Chapter Twenty-Three: Unexpected Fall.
JAKE CAPLIN CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY WITH GIRLFRIEND SKY ATKIN AND FRIENDS.
The 'No Angel' singer celebrated his twenty-sixth birthday this past Wednesday with his girlfriend Sky Atkin, 21, and his friends, including his band members and his older brother, Ethan.
Caplin celebrated his birthday at his recently bought 18.2 million penthouse -- who he shares with Atkin -- in the area of TriBeCa in New York City. The complex holds more than five rooms and bathrooms, a gym and indoor pool with terrace. Several friends of Caplin uploaded pictures on social media celebrating his birthday.
His guitarist, Ace Evans, 26, tweeted a picture of him and Jake arm to arm sharing drinks with the caption:
@AceEvans1: Happy Birthday to this man @JakeCaplin. Cheers to those 26 bud!! 🍻🎉
His girlfriend, Sky Atkin, 21, instagramed what seemed to be an old candid picture of the pair in the beach. The couple lovingly looking at each other in an embrace.
SkyAtkin: Happy Birthday to this Bunny. So grateful to be spending your birthday with you. I love you🐰💘
The party went until the early hours of the morning, his manager and security being the first ones to exit the tower. The celebration was kept very private -- unlike Caplin's previous birthday celebrations that included whole club renting. Pictures posted by the attendees were the only hint of how things went down during the cheeky heartthrob's celebration, proving that Jake's eight month old relationship with Miss Atkin is triggering change in his social partying ways.
Regardless, congratulations to Jake on his birthday and new buy!
* * *
JAKE
I wake up next to my favorite girl. Sky's head is nuzzled in my neck as we lay on our sides, face to face. Her blonde hair covering her bare shoulders and part of her breasts as the white sheets lay at our lower back. One of her hands rests under her chin in a loose fist while the other is hidden under her pillow. She looks angelic as she sleeps peacefully. Her plump lips lightly opened as she contently sighs and nuzzles further into me in her sleep. She went all out for my birthday party last week. Having her surprise me and getting re-signed by the label made this birthday pure bliss. I was on cloud nine from the moment I woke up. It was the first time in almost six years since Mom and Dad's passing that I felt happiness overshadow the grief and the feeling of longing I felt for having to celebrate my birthday without either of them. And it was all because of her. She's the only one capable of making my world stop spinning around the negative, turning it the other way around toward the positive. It's what made falling in love with her even easier.
I kiss her forehead, allowing my lips to linger over her skin. I'm a fool for her and anything that revolves around her. She's got me hooked since I first met her, wrapped completely in her. Obsessed with having her by my side. Addicted to her company. My love for her is so strong, it has come to this. I've searched for this type of happiness for a long time and I'm more than pleased, glad, I found it in and with her. Being part of this industry, comes with its pros and cons. Thirst being a con. It makes you doubt who really wants to get to know you because of you and who wants to know you because of your money and who you are known as. With Sky, those thoughts never surfaced. She never gave me a reason to doubt her intentions of forming some type of relationship with me. She's what makes me one lucky bastard and I wish any other artist who belongs to this world, gets the chance to find their own Sky. So, they can experience what passionate love and care is. What falling in love really is like. Just for them to know what it's like to live not only for yourself, but for someone else.
Sky begins to stir next to me. Her eyes slowly opening and adjusting to the light in our room. A lazy smile appears on her lips as her eyes focus on me.
"Morning," I say in a whisper.
She slowly blinks before closing her eyes again and nuzzling me.
I chuckle, "Tired?"
She nods, staying silent.
I move my hand further into her back, beginning to lightly move my fingertips up and down her spine. Sky hums in content and a faint smirk appears on my face. I can feel her skin beginning to slightly break into goosebumps. I love the way her skin involuntarily reacts to my touch, whether it's a soothing and soft touch or hard and passionate. It makes me feel possessive of her. It's like her body has always known it belongs to me and there's something satisfying about it.
"You want to turn this day into a lazy day?" I ask her, my hands going to her hair.
She nods, staying silent again. I laugh, loudly. I didn't think last night would tire her this much, too the point were she will only speak when necessary. I would never do this to her in a week day, but she should be grateful it's Saturday. Otherwise, she would have to force herself to work and Sky and fatigue don't get along, especially if work is involved. Sky opens her eyes, the mossy green in them glaring at me.
"Are you that tired from last night?" I question between small chuckles to prevent from infuriating her.
She lazily smirks. "You definitely proved you can own up the Bunny name."
I move from her side, hovering over her now. One of her hands moving to my waist and beginning to do the same up-and-down motion I was doing with her. "Well, it's not my fault I'm a gentleman and treat my lady right."
"If that's what you want to call it..." She pecks my lips, "...instead of horny."
The grin on her lips encourages me to reply with a smart-ass remark. "If that's the case then you're just as horny as me, Petal." I finish, giving her lips a chaste kiss.
"What can I say, mister Caplin?" She brings her head up, chastely kissing me back. "I'm easily influenced by you." She replies, managing to put the blame back on me.
I laugh, kissing her neck and up to her ear. "You're definitely one hell of a something."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Her hands move from my waist to my shoulder blades, touching my muscles. They continue to move, reaching my nape and playing with the ends of my hair. I love it when she does this. It's been a habit of hers since our early dating and even before we started, on the edge of our friendship becoming a relationship. "I love you."
"I love you." I retort, pushing a strand of hair out of her face.
"Last night was great. I didn't get to thank you for dinner."
"It was only fair I treated you after what you did last week."
"Such a thoughtful bunny."
"Aw..." I mock, kissing her lips.
