The question caught me off guard. “We…we haven’t talked about it.”
“Oh. Emily, I’m just thinking of Jake here, so have an open mind.”
I nodded as my stomach churned with nerves. He took a deep breath and said, “It has been Jake’s dream since he was a little boy to play in the NHL. He has the talent to do that. He has always wanted to go to one college and one college only. I just don’t want him to give up any of his dreams for a girl. I’m not saying you aren’t worth it, but if you loved him, wouldn’t you want him to chase his dreams?”
I bite my lip and nod.
“He loves you Emily. He said he would do anything for you and that scares me. I don’t want him to give up his lifelong dream for something that could eventually end. He could regret those decisions. Sometimes, love just isn’t enough. Just think about what I said when you guys do discuss the future. Okay?”
“Okay,” I mumble as the song ends. Roy leads me to where Jake is talking to another player on the Pens. Jake’s face lights up when he sees me and I manage a small smile as Roy’s words bounce around in my head.
“Hey Sweetness,” Jake says with a kiss to my temple. “How was your dance,” he asked.
“It was fine.”
The player and Roy excuse themselves and Jake leads me to our seats. We end up sitting at the same table as Sidney, but I tune out all the sounds around me. Would Jake really give up his dreams for me? Would I allow him? Would I want him to give up his dreams for me? No. Not at all. I love him and want him to do whatever it takes to pursue his dreams. Even if it means sacrificing us. Jake’s voice brings me to the real world as he leans in and whispers, “Are you okay?”
I try to smile and nod.
“You sure,” he asks.
I place my hand over his and say, “Of course.” I can tell he doesn’t believe me, but he lets the subject drop. Dinner is served. We eat a salad and some delicious pasta with a steak. I stay silent as every one around me chatters. Why hadn’t we talked about our future? Was it because we were just high school sweethearts? Was it because, while he loved me, he didn’t think we would last?
I couldn’t tell you what happened after we ate. I was so lost in thought and panic. I really didn’t want to lose Jake, but I didn’t want him to give up even the tiniest detail of his dream. Would we go to different colleges? How far away would they be? Long distance relationships never work. Why haven’t we talked about it?
“Emily, what’s going on,” Jake asks again while we dance.
“Nothing.”
A bit of anger flashes through his green eyes. “That’s bull Emily. Come on, Sweetness. You’ve been quiet and in another world since you talked to my uncle. What did he say? That’s what is bothering you, right?”
I sigh and rest my head on his shoulder. “Yes, but I don’t want to talk about it here,” I tell him.
“Sweetness, if that’s the case, we will leave right now. I don’t like seeing that fake smile. I want to see your real smile.”
“Jake, we are not leaving over this. Please, just let it rest until we get home.”
“I want to talk about this now, Emily.”
“Fine.” I take his hand and move around people dancing or mingling and make my way outside. This wasn’t how I wanted to talk to him, but it would work. Outside, there were two benches on each side of the double doors. I went to the wooden bench on the right and took a seat. Jake sat down beside me and turned towards me.
He reaches out and cups my face in his hand. “What’s bothering you, Sweetness?” he asks in a gentle voice. His eyes are full of concern.
I bite my lip and decide where I want to start. “What do you see when you think about the future, Jake?”
He seems caught off guard by the question, but he answers anyway. “I see myself going to college and playing hockey. I see you.”
“Am I with you at college or am I at another college?”
“It would be great to have you there with me, but if you want to go to another college, then that’s where you’ll be. Sweetness, what’s the point in all of this?”
He wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me to him. I rest my head on his shoulder and say, “Roy asked about our plans for the future. I told him that we haven’t talked about it. He basically said that he didn’t want you giving up any of your dreams to be with me. He said that even if I’m worth it to you, he still didn’t want you to do that.
“I don’t want you to do that either. He said that you would end up regretting it and that love just wasn’t always enough. He told me that it wouldn’t be worth you giving up a dream for something that might not last anyway.”
