The next day, Jaycee and Braelyn were sitting on the dock on the lake in the next town, down the street from Braelyn and Sapphire's house. Sapphire and Landen were at the apartment, so Jaycee drove her truck. Braelyn wanted to bring Jaycee a little closer to her house to break up with her. She figured if she was near her house when she broke up with Jaycee, she wouldn't have to go to Landen's when she hangs out there, and she wouldn't have to driver her home after breaking up with her. They both stared out at the water the whole time they've been there.
"I used to come out here to fish whenever I had something on my mind. That stopped a few years ago; around the time I found out I was gay. I would come here, and just sit here for hours until whatever I was thinking about was nothing but a thought. I started coming here when I was about seven. Lately, I've been coming back here to think some things through," Braelyn took off the blue cap that she had been wearing. "If it was just me and Sapphire, I'd slip out of the house without her noticing. When she finally did notice, the first place she'd look was here. She never had a doubt that I was here because she always found me here."
"How many people have you brought here before?" Jaycee lit a cigarette and took a long drag.
"Willingly? Just you. Everybody else followed me here. My dad used to bring me and Sapphire here when we were kids, but that was before our parents split. I used to come here a lot after they split. When I finally got over it, I didn't come here as much," she took a drag of Jaycee's cigarette.
"I was like that too, but it was a cemetery instead of a lake," Jaycee blew out a cloud of smoke. "Sit next to an old headstone for hours on end, writing or drawing something stupid. I went there every day as a kid. Wouldn't come home until the picture or the story was finished,"
"Ever take Dylan there?"
"Nope," Jaycee took another drag of her cigarette. "I went alone if we had a fight or something then I'd tell him we would deal with it when I got back. He never even knew about that place."
Braelyn looked at Jaycee in shock. There were a lot of places in town where Dylan and Jaycee went together. She had a hard time believing a cemetery was the one place where she went without him.
Jaycee was out one day by herself when she was a kid, and she found a trail. She topped dead in her steps, and she stared down the trail, wondering where it led to. She looked around to see if there was anybody around, and started walking when she saw that it was clear. At the end of the trail was a small cemetery from around the late eighteen hundreds to mid-eighteen hundreds. There weren't a lot of graves there, but most of them were pretty old. Ever since then, she'd go whenever she had a problem, and she wouldn't have until she felt content with herself about her problems.
"Everybody has their own secret place to run to when there's a problem, or when they have something on their mind, Braelyn. When we broke up, the only place I ever went willingly was that cemetery. I want to be buried in that cemetery one day. I don't care what anybody says. I even have my burial all planned out despite the fact that I'm gonna be eighteen soon. I hope that whoever I end up with will be buried there too, right beside me."
"Damn, you have a lot of downtime on your hands."
"Not really. It's just something I thought about since I was a kid. When I found that place, I immediately fell in love with it. Ever since then, I've been mapping out and planning my burial. Mainly because you never know when you're gonna die. I don't want anybody fixing my funeral and burial place when I'm old enough to do it myself."
"You sound like you're gonna die from disease or you're gonna kill yourself or something."
"No. It's just that each day is unpredictable. You never know what's going to happen. This thing could break, and we could both drown," she gestured to the dock.
"You have a point."
"So, why have you brought me here, but you never brought anyone else?" she took another drag of her cigarette.
"Because I need to tell you something."
"Okay. Go."
"Jaycee, I think that you're a great girl. You're smart and pretty and artistic and creative. You love cars and video games," Jaycee cut her off.
"But you're breaking up with me," she finished.
"I think that you're still in love with Dylan."
"I'm trying my best to get over him because I am ninety-nine point nine percent sure that we are never getting back together, no matter what. Yeah, we have a past. Yeah, he was the only one, let alone guy, that I ever really loved. Yes, I lost my virginity to him, but he wasn't the first person I had sex with. I can't just erase my past with him by getting into a relationship with someone else. I figured that I started dating you, I could get over him by showing him that I've moved on then he would, and I would see that he and I aren't meant to be."
"Excellent strategy. How's it working out for you?"
"He came over a couple weeks ago while I was at home getting changed, saying he wanted to talk. He came in while I was in my underwear and he kissed me. He told me that he would always love me, no matter what happens between us. When he left, he texted me saying that he was gonna ask me to marry him the night he broke up with me and the night we got together."
"Do you wanna marry him?"
"Honestly? Yeah, I do. But I doubt we'll ever get back together."
"Well, if you end up never getting back together, and you finally get over him. You know where to find me because I don't think that you're ready to be with anyone else yet."
"Alright," Braelyn kissed Jaycee one last time then got up and left.
When she was sure that Braelyn was gone, she got up, and ran to her truck. She sped off to her house, and Dylan was sitting on the front steps. She barely even noticed him when she got out. She put her phone in her pocket, along with her keys then ran towards the cemetery. Dylan lifted his head up just as Jaycee started running down the street. He ran out to the street just as she took off down the street like a speeding bullet. He started chasing her down the street, following every turn and jump she made until she got to the trail.
He watched as she disappeared behind trees. He stopped in front of the trail to make sure no one was around then proceeded down the trail. When he got to the end, he found the cemetery, but Jaycee had disappeared. He heard a noise that sounded close, but it was very faint.
"Fearless sleepless under stars love pulls us back into our hearts everlasting love ripped us apart how can we fix our broken hearts?" he heart the melody play.
