fingers raked through the hair at the nape of my neck.
I heard a creak in the hallway and pulled away. “Let me go check on Drake,” I said with a heavy breath. I got up and opened my door to see Drake walking towards me. I closed my door and picked him up. “What’s up, buddy?”
He rubbed his eyes and said, “I had a nightmare.”
I took him back to his room and asked him, “How about I lay here with you until you go to sleep?”
“Okay,” he said sleepily. We lay down and he cuddled up against me. About twenty minutes later, he fell asleep. I lay with him an extra five minutes just to be safe. I got up and went back to my room.
Emily was sitting Indian style when I walked in. “Everything okay?” She asked as I close the door.
“Yeah, Drake had a nightmare so I lay with him until he fell asleep.”
“That’s sweet,” she said as I sat down beside her. I nodded. “So where are we going on this date? I need to know what to wear,” she said.
I was planning on going bowling and then walking on the beach since we would be close. “Flip-flops will work, but bring a pair of socks.”
“What?”
I smiled. “Just do it.” Emily covered up a yawn and lay down, tugging me down with her. She snuggled up to me and laid her head on my chest. “If you’re sleepy, then I should probably take you home.”
“I don’t want to go home just yet.”
My fingers trailed up and down her back. With her warm body laying up against me, I realized I didn’t want her to go home.
She looked up at me with her brown eyes and long eyelashes. “What are you thinking about?”
“Why don’t you sleep here tonight? I can wake up early enough to get you home.”
“I don’t know, Jake.” She bit her lip while she thought about it. She laid her head back down.
For some reason, I thought of her boyfriends. “Hey, earlier when we were eating ice cream, you seemed like you were in another world,” I commented.
“I was,” she said softly. Should I ask her about it? She answered the question for me. “I was thinking about Conrad and our break up.”
“What happened?” I asked.
She sighed. “I don’t know. We were fantastic together and we were in love. My mom was just starting with her comments and I was spending almost all my time with him. Then one day, after a perfect day together, he showed up at my house and broke up with me. I was devastated. After that and my mom pounding me for a week, I just gave in. I started believing what she said. I mean, it had to be true if Conrad broke up with me. He didn’t explain. He just left. Now he’s away at college. I haven’t talked to him since.”
The fact that she was in love with this guy really bothered me. He was part of the reason she allowed herself to believe what her mom said!
“But it doesn’t matter now. Let’s not talk about it anymore.” She ended the conversation with that and began to trail her fingers over my stomach, which tensed from the sensation. After a few minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore and I grabbed her hand. “What?” She giggled.
I intertwined our hands and told her, “You keep doing that and you will definitely not go home.”
She looked up at me and I kissed her. My hands glided down her body until I reached her hips. I pulled her closer to me as her fingers raked through my hair. Her skin felt unbearably hot under her shirt.
Abruptly she stopped and looked at me. Our breathing was slightly heavy. She looked at me for a minute before she rolled over and started staring at the ceiling.
I rolled onto my side and looked at her. “What’s the matter?”
She sighed. “Nothing. I just…I should probably head home.”
“You sure?”
She looked over at me and nodded. I stood up and held my hand out to her. She grasped it and stood up. We quietly made our way downstairs and outside. Emily shivered and I pulled her closer to me.
The walk to her house was filled with silence until I decided to break it. “Hey, why so quiet?” I asked, bumping her shoulder.
She looked at me and smiled. All my uneasiness fades away. “Just thinking.”
“About?” I asked.
She wrapped an arm around my waist and said, “About how I can’t wait for our date.” I’m not completely sure I believed her, but I didn’t say so. Soon we were at her house and she was standing in front of me. I leaned down and gave her a short and sweet kiss. “I’ll see you later, Jake,” she said, and then she was gone.
13
Emily
Wednesday was just another day. I went through my classes and had lunch with Jake, who had both eyes open today. It was getting easier to make eye contact. Well, with Jake and my dad it was.
I couldn’t help but thinking about how Conrad once again invaded my thoughts last night while I was kissing Jake. No. Conrad was not going to take over again. He was long gone and even though I missed him sometimes, the facts were still the same. He was at college and I was here, with Jake. With a sigh, I pushed Conrad out of my mind for good.
I spent all afternoon working on homework and wondering how the game was going. My dad came home in a great mood and started on supper. I took a break from my work and we ate dinner. Dad was going on and on about his work and the things he was working on.
He cleaned up our dirty dishes and I continued writing my papers. I finally finished around nine and I took a shower. The hot water splashed my body and it relaxed me. Once I was squeaky clean, I dried off and changed into my pajamas. I had just crawled under the sheets when Jake called.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hey, Emily. How was homework?”
“Torture. How was the game?”
“Great. We won 3-2.”
“That’s great.”
“Are you coming over tonight?”
“Probably not. I’m exhausted and would like nothing better than to sleep.”
“Aw, c’mon Emily. I want to see you.”
I rolled onto my stomach and propped myself up on my elbows. “You do,” I feigned surprise.
