Always (Bold as Love)

by Lindsay Paige

  My phone rings and interrupts my never ending thoughts. A picture of Sweetness and I appear on the screen. I've only been driving for about six hours.

  “Hey, Sweetness. How's it going?”

  “Fine. Just wanted to check in since I haven't heard from you. Where are you?”

  “Driving through West Virginia.”

  “Everything going well, so far?”

  “Yeah. Drake behaving?”

  “Of course. We're watching a movie right now.”

  “Good.”

  “Hey? You're going apartment hunting, right?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Just checking. I'm going to let you go. I'll check up on you later.”

  “Okay. Love you.”

  “Love you.”

  For the rest of the drive, I focus on hockey. It's still amazes me that I'm heading where I want to be. There's two things standing in my way. The rookie camp and then the NHL camp. Surviving those camps will officially mean moving to Chicago and a contract. After that, what more could I want?

  Not only will I have to find us a place to live, but I'll need to check out where Drake can play hockey. Up until now, he's always been a watcher first, loving the sport as a spectator. Now he wants to get in the game seriously. We have played some together before and he knows how to play, but he wants to go to the next level. I just have to see what's available for him here. I'm sure Chicago will have more opportunities than our hometown.

  It thrills me that Drake wants to play. I'm sure that it will be good for him to have something as great as the game to focus on with everything that happens. My biggest hope is that it gives him the same feeling I get when I play. During the game, everything falls away. Hockey never fails me when life gets rough. I can count on feeling nothing but pure bliss when I'm on the ice. All is right when I'm playing.

  Before I get into Chicago, I stop at a fast food restaurant and grab something to eat. Being so close, I keep on driving. I don't even want to think about the drive back home. At this point, I don't want to drive ever again.

  The hotel is nice enough as I check in and head up to my room. My bags fall from my hands at the door and I set everything else to the side. Immediately, I flop onto the bed and call Sweetness. It's nine thirty and I've literally been driving all day long. I best call Emily now before she starts to worry. She picks up after the first ring.

  “Hey, love.”

  “Hey. I'm here. How was y'alls day?”

  “Fine. We checked up on the house since Dad's out of town this week and just hung out the rest of the day. He's going over to Tommy's tomorrow.”

  “Good. What are you going to do?”

  “The girls are going to meet me at the house in Charlotte and help me pack up.”

  All she has to pack is our personal belongings at the house since it was already completely furnished. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

  “Jake?” she says hesitantly.

  “Yeah?”

  “I realized something today.”

  “What's that, Sweetness?”

  “Drake is going to be with us for at least the next eight years. I'm totally going to have to get over the no sex with Drake around, aren't I?”

  I laugh whole heartedly. That wasn't what I was expecting. “Yes, you are because I'm not going to go without sex for eight years. I mean, I would if that was what you wanted, but you know what I mean. Don't worry, Sweets, I'll find us a place with a lock on the bedroom door.”

  “I prefer a room with a lock and one that's on the opposite side of the apartment compared to Drake's. It will be even better if it's completely sound proof.”

  “Sound proof?” I chuckle.

  “We aren't completely silent to start with, Jake. What if we decide to get a little kinky? He doesn't need to hear that!”

  Okay, now I can't stop laughing.

  “Jake, this isn't funny,” she half whines.

  “Yeah, it is. Kinky, Sweetness?” Hearing from my own mouth causes me to laugh harder. “Where is Drake anyway?”

  “He's in his room. Love, this isn't funny. Quit laughing or I'm hanging up.”

  I tamper down the laughing and manage to hold it in. “Okay, okay. But kinky, really?”

  “What? You don't think we might try something new sometime?”

  “No, we definitely will. I just can't believe you said kinky.” I snort and start laughing again.

  “Jake,” Emily says threateningly, but even then she starts to giggle. “Fine! What if we decide to be adventurous? Is that a better term?”

