"Jake!" I exclaimed, grinning widely when my best friend's brother opened the door. It was always nice to see Jake.
"Hey, Tori," he replied, smirking at me.
"Permission to hug friend?" Jake asked, turning to his sister, who was standing next to me in the doorway.
"Denied, soldier," Maya replied, winking at me.
"Eh, I guess I'll risk getting a badge removed," Jake said, playing along. Without hesitating another moment, he reached down and enveloped me in a big bear hug.
"JAKE!" Maya shouted.
"Oh God! I can't breathe!" I squeaked. Jake chuckled and let me go. I overdramatically panted for breath.
"Agh! My lungs!" I hacked.
"Look what you did! You broke my best friend!" Maya scolded, pretending to be overly concerned for my well-being.
"Quit acting like such drama queens," Jake said, rolling his eyes.
"Says the guy that threw a fit when Mom washed his favorite sweatshirt with lavendar scented detergent," Maya retorted as we walked into the living room.
"Well pardon me for not wanting to smell like a chick!" Jake replied.
"As opposed to how you usually smell," Maya added snarkily. Jake proceeded to capture Maya's head in a headlock and rub the top of her skull until she successfully fought him off. I stood watching this scene, feeling extremely amused. I sat on the couch and pretended to be completely engrossed in what they were doing, faking eating popcorn.
"And that concludes today's segment of Sibling Madness: Keller Edition," Maya said when she saw me. All three of us laughed.
"What's all the ruckus about?" Maria asked, walking in.
"Hi, Maria!" I exclaimed.
"Ah, Tori! How are you, mi hija bonita?" she asked, her Hispanic accent crisp.
"Muy bien, gracias," I replied, winking. Maria laughed. Maya rolled her eyes. Jake snickered.
"Have you eaten yet? I'll make you niños some food, all right?" she said. We nodded eagerly. I was in the mood for some Latin American cuisine, and Maria's was the best of the best.
Maria disappeared into the kitchen and the three of us lounged around in the living room. Maya was sitting in the round wicker chair in the corner. Jake and I were sitting on the love seat. To annoy Maya, Jake threw his arm around my shoulder and I cuddled next to him. Maya glared at us, but didn't say anything.
"I'm going to stop responding one of these days. Then it'll get old," she said.
"What will?" I asked.
"You two pretending to be in love," she replied.
"Who says we're pretending?" Jake asked. Maya rolled her eyes and Jake winked at me, his blue eyes sparkling.
"You'll have to put your insecurities aside for a bit. I need to have a one-on-one conversation with Tori after lunch," Jake said. I pulled back from Jake. Maya twirled her hair between her fingers.
"About what?" I asked innocently, although I knew exactly what.
"My little sister here doesn't exactly know how to keep her mouth shut. I want to talk to you about the mail boy," he replied.
I frowned, sighing heavily. Great. Another talk about a conversation I did not want to have.
"It's nice to have you back, Jakey," I said to him.
"It always is," he replied, smirking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later on, after lunch, Jake and I decided to go for a ride. He wanted to have a conversation alone with just me and we both knew Maya would eavesdrop if we had it at their house, so he suggested we go for a drive. About an hour later, we were both sitting in his Lexus SUV.
"So, where should we start?" Jake asked.
"You tell me," I mumbled, grudgingly. There were rare instances where I didn't want to talk to Jake. This was one of them.
"How about with how you two met. I want to know how far involved you are," he said.
"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then you're thinking wrong," I defended. He laughed lightly, glancing at me.
"I know you haven't done anything stupid. I just want to know how much you've invested in this relationship," he replied.
"Fine," I said, sighing. "We met a while ago at Midas, but we didn't know who each other was. Then when I started working at Belleza, we met again, but this time officially," I told him.
"And?" he prodded.
"And, what? We hit it off, became friends, and then started dating," I replied.
"You are giving me the minimal amount of detail on purpose," Jake said.
"I really don't want relationship advice from my best friend's older brother," I grumbled.
"Best friend's older brother who's also like your own older brother," he corrected.
"My previous statement still holds," I said. He gave me a look.
"You don't really have a choice at this point," he said.
"Why does it matter?" I asked.
"Because the way Maya put it, you've fallen too hard and too fast for this kid and I'm worried about where you're going to end up," he replied.
I felt my cheeks flush with color at his incredible thoughtfulness for me. He really did care a lot about me.
"Ok, fine," I said, leaning back against my seat. Jake pulled into the parking lot at the harbor and we got out. We sat down at the docks. I leaned against one of the wooden poles, facing the water. Jake sat with his knees drawn up to his chest.
"Ok, go," he said.
