Chapter 31
School starts back up soon enough and I start to find myself immersed in truckloads of homework and assignments. I barely have time to hang out with friends or do anything else anymore as all the teachers seem to have decided this is the perfect time to set all these random tests and pop quizzes as well. You never know when a teacher’s going to attack with those stupid quizzes so I study like mad, the consequence of a big fat zero looming over me. Nerdy Hailey has emerged people – leave me alone!
Someone knocks on my door, “Come in.” I murmur, flicking through my art theory notes, trying to find my paper on a gallery we recently went to.
“Hey little nerd.” A glass of lemonade is set next to me and I gratefully gulp it down as I keep reading my notes.
“Hey.” I say back to Jake absentmindedly.
“Still studying your butt off?” he asks, leaning over my shoulder.
His proximity finally breaks me out of my trance and I feel a blush rising to my face. I don’t let on that his presence unnerves me and glare at the picture of Seurat as I try to read what I’ve written about his technique.
“Go away.” I mutter, pushing my glasses up my nose a bit.
He leans heavily on me, his arms wrapping around me and his head resting on top of mine, trapping me in a hunched position. “Why?”
I grimace at the smirk I can hear in his voice. “Because your parents might come in.” I hiss back, trying to shake him off. He picks up one of my pencils and crosses out one of the answers on a math sheet sitting on top of one of the piles sitting on the side of my desk. “Hey!”
“Wait, you missed a step.” He murmurs, his warm breath brushing against my ear. I grudgingly let him re-write the equation out and redo it, shivering slightly.
Dammit, he’s right.
“But why did you do this?” I ask, pointing at one of the lines.
He lets me go and grabs a stool from under my desk and begins explaining. I look at him through my glasses in awe as I actually realise he’s not just some dumb guy who doesn’t care about work. My eyes travel all around his face taking in his thick eyelashes and his strong jaw, finally coming to rest on his lips.
“Do you get it now?”
I blink once. Twice. “Uh, yeah.” I mumble, sitting up quickly and looking back down at the paper. “I do, thanks…”
He smirks at me, “That’s ok.”
He noticed me drooling over him… I think, mentally slapping myself for being so stupid.
I continue to do the math problems I left off at yesterday trying to remember what Jake had been telling me to do, “You can go…” I grumble after a couple of minutes of him staring at me while I try to do the work and study.
“Well I actually came up here with a proposal.” He says, leaning on my table, making it obvious that he’s focusing completely on me.
“Mhmm?” I try to say uninterestedly. My heart-beat quickens as his other hand comes up to rest on my shoulder, coiling some loose strands of hair around his finger.
“How about we go out tonight?”
I turn slowly and look at him, hope rising in my chest, “Just you and me?”
He laughs at my buoyant expression, “Yeah, just you and me. Everyone’s going someplace or other so I thought it’d be something good to do… you know, for our birthday.”
My eyes widen and my mouth falls open. “What date is it?”
He laughs again, “20th of Jan.”
I’ve forgotten my own Birthday… And Jake’s.
Jake and I were born on the same day. Before our birth, our Dad’s had taken the oldest McLane’s to a baseball match, leaving our mom’s at home. So when Claire started going into labour my mom was the one who had to drive her to hospital and sit with her till John came… Unfortunately he only got there after my mom also started going into labour and dad had to be called over too. And so, it came to be that Jake and I were born in the same hospital only five hours apart.
“You forgot, didn’t you?” he says, raising an eyebrow.
I blush, “I didn’t… It’s tomorrow, and I’ve got… everything planned out.”
He shrugs, “Well I didn’t and I planned a small rendezvous for tonight since mom’ll definitely have something going on tomorrow.”
“What are we going to do?” I ask curiously.
“It’s a surprise so I’m not telling you.” He laughs.
I bite my lip, now kind of embarrassed that I’m the one who forgot such an important day. “I do have something for you.” I say adamantly, crossing my arms as I frown at him. “But I’m going to keep it a surprise as well.”
Jake’s eyes dance with laughter as he cups the side of my face, “I don’t care if you don’t have anything for me, Hale. All I want is to spend time with you.” He kisses me quickly before getting up, “Just wear something nice tonight and leave all the excuses to me.”
And with that he walks out of my room, leaving me wide-eyed and flustered.
I’ve got get a present – FAST.
*
“You two have fun tonight.” Claire says in my doorway.
I get up from my desk and give her a hug, “Um, yeah. Thanks.” I say uneasily, not exactly sure what Jake’s told her. “So what’s everyone doing?” I ask, taking in her green evening gown and frilly purse.
“John’s taking me out for dinner tonight, Sam’s gone to Gram’s and Gramps for the night with Finn and the twins, Wes and Seth are going to that party with you and Jake, Dylan’s got some meeting for that awards night for that movie he made – make sure you’ve got nothing on next Friday night ‘cause it’s on then, and Tristan claims he’s gone out with friends but I have a slight suspicion he’s gotten himself a girlfriend.” She counts off on her fingers.
