“I can't believe him! How could he just tell her those things? And her! How dare she think she can just say something like that to me! Not to mention she apparently thinks she's going to be my new mom. Who the hell does she think she is? Just because she's marrying my dad doesn't mean jack shit to me. I'm not even going to be in the same state for us to have a relationship! Seriously! Did you hear what she said? 'Things weren't perfect with your mother.' No shit!
“How can he think that he can tell her that? How does that even pertain to their relationship? Anything that happened with my mom and me was after their divorce. It has absolutely no reason to come up in their conversation. What the fuck is wrong with him?”
We pull into Jake's driveway and Drake takes the keys to unlock the door. I slam my door shut and walk around the front of my car. I'm moving too fast and trip over myself, falling to the ground. I scream with frustration and throw both of my crutches away from me.
“Sweetness, are you okay?” Jake kneels beside me.
“Just go away,” I plead softly, staring up at the sky as the fight leaves me.
“Don't do that to me,” he commands in a hushed tone. “You are pissed at him, not me. C'mon and sit up so I can help you.”
I do as I'm told and he brings me into the standing position. Jake walks over to my tossed support and brings them back to me.
“Everything okay?” Drake asks from the porch.
“Yeah, buddy. Come grab these for me, please, and put them in my room,” Jake says, holding up the crutches.
I keep my mouth closed as Drake takes them and runs back inside. He probably wants to play his video game before it's time for bed. Jake takes my hands and wraps them around his neck before he proceeds to pick me up and carry me inside.
“I think you've had enough of those things for one day, don't you?” He says more so to himself than to me.
I still don't answer. Jake lays me down on his bed and shuts the door on his way out. For some stupid reason, I'm sure, I cry silent tears. They keep building up and falling over, streaking down my face. Dad has called twenty times since we left and finally, I just turn my phone off. About thirty minutes pass before Jake returns with a glass of Dr. Pepper and two slices of pizza. Is this all we eat anymore? He hands them to me without a word and then leaves me again. By the time he comes back, I've finished my food and my drink and I've changed into my pajamas. It's a little after nine.
I'm facing the wall when he comes in and I close my eyes. Behind me, I can hear him undressing and then his bed creaks slightly from his weight. The lamp clicks off. Jake's arm falls over my waist and he gently drags me against his chest.
“Feeling better?” his warm breath coats my neck.
“No.” I was hoping my voice wouldn't deceive me, but it does as I choke back more tears.
“Sweetness,” Jake begins tenderly. “I'm sure she had the best of intentions in mind.”
“I don't care! She didn't need to know. He shouldn't have told her and she shouldn't have said anything in front of you or Drake. I feel betrayed.”
“I know, Sweetness. You're going to have to talk to Mike about it before we leave.”
“No, I don't want to talk to him. He should know better, Jake.”
“We aren't leaving until you do, so get over it.” His tone is still kind. “He's already freaking out because you turned off your phone and won't answer his phone calls.”
“You talked to him?”
“Yep.”
“Does he feel like an ass? He should.”
Jake snickers and kisses my neck. “Do you want to talk about it some more?”
“Not really.”
“Then get some sleep, okay? There's always tomorrow. I love you. Always.”
“I love you too.”
I try to sleep, I really do. But this crap with my father is bugging me. Since I can't run, I turn in Jake's arms and shake him awake. He was snoring softly and it turns into a snort when I wake him.
“What's the matter, Sweets?” he mumbles with his eyes still closed.
“I can't sleep.”
Jake looks over his shoulder at his alarm clock. “It's three in the morning.”
“I know.”
“C'mon, Sweetness. Just close your eyes and let's go back to bed.”
“Jake,” I half whine. “I can't sleep. Wake up, please.”
His eyes peer out under hooded eyelids. “Did you want to talk about it or did you just want me to be awake too?”
“There's not much more to say other than it's still bothering me.”
“That's because you need to talk to Mike and settle things.” He takes a deep breath. “Sweetness, if I had the chance to talk things through with my dad, I would. Believe me when I say that that is what you need to do.”
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't worry about it. Now can we go back to sleep?”
I hug him to me and that is exactly what we do.
Around noon, my father shows up, wanting to talk. We sit on Jake's porch steps and everything is awkward. Dad runs his hand over his face and then looks at me.
“Honey, I'm sorry. I never planned on telling her. That's not my story to tell, but somehow your mother kept coming up in conversation and the more I avoided it, the more she thought I still had feelings for Judy. I only told her so she wouldn't think that I did.”
“That doesn't make me feel any better about it.” Sounds like Cherish has a bit of a jealously or insecurity issue.
Dad rests his hand on my knee and says, “I know, hon. I didn't know she was going to mention it to you either. Cherish wants us all to get along and that was her way of trying to ensure that.”
“Well, it was a shitty way. She didn't have to say anything about Mom.” I'm still mad and I want him to know that.
“Honey, give me a break here. I don't know what more you want me to say.”
“I don't care what the reasons were, Dad. You shouldn't have told her everything you know. A simple, 'Her mom was a bitch and very mean to her' should have been good enough and if it wasn't, that's Cherish's problem to deal with. Every time I'm around her, she's going to look at me and feel sorry for me. Every time, I'm going to know that she knows. Every single time, Dad. Every. Single. Time. Did you tell her about the baby too?”
