Hold My Hand || J.Seresin

Chapter 21

Eight Years Earlier

I slipped one more bobby pin into my low bun, hoping that would keep my hair style intact. Taking a look in the mirror, the only thing missing was the black hat. That could be put on right before leaving though. My door opened and Haley walked in, decked out in her black dress uniform.
"Why are we going to this again?" She asked. As non-graduating students, we technically had the day off and weren't required at the ceremonies. Lots of our classmates had opted to head into Annapolis or D.C. for the weekend.
"Because we have friends who are graduating and it's called being supportive." I told her, placing the hat on my head.

It was a nice day for the graduation. Warm, but cloudy enough that the sun wasn't beating down on us. It was a sea of white on the field. The stands of the stadium were for families, friends and Naval students. Haley and I quickly found seats near the front. I scanned the crowd, trying to see if I could spot Jake. I'd let him believe that I wasn't coming today, so I was going to surprise him.
"Do you see him?" I asked Haley, leaning towards her. She shook her head,
"He'll be easier to find after he gets his diploma." I nodded, agreeing with her.

Now I understand why non-graduating students chose not to attend the ceremony. It was over three hours long. Even though I wanted to see Jake graduate, this long of a ceremony was pushing it. How was I supposed to endure this next year? Haley and I quickly left our seats and made our way onto the field. Jake's seat was on the other end of the field. As we walked over, all of a sudden it felt weird for me to be here. Jake and I weren't dating. Was this something friends would do?

I shook my head, trying to clear away the thoughts. I'd already spent three hours here, waiting to surprise Jake. I couldn't just walk away now. Haley taped my arm, gesturing in a different direction.
"I'm gonna talk with Kelly." She told me and left before I could say anything. When I was a few feet away from Jake, I slowed down seeing who I assumed were Jake's parents standing with him. My eyes scanned over Jake; wow, he looked good in that white uniform. I didn't want to interrupt their reunion, but Jake must have sensed eyes on him because he turned in my direction.

A look of surprise and happiness erupted on his face. The older man and woman, who I presumed were his parents, followed Jake's gaze and looked at me. I didn't really have any choice but to walk towards them.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Surprise!" I said, trying to keep my voice light. Before I could process what he was doing, Jake had pulled me into a hug. With my head tucked into the space between his neck and shoulder, I whispered,
"Congrats Seresin." He pulled back, a small smile on his face. He looked back to his parents, realizing they were waiting for an introduction.
"Momma, Dad - this is Lila." Then he looked at me, "Lila, these are my parents, Meredith and Robert." I extended my arm, shaking Mr. Seresin's hand. When I turned towards Mrs. Seresin, she ignored my hand, pulling me into a hug instead.

It caught me a little off guard, not used to friend's parents being so forward and affectionate. Mrs. Seresin released me, barely letting have a moment to breath before diving into her questions,
"How do you two know each other?" You'd think the question was intended for Jake, but she was looking at me.
"Jake and I were paired up for partner PT training at the start of this school year."
"He was a gentleman?" She asked. I laughed involuntarily, trying to decide how to answer that. Jake was a jerk sometimes and I wouldn't say what we'd been doing since December was indicative of a gentleman.
"Momma!" Jake exclaimed.
"I just want to make sure you were nice." She told him, her Texan accent sounding more obvious.
"Yes, he was." I answered her. I looked between the three of them,
"I should be going. It was very nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Seresin." I gave them a wave, walking backwards, "See you around, Seresin." I said to Jake, giving him another smile. I still had a year left at the Academy and now Jake was off for whatever his first assignment was. Who knows if we'd ever run into each other again. It was possible in the Navy, but I wasn't putting too much hope into it.

Someone was calling my name. While I knew a lot of people in Annapolis through the Naval Academy, I wasn't used to someone calling out my name. My eyes scanned over the crowd, trying to see if I recognized anyone. A woman was waving at me. The face looked familiar, but it wasn't until I looked at the people she was with, that I figured it out. Jake and his parents. There wasn't really a way to avoid them now that she was waving.