“Really?” my eyes widen at this new knowledge.
Claire grins, tapping the side of her nose with her finger, “A mother knows.”
“Um, well, have fun.” I say nervously, giving her a little wave. If she knows that Tristan has a girlfriend, how long till she finds out about me and Jake? She winks at me before turning around and walking back down the corridor to the stairs.
“I’m so dead.” I mutter to myself, deciding to go through my closet for something to wear as a distraction, “There’s no way we’re going to be able to hide this from her.”
Ten minutes later and I’ve gone through every piece of clothing I have but I still don’t know what I’m going to wear.
Jake conveniently appears at the door, “Hey, um, we’ll leave in half an hour?”
I put my hands on my hips as I turn back to the piles of clothes strewn all over my bed, “Make that two hours. I have no idea what I’m going to wear.”
Jake walks over to my side and stares at the absolute mess I’ve made, “I personally don’t care if you turned up in a jumper and sweatpants to be honest.” He says going through the pile, “But we are going to a prissy restaurant so I’d suggest a nice dress.”
“We’re going to a restaurant?” I say, absolutely horrified. When he said we were going out for dinner I’d expected some sort of picnic or a quick stop off at a fast food store…
His brow furrows slightly, “You don’t want to?”
I throw my arms around his neck, “Oh, Jake! What are you doing?! You didn’t have to do something like that.”
“I wanted to.” He laughs, hugging me back, “We’ve always gone for extravagant and above on our birthdays. Now that we’re dating there’s no excuse not to.”
I pull away, feeling really guilty, “But I haven’t gotten you anything…” I mumble quietly.
“I knew it!” he crows laughing aloud. When he sees my sorrowful expression though, he pats me on the back, quickly trying to console me, “You know what? I don’t want anything. Just the fact that you said yes to going out with me is enough.”
I pout as I look up at him, “I promise I’ll give you something! I’ll get you a present… but I’ll have to give it to you later…”
“I really don’t mind Hale,” Jake laughs again giving me a quick kiss before turning back to my bed to help me sort out my earlier dilemma. “Why don’t you wear this?” he asks, pulling out a hideous magenta dress which I didn’t even know I owned, “I think that’s a nightgown…” I say, biting my lip slightly.
He looks at it in confusion, “You sure?”
I take it from him and put it back on the bed, “Definitely.”
“The colour was nightmare-inducing anyway,” he mumbles to cover up his complete lack of fashion sense.
“This is, uh, cute…”
I hide a smile at his choice of words as well as the piece of clothing he’s picked up, “Jake, that’s a shirt.”
He groans and throws the horrifically yellow button down shirt back onto the bed and feverishly begins to go through the clothes. [Do not ask me where I’ve gotten these things from…]
He finally pulls out a light purple spaghetti strap dress with little flowers printed all over it. It’s simple but nice. “You cannot say no to this.”
I nod taking it, “I won’t.” I hold it up against me looking into my mirror, “It’s not too plain though?”
I twist this way and that trying to gauge whether this dress really is a good idea, it’s been a while since I’ve worn it. I think I wore it for a wedding but it’d been more vibrant at the time. The colour had faded after one wash, leaving it a soft lavender and I’d just never worn it again for some reason…
Jake’s arms come around me from behind and he embraces me warmly, “You never look plain.” He says simply, staring straight at my face through the mirror. The corner of his lips quirk up and he kisses the top of my head before walking out the door. “Half an hour till we go.” He says over his shoulder before shutting the door behind him, leaving me standing there, blushing like the love-sick fool that I am.
*
I step out of the car looking up at the massive hotel in front of me in awe. “We’re eating here?”
Jake shuts my door and takes my hand as we walk up the stairs to the glass doors ahead, “Yep.” He says, loosening the collar of his dress-shirt a bit, “Sleeping here too, if you want.”
I wack his arm with my handbag, “You tool.” I mutter.
He squeezes my hand, leading me through the foyer towards an elevator, “Admit it, your life would suck without my ‘tool-ish’ comments.”
I roll my eyes stepping inside the elevator and resting my head on his shoulder, “It’s good enough without it.” I smile at him through the mirror on the opposite wall. The elevator silently goes up, sleek and even, as if it’s gliding through butter. “I have no idea how you could afford this place anyway.”
He shrugs, bring his arm around me, “Saved up, did a whole lot of jobs for some old people who are happy to overpay a sweet guy like me.”
I snort at his comment, “Yeah, you conned them in other words.”
His eyes widen on mock offense, “You dare doubt me?!”
“Oh I doubt you alright.” I wink at him, walking out as the doors open and tugging him along.
“You do know I’m the one paying for dinner.”
I bite my lip, giving him a sheepish grin, “You’ve got a point. Shutting up.”
He laughs leading me down another corridor towards an open set of double doors where I can hear the sound of laughter and the tinkle of glass and cutlery.
