One kiss is all it takes

I wouldn't exactly call us enemies. But certainly not friends either. In a way we just accepted each others presence. It's not like their was a choice.

The person I am talking about is Joanna. Joanna Miller. She's a year older than me and admittedly very pretty. I don't particularily like her and some things happened in the past that made me dislike her more. Unfortunately I have to see her around my house a lot, as she is one of my brothers best friends. Jake (my brother) and I both still live at home. We both attend college, he is a year above me, and we live in beautiful, sunny Miami with my parents. The house they own is big, plenty of space for the four of us, so they don't mind us living here to save money. 

And since the house we live in is so nice (and it has a large pool too!) we both tend to have friends over all the time. So yeah, I've seen Joanna around a lot. A couple of times she brought her boyfriend along, who was way worse than her. Whereas she is at least a little polite to me, he was a (insert inappropiate word). They have broken up though as far as I am concerned. I don't care that much. Fact is, Jake invites Joanna over a lot, and then I have to deal with her. 

Jake and I were hanging out by the pool the other day, planning a party we would have on the weekend. Our birthdays are very close to each other, so we sometimes have a joint birthday party. On Thursday he would be 22, and I'll turn 21 on Monday. Finally 21. legal age for drinking and partying. I don't know any American teen who isn't excited for their 21st. 
Our parents happen to be out of town this weekend (they allowed our party though) so this would be a very fun night. A whole house and pool to ourselves with our best friends, good music and obviously great drinks. And snacks. Any party needs snacks. 

We had agreed on the guests we would each be inviting. Our parents suggested a total of 50, which equals 25 each. I wanted a few of my old friends from high school to come and then obviously my college friends, the rest I filled up with some really nice people from my classes, even if I did not know them too well yet. It won't hurt to get to know some new people better. The more the merrier. Plus my chances of getting invited to their parties would be higher. 

My brother and I  were about to start our shopping list when I saw a familiar face. Joanna.

"Oh hey, Jo" Jake said and told me he had invited her to help us with the shopping. I nodded, not very pleased. I assumed it was obvious I was not too excited about her being there. I wonder why he asked her to come in the first place.

You may ask yourself why we don't like each other much? Well let me tell you. In 10th grade Joanna got together with Paul, who my best friend, Nina, was dating at that time.  Paul broke up with her because of Joanna. Ever since we did not have a great relationship. Plus I find her to be quite annoying. She seems to think she is smarter than everyone else and her smile may be pretty but it is so obviously fake. There isn't much to like about her.

She went over to hug Jake and sit down next to him. "Hi" She said, flashing one of those fake, forced smiles at me. Her teeth are nice, very white and straight, I'll give her that. "Hi" I replied, not even bothering to make it seem like I am excited about her company. Bare minimum in regards to politeness. 

For a while I tried ignoring her and just going on with the list. I would have ditched them, but it is (half) my party after all, I need to make sure we have the right foods and drinks. I wanna have a fun night and leave a great impression on my potential new college friends.

"You could have a barbeque, everyone can bring their own things" Joanna suggested. I looked up from my note book, my eyes meeting hers. "Alright" I said, Jake obviously agreed with his friends suggestion. I still don't get why she is here. It's not like we need her help with this party.

A few types of sauces and dips made their way on our list, as well as some candy and chips. As for drinks we decided everyone can bring their own, Jake and I would get some for ourselves, obviously. And maybe some extra, a party with no drinks isn't the same. I am sure though that quite a few college students are more than happy to bring beers and spirits to a pool party. 

It was a hot day, so Jake suggested a quick swim before getting the shopping done. I hestitantly agreed. I wasn't that keen on Joannas company, but I wouldn't let her keep me out of MY pool on such a hot Miami day. Part of me would prefer to just get the party planning over with, Jake is right about it being an annoyingly hot day though and a nice dip would be benefical for my body. 

She looked hot in her bikini. I kind of get why she is so popular with the boys. Tall and skinny, nicely tanned and a pretty face. Her dark brown hair is slightly curled and reaches up to her shoulders. A toned stomach and perfectly sized boobs.

Although she is hot, I don't see myself falling for her. I would want my girlfriend to be nice, at the very minimum. And less annoying.

Me being gay has never been a secret. Everyone knows it about myself, most people don't care. Joanna is bisexual, this is also a very publicly known fact at our college. Jake is neither (he is very straight and quite frankly, girl obssessed), but he is very supportive of other people being different/ diverse and I love that about him. As for me, I have kind of always known I was more attracted to girls than boys. Boys are cool, they are fun and make great friends, I simply don't want to kiss them and even less so do anything beyond that. Girls on the other hand are so attractive, I do have a desire to hold them, to touch them, to kiss them and anything beyond. Not every girl I see of course, she needs to have something special for me to want that. 

Unlike many people I was never afraid of letting everyone know. Maybe it was because my parents were always so supportive or because I am lucky enough to grow up in a rather liberal, accepting environment. I think it was the same for Joanna. I never talked to her about it, although in the beginning , years ago, I did wonder. I once or twice even thought about...us. You know, there weren't many lgbt girls in my school, not that big of a dating pool so I had to consider my options. Well then the whole Paul thing happened, so no thank you. I'd rather be single than date someone I can barely stand. 

I got changed upstairs before jumping in the pool. The afternoon did not turn out to be bad, well until Jake announced he had to leave immediately. He forgot about a very important college class. I rolled my eyes at my big brother. who is always so disorganized. We may be siblings, yet we are completely different people. I am tidy, he is messy. I am organized, he is not. I never forget anything, he does all the time...

"There is no way we can squeeze shopping in tomorrow, Jake" I complained. "What if you two girls just go? I promise, I'll make it up" Damn, no. "I can go on my own too" I said quickly. It's not like I need Joanna there.

"No, you can't. Your only turning 21 in a couple days. You won't be able to get our alc" Damn it.

"Okay, I guess I will take her" I said, not happy about the situation. "Thanks for making me feel so welcome" Joanna said, sarcastically. I looked at her for a second. Maybe I should be nicer to her today, she is kind of saving our party after all, without complaining or expecting anything out of it.

"Let's go to my car then, Joanna"