She grins, kissing my forearm this time. The rose tattoo receiving the touch of her lips for the uncountable time.
• • •
SKY
Everything has been more than lovely. Jake's birthday turned out well, more than well and we've been enjoying time together and putting to use the amenities of the penthouse. I haven't left bed since I woke up. Only to shower and put some clothes on. He's been treating me to a lazy day today and I'm loving it, being spoiled. Jake always spoils me in some way, but today is just a little bit more than usual. He's showering while I lie in bed, wearing one of his comfy shirts. It's just after noon and I don't know what he has planned for us to eat since we skipped breakfast.
His album is out next week and the promotional tour will begin again. It'll be a continuous back and forth between East and West coast. He won't be leaving the states until next month when the album releases in Europe. During our relationship, Jake has never left the country. The only time he was out was for his birthday last year and we weren't dating at the time. I don't know how we'll handle it, but we'll make it through. Timezones will definitely be something hard to cope with, however it's the least of my worries. Even though it's known Jake is in a relationship, groupies don't cease to stop flirting. It's not that I don't trust Jake, I do. Nonetheless, those women know how to attack men and get them at the weakest, allowing temptation to fall in. I've tried not to pay attention to them during most of our time together and I've succeed, but in moments like this where I know they'll be an ocean and thousands of miles between us, it worries me. Insecurity is present in every human's personality. Sometimes, more prominent in certain people than in others.
My phone rings, tuning me out of my thoughtful haze. The phone screen flashes with BLOCKED as the caller ID.
I frown, reaching for it and answering, "Hello?"
The line remains silent and I speak again, "Hello?" My voice more insistent.
I wait a few more seconds before rolling my eyes and hanging up. I toss my phone on the mattress, sighing right as Jake exits the bathroom with a towel around his waist, drying his hair with a smaller one.
"What's wrong?" He tosses the small towel on the floor and I raise an eyebrow, unimpressed by the action. "I'll pick it up, later. Now, answer me."
"It's nothing. Just some prank call." I answer.
He moves closer to my side of the bed, "Are you sure?"
I nod, pouting my lips. "Kiss?"
He leans down, granting me my request. My hand moving to the edge of the towel on his waist. "You're dangerous today."
I laugh, kissing him one more time. "What are we eating today?"
"I was thinking about ordering some pizza since it's a lazy day. It's your favorite, right?" Jake pulls away, entering the closet.
"Yeah."
"So, is that okay?" He half-yells from the closet.
"Yes."
"Sounds good." He closes the closet door, wearing his sweatpants and one of his dozen white shirts like the one I'm also wearing. Jake kisses me again as he passes by me. "I'll call downstairs and have Fred order for us. Large pepperoni pizza and Parmesan breadsticks?"
"Mhm." I hum against his lips. "You know me so well."
After filling ourselves up with too much slices of pizza. Jake and I decide to watch a movie in our movie theater. We haven't really used it for movies yet. Jake used it earlier this week to watch sports. I sat next to him and enjoyed the big screen and the comfortable large chairs, but I wasn't really into the game. I'm capable of being the type of girlfriend who supports her boyfriend's love for sports. Not because I enjoy sports as much as he does, but because I love him enough to sit through it and have him enjoy my company. Jake says it doesn't feel right to watch sports unless you have a companion even if it's someone like me who doesn't really give a shit of which team loses and which one wins. Granted, I usually end up snoozing a bit by the end, only because they usually end late. It's my excuse and it works for him. Jake probably knows it's also because I'm bored, but he doesn't comment on the issue. He usually pulls my head to his lap and allows me to use it as a pillow when he notices me close to crashing.
Jake enters the room. "Here's the popcorn." He hands me the hot bowl and sits next to me, taking the remote control and pressing play.
"Come here." He pulls me closer to him. His arm going over my shoulder and the bowl of popcorn sitting in our laps. I snuggle into him, finding a comfortable spot and watching the movie.
• • •
"Come to bed. It's almost midnight already." I command from the top of the stairs.
Jake's in the kitchen, putting away the dirty dishes from the movie for a wash. He continues to load them, ignoring me and I roll my eyes even though he can't see my annoyance. Before going to the kitchen, he told me he hates living dirty dishes for me to do first thing in the morning when I wake up. It's thoughtful of him to do it, but it's late and I want him to rest enough for work tomorrow. It's not that his career includes hard labor like others because it doesn't, but stress and fatigue easily catches up with you when you don't rest enough. "Jake."
"Go. I'll be there in a minute." I raise an eyebrow, letting him know I'm unconvinced by his words. He sighs, "I promise."
"I'm counting." I warn, leaving him to start the machine. Once it stops in the middle of night, I'll just have to take dishes out and put them back in the cabinets when I wake up in the morning.
I enter our room and push back the covers of our bed. I remove my earrings. My phone's continuous vibration against the table's oak wood interrupting the action.
Incoming Call: BLOCKED
I frown, the caller ID's name appearing on my screen for the second time today, this time at a very odd hour. I pick it up tentatively, reluctant but curious to answer.
"...Hello?"
Silence consumes the line, again.
"This isn't-" I start, beginning to get mad at the indecent action.
"I doonn'tt... fucking care any...more." Jake's voice cuts in. "All sh-she was... was a gg-goooddd fuck..."
My faces pales. He's hammered beyond words in what seems to be a recording. Voices are heard around him, blending in with his.
"Wh-who e-eendded up be..ing all..so batshit crazy."
Tears brim at my eyes.
"Happy fucking New Year!" He yells, following the howls and whistles of others.
Silence again. Then, a beep emerges, signaling the call has ended and I'm left with new pain and fresh tears falling down my cheeks.