  “Yes. That's much better. I'll do my best to find a place with your requirements. No promises, though.”

  “Okay, good. I realized something else too.”

  “What's that?”

  “We're going to have to raise a teenager.”

  “That's no big deal. It's Drake we're talking about.” There's nothing to worry about. He's a good kid.

  “Yeah, a pre-puberty Drake. Who knows what hormones will do to him? We're going to be in serious trouble if he has a sex drive like you. Did your dad even have the sex talk with him?”

  “He's ten.”

  “And? When did your dad talk to you?”

  I think back and realize it was around ten or eleven. “Fine. I'll talk to him once I get back. At least this will give us a little experience once we do have kids and they turn into teenagers.”

  She's silent for a second too long and I know I hit a chord. “True,” she eventually says. “Dad called me today about last night. He wanted to know what I thought about her.”

  “And what did you tell him?”

  “That she seemed okay. Nothing bad stood out about her, so that's good. Jake?”

  “Yeah, Sweetness?”

  “He wants to marry her.”

  I sit up, surprised. “What?”

  “Yeah. That's the main reason he wanted me to meet her. Part of me is happy that he's found someone, but then again, we've been together almost two years and he doesn't want us to get married. He's only known her for five months!”

  “But he's in his late forties. There's a big difference, Sweetness.”

  “I don't care. And how can he basically ask for my approval after a single dinner, which I didn't even want to attend? He's going to marry her either way because I'm not going to object if he's happy so why does it matter if I like her or not? She'll be his wife, not mine. I won't even be around her that much since we're going to move. Oh, and I had to hear about that too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I didn't exactly tell him that I was going with you. I figured it would be obvious with Drake involved, so he might have found out at the dinner when Cherish asked me about something.”

  “Emily, why didn't you talk to him yourself first?”

  “I thought it was obvious!”

  “It doesn't matter. You should of at least had the decency to actually tell him. You know he's probably going to find a way to blame that on me, don't you?” I add that last part because his words of calling our relationship toxic. About how I'm more harm than good for Emily.

  “You're right. I should have told him instead of expecting him to figure it out. My fault and I'll be sure to tell him that.”

  “Good.” I pause. “Well, what did you say when he told you he wanted to marry her?”

  “You would be proud of me. I bit my tongue and told him that if she made him that happy, then he should. He's going to ask her once he gets back from his business trip. Ugh,” she says and I can imagine her shivering. “He started to give me details about how he's going to pop the question and I just found an excuse to get off the phone.”

  Conversation comes to a stand still and as usual, Emily finds a way to interject before the dead air stays for too long.

  “You should probably go to sleep. Big day tomorrow and all. I love you.”

  “I love you. Always.”

  33

  Emily

  I get to the house firs
t and start to assemble the boxes, placing them on the bar in the kitchen for now. There's a knock on the door and then Abella busts through with Hannah and Kyle following. I only texted Abella for her to tell Hannah. Not Kyle as well. Oh, well. I can't just ask him to leave.

  “We're here!” Abella sings sitting at the bar across from me.

  “I see that.”

  “What the hell happened to you?” Hannah asks, taking a seat between Kyle and Abella.

  “I might have fell down the stairs.”

  “I bet that hurt,” Kyle says.

  It's unavoidable. I make eye contact. “Yeah. Anyway,” I look between the girls. “We need to get to work. I've got to be back by six at the latest to pick up Jake's little brother.”

  “Wait, just a second. Is that a ring?” Abella screeches, hopping out of her seat and coming around to grab my hand. “You didn't tell us you were engaged.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

  “Congrats, Em,” Kyle smiles easily.

  “Yeah, congrats,” the girls echo.

  “Can we get started?”

  Kicking into gear, we start in the living room. The only thing in there that is ours are some pictures and two blankets. Most of our things are in the bedroom and bathroom. With Kyle here, I'm uneasy about packing up things in there. All too soon, we're in the bedroom. Kyle is in the attached bathroom, putting everything in a box. I'm in my closet, taking things out. Hannah is working on the nightstand and Abella is taking clothes out of one of the dressers.

