Jackson grunted as he lifted the weight about his head. He's been going at it for a couple of minutes longer than normal, concerning a couple of guys around him, including Jay. But he had so much anger, so much adrenaline. And the football season just ended, so he couldn't do it on the field like he usually does. So the gym was the next best thing.

Recently, Jackson's been offered a chance to play up north, back home with his dad. But the obvious downside to that was moving. Despite the obvious issues, he kinda grew fond of the south. He liked the heat, the culture, the food even. But lately, he just wasn't so sure.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Carolina enter the gym with another girl by her side, giggling a bit as they walked by, heading towards the locker room. Jackson's grip on the dumbbell almost slipped, and if it wasn't for Jay's quick reflexes, he would've been crushed.

"Woah!" Jay exclaimed, quickly helping Jackson on. "Dude, I️ knew you were gonna give out soon. You've been going at it hard for a while," he says as Jackson sits up, reaching for his water bottle. Jay seemed to have noticed Jackson wasn't paying attention, and followed his line of vision to see Carolina walk out with her friend. "You interested in Carolina?" Jay asked.

"What? No," Jackson viciously shakes his head. "I️ just have to talk to her," he says, getting up. "I'll be right back," he tells him.

"Tell her I️ said hi!" Jay calls out behind him.

Carolina and her friend were on treadmill now, running side by side, when she noticed Jackson walking up. She gave him a friendly smile and took her earphone out her ear. "Hey! What's up," she greeted as slowed down a bit. "Oh! Jackson, this is my sister Gianna," she introduced, only Gianna didn't seem to pay attention. She was clearly into her workout when Carolina leaned over and ripped her earphone out her ear, catching her attention.

"Ay cabroña-" she stops her insults when she notices Jackson. "Oh, hello," she plasters a smile on her face. "You're Jackson Lee right?" She asks.

"Nice to meet you," he waves. He then moves his attention back over to Carolina. "I️ didn't know you had a sister," he comments. "You're always with Aaliyah."

Carolina playfully rolls her eyes. "There's a lot you don't know about me," she says, continuing to walk. "Plus, Gianna's a sophomore with her own friends. She doesn't need to hang with me," she explains. "Is there something you needed? Possibly Aaliyah related?" She smirks, catching him.

"But apparently you know me well," he jokes.

"Nah, you're just predictable," she comments with an amused smile. "Look, I'm busy right now," she gets to the point, "but if you want, I'll answer any question you want after this, okay?" She proposed.

Jackson nodded in understanding. "Yeah you're right," he tells her. "How about this? Smoothies after this? On me?" He offers.

Carolina thinks about it for a moment. "Gianna, you can drive yourself home tonight," Carolina announces, making her sister excitedly cheer next to her. "Looks like you're also giving me a ride home."

He shrugs nonchalantly. "Deal."

* * * *

"Wait, you have to try this smoothie," she insisted. "Can I️ have a medium Chocolate Bliss and a Strawberry-Kiwi Tropical Twist," she ordered for the both of them. Jackson pulls out his card and pays for the both of them.

"Chocolate Bliss?" He asked. "That for you?"

"No, it's for you," she said as they cross to the other side to pick up their smoothies. "When they say Chocolate Bliss, they really mean bliss. It's pure heaven in a cup," she endorsed. She then handed a $10 tip to the cashier.

Jackson shrugged. "Alright, if you say so. I️ trust your judgement," he nods as the guy called out their order numbers and handed them their smoothies. "Big tipper?" He nodded over to the guy she handed the money to.

"My mother was a waitress for some time when she came to America. She taught me how important it was to tip," she explained as they sat down.

They both sit across from each other at their local smoothie place, smoothies in hand. Jackson tries his and to his surprise, the smoothie really was good. "Damn," He lets out lowly.

"Told you," she smiles proudly. "Alright Romeo, what do you wanna know?" She says.

Jackson finished off his smoothie. It was ridiculously good. "It's about Aaliyah-"

"Obviously," she sips a bit of her smoothie.

"Is it true?" He asks slowly. "That Aaliyah and Elijah are on and off? And that she uses other guys as a distraction?" He wanted to know. He knew he sounded a bit pathetic, but he had to know. For his piece of mind sake.

Carolina lets out a sigh. "I'm gonna be honest with you. Aaliyah doesn't really tell me what goes on in her relationship," she rolls her eyes. "I️ mean, fuck, anyone who looks close enough can see they're a toxic match. But there's only so much I️ can do as a concerned friend. Her life is her owns. I️ can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do," she shrugs.

"Then you're not trying hard enough Carolina," Jackson hissed.

Carolina though, was completely unfazed by his outburst. "Eli's a shitty boyfriend, sure, but she'll get that eventually," she tell him. "You know what I️ think?" She says, leaning in a bit closer.

"What?" He asked, eyeing her carefully. She suddenly had switched from having a friendly aura to having a dangerous one.

"That you should so find someone else to distract yourself with until this little crush blows over," she suggests in a low sensual tone.

"Like who? You?" He asks, playing along.

She smirks and stands up from her chair. "There's an idea," she says as she tosses her smoothie away as he watches.

"But you're her best friend," he reminds her as he gets up to follow her out the door, now intrigued and admittingly, a bit turned on.

"I'm single, you're single. No ones getting hurt here," she replies with a smirk as she now stands in front of the driver's side of the car. She brings him in closer to her, playing with the drawstrings of his hoodie. "Besides, I️ bet you got so much energy to burn, not even the gym could do it for you," she whispers.

With the sexual tension between rising, Jackson couldn't even think straight. He didn't have a good feeling about this, but he also remembered what she said about moving on. And he really didn't even remember the last he-

He felt her lips against his, pulling him out of his own thoughts. He automatically kissed back, his hands on her face and neck, pulling her closer.

She finally pulls away and looks up at him. "You wanna go somewhere?" She asks breathlessly. And without another word, they get in the car.

_____________________________

EYE-

Girl what just HAPPENED????

Is Jackson trying to get over Aaliyah with her best friend? What will Aaliyah say? What will Jay say (since he has a crush on Carolina). Will they find out? How do you think they'll find out? WHY IS THIS HAP-

Anyways thank you for reading! 😌 the REAL fun is now just beginning.