Chapter 83: Fears
Alex stared at the two of them until she finally questioned, "What are you doing?"
"Treasure hunting," they replied together.
"Wow," Claire exclaimed, already sighing.
"So you're really going under the house to see what's there?" I asked, half‑rhetorical. The whole week they had been daydreaming about what could be down there.
"Yeah, don't you want to come?" Phil invited me again.
I shook my head. "No, thanks. I'm a bit claustrophobic." Seeing Luke's confused face, I clarified, "I don't like tight, enclosed spaces like that crawl space."
That photo of the guy who got stuck and died inside Nutty Putty Cave still haunts me...
"So you're afraid?" Luke asked, half‑mocking.
"Yeah, a bit," I didn't deny it, "but we can do other awesome things, like learning to surf in Malibu," I suggested.
Alex Kelly had mentioned it before, and it caught my interest - we could practice right in front of dad's house.
"Cool!" Luke got excited, but his mother quickly turn it down. "Nope! Not gonna happen!"
"Aunt Claire, you don't need to worry. It won't be just one instructor - there will be lifeguards on the sand, one on a jet ski, and another in a farther boat," I defended, assuring her it wasn't dangerous.
"We can talk about it later," Phil said - not thrilled with the idea either, though for a different reason. "Let's go, buddy." He pulled Luke outside.
"Alex, should we buy you some shoes?" I offered to my cousin.
"I said I'm not going to the party," she insisted.
I looked directly at her. "You're very cute, Alex - someone is going to ask you to dance."
She was caught off guard, embarrassed, then retorted, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"What? We are both intelligent, Alex. Let's save it." And I continued, "You also know I don't sugarcoat things. I mean that," I reinforced.
"You're a young beauty. If you were three years older and we weren't related, I'd totally hit on you."
She opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out.
"Believe me, cousin - almost all my regrets came from things I didn't do," I spoke more soberly. "It's normal to be afraid, but don't run from it."
She shifted awkwardly. "And what if no one asks?"
"Their loss - they'd lose the chance to dance with a beautiful, intelligent, and slightly snappy girl," I smiled. "And if you call me, I'll show up in a limousine with everything money can buy and dance with you myself."
"Please don't," she shut the idea down immediately.
"Yeah, Jake is a horrible dancer," Marissa intervened
I gasped, "Hey, Coop!", but I revealed, "I'm taking dance classes with Summer - I'm getting awesome!"
"I can teach you how to dance," Claire declared and began dancing.
I frowned, "I'm better than that, right?"
Marissa nodded, unsure how to react while watching my aunt dance very awkwardly.
"Oh my God. You and Dad together suddenly make so much sense," Alex commented sarcastically, then added, "Mom, stop. I know how to dance," before heading to her room to change.
After Alex left, Claire patted my shoulder, "Thank you for that, Jake."
"No need. She's like a little sister to me, just like Haley," I told her. "And I mean it - if we were the same age and not related, I would date her."
"Face it, Aunt Claire, you'd love having me as a son‑in‑law." I smirked.
"No!" she denied promptly, then after a moment added, "Definitely not! You and Alex would give me gray hair even faster!"
"Coop?" I saw her spacing out.
"I wish I had someone like you when I was fourteen..." she admitted softly. "I mean - the way you are with Alex."
"You have now," I pointed out. "You're only two-and-a-bit years older than her - and not much more mature," I joked, earning a playful shove from her.
Claire went with Haley to her driver's license test, while we three went to the mall.
I convinced my cousin to listen to Marissa and buy some new clothes as well. She became way more fashionable - which wasn't too difficult, considering Alex had a rather dubious taste in style.
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Haley had (surprisely) passed her test and joined us. Marissa and Haley in a shopping mall would take forever, so I escaped with Alex.
I returned to Brentwood.
Entering the kitchen, I saw Jay and Gloria. "My good family, what party is this?" I inquired, since I had just heard Gloria mention one.
"I dunno, I understand about 20% of what goes on around here," Jay said while still reading the newspaper.
I commented dryly, "I think 20% is way too much for you, Uncle Jay"
Gloria chuckled, then detailed, "Manny showed up a little while ago with an excuse that he was sick and that it was better not to go to the party tomorrow."
I raised an eyebrow, "The one at the amusement park, right?"
"Jess (yes)," she confirmed, "Manny is afraid of roller coasters."
"Poor kid," Jay muttered absently.
"Jay, he won't admit it, but I know that Manny's sad because he will miss the party. Why don't we take him somewhere to take his mind off it, hmm?" Gloria suggested, "How about we take him to the pier and go fishing?"
"He likes to fish?"
"Yeah. He comes from a long line of fishermen and smugglers." Gloria boasted proudly, "But I encourage the fishing." she added.
Jay stood up and left the newspaper on the table, "Okay... I'll grab the fishing gear and talk to Manny."
After my uncle left, I looked at Gloria suspiciously and said, "The pier just so happens to have a roller coaster right next to it."
Gloria made a face like someone caught red‑handed, then pulled me along, "Come on, let's go!"
"I'll be mad if we really end up fishing - we're too young for that," I mocked.
We both laughed.
That day, Manny finally lost his fear of roller coasters. Jay... not so much...
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