Sweetness

by Lindsay Paige

“How was it?”

  “Great.” I walked up to the back of the couch and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. “I’m going to bed.”

  “Okay, honey. I’ll check on you before I leave tomorrow.”

  I nodded and said good night. I went to my room, closing the door behind me. I leaned on the door and took a deep breath. A smile played on my lips as I pushed off the door, changed into pajamas and crawled into bed.

  I woke up tangled in my covers. I bolted upright and tried to get them off of me even though I was freezing. I ran to the bathroom and promptly threw up. Oh gosh. I felt horrible. I brushed my teeth and saw that I was pasty looking. My eyes looked a little puffy and my hair was stuck to my neck. How was that? I was cold, not hot.

  I grabbed a hair tie and threw my hair up to keep it from getting in the way in case I threw up again. I dragged my feet to my bed and fell on it. I covered up and was soon back asleep.

  The next time I woke up, light was shining through the blinds and I immediately ran to the bathroom. I was vomiting when I heard my dad come in. “Emily?” I flushed the toilet, wiped my eyes, and rinsed out my mouth. I did not have the energy to brush them. “Are you okay?”

  I looked at my dad and tried to smile. “Just sick, I guess.”

  He came to me and placed the back of his hand on my forehead. His eyebrows creased in concern. “You’re burning up, honey.”

  “I’m fine. Go to work.” I was not fine. My stomach ached and I was still cold.

  “Honey, I can make arrangements to stay here with you.”

  I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. Go. It’s just a little bug.” When I saw him hesitate, I took ahold of his shoulders and turned him around. “I’ll be fine, Dad.”

  “Okay. I’ll check in on you, okay?”

  “Alright.” My dad looked unsure, but I made a motion with my hand to shoo him out. He left. I went into my bathroom and picked up the empty trashcan that was lined with a grocery bag. I went back into my room and grabbed my pillow and comforter. I slowly made my way to the couch and got comfortable.

  I found the remote, said goodbye to my dad after he brought me something for the fever, and turned on the TV. I snuggled under my covers and soon I was asleep. Sleep didn’t last but an hour before I woke up. Between throwing up and feeling achy, I slept. That wasn’t exactly how I had planned to spend my Saturday.

  Around noon, I was watching Dirty Dancing when I heard a knock on the door. “Go away,” I yelled. The knock came again and I groaned. I got up to answer the door with my comforter wrapped around me. I opened the door to see Jake and I groaned again. I looked just as bad as I felt and he had to show up! He smiled and asked to come in. I moved aside and lay back down. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m happy to see you too.”

  I rolled my eyes and felt the urge to throw up again. I lurched forward and made it just as I was over the trashcan. Great. Jake got to see me vomit.

  The taste was disgusting in my mouth. I picked up the trashcan and went into the kitchen. Jake followed me. “So?” I asked, waiting. I took the bag out of the little trashcan and tied it. I opened the door leading to the garage and dropped it into the trashcan in there.

  “Mike called and told me you were sick. He wanted me to check on you.”

  A groan escaped again and I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. I drank until the taste left my mouth.

  I looked Jake up and down. He looked good in his sweats and a black tee. I looked down at myself. My pajama pants were pink and covered with penguins and my tank top was black. Thank goodness it had a built in sports bra.

  Jake took a step towards me and pushed away a loose strand of hair. “You look fine,” he said

  Again, I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure I do. You don’t have to be here. Plus you are supposed to be with the guys,” I reminded him, walking back into the living room. I sat on the couch and wrapped my blanket around me.

  Jake takes a seat beside me. “Oh, they can wait. You’re sick, Em. I have to nurse you back to health.”

  He stood up and went into the kitchen. I rubbed my hands over my face and returned my focus to the movie. I heard Jake rummaging through the kitchen, but I didn’t feel like finding out what he was doing. A few minutes later, he returned with a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup.

  “Jake, I really don’t want that,” I said.

  He sat down beside me and gave me a look that told me I had better eat it. “Emily, it’ll make you feel better.”

  I looked between him and the bowl. I reached out to take it and a grin settled over Jake’s face. I let the steam travel over my face. Slowly, I ate my soup. After I finished, I couldn’t tell if I felt better or more nauseous. Jake took my bowl to the kitchen and I drank some more water.

  He came back and placed my pillow on his lap. “Lie down and rest,” he commanded me.

  I did as he said with pleasure. All I wanted to do was lay down. Jake slipped his hand under my comforter and ran his hand up and down my arm. Soon, sleep took over.

  16

  Jake

  Emily’s body was extra warm as she slept. When Mike called and told me she was sick, there was no doubt that I would come over. Seeing her when she opened the door, I could tell she didn’t feel good. I kind of liked her sick. She had a grumpy side to her and it made me smile.

  She rolled over and buried her face in my stomach. I moved my hand to rub her back. While she slept, I watched the rest of Dirty Dancing. I was afraid I would wake her if I reached for the remote on the coffee table. Another older movie came on. When that movie ended, Emily woke up. She clamped a hand over her mouth and ran for the bathroom. She had forgotten to bring the trashcan back in here. I followed her and checked on her.

