“Did you see that you are all over the news?” My brother is sitting on the front porch.
“Yes, I know.” I sit next to him on the swing. “Are you mad at me?”
“Yeah, right. How could I be mad at you for not telling me you are dating the best looking guy in the state, possibly the country?”
“Lucas, I'm sorry. I didn’t want you to find out this way. I was hoping we could keep it under wraps until I had a chance to tell everyone.”
“Sis, its fine. I'm happy for you. I'm glad you found someone.”
“Why aren’t you at work?”
“Closed today. I decided that football is more important.”
“Yeah, right, did they tell you that you are working too much?”
“Yeah, the inspector was there yesterday and said that we need to shut down for a couple days because he has some things for us to get fixed. Not a big deal I knew it was coming. Your girls are going crazy in the house. Mom told them that Jake was going to be playing football on TV today. Apparently you failed to mention to them that Jake was indeed Jackson Adams?”
I laugh, “Yeah, I was a little overwhelmed yesterday and didn’t get a chance to tell them. Not that Abby knows what that means, but I'm sure Lizzy was pretty excited.”
“She has been sitting next to dad on the couch for the last hour waiting to see him on TV.”
“I bet she has.” I stand up and walk to the front door.
“So when do I get to meet him?” Lucas gets up and follows me.
“Not sure, I think I am leaving Tuesday for Virginia Beach so might not be until we get back.” I walk in the house and see Lizzy and John sitting on the couch and my mom and Abby are standing in the kitchen looking for something. “Hi Lizzy,” I say to her.
“Hi mommy. Grandpa and I are watching for Jake,” she gives me her big toothy smile.
“What time does the game start?” I ask Lucas.
“I think at noon,” he looks at his watch. “In about twenty minutes.”
“Gives me a little time to relax,” I walk into the kitchen by my mom. “Hey ladies, what’s going on?”
“Hi mommy,” Abby gives me a hug. “Grandma and me are looking for a bowl for popcorn so we can watch Jake play football on TV.”
“Sorry I told them,” my mom smiles.
“Its fine,” I laugh. “After the morning I just had that is the least of my worries.”
“Yeah, I saw the report.” My mom smiles at me. “Hope they leave it as nice as it is and don’t turn it bad.”
“Jake says they have no reason to turn anything bad. He has his PR on it so hopefully it doesn’t get too out of control.”
“Well that’s good news.” She looks at me, “how are you holding up with it?”
“I could do without it I tell you that much. I have enough going on I don’t need this on top of it, but I guess that is the price I pay for getting involved with someone like him.”
“Yeah, you will get it figured out I'm sure. And Jarrod was a firefighter I highly doubt that they are going to try and drag this through the mud to make themselves look better.”
“I hope not,” I sigh. “That reminds me I need to call Barb.” I grab my phone. I have another text from Ryan. Why won’t he just leave me alone? I open the last text from him.
Jo, I realize I am probably the last person that you want to talk to right now, but I really need someone to talk to. I know you have a lot on your plate but Hailey left me. She said that we grew apart and she doesn’t see us having a future together.
“Holy shit,” I say without realizing it.
“What?” my mom asks.
“Hailey left Ryan.”
“What?” My mom and Lucas say together.
“He just text me,” I feel horrible now.
“Wow, I can’t believe that. I thought those two were going to be the next ones at the altar.” My mom looks at me.
I'm sorry to hear that I'm here to talk if you want.
I dial Barb’s number and make sure I call her before I forget. “Hello?” She answers.
“Hi Barb, its Jo.”
“Hi sweetie. How are you?”
“I'm fine. I just wanted to call you and see if you have seen any of the reports they are doing about Jake and me?”
“You mean Jackson Adams?”
“Yeah, sorry, he goes by Jake with friends and family.”
“Yes, I did. I saw the part about Jarrod, and I was a little concerned at first, but they did a good job.”
I feel like a huge weight is lifted off my chest. “I was so scared you were going to be mad that they pulled him into this.”
“Oh no, he was your husband, I honestly expected him to come up at some point.”
“Well, I talked to Jake this morning, and he said that his PR is working on getting it under wraps as much as possible and trying to make sure they don’t blow this way out of proportion. So if anyone tries to contact you or anything he said to just be yourselves.”
“Alright, we can do that,” I hear her laugh. “Who would have thought that your new boyfriend would cause this kind of commotion?”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” I laugh. “He definitely has a way of making himself known.”
“Well, we will follow what he says. And hopefully you guys can get it taken care of.”
“I'm hoping so,” I laugh. I hear Lizzy get all excited. “I better go, I think the game is about to start and the girls are all excited to see him play football.”
“Alright, talk to you soon,” she hangs up. I walk into the living room and sit next to Lizzy. They are showing some of the players and in the background I can see Jake. How is it possible that he looks even better in his gear?
