Jesse Mangan stretched his long legs out as he finished his geometry test. Rising from his seat, he walked up to the teacher’s desk and laid his paper on her desk. She smiled at him, and he returned to his desk. Reaching for his notebook, he pulled it out of his backpack and opened it to the page he had left off with his first novel.

The girl in front of him moved in her seat, and he couldn’t help but look at her. Stephanie Hawthorne. Cute, redheaded cheerleader that had transferred in at the end of the last school year. She had made the cheer squad this year, and Jesse found himself distracted by her frequently. Perky and friendly, today she wore her cheer uniform, accompanied by leggings as fall had set in with a firm hand in upstate New York. Like most of the young men in the school, he liked Fridays for the express reason the cheer team wore their short skirts, no matter how cold it got.

Jesse had submitted her name for the Homecoming Court a few weeks ago, but she hadn’t made the court. Jesse figured it was because she wasn’t well known enough at the school yet. In his mind, it was hard not to know who she was, but then he was biased and he knew it. His cousins had swept the court, with his cousin and classmate Rayma Belden taking the junior princess title. Jesse was happy for her, but in his mind, he was escorting Stephanie on that field.

His green eyes watched her walk up to the desk and turn in her test. She caught his eye as she returned to her seat and gave him a pretty smile. He found himself smiling back at her as she gracefully slid back into the uncomfortable chair.

Jesse had toyed with the idea of striking up a conversation with her, but of the Belden-Duke Clan cousins, he was one of the few shy members. The well-known Duke charm had not passed to him, but his older brother Tim had it in spades. Jesse knew he wasn’t slick with women like his father and Duke cousins. He wasn’t as charming as his mother Daisy, or as outgoing as his cousin Aralyn. He wasn’t into sports like most of the other cousins, and he wasn’t into trouble like his older brother Tim. Which left him as one of the quietest, along with his cousins Riley Belden and Jace Duke

While he had the green eyes of his mother and dark hair of both parents like his siblings, Jesse was the loner. He and Riley could sit and study or write for hours and never speak and be quite happy, as opposed to the rest of the cousins who insisted on being loud and active. He was closer to Riley than any of the other cousins, probably because neither was a big talker.

Jesse just wanted to write. He read everything he could get his hands on and wrote in his free time. This summer to bulk up his slender frame something’s missing but it didn’t seem to be having much effect. He had inherited his father’s tall, lean frame but felt scrawny next to his muscular brother and some of his more solidly built cousins.

Startled, he flinched when a folded piece of paper fell on his desk. Picking it up, he unfolded it and had to read it twice.

S? He thought. Stephanie? It had dropped at an angle that could have been from over her shoulder. Jesse wasn’t about to reveal what he was working until he knew who it was from.

While debating on the answer, he glanced up to see his cousin Rayma, Riley's twin sister, looking at him from the corner of her eye. Frowning, he raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question he knew she would understand. In answer, she pretended to reach into her bag, using her eyes to indicate Stephanie in front of him, not bothering to hide her smile.

As Jesse hesitated, the bell rang, and there was a flurry of packing up and students running out the door. With a sigh, Jesse shoved the note in his pocket.

Jesse moved his attention back to Stephanie, but she was already gone. Rayma shook her dark head and grabbed her things.

“It was from Stephanie, you dope!” she hissed.

“How was I supposed to know?” he asked in annoyance. She rolled her violet eyes.

“Think about it. She’s been eyeing you all week. Probably all semester.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“Girls talk, Jesse.” She sighed, and then began to head to her art class. “Trust me, she’s into you.”

Her cousin could be so clueless, she thought. For all his dark good looks, Jesse knew nothing about women outside of the females he was related to. Riley was no good for help—Rayma suspected her twin wasn’t interested in female anatomy. Jace was a year younger and on the football team, so Jesse would never take advice from him. Tim was still in military school, otherwise, Rayma suspected the older Mangan would take his brother in hand. Which left his father, Dan, and Rayma knew that Jesse wouldn’t talk to him, as it was just way too embarrassing to talk to your parents about such things.

Half a dozen of her friends had a crush on her quiet cousin, but Rayma refused to hook them up. Jesse had had a girlfriend last year whom he had cared deeply about, and her moving away in the spring had left him gun-shy of asking anyone out. Along with lacking the Duke easy-going charm that came naturally to most of his family, he lacked the confidence as well.

***

Jesse found it difficult to pay attention in English, even though it was his favorite class. Stephanie was sitting with two other cheerleaders, and there was much giggling from that corner.