“May I help you?” a snooty looking young man says to us, looking us up and down. I shudder inwardly at the amount of hair gel I can see glistening off his carefully styled hair.
Jake adjusts his tie again, “Um, yeah. We have reservations under McLane.”
“Just a minute.” The guy says with an icy smile before looking down at the book on the stand in front of him.
“I don’t think he believes us.” I murmur quietly to Jake. I can see glimpses of the people eating in the restaurant and I’m not surprised. The women in there are fully decked out in elegant dresses and extravagant head-pieces with flashy jewellery whilst the men are in sharp, tailor-fitted suits.
In comparison, I’m wearing a plain summery kind of dress with my mother’s locket and some simple chandelier earrings while Jake’s wearing his suit from Christmas. It’s not like we look shabby or anything – Jake looks like he’s ready to step into a Calvin Klein advertisement – but we just look out of place here, not to mention, a bit young.
“You are on the list.” The guy says haltingly, unease in his voice. There’s an awkward pause as he gives us a once over again.
“Can you show us to our table?” Jake asks a bit impatiently, not liking the way this man is treating us.
The guy sniffs at us before moving out from behind his station and quickly walks through the double doors, leading us to a table for two. I have a feeling he’s trying to put us out of the way as the table is in the corner of the room but right next to the wall completely made of glass.
“Thank you.” I say quietly to the guy, hoping to placate him somewhat.
He pulls back our chairs for us, hands us some menus and stiffly nods before walking off.
Jake gestures to my seat and I sit down as he does the same, “Well I know I’ll be complaining about the staff.” He says, pouring some water into my glass from the jug on the table.
I rest my head on my hands as I take in the view next to us of a beautiful city, alive, bright and completely romantic. “Thank you for bringing me here.” I say quietly, looking at him shyly, “I… I really don’t know what I could do for you in return.” I look around me in awe, “I mean, this place has got to be so expensive! I don’t know whether to feel happy or bad about the fact that you’re spending it on me.”
Jake looks out the window, twirling his fork absentmindedly, “Well, I wasn’t planning on telling you this, but dad works with the hotel owner so he was able to get me some reservations here… I told him that I was saving it for a special girl.” He looks straight at me, the candles, illuminating his deep blue eyes, giving him that other-worldly look. “That and I wanted to take you out somewhere nice. What kind of boyfriend would I be taking you to ‘Macca’s’?”
“Well not many guys take their girlfriend out to some expensive restaurant.” I say, sipping my water a bit.
Jake’s face suddenly scrunches up, as if he’s eaten a lemon. “If you’re going to keep complaining about it then I’m going to have to get you to leave.” He says, mocking our waiter.
“Are you ready to order sir?” We look up mid-laugh to see the exact guy we’re laughing at, scorn all over his face.
“Um, yeah.” Jake says, looking quickly down at the menu as I awkwardly run my hand through my hair. “Uh, we’ll have… some garlic bread for starters... and maybe order a steak and uh, that salmon fillet…” he looks questioningly at me and I nod my head.
“Very good, sir.” He says icily, quickly taking our menus from us and walking away. We try to hide our laughter as he doesn’t see the potted plant sitting conveniently in his path. He shoots a glare at us as he rights himself and hurries off.
“Deserved it.” Jake coughs ‘subtly’.
I hit him lightly on the shoulder, shaking my head slightly, before looking back out onto the view again, “What am I going to give you?” I murmur once again, more to myself this time rather than to him. Even if he has gotten us reservations and he’s not exactly the one paying for it, this is starting to make me feel like I might have to repay him for a long time… Jake gently kicks me with his foot, “Ow! What was that for?”
“If you keep talking about paying me back, I’m going to have to bring out the ‘pay me with your body’ card.” He smirks at me.
I laugh, knowing he’s only joking but I tilt my head forward to let my hair hide my blush.
“Don’t.” Jake says quietly, reaching out to stop me. I freeze watching his face as his fingers push my hair back behind my ear. I feel like closing my eyes as they trail through my hair, down my neck and down my arm to hold my hand. A shiver runs though me as I feel the shadow of his fingers trail past my collar bone all over again. “I like it when your hair’s out, but I like it even better when I can see your face.” He says quietly.
His comment resonates in my ears, making me feel bashfully happy. I lean forward slightly as he does the same knowing and wanting to feel his lips against mine.
“Here is your entrée sir.” I sarcastic voice says before a plate of garlic bread is placed between us abruptly.
I don’t bother to hide my frown as I look up at the waiter. He stands there, watching us suspiciously, “Can we help you?” Jake says after a minute.
The guy sniffs, looking around a bit, “You can pay for tonight’s meal, can you not sir?”
Jake glares at him, “Yes, I can. Do you have a problem?”
The waiter just sniffs again before walking off. “Tool.” Jake and I say together.
We both grin at each other at the same time, “Oh we’re good.” I laugh a bit too loudly, earning a couple of glares from the hoity-toity people sitting around us.