“So, Bob, have you heard the latest on Jackson? That he is dating a local detective?”
“Yes, I did hear that. Detective Jodene Lewis. She is from Baltimore and Joe; I don’t know who the luckier one is, Jackson or Jodene. I mean he is a good looking young man, but take a look at her. She is gorgeous. Tough luck for guys around Baltimore. Another girl snatched up by the rich and famous.”
“I don’t know if I can handle all this attention,” I can’t believe what I just saw.
“Oh sweetie, you will be fine. Get used to it because I'm sure this will be a normal thing,” my mom grabs my hand. “Let’s just hope they are over bringing Jarrod into it. I would hate for the girls to see that.”
“Yeah, that’s the one thing I don’t like about it.” I sit and watch the TV. I have a lot of things going through my mind right now, but I am really enjoying watching Jake play. He is good. I guess I didn’t pay attention last season. What was Ryan talking about? He is a damn good player. The girls are going crazy cheering for him. As the game is coming to an end I go in the kitchen by my mom who is trying to figure out something for dinner. “Mom, let me buy pizza. You and John took the girls for me this weekend.”
“Jo, you don’t need to do that. I can find something here to cook.”
“I'm buying pizza,” I grab my phone and dial. When I am done ordering pizza I grab a beer out of the fridge. “Is the game over?” I ask when Lucas walks in from the living room.
“Just about, the girls are bummed out because they took Jake out.”
“Why did they take him out?”
“To give the back up some practice. They have a few days off before their season starts so I'm sure they are trying to give everyone a little play time.”
“What is he doing with his time off?” My mom asks me.
“I'm not sure, if I had to guess I would say he is going to go home and see his family. I know he has been up here for the last couple months doing training so I don’t think he has seen them.”
“Are you going with him?” Lucas asks me.
“Probably not.”
“Why?” My mom asks.
“Because we have been dating three days and this is already more then I wanted. I didn’t want anyone to know, and now it is national news.”
“All the more reason that you should go with him.”
“Mom, I already told the girls we are going to the beach, and I told Barb she could take them to the cabin for a couple days. I don’t think I should change my plans at the last minute. We have separate lives too you know.”
“Yes, I know, but you are both off right now, and I think you should spend time together.”
“I think spending too much time together would be worse than some time apart.”
“I don’t think so.” My mom looks at me, “I think you need to spend time with him. It will bring you a lot closer. And right now I think you need all the support that you can get. I know you are under a lot of stress with the stuff with work, and now this mess with him. I just hate to see something like this get between you before you even have a chance to find out what you really have with him.”
“Mom, we will be fine. He told me he was going to take care of this, and I believe him. If he can’t I know it isn’t his fault. It is part of being with someone like him, I accept that.” I hear the doorbell ring. “That is probably the pizza, I will be right back.” I go to the front door and open it. I pay for the pizza and take it to the kitchen. My mom calls everyone in and we sat there eating.
~~~~~
I pull into the garage and turn off the car. Both girls are passed out in the back seat. I guess they had a long day. I laugh at the thought of them cheering on Jake at my mom’s house. I carry Abby into the living room and lay her down on the couch then go back out and get Lizzy. I close the garage door and go in the house. I wake them both up long enough to get the jammies on and go to the bathroom. Just as I am shutting Abby’s door after story my phone starts ringing. “Hello?”
“Hey beautiful,” it’s Jake.
“Hi,” I smile.
“How are you?”
“Better now that I get to talk to you.”
“Good,” I can hear his smile. “Me too. Did you watch the game?”
“Most of it, the girls never left the couch though.”
“Oh, I have my own little cheer team?”
“That you do,” I walk out to the living room and turn off all the lights and go up to my room.
“So what are you doing?”
“Nothing, just put the girls to bed and I was going to go snuggle in my bed and watch some TV.”
“You slept until 10:00 this morning and now it is only 8:00 and you are going to bed already?”
“I'm on vacation, I can do whatever I want,” I laugh as I sit on my bed. “What are you doing?”
“I just left the stadium. We had some team meetings after. I was going to see if I could stop by and see you?”
“Really? I figured you would want to go home and go to bed because you have to be up early.”
“No, actually I don’t. Coach isn’t making us practice tomorrow.”
“Well that was nice of him.”
“Part of the job,” he laughs. “So, are you up to some company? Cause I'm about to pull into your driveway.”
“Why did you even call then,” I laugh and walk down stairs.
“Because I wanted to hear your voice.”
I get to the front door and see him pull into the driveway. “I don’t know what if I'm not up to company.”
“Well I will just back out and go home then.”
“I don’t think you will.” I have a daring tone.
“Your right, I won’t.” I see him get out of the car. I walk over and open the front door and hang up my phone. “Hi,” he smiles at me when he gets to the door.
“Hi,” I answer back. “How was your day?”
He laughs and gets closer to me, “much better now that I get to see you.”
