Make It Nasty

©AwardedEmmy

2012

'It's time to get close to your man. Find a way to spend time with him constantly.'

Chapter 5

"Thank God you're female." Jimmy whispered on the other end of the receiver. His voice was still deep, completely masculine. She could tell by certain cues that he was definitely around her age; he had the type of voice that wasn't yet fully developed, but was still deep.

Emery bit her lip and smiled slightly, "Thank God you're male." She mimicked easily in her loudest whisper, her left fingers gingerly sweeping over the orange fur of Comet.

"So, what's up?" He continued quietly. Emery's stomach clenched, he sounded so casual, like they were best friends.

"Um, nothing much. I was just-, nothing. Nothing." Emery cursed herself, she sounded so dumb. She felt dumb, she couldn't believe that instead of making immediate plans to get her phone back, she was instead engaging in full-fledged conversations with this guy, and enjoying every one of them. "What about you?"

"Watching T.V." Was his simple answer.

"Do you always whisper when you're watching T.V?" Emery asked in a hushed manner, a smile on her face.

"No, but I'm babysitting my uncle's kids and they're knocked out." He said quietly. "That's why it took me so long to call you. I was contemplating whether or not it was appropriate- you know, if they'd stay asleep or not."

"Oh makes sense, whatcha watchin'?"

"The basketball game. OKC and the Lakers."

Emery's eyes widened, "Shoot, I forgot about that." Sandwiching the phone between her right shoulder and her head, she reached across the bed and on her nightstand picked up the remote for the flat screen T.V that hung on her wall.

"It's because you were so busy with me." He said, and it was the truth.

"Shut-up." Emery said laughing softly, "What's the score?"

"It just started and the Lakers just made a point." He paused. "Fuck."

"You for OKC?" Emery asked raising her eyebrow.

"Yes. The Lakers are overrated. Fuck Kobe." Jimmy spat.

Emery giggled- giggled. Emery didn't giggle. "I couldn't agree with you more. Who do you want from the east?"

"Uh- well, I was really hoping for the Bulls, buuuut, that didn't happen. So I think Celtics."

Emery nodded, "I see."

"What about you?"

"Miami Heat. I'd like to see Lebron get his ring."

"Pretty sure the whole country wants Lebron to have his ring." Jimmy said, laughing. His laughter was so sexy. It was deep and genuine, Emery wanted to jump through the phone and smother him in kisses. "You play video games and watch basketball. Pretty much my dream girl." He laughed again, and butterflies invaded Emery's stomach for the second time that day.

Emery rolled her eyes in annoyance, she didn't even know what this guy looked like, yet she was lusting after his voice, and he was only whispering. "Dream girl, huh?" She pondered aloud, her thoughts temporarily drifting to Logan and how much she wished that her likes were dream-girl material to him. She swished away Logan, being on the phone and thinking about him would lead to an awkward conversation. "So, do you have any tattoos?" She asked casually figuring that if she brought up small things she could fit together Jimmy's appearance.

"Nah, I want a few though." He answered.

"Oh really, where?"

"On my side, not tryna be all like, conceited or anything, but I've got a pretty amazing abdomen area," He said, and Emery bit her lip and rose her eyebrows in interest, "And I hear that the ladies love a fit guy with a tattoo on his side." He said.

Emery laughed, "Um, okay, well, what do you want the tattoo to be?"

"Something tribal. I think." He replied, "Like one of those sick snakes with like bird wings or something. I don't know yet. I was thinking about getting tatted up on my back too, but I turn eighteen in October so I have a few months to make a decision." Emery could hear the smirk in his voice.

So already she had one piece of information, he has a nice body… He could be lying, but she didn't want to imagine anything else. "Any piercings?"

"Just my ears." He replied. "Do you have any piercings?"

"My ears too, but the holes are probably closing. I don't really wear earrings a lot."

"Really? Then why are they pierced?"

Emery rolled her eyes, "My mother. Every time they close up, she drags me back to the damn shop to get them done again."

"At least it's pretty much painless." He said.

Emery nodded her head, and used the remote to enter the TV guide. Finding the game, she turned it on, and threw the remote onto her mattress. It was quiet, but it wasn't awkward. She focused her attention on the game, stuck on not knowing what else to say to him.