I bite my lip as Jake puts some garlic bread on my plate and my embarrassment disappears as I tuck in before my stomach can get any louder. “This is so good.” I moan, closing my eyes.
“Don’t moan.” Jake says nervously, his eyes darting around.
“Why?” I ask, tilting my head to the side innocently.
“People are probably thinking I’m doing something to you under the table…” he says uneasily.
I groan again just to spite him and I do notice that the stuck-ups on the next table are actually looking at us. This time it’s my turn to smirk at him, “Oh this makes me feel so good.” I say aloud, grinning as people look away in horror at the spectacle they think is going on under the table cloth.
Jake rolls his eyes, and glances around the room, his frown deepening at the advancing waiter and some other guy in a business suit. They approach us carefully and I send Jake a curious look which he ignores.
“Good evening sir, ma’am,” he nods his head at me before turning back towards Jake, “I’m the manager of this restaurant and–”
“We can pay.” Jake interrupts between gritted teeth. “We have everything sorted.”
The manager looks like he’s about to say something but then thinks better of it as Jake’s glare intensifies. He nods his head curtly again, “Enjoy your meal.” And with that he walks away, practically dragging the waiter with him.
“I can’t believe he complained to their manager.” Jake growls.
I squeeze his hand which is still wrapped around mine, “Ignore them. They’re just making sure we aren’t going to eat and run or something…”
Jake blows out a puff of air, “Sorry.” He says, obviously peeved. “I just–”
“Oh Crap.” I say suddenly before ducking under the table cloth. My eyes dart quickly around as my mind process what – or rather who – I’ve just seen.
“Hailey?”
I look up to see Jake’s curious face right in front of mine, I give him a sheepish grin, “Hey.”
He gives me a confused look in return, “Um, hey… You do realise we’re under a table right?”
I raise an eyebrow back, “You do realise your parents just walked into the very same restaurant we’re sitting in, right?” I say mockingly back.
His eyes widen and he gets up quickly before ducking back down again. “Crap. They are here.”
My eyes widen as our situation really sinks in and I feel panic welling up inside of me. I’m not ready to confront them about our relationship yet… “Crap, oh crap, what are we going to do? What are we going to do? We can’t just sit under here for the rest of the night. There’s barely enough room as it is.”
Jake looks around under our little table, “There’s enough room under here to do a lot of things actually…”
I glare angrily at him, “This isn’t the time McLane. Your parents are right here and they’re going to start asking questions if they catch us.” My brow crinkles as something occurs to me, “Wait a second. Didn’t you say your dad was friends with the hotel manager?”
“…Yeah…”
“Then why did you bring us here?!” I squeal, hitting at him frantically. “He’d obviously take Claire out to a place like this if he had connections!”
“Whoa! Whoa!” he tries to fend me off, “Settle down! It’s ok! We can just leave. We’ll leave, ok?”
I rake my hands through my hair in frustration, “Oh God, we are so dead if they find us…”
“Sir? Madam? Can I help you with something?”
I bump my head at sound of our snooty waiter and quickly come out from under the cloth, “Uh, we’re ok.” I say quickly, glancing around to see Claire and John sitting not too far away from us. I cover my face with my hand, giving Jake a meaningful look as he comes up so that he does the same.
Jake grabs a wallet from out of his pocket and quickly pulls out a couple of bills. I grab the fifty from his hand, shove it into the waiters face and then quickly get up, grabbing my purse and my coat, making sure it blocks my face from the McLane parents. “Thanks for the garlic bread.” I salute quickly at the bewildered man.
“Wait! I only need to give him a 20!” Jake hisses in my ear as I grab his hand and we hurriedly make our way out if the restaurant, making sure to stick to the walls.
“It doesn’t matter.” I hiss back pushing him towards the entrance we came through. I sneak a glance back to see John and Claire happily chatting, not noticing in the slightest that the couple who were sitting two tables away from them were actually us.
“He didn’t deserve the tip.” He grumbles helping me with my coat as we get to the elevator once again.
I squeeze his hand, “Maybe he’ll lighten up about other young couples like us who genuinely want to eat at a fancy place like that and can actually pay.”
The ride back down to the ground floor is silent and anxious as he will the elevator to take us further away from Jake’s parents.
“Sorry we had to leave.” He says, walking out the door. “I didn’t know dad and mom would be there too…”
“It’s ok.” I say reassuringly. “I don’t mind.”
I never expected to go to such an extravagant place and I really didn’t care that we had to leave so quickly. The view was nice, the food – well the garlic bread we managed to eat – was amazing, but what counts is who I was with. I’d do the whole ‘Lady and the Tramp’ thing and just sit out in a back alley with a crate for a table and a bowl of spaghetti to share, if I’d been with Jake. Even just going out for coffee would have been fine. I was just happy that I could spend some times with my boyfriend.
