeah we were sorta themed.” Dwight explained. “Since you listen to country and stuff.” He shrugged. I smiled and put in on over my blonde hair.

“Thank you Dwight.” I said giving him a hug. Mika was staring at me expectantly.

“What?” I asked. She was still grinning.

“My turn.” She said. I was waiting for her to hand me something. She got up and grabbed my arm. “It’s at my house.” She looked back over at the boys. “We’ll be right back.” She told them. I glanced back at her and could tell she wished Drew could come with. She grabbed my hand and pulled me out my front door and across the lawn to her house. I was still wearing the hat as I was pulled through her living room. I saw Cole’s eyes follow me and she pulled me upstairs.

“Are you ready for this?” She questioned. I nodded as she covered my eyes with her hands. I heard her open her door and was welcomed by the smell of “Love Spell” and something else I couldn’t place. When she uncovered my eyes there was a little white bunny with grey mixed in the fur. I gasped. “Ta-da!” she exclaimed. I laughed.

“Is that a rabbit?” Juliet asked with disbelief. Mika nodded.

“Yes sir, his name is Pancakes.” She replied.

“Like in the OC?” I asked and she grinned and nodded.

“Yes! Doesn’t he look just like him?” I nodded and smiled.

“Mika I love him!” I said as I picked him up out of his cage. He was still small and he was really warm and fuzzy. I glanced over and saw a turtle on her dresser. He was a baby one in a little tank. Next to that was a fish bowl with a little white fish in it. “Miks? What’s with all the sea life?” I asked gesturing over to her dresser. She blushed.

“Oh… well… uhh… the turtle is for Mike and the fish is for Jamie.” I smiled.

“That’s sweet. Should we bring them over now?” I asked. She shook her head.

“Bring them here.” She said. I took out my phone and called Mike.

“Yeah?” Mike said from the other end.

“Mikey, come meet me at Mika’s now. Bring Jamie.” I said as I hung up. A few minutes later there was a knock at Mika’s door.

“Mika, Colton won’t let me come in.” Mike said from the other end of the door. I walked over and threw a towel over the turtle and fish before following Mika to the door.

“Colton it’s fine!” she called shoving him away from Mike. Jamie was behind them laughing. “He has a girlfriend, I don’t want him; nothing is going to happen! Now let him come in so I can give him his birthday present.” I tried to hide my laughter; she sounded so fierce. She didn’t let her eye contact with Colton falter for a few moments. He let go of Mike’s arm.

“My room’s right over there.” He said as he walked down the hall towards his room.

“It’s only your room during holidays!” She called after him. She closed her door and ran over to cover Mike’s eyes and directed me to cover Jamie’s.

“On the count of three.” Mika started. She had Mike directed in front of the baby turtle and Jamie was directly in front of this fish bowl. “One, two, three.” Once she hit three we uncovered their eyes.

“Oh my gosh.” Jamie said unsure. She leaned down to get a better look at her fish.

“No way!” Mike called.

“You like?” Mika asked. Mike smiled and gave her a half hug.

“I love Miks, I dunno what to say.”

“Yeah me either hun, this is great.” Jamie said happily. Mike eyed me holding Pancakes.

“Whoa you got a rabbit?” Mike asked shocked, Jamie’s head whipped around to get a view. I nodded.

“Yeah this is Pancakes.” I said holding him out to Mike. Jamie took a step back. “Oh calm down, he’s not gonna bite.” I reassured her. She wasn’t a fan of “rodents”. Mike held Pancakes up close to his face and I saw a flash, Mika had gotten out her camera.

“Cute one Mikey, I’m definitely Facebooking this.” She said smiling. He made a face and she grinned at him. Mika helped me carry Pancakes’ cage back to the house and Mike and Jamie followed behind us with their tanks, although Jamie’s was more like a bowl. When Letty opened the door for us, we took Pancakes up to my room and a cleared the spot under my nightstand for his cage.

“There you go Pancakes.” I told him as I put him back in his cage. I brushed his white fur off my shirt and walked downstairs. Drew and Dwight were still sitting on the couch. There was a ring at the door and I opened it up to see Tyler standing there. He had on his Duke Sweatshirt and his hair was again messy. He had a grin on his face and his hands were behind his back.

“Happy birthday baby.” He said. He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss; he had an overpowering smell of Axe body spray. When he brought his hands in front I saw in one hand he had roses, sixteen to be exact, and in his other hand was a small box wrapped with glittery paper. I put my roses in a vase and walked up to my room to place them on top of my nightstand. Tyler sat down on my bed. His eyes found Pancakes.

“Since when do you have a rabbit?” he asked. I smiled.

“Since about fifteen minutes ago.” I replied. He nodded and then patted the spot next to him. I went over to him and sat down, laying his present in my lap.