He walked over to the middle of the cemetery, where a dusty old headstone from the nineteen twenties lied. As he got closer, the music got louder. He looked behind the headstone to find Jaycee lying on her back with her eyes closed. Her knees were bent upwards, and her black Converse were lying next to the headstone. Her arms were crossed over her chest, covering the pink headphones on the front of her shirt, and she had her phone in her hands. Her black hair was flared out under her head, and the grass that was tangled in it made her look like she was wearing a crown. She kind of reminded him of Sleeping Beauty, and her admired how peaceful she looked.
"Oh no don't go my shooting star flashbacks drag me to the start this time we've pulled our hearts apart how can we fix our broken hearts?" her phone sang. "Today's the day to take away our hearts to find a way to make a change in love tonight's the night to wipe away our scars to find a way to fix our broken hearts."
"You look beautiful like this, Jaycee," he ran his fingers through her hair. "If your hair was blonde, and your shirt was completely pink, you'd look like Sleeping Beauty," her eyes flew open and she sat up.
"Dylan? What are you doing here? How'd you even know I was here? How'd you even find this place?"
"I followed you here. I saw you get out of your truck and take off running. You didn't look very happy. What's wrong?"
"Do you still have that timeline I gave you?"
"Yeah, of course I do. It's something we'll use for the rest of our lives."
Which won't be very long, she thought.
"No matter what happens between us. Why?"
"What's the last event on the timeline?"
"Yesterday, I added that you were in a relationship with Braelyn. Why? Is there another event that needs to be added?"
Jaycee slid an index card out of her phone case. July 3rd, 2014: Braelyn broke up with Jaycee. She had a feeling she would've needed it to add another event to their timeline, so she brought it just in case. She wrote down the event in between red lights. She handed it to him.
"Here. Another event to add to the timeline," he took the card from her and he read it.
"What happened between you two?" he asked.
"She broke up with me because I still have feelings for you," she whispered.
"I'm sorry, Jaycee," he wrapped his arm around her.
She wiggled her way out of his hold. She really liked Braelyn, but she didn't love her. Her break up with Dylan pretty much prevented her from having really strong feelings for her. Tears clouded her eyes as they sat there in silence.
"Jaycee?" she looked up at him through her bangs. "If you had to tell Braelyn you love her, would you mean it?"
"No," her voice was barely audible. "If I had to tell any of my exes, or any of the people I slept with, that I loved them, there's only one person I wouldn't be lying to if I said it."
And that's you, she thought.
"Jaycee?" he kissed her.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, and laid her on her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he crawled on top of her. He trailed his lips along her jaw, and down the side of her neck to her collarbone. He nipped at her collarbone, earning himself a moan from her. She pulled his hair as he nipped at her skin. He slid his hands up her shirt, and rubbed her back as she moaned more from all the nips he was giving her.
"How many people know about this place?" he asked in between kisses he was leaving on her neck.
"No one really," she breathed. "It's pretty old. Why?"
He straddled her waist, and he peeled off his shirt. Her fingers made their way down to the hem of her shirt, and she pulled it off. Her fingers found the button on his jeans, and he helped her pull them off, leaving him in a pair of camouflage boxers. He laid back down on top of her, and smashed his lips to hers. His fingers glided over the button on her jeans, and she pushed them off, revealing a hot pink thong with dark blue trim and white hearts. She threw them aside, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He jammed himself into her, earning himself a loud moan from her.
He slid his hand under her bra, cupping her left breast. His other hand worked his way around to her back, and unhooked her baby blue bra then tossed it aside. His lips trailed from hers to her breasts, kissing and sucking on them. He made his way from her cleavage to her right nipple while gently squeezing her left breast. She moaned and arched her back, digging her nails into his skin.
"Dylan!" she moaned loudly.
He thrusted hard inside of her, earning him another moan while alternating sucking on her breasts. She pulled his hair hard as he continued thrusting inside of her. He thrusted harder, making her arch her back more. He slowed down his thrusting when he noticed how deep she was digging her nails into her back. The slower he thrusted, the louder she moaned.
He straddled her again, and started kissing her stomach. She stared up at the sky, thinking about all the memories they created over the past two years as he kissed her belly. Each kiss he planted on her made him think about the future he wanted to have with her. He pictured her in a wedding dress with long sleeves that were covered in lace, and ribbon that laced up the bust with her hair in perfect curls that was pinned behind her ears. He imagined her holding a newborn baby girl in her arms with the baby's head resting on her chest. He saw her standing in the kitchen, making dinner, with two boys running around her and a thirteen-year-old girl with auburn hair sitting at the counter, painting her nails. He saw a lot of things when he looked at this girl, and a future was one of them.
"I love you, Jaycee," he said with his lips against her belly.
"I love you too, Dylan."
He thrusted one more time before he finally came. He kept thrusting until she came. After a couple more thrusts, she screamed with pleasure from the orgasm she was having. He pulled out, and laid next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she laid her head on his chest. They both started crying from everything they just shared. Since they hadn't had sex in six months, it felt like it was their first time together: special and full of love.
She hoped that having sex with him meant they were getting back together. He was conflicted about asking her then and there to marry him. He wanted to just slip the ring on her finger when she wasn't paying attention, but the ring was still in the box on his desk.
"Hey, Jaycee?" he looked down to find her sleeping. "Night, Jay," he kissed the top of her head.