So I recounted the same story I told my mother to him, except with more detail, since that's what he was asking for. He listened carefully, nodding and interjecting at random intervals. When I got to the bit about how Sean was hiding something from me, his face turned serious and a frown formed on his perfect face.
"Ok, so on the one hand, I can see how it would be extremely aggravating for you with him not telling you what's going on. I mean, what's going on in his life that he's being so shady about it?" Jake said after I finished.
I nodded, glad he agree with me. But I knew there was another side to his reasoning.
"But on the other hand, I understand why he wouldn't tell you. I mean, what if it's something really personal and he's not up for sharing it? I mean, hell, I wouldn't want to tell anyone either," he said.
"It's just annoying because I've told him so much and he hasn't told me a thing," I told him.
"Yeah...relationships can be complicated," he said. "But Tori, you really shouldn't have opened up to him as quickly as you did," he told me.
"I think it's just the vibe he gives off. He seems so trustworthy," I replied.
"Still, you opened up way too quickly to this guy. You're setting yourself up for heartbreak," he said. I frowned.
"I know what I'm doing, Jake," I said.
"I think that you're old enough to know what a real relationship is, Tori. You have to forget those stupid high school crushes now. You're going to be attending university in less than a year. You can't stay naiive forever," Jake told me.
"How did this turn into a lecture?" I complained.
"I'm not lecturing you, Tori. I'm worried about you," Jake said.
"I can handle myself," I assured him. He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face.
"The fact that you're so nonchalant about not speaking to your boyfriend for two weeks shows me that you can't," he said. Ouch. That hurt.
"What do you suppose I'd done?" I asked.
"I think you should have taken it slow. If he's not telling you anything about himself, why should you tell him?" he answered.
"Then what substance would the relationship have had?" I asked back.
"What substance does it have right now?" he replied. I blinked. He had a point. He sighed. "I'm not just talking about this relationship in particular, Tori. You invest too much emotionally in your relationships and that's why you get hurt. Remember Lucas? How quickly you 'fell in love with him' and how long it took you to get over him? You're doing the same thing now," he said.
"I'll have you know, Lucas and I are friends now," I pointed out lamely.
"That's not the point," he said.
"I know," I sighed. "What should I do?" I asked.
"Ask yourself how much you like this guy, first. If he's worth your time, then talk to him. If he's not, then let by-gones be by-gones," he said.
"Well, he's definitely worth my time. I mean, you don't always come across a guy that wakes you up at 4 in the morning to go watch a sunrise," I said. His lips turned up in a smile.
"I bet he's a ladies man," he said.
"He only had one girlfriend ever. Two counting me," I defended. He chuckled.
"Then a hopeless romantic," he offered.
"He seems like the type," I said with a shrug. Silence fell between us. "You're so quick to suggest that I leave him, Jake. Why?" I asked after a few moments.
"Because you've spent two weeks worrying about this. If this is a high school relationship that's meaningless, then why waste your thoughts and emotions?" he responded.
"But it's not just a meaningless high school relationship," I said.
"Then I guess he's worth it, then, isn't he?" Jake replied. I looked at him, realizing for the first time how strong my feelings really were for Sean.
It was true that I had put too much into our relationship. I had told him too much about me too quickly. I was too fast to trust him. I came to love those sparkling blue-green eyes of his. I fell in love with the warmth he provided me, with the sense of security that came with his arms. I loved the way he was so different from most guys, how he had seen through my false exterior almost immediately, even upon our first meeting. Maybe Jake was right. I had fallen for the mail boy.
But right now, I wasn't acting like it. And I think that's what Jake, and Derek, and Mom were all trying to tell me. They were telling me that I was acting too immature, too uncaring, too cool about all of this. If I wanted the serious relationship that I longed for, then I would have to work for it. That meant admitting to my mistake.
Which was actually a lot harder said than done. Especially with an ego like mine.
"I'm going to talk to him," I told Jake.
"Best of luck," he replied with a smile. I laughed and hit his arm. He chuckled and put his arm around me, pulling me close to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and we sat together, watching the sunset over the New York harbor.
_________________________________________________________________________
A/N: It's a little shorter than usual. But this story is about to wrap up. I'm sad to end it, but alas, all good things must come to an end and the same holds for this case.
Some more brotherly advice from Jake. We all love Jake, don't we? I know I do.
Next chapter, she'll finally talk to Sean. Do you think they'll get back together? Or do you think they'll both move on with their lives?
Anyway, leave me a comment.
And please vote!
XOXO
P.S. Check out my new story: Night Life if you have time. Let me know if you like it more than Ticking Clocks. If so, then that will be my next work. If not, then I'll work on Ticking Clocks. Thanks!