Jake’s body tensed beneath me. “I just…it just bothered me because we haven’t talked about it and he completely caught me off guard,” I add.
“Sweetness, listen to me. I would do anything for you. Going to different colleges doesn’t mean we have to break up. We can still last through college. I don’t want to lose you.”
“But Jake, how do you know we would even last? How can we go to two different colleges and think it will work? And if it does, who says our careers will even allow us to be together?”
Jake hooked a finger under my chin and made me look at him. “We are stronger now than ever. Of course, there will be hard times, but it can only make us stronger. Look, we’ll talk about this more when we get home. This is supposed to be a fun weekend.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be Sweetness,” he cuts in.
“Can we just go back to the cabin,” I ask.
“Of course we can.” Without going back inside, we got up and headed to the cabin. Back at the cabin, Jake turned on the stereo which conveniently had a CD full of slow, love songs on it. “I don’t want you out the this dress just yet,” he says as we begin to dance.
“Hold on. As much as I love being taller, heels are just not my thing.” I hold on to his arm and bend to undo the straps and get out of the shoes. “Okay, that’s better,” I say, wrapping my arms around Jake’s shoulders.
We sway to the music for hours. Occasionally, Jake would twirl me around or send me out and bring me back in. The lights were off and it was just us dancing in the dark with music in the background. Jake kissed the top of my head, “I love you, Sweetness.”
I look up at him and smile. “I love you more.”
He chuckles. “You wish. I love every single detail about you. I love your smile and your laugh. I love the way you are with Drake. I love your mistakes and your victories. I love you more than what the entire galaxy can hold. Emily, I love you. Imperfections and all.”
“Imperfections,” I tease. “What imperfections?”
Jake chuckles.
“Anyway, I couldn’t have said it better,” I tell him. He smiles and leans down to continue the kiss that was interrupted earlier. After a few minutes, I break away and breathlessly say, “Let’s go upstairs.” Jake picks me up like we were newlyweds and I laugh. I hold on tight as he carries me upstairs.
In our room, I take off my dress and put in on the hanger so I won’t ruin it. Jake’s arm wraps around me from behind and he kisses my shoulder. I reach back and wrap my arms around his neck. His hand slides down my arm and down my body. When his hands reach my waist he turns me around to him. I push him backwards onto the bed while I kiss him. All he did was unbutton his shirt, before he came over to me.
I ran my hands over his chest and grasp his shoulders as I straddle him. I pull him so he sits up and I push his shirt back and off his arms. Topless, I push him backwards and work on his belt, dropping kisses along his torso. I unbuckle his belt and pull it from his pants. I unbutton his pants and undo the zippers. I walk backwards on my knees and when I reach the end of the bed, I hop off.
Jake lifts his hips and I pull off his jeans. I throw them on the floor and crawl back on top of him.
I had been sleeping maybe two hours when I hear, “Sweetness. Get up.” I roll away from Jake and grunt a “no.” H
is chuckle is a tad irritating this early in the morning. “Come on, Emily.”
“Why,” I moan. I feel him roll off the bed. A second later he is standing in front of me in boxers. I quickly close my eyes. “I’m sleeping, Jake.”
“Alright, you leave me no choice,” he says.
Next thing I know, Jake has once again picked me up. “Where are we going? I’m naked,” I say. He reaches down and picks up his white dress shirt.
“You can wear this.” He continues down the hall and into another room. He walks until he reaches the double, sliding glass doors. He puts my feet on the ground and I put on his shirt, buttoning it up. The air was cool but comfortable. I rested my hands on the railing as Jake tells me that we are going to watch the sun rise. He stands behind me and places his hands atop of mine. I lean back into him.
Slowly the sun begins to rise up over the mountains. It was beautiful. I closed my eyes and memorized this moment. The feel of Jake’s hands over mine and his body behind me with his chin resting on my shoulder. I open my eyes and memorized the beauty before me. “I know you said we would talk about it once we were home, but I just want to say something,” I start.