"Soo…" Jimmy said, into the silence of the phone. "You said you were short. How short exactly?"

"Um, I believe I'm five two." She told him. "How tall are you?"

"I'm about six foot, seven foot, eight-,"

"Jimmy." Emery said, as he started mimicking the popular Lil' Wayne song from the year before or previously- the Banana Boat song, "That song is so old. Be serious."

"Sorry," He said laughing a little, "Uh, I'm six foot four." He informed her, "I love the way you say my name."

Emery's jaw dropped, "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, I don't know, girl. When you said, 'Hello', I almost dropped the damn phone. You have a sexy voice."

"W-wow. Thanks, I- I think?"

"Oh you are very welcome." He replied smugly. "Did you just see that shot Durant made. That's my boy."

Emery laughed, "I did. He's so lanky."

"If he were to work out, he'd suck. That's fact." Jimmy said.

Emery nodded, "I believe it. So I lied earlier."

It was quiet for a second before Jimmy asked, "Um, about what?"

"My favorite color."

Jimmy burst out laughing, "Um, alright babe. What's your favorite color?"

Emery's heart fluttered at his use of the word 'babe'. "Pomegranate or maroon. I can't believe I couldn't think of that. I feel dumb, but you needed to know."

"Well, I'm glad you told me." Jimmy said, "So tell me somethin'."

"Okay..." Emery said, her voice was unsure.

"Why are we talking on the phone, if we have FaceTime?"

Emery's eye twitched, "You suggested calling me."

"That is very true." He said, "Wanna FaceTime?"

Emery shook her head, "Nope! I hate video calling. It makes me really uncomfortable."

"Are you serious?" He asked laughing.

Emery pouted, "One hundred percent."

"Well, I kind of agree. I don't know, it's just awkward staring at someone through the phone, huh?"

"Extremely. This is perfectly-,"

"Atta boy KD." Jimmy interrupted her. Emery laughed she'd just watched the same play, but didn't quite have the same reaction. It was good, but not that amazing. "Sorry, bout that. Anyways, tell me about yourself."

Emery bit her right thumbnail and stared at the basketball game on T.V. She hated talking about herself; she could never formulate exactly what to say, "Um, I'm seventeen." She said

"Oh yeah? Me too." He said,

"Yeah, I figured." Emery said with a tight laugh.

"Right, because of our tattoo conversation."Jimmy stated, "So."

"So..." Emery mimicked, in the same low voice he used.

"So, so." Jimmy said in a serious tone.

In a British tone Emery repeated, "So, so, so."

"So, so, so, so, so, so." Jimmy said quickly, and then took a deep breath, like it was too much on his lungs.

"So, so." Emery said, clucking her tongue in between each 'so'.

"So, so, so, we should probably stop that." Jimmy said laughing.

"I agree. Tell me about your cousins." She asked casually.

"Well, I have three, and they're all under five, and I babysit them, a lot."

"Does it suck?" Emery questioned, recalling that most teens despised babysitting.

"Nah, because it's not like, every night I have to babysit. It's frequent, but not like, my life. And I love 'em lots. So, nope, it doesn't suck, and besides, my uncle's house is like my third home." He told her.

Emery nodded in understanding and then quirked an eyebrow and asked, "So, what's your second home?"

"My best friends casa." He answered simply.

"Ah, I see." Emery said, biting her lip and searching her mattress for something to say. On the other end of the phone, Emery

"Aye, babe, can you hold on one second. One of them just woke up."

"Yeah sure." Emery said a smile on her face. He called her 'babe' again, something about the word made her stomach tense up with nerves.

"Thanks." He replied, and then the line went quiet.

Emery's teeth immediately sunk into her bottom lip and she groaned. She liked Jimmy. Not in the, dating sense, but in the after they returned each other's phones, she wouldn't mind being friends with him. She didn't make friends with just anyone; he or she had to be special and the fact that Jimmy answered the phone whispering, and never stopped whispering, was definitely special.

"Hey, boo!"Emery's eyes shot up to see Chelsea and Trenise come stumbling into her bedroom.

Emery pouted and pulled the phone away from her ear, "Hey guys what're you doing here?"