We head down to the car park to pick up the car but Jake only grabs my purse and puts it into the compartment on the dashboard, ripping his tie off and throwing it into the back. He takes his jacket off and I hand him my coat as well and they’re chucked into the back too. “Much better.”
“Where are we going?” I ask, as he locks the car and we walk back out onto the street.
He swings our entwined hands back and forth as we walk down the shopping strip, “Nowhere in particular.” He replies nonchalantly before stopping in front of a little café. “Hungry for some home-made rolls?” he questions as we walk through the door, a little bell going off to signal our entry.
It’s a small, cosy place with booths down the sides and small tables and chairs scattered around the room. I can hear the faint blare of a radio coming from the speakers near the roof and I can smell roast chicken wafting from near the counter. We stand in front of the display case checking out the ingredients we can put into rolls, “I know it’s not that five star place we just left, but I’m hungry and the food here’s decent enough.”
I smile up at him, “I really don’t mind Jake. This way I won’t have to pay you back as much since the prices here are within my range.” I add with a grin. “I don’t care how or where we celebrate anyway. I’m just happy to be with you” I stand on my toes and kiss him hard, trying to convey to him what I’m trying to say, before pulling back. “Thank you for taking me out at all.”
He grabs my face with one hand, giving me fish lips as his eyebrows knit together, “You mean to tell me that I could have just taken you to some cheap as place and you would have given me a kiss, like that?”
I frown, knowing I probably look like some obese chipmunk, “Yesh.” I manage to say, my cheeks aching slightly.
“Um, can I help you guys… or do you want me to come back?”
We whirl around to look at the confused looking girl behind the counter. I slap Jake’s hand away from my face urgently, “Sorry. I – well – ok.” I stammer, completely embarrassed at how idiotic we must have looked. I scan the display case quickly, “Could I please have a multigrain roll with roast chicken, eggplant, tatziki, tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, rocket, mozzarella, cucumber and… yep that’s it for me. Oh no, wait. Can I have some feta, olives and dried tomatoes too please? And some of those artichoke hearts.”
Jake gives me a weird look before asking the girl for a good old chicken, mayo and lettuce roll and some soft drink and we take our seats in a booth towards the back of the café.
“Thank you Jake.” I say, taking his hand from across the table, “Really, thank you.”
He kisses my hand, “It’s alright. I just want to have fun tonight. So no more thank you’s or sorry’s. Ok?”
I smile back, “Ok.”
The girl from the counter puts down a tray with both our rolls on it, “Here you go guys.” she sets two cans of lemonade down as well. “Enjoy!”
“Thanks.” We say together before chomping into our food.
“Soooo goooooddd.” I moan as soon as I’ve had half the roll.
Jake points a warning finger at me, “Moan again and I’ll really start doing things to you.” I blush furiously as I kick him under the table and continue to eatl. “What kind of stuff have you got in that roll anyway? I have no idea how that all works together.”
“It’s yummy.” I say so seriously that he laughs out loud. “You don’t believe me? Try it then!” I shove my half eaten roll in his face and he gives me a questioning look, “Just eat it.” I order and he obediently takes a bite.
I sit back with a haughty look, sipping my drink as I watch his expression develop as he continues to chew my ‘creation’. To tell you the truth, I didn’t actually know if it’d taste any good. I’ve just always had a habit of putting ingredients I like together in my sandwiches or rolls and just dealing with the consequences when I actually have to eat it.
“It’s not bad.” He says with a surprised look. He grins evilly at me, “I think I might eat it.”
“No! That’s minnneeee!” I whine, trying to grab it back as he takes another bite.
“Oh shit.” Jake suddenly groans blocking his face with my stolen dinner, “Not again.”
My eyes widen and I instinctively hold my lemonade can in front of my face… not that it covers much of it…
My eyes widen in surprise as I hear a familiar voice, “Well I made it out of all these home videos I’ve been taking of my family. The theme of the movie centres around family and connections. Things like that. ”
“Dylan.” We whisper at the same time.
“He’s got the biggest mouth.” Jake mutters, “If he catches us, then we’re toast.”
“Burnt toast.” I mutter. We need to get out of here, fast.
I turn, careful to keep myself pressed against the side of the booth and try to catch the eye of the café girl. Once she sees me I make motions at her for some take-out boxes so that we can make a quick exit but with our food this time. I’m still too hungry to leave without something to eat on the way.
“Um here you go…” the girl says, putting down some plastic containers and a bag on our table.
“Thanks.” Jake hands her 20 dollars, “Keep the change.”
I start to hurriedly pack away our dinner.
“Ok.” Jake whispers, helping me, while discreetly watching the counter, “Here’s the game plan. They’re ordering their food now, when they go to sit down we’re going to have to make a speedy exit… on the floor.”
I tie a knot in the plastic bag, “Excuse me?”
“We’re going to have to go ninja.” He says completely serious. Before I can protest this he’s on the ground with our cans of soft drink, “Now Hailey!” he hisses.