Now, it's his eyes that look depressed and heartbroken.
“Tell me, Dad. How did that come up in conversation?” I watch as he squeezes his eyes shut. “You know what, it doesn't matter. I don't care. We're fine, Daddy, but if she ever mentions any of that to me, I'm going to blow a gasket.”
He nods and hugs me tightly. “I'm sorry, honey,” he repeats.
“It's fine,” I hug him back.
A few minutes pass before he releases me. “You're still going to let me help y'all move, right?”
“Yep.”
“Good. I've got to get back to work, but I'll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay.”
36
Jake
It's moving day! We've spent the last week and a half boxing things up and getting everything ready for the move. It's the second week of August and it couldn't be a better day. Part of me just wants to go and buy new furniture since our apartment isn't furnished, but why spend money when you don't have to? We threw out Dad's mattress and managed to sell whatever furniture we didn't want.
I'm riding alone while Emily and Drake are taking her car. Mike is flying here and back. We got those storage containers to put all of our stuff in and the company is supposed to take them to Chicago for us. Once we unload, they will bring them back. That sounded easiest. We left so early this morning so it would still be daylight out for a few hours. That would give us enough time to get everything into our apartment.
Thank goodness our place is on the first floor. Not only for moving purposes, but because Emily still has her cast on for another two weeks. As expected, Emily loves the place. While her father and I are moving things in, she walks in circles around the place. D
arkness falls as we carry in the last load. Mike is leaving in the morning, so he's currently helping me put all the furniture in it's place. By eleven, everything is is unpacked and in it's place. We flop onto the couch and Drake sits in the recliner.
“It's been a long day,” Mike yawns.
“Yes, it has. Thanks for helping. Drake, you're sleeping on the couch so Mr. Mike can sleep in your bed,” I tell him.
“When is your flight?” Emily asks.
“Ten in the morning.”
“We should all head to bed then,” she says.
We all nod. Entering the apartment, the living room is first with the kitchen behind it. There's a bar separating the kitchen and the living room. To the left is Drake's bedroom and across from that is the bathroom. On the right, on the other side of the living room is our bedroom. We have an adjoining bathroom, which also has an attached walk-in closet.
I go to that closet to grab some blankets for Drake. While he's in his bathroom brushing his teeth, I fix a little bed for him on the couch. Emily has disappeared in our room and Mike has retreated to Drake's. I wonder how he'll feel sleeping on Perry the Platypus bedding. Chuckling, Drake lays on the couch and I tuck him in.
“What are you laughing about?” he asks.
“Mr. Mike is sleeping on Perry sheets.”
Drake snickers and I tell him to sleep well before disappearing into our room. Our dresser is on the wall to my left with a flat screen TV on top. To the right of the dresser is the door leading to the bathroom. On the wall to the right is our bed, which Emily is already laying in. I close our door and go into the bathroom where I brush my teeth and undress, throwing my clothes into the hamper. Mostly because Mike is here, I grab a pair of basketball shorts and a wife beater and put them on. I flip the switch to turn off the lights and wait for my eyes to adjust.
“Over here, love,” Emily giggles.
She's laying on the side closest to me and she giggles once more as I climb over her. It's too dark to really see her as I settle in underneath the covers and she snuggles up against me.
“You did it,” she whispers. I think she's talking about hockey, but then she continues, “You got us a room on the other side of the apartment compared to Drake's.”
I can't help but laugh wholeheartedly. “I told you that I would try my best to accommodate you. Did you doubt me?”
“A little.”
“Well, now you know not to ever doubt my amazing abilities again.”
Emily's fingers stroll from my chest down to my stomach and back up. “I wish we could celebrate our first night here.”
“We could,” I say giving her a kiss.
“You're so callous.” Yet her fingers are still lighting a fire on my torso.
I grab her hands to still them as they reach the brim of my shorts, stroking the skin just above. “Don't tempt me, Sweetness,” I express as if it's a deadly threat.
“Why not?”
She's so close that I can see her smile. Emily yanks her hands free and continues to brush the tips of her fingers over my skin. Two can play this game. I rest my hand on her hip for a moment while she slightly pushes my shorts down, runs a finger over the skin, and then runs her fingers back up my chest and repeat. Nonchalantly, I slide my hand down her thigh, letting my thumb dip into the crease her legs make. When I reach her knees, I bring my hand back up. She sharply inhales when I keep going and slip my hand under her shorts.
Emily nudges my shorts are little farther. Meanwhile, my thumb makes contact with her sweet, soft core. Her breathing is so shallow when I dive a little deeper. She jerks my hand from her shorts and says breathlessly, “You win. Keep your hands to yourself, mister.”
“Yes, ma'am,” I chuckle.
Sweetness rolls away from me, but then backs up against me. She grabs my hand and brings my arm around her waist, resting my hand in hers between her breasts.
“I have to keep my hands to myself, but you get to put them where you'd like?” I ask.
“Good night, Jake,” she ignores my question.