  “Damn, Emily. I didn't know there was a sexy woman in you,” Abella exclaims. I turn and blush a bright red, I'm sure. She's holding up my red satin and lace lingerie piece in one hand and a white sheer halter babydoll piece in the other. Kyle pokes his head out of the bathroom to see what the commotion is about. I can't see his expression though because once he sees the lingerie, he returns to his task.

  “How about you do the closet and I'll do the dressers?”

  She shrugs and we switch. It's not a minute later that I hear Hannah.

  “Good god, Emily!”

  I turn in time to see her dumping the top drawer of the nightstand on our bed. Oh, no. Among a few pens, sticky notes, a flashlight, and lip balm, there is a bottle of lubricant, flavored oral gel, and about thirty condoms, which covers up everything thing else that was in the drawer. My face burns and I'm positive it catches ablaze when Kyle pokes out of the bathroom with a box of condoms in his hand.

  “There's more in here.”

  “Look at Em,” Abella barks, doubling over with laughter.

  “Y'all are ridiculous,” I shake my head and get back to packing boxes as if it never happened. It's not as easy as it sounds with the girls still cackling. My neck and face still feel hot thirty minutes later when Kyle is carrying the boxes to my car and Abella and Hannah are removing the bed sheets for me. That's the last thing to do. Afterwards, we sit in the living room. I'm in the middle of the couch with a girl on each side and Kyle is sitting on the arm of the couch.

  “You better keep in touch,” Hannah makes me promise.

  “And invite us to the wedding,” Abella adds.

  “Most definitely. I'll miss y'all.”

  The girls hug me and since it's about one, they want me to go out to eat with them. As long as I leave by two, I'll be back in time to pick Drake up. After I drop off the key to the landlord, I meet them at one of the local restaurants. It feels odd to sit next to Kyle, but Abella steals the conversation. Surprisingly, she's got a steady boyfriend. Based on her descriptions, he's a great fit for her. All too soon, it's time to leave.

  I pick Drake up from Tommy's and we return to Jake's. Drake carries all the boxes in for me and for now, they are sitting in the living room. The next two weeks consist of phone calls with Jake, hearing about his day, eating take out or mac and cheese, and hanging out at the house. Sometimes, I'm there alone because Drake will go over to Tommy's. We stayed away from my house that first weekend because Dad proposed to Cherish and I didn't want to be around that.

  After the first camp, he was invited to the second camp, which followed. Jake seems to love the city. He's been exploring when he gets the chance and he sent me pictures of the apartments he checked out. There was one, in particular, that I loved. Jake also seals a deal with an agent he was speaking with and he stays an extra few days for paperwork because he got a contract. He was thrilled when he called.

  “Sweetness, I got it!”

  “What? You got the contract?”

  “Yes! Long story short, it's an entry level contract that's good for three seasons. We're not going to have to worry about anything for a while, Sweetness.”

  “That's great, Jake!”

  He has been floating on cloud nine ever since. Yesterday, he got us that apartment and once we make the move and he finds all the paperwork for Drake, he'll register him for school. He comes home today and I can't wait to see him. Drake is up in his room, playing video games. He asked if I wanted to play, but I want to be right here when Jake comes home. I've missed him so much. This go around wasn't as bad as last time, but it was still hard.

  And sleep. Gah! I never knew how empty his bed feels without him in it. I don't have any trouble falling asleep, but it's never a good rest. The next morning, I feel more tired than I did when I went to sleep. It's been so tempting not to go sleep in my own bed. It's a little before seven and the doorbell rings. Sweet! Pizza guy is here. I grab my money off the table in front of me and then my crutches. The doorbell dings again before I can get to the door.