Like father, like son…
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I mutter, falling to the floor with our dinner. We crawl towards the front of the shop, away from the booths. I glance up to see Dylan laughing at something a guy’s he’s sitting with says. I quickly duck my head down again, quickening my pace so I’m in front of Jake. I’m not keen on explaining to Dylan why we’re here together. “Hurry up!” I hiss back at Jake as he seems to slow.
He smirks, “I don’t know… I’m actually liking the view back here. “
I kick my leg back, knowing that I’ve hit the mark at the muffled groan I hear. We continue to crawl towards the door, passing a couple of weirded out people wondering what the hell we’re doing.
My hearts in my throat as we finally get to the door and I quickly get up, making sure my head’s turned away from most of the shop.
“Are you guys ok?”
I freeze in the middle of opening the door, Jake in a half crouch as he gets up from off the ground.
“Uh, ve are fine.” Jake says in a low foreign accent.
“Merci mademoiselle!” I call out randomly, hurrying out the door with my new Russian boyfriend right behind me…
We start to walk quickly away from the restaurant only to see a couple of familiar people walking towards us. Seth and Wes. Jake sees his brothers around the same time I see them and we grab each other’s hands instinctively before making a complete 180 degree turn and dashing down the street.
Ok, this is way too weird to be coincidental.
Seth’s surprised face is still etched into my brain as we run, the plastic bag banging against my thigh, Jake still holding onto our lemonade cans. We only stop after we’ve turned around the corner of the block.
I bend over, resting m hands on my knees as I try to catch my breath, “Why. Are. We. Bump. Ing., In. To. Every. One.” I gasp out in between ragged breaths.
Jake cracks open his drink and takes a good long swig, “I have no idea.” He finally replies, wiping his mouth with the back of his hands, “But it’s seriously annoying me.”
“I think Seth saw us.” I say, biting my lip as we continue to walk down the new street, coming to a stop at a bench on the outskirts of a park. I take my lemonade and finish it off, my throat absolutely parched.
Jake groans as he leans his head back, closing his eyes but he doesn’t comment on what I’ve told him. “Sorry we’ve been going diner dash all night. I really wanted to treat you tonight and make sure you had a good time.”
I nudge him as I unwrap the rest of my roll and hand Jake his as well, “Hey, we said we’d stop with the apologising, remember? Even though it is a bit weird that we’re bumping into everyone tonight, I’m still having fun.” I take a bite of my food so I don’t have to say anything else and watch how the moon filters through the trees surrounding us, dappling us with a dim light.
Jake puts his arm around me as he finishes off his dinner in three bites. “I’ve been too.” He says quietly.
I rest my head on his shoulder, licking the crumbs off my fingers as I finish my own roll, “So, we heading home after this?” I ask, starting to feel a bit light-headed as his hands trail against my collarbone.
“It’s up to you.” He says, “We can just walk around if you want though.”
I smile up at him, that light headed feeling giving way to the fuzzier warmth of uncaring bliss. “Ok then.” I murmur, getting up and pulling him with me, “A walk it is.”
We throw our trash into a bin and begin walking out of the park and in the direction of the more suburban part of town. His hand gently wraps around mine and he leads me down a whole lot of streets as if he’s planning on going somewhere. “You do realise we’re going to have to walk all the way back to the car, right?” I finally say after fifteen minutes.
Jake turns his to grin at me, “I know, but there’s something I want to do.” He says cryptically.
He continues to lead me down the dimly lit streets and then through a small alley that lines up against the backs of some pretty big houses. Curiosity rises within me and I start to get a small sinking feeling…
He stops in front of a certain intimidating residence and looks up at the orange tree hanging over the wall, “This is it.”
“We’re standing in front of someone’s back fence.” I point out. Jake picks me up suddenly and my hands go to his shoulders in surprise, “What are you doing?!” I say in surprise.
“Climb over.” He grins up at me.
“Excuse me?”
“Climb over.” He repeats again, “I’ll follow you.”
I start to wriggle in his grip, my awareness levels going up as his hold on me slips a little, his hands sliding up my dress a bit, “Let go Jake. This isn’t funny.”
His drawing eyes stare straight back into mine, “I’m not joking around. Seriously, climb over.”
“You do know that’s what’s classified as intruding on private property…” I say desperately.
He ignores my comment, rolling his eyes, “I was going to do this the easy way but you leave me no choice.”
“What do you m– ARGH!” I scream as he chucks me over the fence.
I land in a hedge on the other side and fall down hard onto my butt. Before I can even get my bearings Jake’s dark figure is illuminated by the moon as he jumps gracefully over the fence, himself.
“You ok?” he asks, concern in his voice as he lifts me back onto my feet.
“I could have broken something!” I practically yell at him, raising my hands in exasperation.
He quickly covers my mouth, “Shut up! Someone might hear you!”
“Then why are we in a random’s backyard?!” I say a bit more quietly, my voice muffled by his hand.
