One Of The Guys

Chapter 8

Pretty soon, the only guys left are Zach, me, Jake, and Garrett.

"Another sleepover?" Zach asks.

"Don't you know it. We basically have one every night." I reply. Garrett looks at us.

"And your mom is okay with that?" He asks.

"Yes." I say, annoyed.

"Well have fun." Zach says, wiggling his eyebrows. I roll my eyes and he walks out to his truck.

"I guess I'll be going now." Garrett says, backing up.

"Bye." Jake and I say. Then he walks out too.

"I'm really tired. It's lame, but true." I say, yawning.

"Same here." Jake says. We walk upstairs to my room. He looks at me with puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." I say, sighing. He jumps onto my bed. I roll my eyes and get in the inside. As I'm attempting to climb over him to get to the inside, Jake puts his arm around me and pulls me down on top of him.

"Oh baby, won't you grind on me?" He starts singing.

"Don't even start with me, Jake." I laugh. Jake and I have a great friendship. But we act like more than friends. And I like that. It makes me feel closer to Jake.

Within 5 minutes, I drift off to sleep.

***********Jake POV***********

I lay awake long after she falls asleep. I have my arm around her, protectively. I trust her with my life. And she trusts me with hers. I'll protect her, I'll do what Mike always did. I think, before drifting off.

***********

I wake up to screaming. I bolt up and I realize its Taylor. She's screaming and crying, its probably another nightmare. I shake her awake.

"Tay." I say nervously. She rolls over and faces me, then she hugs me, clinging onto my neck. I hug her back and hold her tight.

"Mike." She gasps. I hold her tighter.

"I know, Tay. I know." I say, pulling my face back away from her neck. She looks at me.

"Thank you." She whispers before her eyes close. I hold her tight as I drift off to sleep.

**********

When I wake up again, Taylor is already dressed.

"You woke up early." I comment.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep very well. You, on the other hand, slept like a baby." She says teasingly. There's a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." I say. And she just stares at me. I look down and realize that I'm shirtless and in my boxers. I blush a little.

"Fine. But if its my dad...." She says in a sing-song voice. I grin then walk downstairs. When I open the door, the entire team is waiting, staring at me.

"Whoa, man." Noah yells, of course, everyone starts laughing.

"So uh, what did you guys do last night?" Garrett asks. I glare at him.

"Sleep and absolutely NOTHING else." I say. Taylor runs down the stairs, but stops short when she sees everyone.

"Uh, hey guys. Why are you here?" She says, turning red.

"Happy Birthday!" They all yell. Shit, I forgot they were gonna do this. They had talked to me about surprising Taylor in the morning of her birthday. I just spaced out.

She smiles and says, "Well, since you're here. You might as well come in." Of course they laugh and barge on in.

"I'm gonna go take a shower." I whisper to Taylor. She nods. Then I walk upstairs and shower.

When I go downstairs again, all the guys are gone and its 8:45 am.

"Shit. Tay, we're late for school." I say.

"It's Saturday, you idiot." She says, laughing. I turn red. Then I laugh too, unable to stop myself.

"Where are the guys?" I ask.

"They had to go. But we're meeting up with them at Parkview later tonight." She explains.

"Okay." I say.

"Happy Birthday, Tay." I hug her.

"Thank you." She smiles, but I can see sadness in her eyes.

"Mike?" I ask. She just nods. And also can do is hold her.