  “Sorry for,” I begin as I open the door. “Jake!” A lopsided grin is on his face and a pizza in his hands. “I thought you wouldn't be here until later.”

  “I left early this morning. Really early. I wanted to surprise you. The pizza guy pulled up right after I did so...”

  I squeal and drop my crutches, letting them fall to the floor. I hop to him and he gives me an awkward hug since he's holding the pizza in one hand. Feeling his even more toned body against me, I remember that the last time we had sex was over two weeks ago. With his hand splayed over my lower back and these thoughts in my head, I want nothing more than to drag him upstairs.

  “Jake!” Drake yells behind us as he runs down the stairs before we can say anything else.

  Sadly, he releases me and walks past me to hug Drake.

  “I don't know about y'all, but I'm hungry,” Drake says as he takes the pizza from Jake. He walks away into the kitchen.

  Jake turns to face me and picks up my crutches, handing them to me. I take them and place them in their place, but I don't move even as he begins to head to the kitchen. After a step, he pivots and asks what's wrong. I tilt my head slightly, debating for just a second if I should tell him or make him guess.

  “Where's my kiss?”

  He smirks and walks over to me, cradling my face in his hands. “Forgive me, Sweetness.” At first, he dips his head down and his lips barely touch mine. My breathing near about stops and then his hungry mouth is giving me the kiss I was looking for. It ends all too soon as Drake yells for us to come so he can go ahead and eat.

  “Thank you,” I say softly.

  “You're welcome,” he replies with a kiss on my forehead.

  In the kitchen, Jake sits beside me and rests one of his hands on my upper thigh. Most of the conversation is between he and Drake. Jake talks a little bit about the camps and then tells him about the city, where he'll be going to school, and a little about the league Drake will be playing with.

  “What are you going to do about your school?” I ask him.

  “I'm going to take this semester off, at least, and then take online classes to finish.”

  “Will you play a couple of races with me?” Drake asks.

  “Sure. You just have to help me bring my bags inside.”

  “Oh, I didn't know what to do with our things from Charlotte, so that's why it's all in the living room,” I tell Jake.

  “That's fine.”

  Jak
e and Drake leave me at the table to bring Jake's things inside. I close the pizza box as I hear them run upstairs minutes later to play a video game. If I go upstairs, I'm not coming back down until tomorrow. It's too annoying to go up and down the staircase to make more than two trips a day. There's not really anything for me to do down here and I need a shower, so I make my way upstairs and into Jake's room.

  Ever since I made those realizations and packed up those lingeries, I decided I may need a robe in case I decided to dress for Jake. That way, I could cover myself up if I needed to do so. I ordered just a plain white plush robe and it came in yesterday. While Drake was gone, I brought the red piece upstairs. During my shower, I keep thinking how utterly ridiculous I will look wearing that sexy lingerie and a big cast over my leg. Maybe I'll just see how it looks before I decide if I'm going to wear it or not.

  After my shower, I dry off and slip it on. Ugh! I look just a ridiculous as I thought I would.

  “Sweetness?”

  “Don't come in!” I yell as the door starts to open, but it's too late. He's already inside. “Jake,” I whine.

  “What? Why didn't you want me to come in? You're dressed and looking beautiful, by the way.”

  “I look silly, that's why. It doesn't look appealing when I've got this thing on my leg.”

  “Sweetness, you look fine. Delectable, even.”

  “Thank you,” I smile.

  “I just came to check on you. I didn't know where you ran off to while we were playing and Drake wants to watch a movie with us.”

  “Okay, just give me five minutes.”

  Jake disappears and closes the door behind me. I can hear him and then Drake moving around on the other side, talking idly as they find something on TV to watch. I slip on my robe and tie it tightly. I don't need Drake to sneak a peek at what's underneath, which is close to nothing. I brush my teeth and run a hairbrush through my hair before I enter the bedroom. Drake is sitting upright where I usually lay and Jake is in the middle. I make my way over and sit beside Jake on his side.