Jake frowns at me, his hands dropping away but hovering near my shoulders in case I start yelling again. “Well for starter’s it’s a friend’s backyard.”
“We still look suspicious.” I butt in.
“And he wouldn’t care.” Jake continues as if I haven’t spoken, “He’s away with his family on some trip still, so no one’s around… to use their pool!” my idiot of a boyfriend gestures to the lit pool behind us, the crystal blue water lapping against the sides.
I look back at him like he’s crazy, “You chucked me over a fence and risked me getting an injured limb so we could jump into a pool fully clothed?”
He shrugs back at me, “I never said you had to wear anything while you swim.”
“Oh that is it.” I turn around in a huff and begin climbing onto the hedge in hopes of somehow pulling myself back over the wooden wall again. “This date was actually turning out to be sweet and then he has to go and pull me into some breaking and entering scheme.” I grumble to myself.
Jake picks me up as if I weigh nothing before I can even stand up on the hedge, “We’re not breaking and entering.” He explains as he quickly slips my shoes off, and then his own “We’re just borrowing their pool for a bit – no biggie.” He begins to walk towards the pool and I immediately begin to thrash around in his arms.
“Put me down McLane!” I screech, not really caring if anyone hears. “Put me down this instant or so help me!”
Jake chuckles as he stops by the side of the pool and draws his arms back ready to throw me in. I squeeze my eyes shut, ready to scream as he throws me forward but he never lets go. My eyes snap open as he sits down and dangles his feet in, placing me next him with a grin. “Thought I was going to throw you in, didn’t you?”
I glare at him, raising my arms to hit him for being the stupid jerk that he is but he catches my wrists, “You’ve got to admit.” He says with a charming smile, “The temperature of the water isn’t that bad at all.”
I close my eyes in defeat, completely exhausted from trying to keep up with his train of thought, “I thought we were going for a walk.” I groan into my hands.
“We were.” I hear the rustle of fabric as he rolls the bottom of his pants up, “But then this awesome idea came to my head and I thought I might treat you, since it has been pretty warm tonight.”
I let my hands drop away and find a wry smile coming to my lips at the sincerity in his voice, “That doesn’t change the fact that we’re in someone backyard.”
“A friend’s backyard.” He corrects quickly.
I shake my head, laughing a little as I kick my legs up and down through the water, “I can’t believe I’m still sitting here and I’m not trying to get back over that fence before the cops come…”
Jake smiles warmly at me as he nudges his foot against mine. “So, have you figured out how you’re going to repay me for this amazing night out on the run?” he says imitating some jazz hands to emphasise the ‘amazing’ part of his sentence.
I study his face as I think over what he’s said, a small idea niggling in the back of my mind but not really coming across as a big enough thank you. My eyes dart around his face, taking in the way his eyebrows lift slightly when he smirks, his lips pulled up at the corners, his eyes dancing with mischief and… tenderness.
I know this won’t be enough but for now I think my next actions are absolutely appropriate for the moment.
I lean forward, and close the distance between our lips. At first he seems kind of surprised but he instantly starts kissing me back, gently… almost hesitantly. I make a noise at the back of my throat to show my annoyance at this and I bring my arms around his neck. He pulls me to him in response, crushing me against his chest but not making me feel uncomfortable in the slightest. His fingers knot themselves in my hair as I do the same and all my usual embarrassment and hot blushes evolve into what feels like a roaring fire.
It’s only when he pulls away gasping that I realise I wasn’t breathing the whole time his lips were against mine. My usual shyness comes back into the spotlight and my hands drop into my lap and become the object of my attention as I try not to look at him.
Jake laughs, “Now that is what I call a thank you.” He kisses my temple as he brings his arm around my shoulder. “Happy Birthday Hailey Parker.” He whispers near my ear. I smile happily, feeling like I’m the luckiest girl on this planet. No, knowing I’m the luckiest girl on the planet.
“Happy Birthday Jake McLane.” I reply back quietly as we gaze up at the moon, taking comfort in each other’s warmth.
*
“So what did you tell Seth and Wes?” I ask, as Jake slowly drives down the quiet street. It’s one thirty in the morning – way past curfew and if Claire and John are home… well let’s just say that if we add any more lies on top of the ones we’ve already built up it’s going to end in absolute chaos.
Jake looks nervously around, probably waiting for one of his family members to leap out of nowhere and jump on to the hood of the car. The closer we’ve gotten home, the more jumpy he’s gotten and while I’m kind of scared of being caught myself, I’m finding this absolutely hilarious.
“Dylan!” I randomly scream pointing out the window.
Jake swerves on the empty road in reaction and starts spouting out a whole lot of swear words, none of which make any particular meaning. “What are you doing?!” he hisses at me once he realises his older brother isn’t actually anywhere nearby.
I grin at him, “It’s fun to be the one doing the scaring for once.”
He rolls his eyes, ignoring what I said. “When we get home we’re going to have to make up some sort of story about why we’re late.” He says almost to himself.