“No matter which path we take concerning the future, I want to try. I think we are worth trying to make it work. Tough times will happen and when they do, I’m going to remember this moment…the whole weekend actually. It shows how much we love each other. We are worth fighting for.”
Jake’s warm lips kiss my neck. “I love you, Sweetness. I agree wholeheartedly.”
I smiled. “I love you too.” Once the sun was up, we stayed a few more minutes to soak in the view. “Oh! I should probably see if my dad has called. He didn’t call yesterday, I think. I haven’t checked,” I said. Jake released me and walked with me to our room.
I picked up my phone from the nightstand on my side of the bed and checked it. One miss call from my dad this morning. I sat on the bed and unplugged my phone from the charger to return his call. After three rings, he answers with, “Hey honey. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to call and check up on you yesterday.”
Not like I would have paid attention enough to answer. “It’s okay,” I reassure.
“How has your weekend been?”
“Awesome. I’ve been hanging out with Jake.”
“Figures,” he grumbles. I can’t help but smile. “Anyway, I’m glad you have been having a good time. I should be home by two.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then Daddy. Love you.”
“I love you too, hon.”
I hung up and fell back onto the bed, where I ended up landing my head on Jake’s stomach. Jake starts playing with my hair as he says, “What’s up?”
“He’ll be home at two.”
“We’ll have time to go into town for a bit and still make it back by then, though it will be a close one. Do you still want to?”
I turned my head to look at him. “Do you,” I ask.
“If you do,” he replies.
“That’s not what I asked Jake.”
He smirks. “You know, you look pretty damn hot in my shirt.”
I laughed and moved to lay beside him. “So that’s what you want to do today?”
“I have already seen the town, but if you want to go, I will take you. I don’t mind. It’s just it could be a while before I get my hands on this body,” he says placing a hand on my hip since he turned towards me on his side.
“Hmm.” I ponder. “How about some time this summer we come back and see the town?” He doesn’t even answer me. Instead, he rolls on top of me and starts planting kisses all over my face causing me to laugh.
Around ten, we have accomplished washing the sheets and towels, cleaning the downstairs, showering, packing our clothes, and eating breakfast. The house was all cleaned up. Now it was time to go. Jake carried our bags outside and I looked around one last time, hoping this wouldn’t be the last time I was here. “Ready,” Jake asks from behind me.
I turn to face him. “Yes. Jake, this has to be one of the best weekends I’ve ever had. Thank you.” I step on my tip toes and give him a quick kiss.
“You’re welcome, Sweetness. Let’s get you home.”
Jake shut and locked the door. We got in his car and then we were gone.
Jake
I agree with Emily. This had to be one of the best weekends ever. Sure, we had some things to discuss about our future, but it was looking bright nonetheless. We arrived at Emily’s ten minutes before Mike and we were able to put away her things. I was pulling out just as he arrived. I figured he would want to spend time with his daughter alone.
I drove home and walked into the house with a happy smile. Drake ran up to me and jumped into my arms. “Jake! You’re back! Guess what me and Dad did?” There’s my always excited little brother.
“What?”
“We went to watch a college baseball game in Wilmington. Dad also bought me some new games! Today, we went to an early movie and to Cold Stone Creamery!”
“Sounds like you had a good weekend. Where’s Dad?”
“In the kitchen. Did you and Emily have fun too?”
I smiled as I thought about all of our fun. I set Drake down and told him we did. I walked to the kitchen and Drake follows, wanting to know what me and Emily did. “We just hung out at Uncle Roy’s and we went to his charity ball. Today, we cleaned up and came home. Hey Dad.”
“Hey son. Sounds like you had a pretty good weekend as well.”
“We had a really good weekend.” Dad was putting away groceries and I helped. Drake went up to his room to play his games, I assume.