“Ditto,” I smile and step back so he can come in. Once he is in I shut the door.
“I missed you,” he walks up behind me and traps me between him and the door.
“You just saw me last night,” I smile at him.
“I know, but after last night and all the crap today I just wanted to hug you and kiss you and tell you how sorry I am that this got out of control that fast. I was really hoping that we could have gotten it under control before it got this crazy.”
“Its fine, I know it isn’t your fault.” I reach up and run my thumb along his jaw line.
“That makes me feel a lot better. I was scared you would be mad at me.”
“I have no reason to be mad at you. I knew it would come out eventually, I was just hoping I would have had time to tell people myself. I still don’t know if my grandma knows,” I laugh at the thought.
“You didn’t call her?”
“No,” I laugh, “I have been a little preoccupied today. For some reason I can’t get you out of my head,” I poke him.
“Oh yeah? What did I do?”
“Probably because you are amazing,” I smile at him. “Jake, this is a crazy situation you know that right?”
“Yeah, I know, but I like it,” he bends down and kisses me. I can feel that hunger in his kiss again like I did last night when he left. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me close to him. He pulls back away from me but doesn’t let go, “Jo, what are you doing to me?” He runs his finger from his free hand down my cheek and my neck.
“The same thing that you are doing to me,” I look into his eyes. I see the need and want deep down inside him. “Jake, too soon for this.”
He steps back a little, “I know, but it feels so right. And I just can’t get enough of the connection that we have.”
“I know, but we agreed to take things slow remember?”
“Yes, I remember,” he steps back and goes to the kitchen. I hear him open the fridge. I'm assuming he is after a beer. “You need to go grocery shopping,” I hear him say then I hear the fridge close.
“I know, but I have been pretty busy the last few days.”
“Maybe you should make some time,” he jokes. I see him stop in the doorway to the living room. “Want to watch a movie?”
“Not really, I don’t want to wake the girls up.”
“What about in your room?”
I look at him and see his smirk. “You just want to get me alone,” I laugh.
“I never said that,” he walks back toward me. “I just want to relax and spend time with you. Wrap my arms around you and hold you close, you know the kind of stuff a boyfriend does.”
I shake my head, “that damn word keeps getting me in trouble. Lizzy started that!”
“Well, at this point I don’t think there is any turning back from it is there. I mean by now the entire world has probably seen your face all over the news. You might as well just accept it. You’re my girlfriend which means I don’t have to hide you anymore.”
“How did I know that you were going to say that? I don’t understand why you are so excited to show me off.”
“Really Jo, look at you. You are beautiful. Please don’t tell me I am going to have to keep trying to convince you of that.”
“I just don’t see it,” I walk past him and go to the kitchen and get a glass of water.
“Well, I do. And so do a lot of other people. Jarrod obviously thought the same thing. He married you,” I see him smile. “Please don’t make me make a complete fool of myself trying to convince you.”
“Jake stop,” I laugh as he tries to be funny.
“I can start a poll on one of my websites. I will call it “Who thinks my girlfriend is gorgeous?” I bet you get like a 95%.” He pulls out his phone. “I will pull it up right now,” he laughs and starts typing something in. I grab his phone out of his hands and run past him.
“I think I have had enough public attention for one day, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Only if you agree to let me snuggle with you and watch a movie,” he walks up to me. “I'm serious Jo; I just want to hold you. It makes me feel like everything is ok. I feel responsible for the media spreading yours and Jarrod’s faces all over the news.” He grabs my hand, “I wish I could have stopped it. I would give a
nything to take it off the air so that no one knew.”
“Jake, it isn’t the fact that people know. I don’t mind that, I'm scared of what it is going to do for mine and the girls’ privacy. They are my life and if anything happened to them because of choices that I have made I don’t know how I would live with myself.”
“Trust me; they are a top priority for me too. I have told Joan that if anything comes up about them we do not let it out. I don’t care what it takes.”
The look on his face is almost painful. He really can’t handle the thought of anything happening to my girls. He can’t handle anything happening to me. “Jake,” I put my hand on his cheek, “you are amazing.” I kiss him. “Let’s go relax and watch a movie.”
Chapter Six
“Jo, it’s late, I'm going to get going home.” Jake wakes me up. I fell asleep snuggled on his chest watching TV. I wake up just enough to see that he has Sports Center on.
“What time is it?”
“It’s 11:00. I figured I should get going so I don’t get overly tired on the drive home.”
“Stay?”
“No, that wouldn’t be right.”
“Why not?”
“You don’t want the girls to see me here do you?”
“Why?”
“Because we just started seeing each other.”
“Jake, I would rather you stay here then chance driving home over tired. Besides I feel safe with you here. And after today and all the crap on the news, I think I would feel a lot better with you here.”
“Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t ask you to if I wasn’t sure. You know that.”
Unexpected Love (Jo's Story) Page 12