Minus the giggling cheerleaders who received a chastising for thier disruption, the class was reading Life of Pi, which Jesse found intriguing, but today he couldn’t concentrate. He was too busy thinking about the note he had received.

Sure, notes got passed all the time since cell phones were banned in school, but they usually didn’t land on his desk. Not since junior high when he ended up with a note meant for someone else. That had been embarrassing.

Someone noticed he wrote a lot. Stephanie, according to his cousin. Could that be possible? He wasn’t like most of his cousins, who thrived on competition and the spotlight. Jesse had tried writing for the newspaper freshman year but found that he preferred the freedom of fiction. He was content to stay in the background. Having to break up with Erin because she was moving was bad enough, but instead of being able to maintain their relationship long distance, she quickly fell into a new crowd. Her emails had dropped off rapidly after the move, and Jesse had stopped trying. He could take the hint. Tim hadn’t been much for consoling, insisting his “baby bro” would find a new girl soon enough.

Jesse had idly been thinking about Stephanie through the summer. He had spent most of it at his cousin Jim’s school, either in the gym working with weights or wandering through the preserve. All of the cousins in the Belden-Duke Clan had an appreciation for the outdoors, but Jesse was especially attuned to it. He could stay out in the preserve for hours writing. A natural affinity for animals was helpful, and the wildlife in certain areas was used to him now, often creeping near him to see what he was doing—and if his pockets were stuffed with nuts, which they usually were. All of the Belden-Duke kids had spent plenty of their summers out on the lake and in the preserve and knew the land.

The bell rang early for the pep rally, and Jesse headed to the gym. He spotted various cousins in the hallway, including Aralyn and Tiffany in their matching hockey warm-up suits; Aralyn’s emblazoned with DUKE 01 on the back, and Tiffany’s with DUKE 02. A tall, good-looking boy joined them with a kiss for Aralyn’s cheek. Cam and Aralyn, Jesse thought morosely. Golden Couple of the senior class. Jesse recognized Cam’s best friend Dean, who his cousin Tiffany once again blew off with a laugh.

He located his cousin Riley, Riley’s best friend Nate, and Nick, another close friend. The four often hung out together and could be as nerdy as they liked. Nick waved Jesse over, and Jesse headed up the stairs to join them. This was the first year that he had liked pep rallies, because this year, he got to see Stephanie in action. She was one of the smaller girls on the squad and often tossed up in the air.

There were always several sports games in a weekend, and the cheerleaders were there to excite them for all of the sports. The captains of the teams were down below with the cheerleaders, throwing plastic footballs and such up to the students. Jesse and Riley laughed as they saw the impatience on their cousin Aralyn’s face. She hated stuff like this.

But Jesse’s eyes went to Stephanie as she jumped around cheering, her red hair in bouncy ponytails. He was sure at one point she made eye contact with him while chanting, but then he quickly chalked it up to wishful thinking.

“Thinking of making a move, man?” Nick asked, nudging Jesse with his knee. He had caught Jesse staring at Stephanie in homeroom the first day of school and figured it out pretty quick.

“Nah. She doesn’t know I’m alive,” he answered.

Nick laughed. Everyone knew the cousins of the Belden-Duke Clan, even the quiet ones.

“You gotta stop selling yourself short, man. I say go for it. What’s the worst she can say? No?”

“Yeah, and then tell all her friends. I’ll pass on the humiliation, thanks,” Jesse replied. “Besides, we all know cheerleaders date the jocks.”

Nick just flashed him a grin. Jesse had been in a funk since Erin left, and it was high time his friend got on with his life.

“Several of your cousins are athletes, and one dates a nerdy journalist,” Nick pointed out. “And that cousin is smokin’ hot, and the journalist used to be the biggest nerd around.”

“Yeah well, Aralyn is…Aralyn.” He wished he had one ounce of the confidence that his oldest cousin had. Or his younger sister Dana, who resembled their mother and had boys following her constantly. Somehow, the confidence gene had skipped him.

“So strike up a conversation. She’s just a person. She’s in half of your classes, you have ample excuses. Homework, note taking. Stop being a wuss,” Nick replied.

Jesse didn’t answer, fixing his eyes on the pretty redhead below.

***

After the pep rally, he was at his locker, getting the books he needed. Jesse hated the after-school rush in the parking lot—he was content to wait it out. Dana would be at the car waiting probably, since she didn’t have soccer practice tonight. He’d meet up with Riley and the guys later tonight at the Coffeehouse.

“Hi, Jesse!”

He glanced up and almost swallowed his tongue as he saw Stephanie walking towards him.