“Night, Sweetness.”
“Sweetness? It's time to get up. You need to say goodbye to Mike.” I'm standing up, hovering over her. Sweetness blinks a few times before stretching. “Drake and I are leaving to get him registered for school and we'll grab breakfast on the way back, okay? We can go to the grocery store later today.”
“Okay. I love you,” she smiles, sitting up.
“I love you too. Always.” I give her a quick kiss and then leave her to say goodbye to her father.
To keep from losing all the papers needed to sign Drake up for school, I put them in an envelope and put it under the seat of my car. I wanted to make sure that I had everything. The process doesn't take as long as I thought it would and wham. Drake will start school next week. I think Emily will register tomorrow and she'll start next week too. When Drake and I return after grabbing breakfast as promised, Emily is sitting on the couch, watching a blank TV.
“When are we getting cable and internet, love?” she asks before even saying hello.
“Yeah, when are we, love,” Drake teases.
“Ha. Ha. Cable guy and internet guy are coming by Thursday.”
“But it's Tuesday,” Drake complains.
I ignore him as I sit beside Emily and hand her a biscuit from the bag. I hold out Drake's next and he grudgingly takes it then plops into the recliner. My biscuit is in the bottom of the bag and I retrieve it. We eat in silence. I give our trash to Drake and make him throw it away.
“Sweetness, go change. We're going to explore the city and grocery shop today.”
We drive all over city and then we drive by Drake's school, the rink where he'll play, and the community college Emily will attend. A couple of blocks from our apartment is a grocery store. While we shop, it's then that I notice Emily has been a little quiet all day.
“Can I get these?” Drake asks holding up two bigs bags of Doritos.
“Just one,” I answer him and then turn my attention to Emily who is walking beside me as I push the cart. “Everything go okay this morning?”
Sweetness places a can of corn in the cart and says, “Yeah, sure. Why?”
“Haven't said much today.”
“I've been thinking about switching to a dental hygienist.”
We head down the last aisle and I keep my mouth closed to see if she's going to offer any further information or if I'm going to have to ask.
“Partly because I only wanted to be in that field and I'll be happy with that. Partly because it will take three times as long for me to be earn that degree than one for a dental hygienist. It will be forever before we get married.”
“Wait a second. You want to change your major just because it pushes back when we can get married? Sweetness, don't do that. Go become whatever you want to be.”
“That's not the whole reason. Only part of it. In the end, it's my decision and I've made it.” Sweetness shrugs.
The last thing that Emily puts in our cart full of food is Ben & Jerry's ice cream. We get in line and check out minutes later. Back at the apartment, Emily and I put up the groceries while Drake conveniently goes to his room to play a game.
“I'm going to take a cooking class too,” Emily says as she puts the milk in the fridge.
“That's good. You're not terrible. Just not good.”
“Ha. Ha,” she fakes. “I'm starving. What are you cooking for dinner?”
“Pork chops and whatever else you want.”
Sweetness gets out two cans, one is corn and the other is peas. She sits at the bar while I cook, twirling a lock of hair while she watches me. I wonder what she's thinking. She never stops wrapping that strand of hair around her finger, even through dinner when I tell Drake some of the rules. How he'll pick up after himself, keep his room clean, put his dishes away, and all his dirty clothes go in the hamper. Sweetness cleans up after supper while I take a shower.
Later that night, we're laying in bed after her shower and I'm
running a hand through her wet hair. I love her hair wet. It's slightly curly and I just love the feel of her soft hair. She's resting her head on my chest and her forefinger is drawing what feels like a heart on my stomach.
“Jake?”
“Yeah, Sweetness?”
“Do you ever wonder if it will always be like this?” Her voice is eerily quiet.
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind.”
A minute passes and she rolls away from me. Emily turns her pillow sideways as she tries to get comfortable. She turns towards me with a huff, but keeps her eyes closed. I angle myself towards her and prop my head up with my hand. Emily pops open an eye.
“Aren't you going to ask what's wrong?”
I shake my head and grin. “You seem to be handling it fine on your own.”
She glares at me with piercing eyes. “Just ask.”
“Alrighty, Sweets. What's worrying you?”
“I'm not worrying. Not exactly. I'm wondering.”
“What's the difference?” I ask, earning myself another dirty look.
“One is concern and the other is curiosity. Anyway, I've been wondering if we will always be like this. Will we always fall sleep in each other's arms? Will we want to? What if we change into a person the other can't stand? What if one day we aren't attracted to one another any more? What if we fall out of love and we end up just going through the motions unhappy?” She's really worried about this.
“Sweetness, things change. People change. It's inevitable, but you can't worry about it for the rest of your life. I said always and that's exactly what I mean. That is one thing I can guarantee won't change. My love for you is never ending, constant, continuous. Sweetness, that's never going to change. You can't keep worrying about us and the what if's. Keep on and you won't enjoy life because you'll be too busy worrying.”
She cuddles up to me and sneaks her face into the crook of my neck. “Why do you always have to be right?” she grumbles.
Chuckling and wrapping my arms around her, I say, “Someone has to be.”
Always (Bold as Love) Page 17