  After she rinsed out her mouth, she looked at me and said, “Fever means it could be contagious. Are you sure you want to be here instead of with your friends?”

  I brought her to me and kissed her forehead. “Absolutely.” We walked back into the living room and I asked her where the grocery bags were so I could bring her the trashcan.

  “Thanks,” she said when I place the trashcan in front of her. Before she lay down again, I grabbed the remote and placed her pillow over my legs. She lay down and brought her covers up to her neck.

  I ran my hand up and down her arm again. I found George Lopez on and turned it to his show. It didn’t take long before Emily fell asleep again. My focus switched from the TV to Emily. Even though she was sick, she looked peaceful while she slept. Her dark eyelashes stood out on her tan skin.

  I used my other hand to trace the outline of her face. I couldn’t help it. Her skin was softer than that of any other person I had ever touched. I could trail my fingers over her skin all day and be happy. It was that soft. She grumbled and rolled over to bury her face in my stomach again. I move my hand from her arm to her back. I pushed back the hair that was stuck on her face.

  Seeing her like this, I realized I was in love with her. I smiled at the realization. She was mine and I intended to keep it that way. She might be unsure of herself sometimes, but she was amazing. Emily was letting go more and more each day of what her mother had said to her. She was beginning to trust herself and me. I wouldn’t let her down either. It would break my heart to see her go back to being withdrawn.

  I had seen her laugh, smile, and twirl in the rain. Emily was full of life, just like Mike said. I always wanted to see her that way. Her smile brought a smile to my lips every time. Knowing that sometimes I was the one who caused it made me even happier.

  At the sound of the door opening, I turned my head to see Mike come in. He gave me a slight smile and took a seat in the recliner. “How’s she doing?”

  “She’s been sleeping mostly. I got her to eat some chicken noodle soup, but she probably threw that back up.” He nodded and then seemed to notice that her head was in my lap. He didn’t comment on it though.

  Mike stood up and walked over to us. He places
a hand between my stomach and her forehead to check for a fever. “She doesn’t seem as hot as earlier,” he said as he sat back down. “Thanks for checking on her,” he added.

  “No problem.” Emily stirred and rolled onto her back, opening her eyes. I smiled at her and got a smile in return. “How are you feeling?” I asked her.

  “A little better.”

  I leaned down and kissed her forehead.

  “Have you taken more medicine for your fever?” Mike asked. Emily sat up, just noticing him and shook her head. He walked down the hall to the bathroom. She rested her head on me and I wrapped an arm around her. She gave me an apologetic look.

  “Em, don’t look at me like that.”

  Mike came back and held the medicine out to her. She took it and downed it with water. Emily leaned back and rested on me. Her comforter kept slipping down so I tucked the ends behind her shoulders so it would stay in place.

  “Thanks, Jake,” she said. I answered her with a kiss on the top of her head. She sighed, “Hopefully, this is a twenty-four hour kind of thing.”

  I chuckled and said, “Hopefully.”

  After a few minutes, she lay back down. “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in your bed,” Mike asked her.

  Emily yawned and said, “Probably, but unless you’re going to let Jake go back there, this will have to do.”

  He seemed to be considering it when Emily lurched and puked into the waiting trashcan. Mike took one look at her and said, “If that will make you more comfortable, then okay.”

  Emily drank some water and asked for more. I got up and got it for her. Emily stood, took her pillow, and headed to her room. With the water bottle and her comforter in hand, I followed her.

  I left the door open because there was no reason to close it. Emily had already plopped into bed and I set the water on her nightstand before covering the bed with the comforter. I walked to the other side of the bed, slipped off my shoes, and crawled in. She held up the blankets so I could slide in next to her.

  I wrapped my arms around her and her face buried in my neck. “Jake,” she said.

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you for staying with me today.”

  “It was my pleasure. Thankfully Drake was invited to stay another night at his friends, so I’m free.”

  She hugged me closer to her and said, “You’re like a furnace, you know?”

  I chuckled and said, “I know.” Then she fell asleep in my arms.

  An hour later, Mike checked in and saw Emily sleeping. He hesitated and then said, “You can stay here tonight, if you’d like. I don’t want her to wake up when you move away from her.”

  I knew wearing my sweats would be worth it. “Okay. Thanks.” He nodded and went to his room. I kissed the top of Emily’s head and fell asleep.

  “Jake?” Emily whispered. I opened my eyes to see her looking at me. “What are you still doing here? Does my dad know?”

  I gave a sly grin and said, “Yeah. He thought if I moved you would wake up, so he told me I could stay. How are you feeling?”

  “A little better,” she said snuggling up against me.

  Waking up beside her was wonderful. “Are you hungry,” I asked. She groaned and mumbled a no into my chest. I chuckled. “So this is what happens after I take you out on a date,” I teased.

  She looked up at me and said, “Maybe so. But look what happened because of it. You got to spend the night with me.”

  “That’s right.” I went to give her a quick kiss but she pulled away from me. “What?” I asked.

  “I haven’t brushed my teeth since yesterday and all I did was throw up. You aren’t kissing me.” She rolled away from me and got up.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To the bathroom,” she said, like it was obvious.

  I brought my arm behind my head and watched her brush her teeth. She walked over to me with a smile on her face. She lay down on