“What have you told Seth and Wes?” I repeat my earlier question, “We’ll have to build off that excuse to avoid suspicion.” Seth’s face pops into my head and I quickly shove thoughts of him seeing us to the back of my mind.
“I said we were going to a party that we didn’t want mom and dad to know about…” Jake replies unsurely as we pulls up in front of his house.
“So let me get this straight. We’re supposed to be at a party that we’re not meant to be at but Claire and John think we’re at a different party with Wes and Seth but we actually aren’t and Wes and Seth think we’re at that party that we’re not supposed to be at when in actual fact we haven’t really gone to any parties all night…”
Jake groans, “Well if you say it like that you can make any plan seem confusing enough. I’d like to see you try better.”
“Well it’s going to end up as this massive mess… I don’t like lying to your parents.” I huff, crossing my arms.
“Well the only other option is to tell them what’s going on…” Jake replies after a pause, taking my hand, “It’s up to what you want.”
I look up at him, “I want to be with you.” I say simply, knowing that this is explanation enough as to what I want to do.
Jake nods. “I do too. We’ll just have to put up with the secrets for now… but when you want to tell them… please give me a few days’ notice so I can create a plan for when my parents come after me…” he pleads with me, apprehension all over his face.
I laugh as we get out of the car and head up the driveway, “I’ll be sure to let you know.”
Instead of walking up to the front door, Jake grabs my hand and leads me down the side of the house to the massive tree that’s been there ever since I can remember.
“We’re going to have to sneak in.” he mutters as he kneels on the ground, “Come on, I’ll give you a push up.”
I stare at him like he’s crazy, “We’re climbing in through a window?” I ask sceptically as I stare up at the distance we’d have to go.
He shrugs, “Well you’re window technically. Now can you just climb up? I feel like an idiot down here.”
“We’re not going through a perfectly usable door and instead we’re climbing up a tree to get in through a window?”
“Hurry!” he hisses impatiently at me, grabbing the skirt of my dress and pulling me closer.
“There is no way I’m climbing up a tree McLane.” I say firmly as I put my hands on my hips, “Just give me the keys. You can risk breaking your silly neck by yourself.”
Jake rolls his eyes at me as he gets up, brushing the dirt off of his pants. Instead of giving me what I’ve asked for though, he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, “If you’re not going to co-operate I’m just going to have to carry you up.”
My eyes widen in shock and I start to wriggle, “Ok! OK! I’ll climb up the damn tree!” I whisper-yell, not wanting to wake anyone and not wanting to have to up the likely-hood of my death.
I slip off my shoes and loop them around my wrists as Jake crouches down again and I realise he wants me to climb onto his shoulders.
“I’m going to be a bit heavy.” I mutter as I awkwardly sit on his shoulders. I instantly clutch at his head as he stands up. I panic. “Oh my god. This is too high. Ok, put me down. Right now. We’re both going to die at this rate. Put me back down.”
Jake stumbles a bit as his vision’s blocked by my arms and his arms grasp my thighs, “Just get up onto the branch.” He says, trying to push me off his face.
“But–”
“Now Hailey!”
With shaking hands I slowly unwrap one of my arms and reach up for the first branch of the tree. I grasp it, memories of climbing this thing slowly coming back to me. Soon enough I’m standing on the branch, grinning down at Jake, my fear suddenly gone. “I did it Jake!”
He rolls his eyes at me, his usual smirk showing me that he’s finding this amusing, “We used to climb this thing when we were kids all the time. Of course you can do it.” Jake jumps up for the branch, gripping it with ease and swinging up after me, “But this time I got a better view from below.”
My eyes widen as I realise what he means and I’m tempted to slap him up-side the head for saying that but before I can he’s already started climbing further up, closer to my window.
He reaches a hand down to help me up, after we’ve gone up a couple more branches, “Come on, it’s not that high up at all.”
Yeah, keep saying that once you’ve fallen to your death, idiot.
I stubbornly ignore his hand and bring my hands up to the branch, latching my legs on at the same time. Now that I’m in my sloth position I realise that I probably should have accepted his help. “My idea on how to get up looked so much better in my head.” I grumble as my dress rides up in the early-early morning breeze. “This sucks.”
Jake sits down and leans over, looping his arm around my waist and effortlessly pulling me up next to him, “You just want to show me how nice you’re legs are.” he says smugly.
“You have a sleazy comment for every occasion don’t you?” I give him a soft shove before reaching up to my window. There aren’t any branches that align exactly with the stupid piece of glass so we have to climb up from the branch and somehow pull ourselves inside.
A sinking feeling begins to swell within me as I remember what I did before I left my room last night.
“Need any help?” Jake asks looking over my shoulder after a minute or two of sullen silence.
I turn back around to him slowly, a look of despair on my face as I groan, “It’s locked.”
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Just letting you know, this chapter is still being edited so if it's dodgy - i'm super sorry :s Hope you enjoy anyway :)
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