“Come on, open it baby.” He urged as he rubbed my back. I smiled in spite of myself and pulled at the ribbon. I slid my finger along the gap and pulled upward to reveal a flat, black box. I took off the lid and gasped; it was a simple necklace with a heart dangling from it.

“Oh Ty it’s beautiful!” I enthused.

“For my beautiful girl.” He said giving me a kiss on the cheek. I gave him a real kiss when I heard a sound. I looked up to see Mike standing in my doorway, arms crossed.

“Sorry to interrupt,” He said taking a step into my room. “But mom’s taking a poll on birthday dinner ideas. So go downstairs.” He said. I sighed and got up. I reached Mike before Tyler did; he leaned over and whispered to me.

“Don’t let him take advantage of you.” I raised my eyebrow at him. He shook his head. “Just be safe.” He said. Before he could say anymore Tyler came up behind me and linked his arm through mine.

Downstairs Jamie, Alex, Juliet and Mika were sitting on the couch; my mom and dad were standing in front of it. I sat down next to Mika and Letty. Tyler leaned on the armrest.
            “So where did you guys wanna go tonight for dinner?” My mom asked. I shrugged and shared a glance with Jamie.

“Olive Garden kinda sounds good…” Mike said from his end of the couch. Mika smiled. I started thinking about those breadsticks.

“It really does.” I agreed. My mom nodded.

“Okay we’ll leave in about an hour. That should be enough time to get ready.” She turned to look at Jamie. “That’s okay with you too right honey?” Jamie nodded. I got up and went back to my room with Tyler. Mika and Letty stayed on the couch and flipped on the Food network; they didn’t want to intrude on Tyler and me.

In my room, I opened up my closet and peered around for a dress. I pulled out a black one and a pink one.

“Ty which one do you think looks best?” I asked holding each one up to me separately.

“The black looks sexy, but the pink looks great with your hair. Maybe you should try both.” He said with a secret smile on his face. I rolled my eyes, but knew he was right. I would only know for sure if I tried on both.

“Don’t look.” I warned. He kept his grin on. I turned around and pulled off my shirt and jeans. I felt his presence and turned around quickly. “Tyler!” I groaned.

“What?” he said innocently. “How can I resist you when you look so damn tempting?”  I was standing in my black lace bra and matching underwear. His voice was low in my ear and it gave me chills. He started kissing my neck; his hand was brushing my hair away from my chest. I realized if anyone walked in I’d be in so much trouble. I took a step forward and turned to face him.

“Tyler no.” I said firmly. He looked slightly hurt, but covered it quickly. He went back and sat down on my bed. I slid my pink dress on and turned back towards Tyler. He had an appreciative look on his face.

“So this one.” I said gesturing to myself. He smiled.

“I like that one.” He said. I smiled as I turned around and slid it to the floor. I heard Tyler take in a breath. I smiled as I slid on my back dress. When I turned around I saw his eyes pop.

“Wear that one.” He said. I turned around to look at myself in the mirror; I really did like the black one. I slid on Tyler’s necklace which looked perfect with the little black dress. Tyler came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my stomach. “You look so sexy in this dress.” He told me. Again his voice was deep and right in my ear, I sighed in response. He kissed my again and I knew I had to stop this.

“I can’t leave Letty and Mika alone.” I said in a rush.

“Just a few minutes.” He urged. “They can wait.” He gently pushed me towards my bed. His kisses became more urgent and my body responded naturally. I knew I couldn’t do this, but it was getting hard to stop.

“Jorden!” I heard my mom call. Both Tyler and I froze. Tyler got up and swiftly moved to the other side of my room.

“Yeah mom?” I called back. I could feel my face was flushed.

“You about ready?” I couldn’t believe an hour had already passed; it had felt like minutes.

“Yeah, just let me finish my makeup!” I called back. I ran over to my mirror and quickly applied my foundation and fixed my mascara. I did a quick spray of Love Spell so I didn’t smell too much like Tyler. As I came down the stairs everyone was waiting on the couch. Letty had borrowed one of Mika’s dresses. Mika was sitting on the couch next to Mike, who looked nice in a simple button up blue shirt and black slacks. I saw that in that hour Alexis had shown up and was now on Mike’s other side. She was wearing a red dress that showed off her legs and contrasted nicely with her dark hair. Out from my parents’ room I saw Drew approach; I had almost forgotten he was here. He was wearing a clean shirt that was tucked into a pair of slacks, both were my dad’s. He had his hair combed and smelled like Old Spice; I saw Mika’s eyes get wide when he approached. Dwight came up behind him and was similarly dressed. Drew cleared his throat.

“So we ready to go?” He asked and I smiled in response. My dad eyed Tyler’s sweatshirt and jeans.