I readjusted the strap of my purse on my shoulder and walked towards them. As I approached, I could see Jake had a grimace on his face.
"So lovely to see you again, Lila." Mrs. Seresin started, "We were just about to get dinner. You should join us." Jake and I started speaking at the same time,
"Momma-"
"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose." She put her hands up in protest,
"It's no imposition." She turned to Jake, "Right dear?" He nodded, forcing a smile onto his face. Mrs. Seresin smiled, patting Jake's upper arm lightly, before looking at me.
"That's a great color on you, Lila." She told me, gesturing to the blue dress I'm wearing.
"Oh, thank you."

Mrs. Seresin looped her arm through her husband's and began walking away from Jake and I. We looked at each other,
"Guess I'm joining you for dinner." I said, laughing lightly. He nudged my shoulder and started following after his parents.
"My mom was right. You look beautiful." He told me quietly. My eyes darted in his direction, not looking at him fully. Jake had never said anything like that to me. Hot, sexy, attractive, pretty, but he'd never used the word beautiful before. My cheeks felt hot, so I kept my gaze focused ahead, hoping he didn't see the blush.

A few minutes later, we stepped into an Italian restaurant. The place was cozy with low lighting and seemed pretty busy. I turned to Jake, a thought popping into my head,
"Did you make a reservation for this place?"
"Yeah. Don't worry, it was for four." I looked at Jake with a confused face. "My sister was supposed to be here." He elaborated. I let out a breath.
"Sister?" I asked. I don't think Jake had mentioned a sister to me before.
"Yeah, my younger sister Kelsey. Something came up with her internship."
"You never mentioned your sister before."
"Oh, guess it never came up."

We were seated pretty quickly. Jake's parents on one side and us on the other. My eyes scanned over the menu; everything sounded so delicious. It was quiet at the table while we decided on what to eat.
"So Lila, how many years do you have left at the Academy?" Mr. Seresin asked, breaking the silence.
"Just one."
"And what are you studying?"
"Engineering. The goal is to be a naval aviator."
"That's great. Where are you from?" Mrs. Seresin interjected.
"Momma, give her a chance to breathe." Jake told his mother. I gave Jake a small smile,
"It's alright. I grew up in D.C., spent summers with my dad." I took a sip of my water, deciding I'd give a little more information before they asked more questions. "My parents aren't together. My dad's a naval aviator as well, so I'd stayed with him on whatever base he was stationed at, unless he was deployed and then I stayed in D.C."

The rest of dinner went well. I'd never say it to Jake, but I'd been a little nervous about having dinner with his parents. Not that this was anything more than dinner and I'd sensed no suspicion that they thought we were anything more than friends, but it was still weird to me. And on top of that, Mr. and Mrs. Seresin had insisted on paying for my meal. I learned very quickly that they did not take no for an answer.

As we left the restaurant, Jake gently grabbed my upper arm. I turned back to look at him, wondering what was going on.
"We'll catch up." He called to his parents.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"I figured we should talk before I leave."
"And you want to do that right now?"
"My folks are in town for a few more days. This kinda feels like the best opportunity."
"So... what are we talking about?" I asked, sitting down on a nearby bench. Jake followed and sat down next to me.
"We'll, where do we go from here?"
"We've just been hooking up, Jake. There's nothing to worry about."
"What if we run into each other somewhere? On a mission or another base?" He asked.
"If that were to happen, I'm not opposed to us being friends, maybe even friends with benefits." I answered.
"What if every time we're in the same place, and if both of us are single, we continue being friends with benefits? Would you be opposed to that?"
"I would not." A coy smile playing on my lips. I patted his shoulder and stood up, readjusting my purse strap.
"I guess I'll see you around, Seresin." I told him and turned to head back to my car.

3rd Person POV

Jake watched Lila walk away for a few moments. Part of him wanted to go after her; to kiss her one more time. But he couldn't do that, not with his parents nearby, not when they were just friends with benefits. Letting out a sigh, Jake stood from the bench and walked to his parents. His mother gave him a warm smile as he approached.
"Lila seems like a very lovely girl. I like her." Jake looked back at Lila's retreating figure,
"Yeah, I do too."