“Of course I do,” he said with a chuckle. “My arms need to wrap around you and my lips need to find yours,” he continued.
I giggled, “So your body wants to see me? Well… I don’t know.”
“Emily, every fiber of my body and mind wants to see you. Instead of talking and whatnot, you can sleep here and then I’ll take you back home. C’mon. Please?”
How could I say no to that? “Fine, but I’m wearing my pjs.”
He chuckled, “I’ll be there at eleven. I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye,” I said. I went into the bathroom and saw that my hair looked like a big mess. I grabbed a hair tie and threw it up in a ponytail. Satisfied, I lay down until eleven rolled around.
It was a good thing I was wearing pajama pants because it was cold. Too bad I was wearing them with a tank top, but at least I had brought a jacket. I snuck out and jogged to where Jake was waiting. He grinned when he saw me and wrapped his arms around me, planting a kiss on my lips.
“Hello to you too,” I told him.
“Hello,” he said in a husky voice. Hearing his deep voice sound like that sent a shiver through my body. He took my hand and we headed to his house.
“Sorry for the bed look, but I was already changed and comfy,” I said.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and said, “You look fine. I actually think I like it.”
“Yeah, right.” I laughed.
“I do,” he said with a kiss to my forehead. I leaned into him and silence filled the walk to his house. We snuck inside and up to his room. While he checked on Drake, I slipped off my shoes and jacket and set them aside. I climbed under the covers of his bed, getting myself comfortable. He came in with a hint of surprise on his face.
“What? You told me I could sleep when I got here.”
He chuckled and took off his hoodie, revealing a lean, muscular body. He slipped off his sho
es, leaving him dressed in only black basketball shorts and black socks. He climbed in beside me and we lay facing each other. He leaned in and gave me the best kiss ever.
His body radiated heat and I couldn’t help but reach out and run my fingers over his torso. His hands pulled me closer and ran down my body. Being pressed up against his bare chest made me dizzy.
Reluctantly I pulled away before I could get carried away and said, “Hey, I am supposed to be sleeping.” He laughed and closed his eyes. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to sleep,” he said without opening his eyes.
“I don’t want you to go to sleep. I don’t even want to go to sleep now.”
“Well, too bad,” he said with a smile.
“Will you open your eyes and look at me?”
He did. I grabbed his face and pulled him to me. I kissed him hard and passionately. Just when he placed a hand behind my neck to pull me even closer, I pulled away and closed my eyes. “Night,” I told him with a smile.
He groaned and said, “Sweet dreams.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and let his body heat wrap around me, leading me to sleep.
I woke up with my head buried in Jake’s chest and my legs tangled in his. I was so comfortable, warm, and peaceful. I didn’t want to move, much less face the cold air outside and go home. I kissed the place where his heart was and leaned back to see Jake smiling at me.
“Hey, sleepy head,” he whispered.
“Hey. What time is it?”
“About four. I should probably get you home.”
I buried my face in his chest and said, “Maybe in a few minutes.” His arms tightened around me and I felt a kiss on my head. I almost fell back asleep but Jake reminded me that I should probably get back home. “No. I like it here.”
“I like it here too, but unless you want to wake up here in the morning you should probably get home.” He stood up and pulled me up with him. He handed me my jacket and shoes. While he was putting his hoodie and shoes back on, I did the same. Once ready, we headed to my house.
Once we were in front of my house, I double-checked that I would pick up Drake tomorrow.
“Either one of us could get him. I don’t have practice,” Jake responded.
“I will. I miss him.”
He smiled and gave me a kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Emily. Sweet dreams.”
“Sweet dreams, Jake.” I walked inside and waved goodbye to him.
I awoke to rain pelting on the roof. I got ready for school and smiled as I remembered last night. I left for school shortly after. I parked my car and thought about running into the school to avoid getting soaked. Instead I walked and twirled in circles with my arms out. I turned my face up to the sky and closed my eyes.
“Emily, what are you doing?”
I looked to see Jake running towards me. “I’m enjoying the rain,” I said wanting to kiss him. His hair was stuck to his head and raindrops were hanging off the ends of some strands.
He smiled and said, “Well you need to get inside before you catch a cold or have to wear wet clothes all day.” He wrapped an arm around my waist and led me inside.
He kept glancing over at me and finally I asked, “What?”
“I’ve never seen you like that before. So carefree and bursting with life,” he said with a smile. I smiled loving the feeling coursing through me. “I like it,” he added.
We reach my locker and he gave me a kiss on the forehead before heading to his own. I grabbed the books I would need and put the ones I didn’t back into my locker.
“Well, look who can actually smile.”
I turned to see Claire and two other girls standing behind me. The hate was evident in their eyes and I looked away. “What do you want,” I asked.
“I want to know what a guy like Jake is doing with a girl like you?” she said.
Surprise flitted across her eyes as I felt a body against my back and arms circled around my waist. I knew it was Jake and he said, “Why don’t you ask me yourself?” Claire’s face brightened with anger. “Well?” Jake asked. She turned around and stalked off with her friends
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