"We wanted to talk about the events of today and you haven't texted either of us back." Trenise said in a serious tone, crossing Emery's bedroom and throwing her handbag on Emery's desk. She turned around and stared at Emery with her hands on her hips and an eyebrow raised in question. "What's the deal?"

Emery bit her lip and stared at her friends. To tell them about the switched phones or not. "Um." Emery pursed her lips. "Well, I'm on the phone." She stated, giving her friends cross looks.

"Oh, we noticed. Noticed how you can talk on the phone, but not return the texts. What happened today at lunch?" Chelsea asked, coming to sit on the bed in front of Emery.

Emery huffed and put the phone back up to her ear, "If you'd give me a second-,"

"Um, alright sounds good." Came Jimmy's voice through the phone, he was still whispering, so he must've gotten his cousin to go back to sleep, or the other ones were still sleeping.

"Oh, Jimmy. I wasn't talking to you," Emery whispered back into the phone, returning the confused expressions of her friends with one of annoyance. "My friends just barged into my house."

"Oh," He laughed a little, "Well that sounds good, but actually my uncle is about to be home and I'm finna roll out. Can I just text you?"

Emery nodded, "Yeah, uh, of course!" Emery said, smiling and biting her lip while looking everywhere but into the eyes of her perplexed best friends. "Just don't text and drive!" She warned him.

"Alright I won't," He said laughing, "Bye-bye Alisha." Jimmy said slowly.

"Bye-bye Jimmy." Emery returned in the same low whisper before pulling the phone away from her ear and pressing the 'end' button.

She stared at the screen until it dimmed and cut out, all of the while, wondering why in the world she'd just whispered that whole conversation.

"What the hell?" Trenise asked, coming onto the bed and sitting right next to Chelsea. The two girls stared at Emery in wide-eyed wonder. "Did I really just hear that?"

"Emery, were you flirting with some guy on the phone?"Chelsea asked in disbelief.

Emery snapped out of her trance and looked up from the phone at her friends, "Um, I wasn't flirting."

"The hell you weren't." Trenise accused, "Who was this guy? What is going on? I was expecting to hear the name Logan, but no-,"

"Who the hell is Jimmy?" Chelsea screeched.

Comet jumped at Chelsea's exclamation and Emery settled the cat with a small stroke, "Just this guy who has my phone." Emery said nonchalantly.

"A guy who has-? What?" Chelsea asked, clearly confused, her dark eyebrows arched.

"At Darrell's concert, Logan was dragging me off into some corner to apologize for things he encouraged, and we bumped into some chick and my phone frickin' flew out of my hand, and so did the girls and Logan handed us back the wrong phones. Turns out the girl we bumped into wasn't carrying her phone, but she was carrying Jimmy's- the guy who now has my phone, because she returned it- to him."

"So- you're just flirting with some strange guy on the phone?" Trenise asked, attempting to see the logic.

"You make it sound so horrible." Emery said looking down at Comet. "We just started texting each other to confirm that our phones were out there, and then one thing led to another."

Chelsea nodded, "Okay, so why were you guys whispering?"

"He was babysitting his cousins and they'd fallen asleep."

"Where does this leave you with Logan?" Trenise asked seriously.

"What do you mean?" Emery inquired.

Trenise cleared her throat, "Well, I mean, you're trying to seduce him and what not, yet- now you're flirting with this one guy who you obviously like."

"Yeah, I like him on a friendly level." Emery stated rolling her eyes.

Chelsea reached over and patted Emery's shoulder, "How long will it all stay on a friendly level?" She asked, and Emery frowned then opened her mouth as if ready to say something before closing it.

"Just a thoughtful question." Chelsea said, "Now, it all makes sense, why you didn't text us back, but Jimmy should have told you we were texting you like crazy. Anyway, tell us what happened with Logan at lunch today."

Emery bit her lip and the corner of her mouth tilted upwards as she recalled touching Logan. When she'd gripped his hand in hers, the electrical waves that rolled through her entire body were undeniable. "Well, you see, Logan has this habit of tugging on his hair sometimes, right?" Emery waited for her friends to nod before continuing, "And today at lunch he just so happened to be exercising that little habit of his, so what I did, was I casually reached up, right?" She alternated looking into the excited eyes of her friends before saying, "And I took his strong hand in mine, and I gently pulled it away from his hair, and you know what I said? I said, 'you gotta stop tugging your hair, because you won't stay attractive for long if you're bald'. Not to say he wouldn't be handsome bald, but he's just so cute with hair, you know?"