“Hey Mikey? Can you let Tyler borrow some pants and a shirt?” He asked. Mike nodded and took Tyler upstairs real quick. Drew leaned against the wall and started talking to Mika about something. There was another ring at the door and was shocked to see Avery Roberts standing there, dressed formally and holding a gift bag in his hand. He took in my appearance and I saw a faint smile, there was a slight blush to his face.

“You look beautiful.” He stated. I noticed his eyes hadn’t left mine. I smiled a little. He cleared his throat and continued. “Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to give this to you.” He said handing me the gift bag. I was taken aback; I really wasn’t expecting anything from him.

“Oh you really didn’t have to.” I told him embarrassedly.

“I know. I wanted to.” He said. Behind me I heard someone on the stairs and turned around to see Tyler. He was glaring at Avery. I sighed. Avery noticing this turned back to face me. “Well anyways, Happy Birthday Jorden.” He told me with one last smile before he turned away and walked down my steps. I stood there dumbfounded, still holding his gift bag. Mika noticing this, swiftly took the bag before Tyler noticed. She quickly whispered that she was going to put that in the hall closet.

“What was he doing here?” Tyler asked, his voice saturated with disdain. I shrugged, unsure of what answer to give.

“Just saying happy birthday I guess.” I replied. “Don’t worry about it Ty.”

“God I hate that kid. Every time I walk away he’s macking on you.” He walked down the rest of the stairs and wrapped his arm around my waist. I took in his appearance in Mike’s black shirt and red tie. “You look nice.” I added, hoping to change the subject.

“Okay let’s go.” Mike said from the top of the stairs. Alexis walked up and gave him a kiss on the cheek and we all loaded into the cars. Tyler drove Mika, Letty and I in his Jeep. He had the radio on low and some Eminem song was on the radio, I wasn’t really a fan of any rap, but Tyler was. I decided to chat with Letty and Mika until we arrived at the restaurant. We ordered and talked amongst the family, it was one of the biggest meals I had ever had out. Once we were done Tyler drove us home. Letty and Mika walked up to my house and presumably up to my room, I waited down by the car with Tyler so I could say goodnight. I was leaning on his car when he turned over to look at me. All the drama from Avery’s visit was gone; the only look I saw on his face was temptation. All the feelings that had happened in my room returned to me.

“Happy birthday baby.” He said pulling me close. My body was pressed up right against his and his hand ran down my lower back, I actually felt him get hard.  He glanced down at me and I know his eyes scanned over my chest. “You should wear things like this more often.” He added. He gave me a deep kiss, putting a lot of unsaid things into it. It was deep and passionate and I could tell he wanted our relationship to go further. But I wasn’t ready; I think a part of him knew it too. When we broke apart I almost felt like it was too soon.

“Thank you babe. I’ll see you later, okay?” he nodded and gave me one last kiss before I went inside my house. I went up to my room and saw Mika and Letty sitting on my bed, Avery’s present sitting between them. I shot them both a look.

“Come on open it!” Mika urged. Juliet nodded her head in agreement. I sighed in defeat and plopped down on my bed. I pulled up the lilac and periwinkle tissue paper and peered inside the bag. Inside I saw the new Taylor Swift CD, the book Lock and Key and the scent With Love by Hilary Duff. I gasped and Letty and Mika peered in the bag with me. There was a card. I picked it up and noticed it was one of the pictures he had taken of me that day in my room. Inside the card I saw Avery’s handwriting:

Jorden,

Happy birthday! I really hope that this day was everything you hoped it could be. As you can see (or possibly soon to see, I’m sorry if this ruins the surprise) but I have gotten you the book Lock and Key. I know that it’s by your favorite author and couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t own it. I hope you like it. Also I knew from a secret source that you did not own that album and knew you must be going crazy. And the scent I hoped you would like, Autumn helped me pick it out and she seemed to like it. Sorry now I seem to be rambling. Again happy birthday and I hope you like your gifts,

Sincerely,

Avery Togar Roberts

I’m not sure why, but I really liked his handwriting, I had never really studied it before now. I took out the bottle of perfume and smelled it; it was amazing. Next I took out the Fearless CD and popped it into my laptop. While it was uploading I started glancing through Lock and Key. It seemed kind of intense and I was excited to read it. I was surprised I didn’t already have it; her new book was coming out in June so I had to catch up. Once I heard the ding from my computer I hit play and let the first song envelope me. Of course by now I already knew her hits from the CD, but this was the self titled one. I didn’t know why, but I always found something special about the self titled song on an album. To me, it felt like there was always a bigger story to the song.

“He’s really sweet.”  Mika said. I noticed she and Letty had read the card as well. I didn’t want to agree to this, but deep down I knew it was true. I changed out of my dress and into my tank top and girl boxers. We laid down on my queen sized bed and listened to the sounds of Taylor Swift; it honestly was the perfect way to end the perfect birthday. It really was a super sweet 16.