“Um, hi, Stephanie,” he managed after a brief pause of gawking. He really liked the way the uniform showed off her shapely figure. She was short, he realized, about five-foot-five to his six feet, but she looked as cute and perky as ever in her blue and silver uniform. A small blue paw print decorated one cheek, and blue and silver ribbons adorned her ponytails.

“Did you enjoy the pep rally?” she asked brightly.

“Yeah, sure. It was, um, peppy,” he answered, feeling foolish. She wrinkled up her nose.

“You can admit they’re boring.”

“I wouldn’t say boring.” He smiled at her as he closed his locker and slung his backpack over one shoulder. “Just um, well—”

She laughed. “So, I won’t be seeing you at the game tonight?”

“What? No, no, I have plans.” Jesse suddenly considered changing them.

“I can’t blame you. It’s pretty boring to watch football. You seem more like the academic type.”

"Um, yeah. My cousin Jace is on the JV team, but I’m not much into sports.” He was studying her, memorizing the details of her face. This was the most they had ever talked.

“You’re not going to be at home on a Friday night, are you?” she asked, her hazel eyes wide.

“Oh, no way. I’m meeting up with the guys later. We’ll probably catch a movie,” he fibbed.

Stephanie smiled at him. “Well, have fun. You’re probably busy all weekend I guess?”

“Not really. Just working on that presentation for English.”

“Oh right.” She nodded. “It’s taking me forever to get mine done.”

“Ms. Morgan is just bent on getting out of a couple days of lecturing by making us give oral reports.” He chuckled. “I’m not sure how she ended up being a teacher.”

“I think she just likes to torment students,” Stephanie said cheerfully. He nodded and by mutual unspoken agreement, they started walking towards the door. Jesse held the door open for her and she thanked him.

“I’m here in the North Lot, you?” she asked.

“South. I try to park in South because my last class is over there. Can I walk you to your car?”

“Sure.” She beamed at him, and Jesse could feel his heart pounding in his ears. Her car was a sporty red convertible, but he already knew that from having seen her in it. The car suited her bubbly personality, he thought.

“Here we are,” she said cheerfully, turning to face him.

“Here we are,” he murmured, convinced his palms were sweating and it was a good thing his hands were shoved inside his pockets.

“Thanks for walking me,” she told him.

“You’re welcome. I wouldn’t want you walking alone, most everyone’s gone.”

There was a moment of awkwardness, and then she finally gave him a bright smile and said, “Well, have a good weekend, Jess.”

“Yeah, you too.” He smiled at her as she got in and started the engine. He turned to walk away when she called his name.

“I expect an answer to my note on Monday!” she called, before she drove off.

Jesse just stared after her when he realized she had called him by ‘Jess’. He was grinning like a fool as he walked to his car. Maybe there was hope after all.

***

Saturday morning found Jesse in the gym at the Frayne Academy, and after his workout, he wandered into the Preserve, stopping at the stables to visit briefly with his great uncle Regan. The tall, broad-shouldered bachelor still ran the Regan-Wheeler stable that supplied horses for the Frayne Academy. The stable dealt in private lessons as well.

Regan doted on his nieces and nephews, always remembering their birthdays, which was no easy feat. He had taught every one of the kids to ride at a young age and would trust any of them with his precious mounts.

When Jesse strolled by the stables, he saw Regan out in the corral, leading a gentle, light brown pony around with ten-year-old Valerra Frayne on its back. His small, dark-haired cousin looked determined as she held the reins. Jesse knew she had been scared of riding her entire life and had only recently agreed to start lessons.

Knowing better than to call out and startle them, Jesse walked up to the corral and climbed up on to sit on the edge, watching. His cousin and great uncle waved, and Regan led the horse over.

“Hey, Jess,” he said cheerfully.

“Hi, Jesse,” Valerra greeted him shyly.

“Hey. I was just on my way into the woods, thought I’d stop by. You look good up there, Val.”

The small girl turned pink. Her big, dark eyes were fixed on Jesse.

“Anything exciting in school this week?” Regan asked.

“Nah. Just a pep rally.”

They chatted for a few minutes and Jesse continued into the preserve as Regan resumed his instruction with Valerra.

Jesse considered talking to Regan for advice about Stephanie. His uncle was a bachelor, but every now and then Jesse suspected he had a lady friend. But Regan was as shy as Jesse with women, and he suspected his great uncle wouldn’t be of much help.

He missed his brother. Tim would give him the right encouragement to ask her out, and probably unsolicited advice on sex. Tim made no secret of his conquests. When allowed out on weekends, the older Mangan had no trouble catching women and was quite open about passing “tips” onto his brother.