“I hope you are being careful,” my dad says after a moment.
“No worries, Dad. We’ve got double protection. Thanks though.”
“Every time? It only takes once, son.”
“I know,” I say as I put the last of the groceries away. I went up to my room and unpacked my bag. There was still a lot of the day left. What could I do with it? I did have a bit of homework to do, so I pulled out my books and got started. An hour later, I was finished and Drake wanted me to play a racing game with him. I walked across the hall to Drake’s room and plopped down into one of his two bean bags.
I picked a random car and we raced over and over for hours. I won most of them, but Drake won a lot too. Soon, my dad was calling us down for supper. We sat at the table and ate a meal of tacos together. Drake was going on a field trip to an aquarium so he was really excited about that. Even more excited that my dad was going with him. I really hope Dad could keep things together.
Which reminds me of my promise to think about forgiving him. Maybe I already have. I don’t feel anger towards him anymore. I was actually happy he was back. “I’ll help you load the dishes, Dad.” Together we started putting the dishes away into the dishwasher. After we finished, I leaned against the counter and tucked my hands into my pockets.
“Dad, I just want to let you know that we’re good. I’m not mad anymore. I really happy that you are doing better and spending time with Drake. He really missed you.”
My dad came over and hugged me. “Thanks son. That really means a lot. I plan on staying like this too. Maybe next weekend, we can go to Raleigh for a hockey game.”
“That sounds great Dad.” He smiles and pats my shoulder. I go upstairs and call Emily.
“Hey love,” she answers on the third ring.
“Hey Sweetness. Busy?”
“Not at all. Dad and me are watching a movie. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to tell you that I talked to my dad.”
“You did? That’s great, Jake! Now you two can rebuild your relationship,” she says with way too much excitement.
I chuckle. “Yeah. We are planning to go to a hockey game this weekend coming up. Should be fun,” I tell her.
“Drake will love that. Dad’s giving me the evil eye for talking during the movie, so I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says.
“Okay. I love you Sweetness.”
“I love you too.”
I set my phone down on my nightstand and plug it into it’s charger. I turned on the radio on my alarm clock, changed for bed, and laid down. I listened to music as I thought about our future. Where was Emily going to college at? Would I be fine with her going to a different college than me? How far away would it be? Long distance would be hard, but I would try. What about after college? I was planning to play with the NHL, if I could.
What was Emily wanting to do? What if Emily found someone else at college? Would she give us up for the chance with someone else? I sighed. Too many questions to which I didn’t know the answer. We would find a way. I was determined to make that happen. With that thought, I fell into a peaceful sleep.
“Hey, prom is coming up. Are we going?”
Emily looks over at me and bites her lip.
“What is it Sweetness?” I ask.
She shakes her head and smiles. “Nothing. Of course we’ll go. I just need to get a dress.”
“Why don’t you wear the one you got this weekend? You would have everyone there jealous.”
“I might. What’s the theme this year?”
“Masquerade, I think.”
“Then we’ll need a mask,” she says as we walk into the classroom. We go to our separate seats and excitement flows through my blood. I can’t wait to see Emily in that dress. I had three weeks to wait. Prom would be on the Friday, April 29th. There would be an after party somewhere. It would be great. I pushed the thoughts of prom out of my mind as I focused on class. I would buy our prom tickets after class.
The rest of the week went by just like Monday. Emily and I hung out after school, usually with Drake. The hockey game was Saturday and I wanted to spend some time with Emily before we left, but she had other plans. She was going to head to Wilmington and find a mask to wear. Therefore, I spent the better half of Saturday with Drake and Dad. We had a good time and soon we were off to Raleigh.
Emily
I found a silver mask with purple swirling on it for myself. It would cover my eyes and nose. The silver would bring out the beading on my dress. I wasn’t sure what to get Jake, so I figured I would let him find something he liked.
I'm Yours (Bold As Love) Page 6