"Oh my God." Trenise said, "That was so freaking bold of you. I'm proud, what did he do?"

"Oh he just stared at me for what felt like the longest time, and then said 'thanks'. I swear you guys, holding his hand for even the smallest amount of time was like heaven." Emery gushed.

"That's so cute." Chelsea squealed, "Oh geez, now what's the next step?"

Emery turned a little, and reached over onto her nightstand to get her copy of 'Make It Nasty', turning back to her friends she opened the book to where her purple construction paper bookmark lay. "Shall I read the blurb?"

"Yeah." Trenise encouraged, smiling.

"Okay." Emery cleared her throat, "It's time to get close to your man. Find a way to spend time with him constantly. For example if he plays bingo every Wednesday, your task for making it nasty is to be at bingo every Wednesday sitting in close proximity, batting your eyelashes, and subtly telling him that you want to spend time with him." Emery closed the book and huffed. "I'm stuck."

"Don't be." Chelsea said, a wicked grin slowly creeping onto her face, "I have the perfect idea."

"Well, please, by all means, share it."

"Try out for cheer." Chelsea said simply.

Emery's jaw dropped as she stared at her Chelsea like she'd grown a second head, her amber eyes fierce, "Me." She paused and laughed a little, "Trying out for cheer." She looked at Trenise, "Me?"

Trenise shrugged, "I think it's a good idea. Cheerleaders are close to football and basketball players, which Logan happens to be both of. In fact, the cheerleaders practice almost directly next to the football players all summer, and they do all kinds of events together."

"Well, the fact that he's Darrell's best friend is enough right? I mean, I'm always around."

"No," Trenise said, "You have to show you want his attention, not just get it by association."

"Emery, your mother put you through gymnastics and cheer for years, you know the ins and outs. It wouldn't be that terrible, and it's the best excuse." Chelsea persuaded.

"Yeah, it's not like he has a job or any other interests besides sports." Trenise shrugged, "I think this would be your best option."

Emery held up her left hand, "I'm out of order." She said.

"So, take that bandage off, pop the blister and be prepared to do some back handsprings." Chelsea said.

"Guys," Emery whined with a pout, "I hate cheer."

"But think about-,"

A knock sounded at Emery's door, interrupting Trenise. Emery looked around Chelsea's head to see Logan posted in her door frame she could see he changed his shirt; he was no longer wearing the purple sweatshirt, but a simple purple tank top that was loose on his muscular body- it was a good thing too, it was too hot to be wearing a sweatshirt. His hands were folded across his chest and he had his signature coy look plastered on his face. "I need to talk to Emery." He said simply.

Emery's heart fluttered at the way he said her name. He'd said it. Her name. Emery bounded off the bed, scaring Comet in the process. Once off the bed, she took a deep breath and told herself to cool down. Before looking back at her friends, "I'll be right back." She told them smiling a little then following Logan out of her bedroom and down the hallway.

"Where can we go for a little bit of privacy?" Logan asked turning to look at her a little.

"Um, well there is the bathroom right here and the guest bedroom is at the end of the hall." Emery told him biting the inside of her bottom lip to keep herself from smiling. Privacy? Logan wanted privacy with her!

Logan turned to the wooden brown door next to them and smiled before pushing it open and taking a hold of Emery's hand to pull her into the bathroom. He closed the door quietly and then smiled at Emery a little. The heat of his hand around hers radiated between their two bodies and as if he noticed a burning sensation, he released her hand and went to stand in front of the counter. He placed his hands on dark granite countertop, his shoulders hunching slightly, his muscles becoming prominent. He didn't speak just stared into the mirror. Emery leaned against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the quiet Logan. She watched him purse his lips and then exhale loudly. Her eyes scanned over the few freckles on his tanned face, and the length of his dark eyelashes. His diamond earring gleamed in his left ear.

A half smile tugged on the corner of his lips as he turned his attention to Emery. "I totally forgot what I wanted to tell you." He said huskily, licking his bottom lip.

Emery rolled her eyes, "Yeah right."

He shook his head, "No really I did."