Jesse often caught his father looking wistfully at pictures of their family from several years before, or Tim’s old school pictures, which still hung in the hallway with Jesse and Dana’s. It had taken a while for Jesse to fully grasp how much it had hurt his father to have to send Tim away, and Jesse knew it ate at Dan that he hadn’t been able to stop his son from getting into trouble.

He still saw Tim’s old friend Dean at school, of course, and Dean was always friendly, but Jesse found it hard to fill the role of the oldest male cousin. He was only slightly older than Riley, and, thankfully, Aralyn and Tiffany seemed to pretty much have the cousins in order when needed. Instead, Jesse focused on his grades, managing to keep a high A average, and himself out of trouble.

As he settled into his favorite spot, at the base of a sprawling oak tree, Jesse opened his backpack and pulled out his laptop.

After a few minutes of staring at the blank screen, he sighed. It was no use. He kept replaying the scene with Stephanie Hawthorne in his mind. Jesse needed a plan.

***

“It’s a good thing I like you, Jesse Mangan,” was Rayma Belden’s greeting when Jesse answered his phone.

Jesse chuckled. “I owe you, cousin.”

“According to my sources, she is most definitely not dating anyone. A couple of the football players have asked her out, but she turned them down. She likes chick flicks, her favorite colors are dark red and green and she’s into organic foods, never eats the cafeteria food. There’s a picture in her locker of a boxer, so I’m thinking she likes dogs.”

Jesse was writing as fast as he could.

“I can tell you from an artistic sense, she has some odd fashion choices.”

“What do you mean?” he asked. Considering his mother owned a fashion company, Jesse knew he should know more about fashion than he did, but it bored him to tears. He just liked the way things fit on women’s bodies.

“Well, like, last week, she was wearing those sandals? The brown ones? They had two wide straps across the feet?”

Jesse scratched his head. “Um, I think so.” Were those the ones that showed off the pretty toes painted purple?

“Totally out of season. Not a bad shoe mind you, but totally out of season. And not right for the length of the skirt.”

Jesse rolled his eyes. Stephanie had nice legs, and he thoroughly enjoyed her wearing short skirts and sandals.

“She should have gone with a heel, a nice wedge to give her some height,” Rayma was continuing.

“Uh huh.” Jesse was still thinking about Stephanie’s bare legs.

“But I did find out she really likes slasher movies.”

“No kidding?” Jesse perked up. He loved nothing more than a night long marathon of cheesy horror flicks.

“Yep. The bloodier the better.”

“Excellent.” He grinned to himself.

“That’s all I could get on short notice.”

“You’re the best, Ray.”

“Uh huh. Remember that on my birthday,” she said dryly.

***

Monday morning, Jesse saw Stephanie at her locker and lost his nerve. Tuesday, she bumped into him in the cafeteria and gave him such a smile his mind shut down.

Wednesday, he was brooding at his locker as the halls emptied. Maybe he should ask Cam for help. Cam was the shy sort, it had taken him weeks to get up the nerve to ask Aralyn out. But he was a nice guy, and Jesse was thinking he might be a good resource.

He shut the locker door and was startled to see the object of his thoughts standing there.

“Hi,” he said awkwardly.

“Hi, Jesse.” She was smiling and that just unnerved him. He was used to the taller girls in his family, but he really liked her petite stature.

“Uh, what are you doing here? I mean, your last class isn’t nearby. Is it?” He hated how tongue tied he got around her!

“No, but you are,” she said with a giggle.

Jesse’s brain scrambled to form a coherent sentence.

“You seemed kind of out it the last couple days. Everything ok?” she asked.

He just nodded dumbly.

“Yeah, I’ve just had a lot of my mind.”

He wasn’t sure what her expression was, disappointment or hesitation.

“Wannagotoamoviewithme?” he blurted. Slick Mangan, he thought desperately. Real slick.

“Sorry?’ she asked politely.

“A movie,” he said quickly. “There’s a fright night marathon running this weekend at the little theatre on Sixteenth. Lots of cheesy horror movies but, uh, wanna go with me to it?”

Stephanie hesitated only a few seconds before she grinned at him. “Sure.”

Jesse felt his spirits soar.

Meet the cast in full & see the family tree!

***

Author’s Notes
- Jesse isn't the most talkative so whether or not he returns with more in up in the air. Come back next month to see more of the Belden-Duke cousins!
- A huge yee-haa to Dana, the fabulous editor for this Universe, and keeping this a surprise!
- This chapter is dedicated to StephH, who knows why. Hope you enjoyed it!
- Word Count, 3,602