"Oh, well then we're just standing in a bathroom for nothing then." She said pushing herself off the counter and preparing to leave.

Logan's grasp on her wrist halted her, and she turned to look down at the grip that was slowly moving down until his fingers intertwined with hers. "."

Emery looked up into his eyes, her throat was dry, and her cheeks were burning, "What?"

"I said," Logan took a deep breath, "I think you looked very pretty today."

"Oh." Emery said a smile forming on her lips. "Thanks." She heard him correctly the first time; she just wanted to hear it again.

"You're welcome." He replied, smiling himself. He squeezed her hand and pulled her a little bit closer. "I mean, this side really suits you. It's different, I don't usually like switch-ups, but you look really good." With his free hand he seized a lock of her hair and gingerly ran his fingers through the straight length of her dark hair. "I like your hair straight too." He said.

"Well thanks."

He nodded, smiling, and staring at her hair. "So is all this permanent?"

"You mean the hair and clothes?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

His topaz gaze locked with her amber one and he nodded, "Yeah."

Emery shrugged, "Um, I'm just trying things out right now. I'm not sure."

"Oh." He said, nodding, "Well, you look nice either way. You know, swaggy and uh, this way." He complemented, squeezing the hand that he still held.

"Ya think?" Emery asked.

He nodded, "Yeah." He shrugged his shoulders.

Emery grinned up at him, making sure not to break her eye contact with him. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome." He replied, taking a step closer to Emery. His light brown eyes scanned over her face before stopping on the lips that Emery had just moistened with her tongue. Emery pursed her lips and stared at the lonely white pocket on Logan's purple tank top. The silence was comfortable, yet weird. Emery couldn't understand why exactly he wasn't saying anything, but it all of the sudden became very clear to her.

Logan's fingers left Emery's hair and his hand cupped Emery's chin gently. Her body shook with nervous chills as Logan's thumb swept over her bottom lip tentatively in a back and forth motion. Her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes rose to look at Logan. His eyes were focused on one thing and one thing only. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was on Logan's mind. The indecisive searching of his eyes over her lips and uncertain stroking of his thumb over her bottom lip made it blatantly obvious.

Logan Isley wanted to kiss Emery Johnson, but he wouldn't, and Emery could see that by the slight twitch of his lips. She wanted it, though, and it could happen. She had to be patient. But she chose to encourage the process, dipping her tongue out slightly to meet the tip of his tongue. She heard his breath catch in his throat, and watched as his eyes met hers. They were no longer the glittering light brown, but instead looked like the color of dark chocolate.

A small smile touched his lips, and then he opened his mouth, "I um," He started, "I- I gotta go back downstairs, I'm watching the game with Darrell." He said easily, his hand falling from her face. Smiling one last time, he began to walk past her, their fingers slowly untwining until he was too far and they fully broke apart.

Emery licked her bottom lip in shock, before turning in time to see him turn around as well. Logan stopped in the hallway and watched her. Her eyebrow rose, and her lips twitched into the smallest of smiles, which he returned. Logan lifted his snapback off of his head and ran his fingers through his hair before placing the hat back on backwards. He shoved his hands into the front pockets on his black cargo shorts and shrugged innocently, the action causing the muscles in his arms to become visible.

Emery shrugged too in response and he licked his bottom lip. His eyes hooded as he looked her up and down slowly. When his gaze returned to hers all he did was bite his bottom lip, and turn to continue down the hall.

Once he was out of sight, Emery exhaled loudly and doubled over. Gripping the bathroom counter to support herself, she realized life was becoming too complicated. She was supposed to be focused on Logan, but now Jimmy had jumped into the picture, and the familiar vibration in her pocket brought about that reality.

Emery pulled the iPhone out of the back pocket of her jeans, and read Jimmy's text.

'Hey Alishaaaaaaaaaa.'

He'd texted and Emery smiled slightly, her cheeks still burning from her encounter with Logan.

'Hey Jimmmmmmmyyy.'

She replied and then turned to look at herself in the mirror, she blew out a breath from between her lips, and looked towards her ceiling, "Dear Lord," She mumbled, then paused she didn't know whether or not to say 'thank you' or plead for guidance in the right direction so she decided to just shrug her shoulders and smile.