***
3.41PM, Friday, Dec. 25th
400 West 37th Street, New York
“Don’t be shy,” I teased, pulling on his reluctant hand. “I want you to meet my family.”
Jake mumbled something inaudible, looking incredibly pale. He was the most nervous I’d ever seen him. It was cute, really. It was sweet of him to get worried about what kind of impression he would leave on my family. In the ten minutes I’d given him to prepare, he’d even changed out of the worn leather jacket he always wore, and was wearing a preppy checked shirt he’d bought hurriedly and pulled on. His hair was looking less crazy. Suddenly, Jake was looking a lot more presentable…to parents, anyway. I still thought he looked hotter in the clothes he usually wore.
I knocked on the door, and Mom swung the door open.
“Come in, honey!” she said, smiling so wide I thought she might pull a face muscle. She shook Jake’s hand enthusiastically, still beaming that smile at him. “You must be Jake. I’ve heard so much about you.”
I winced at her over-shrill tone.
“Thank you,” Jake replied, his voice strained. “Lovely to meet you.”
I tried not to laught. I almost felt sorry for him. Mom stood to one side, letting Jake in. It felt almost bizarre to have him here with me. I was so used to seeing him in exciting (well, sort of) places – the movies, his boxing ring, the ice rink. It was so weird to see him here, in my home, surrounded by pink floral wallpaper and beige carpets.
Sammy ran forwards, and immediately grabbed Jake by the knees. Jake made a weird noise I didn’t know he was capable of, almost like he’d been mauled by some kind of animal.
“Do you want to come and have a cup of coffee?” Mom offered, ignoring Sammy, who was still attached to Jake’s knees. Jake was standing in an awkward pose, his shoulders slouching, his back bent as he stood frozen. It was funny to see him looking so helpless, so unsure of what to do. I was used to him being so confident. “I feel bad for taking you away from your family, especially at this time of year.”
“It’s fine. They don’t really mind.”
I frowned. Was it me, or was his voice suddenly a whole lot colder?
“Are you sure?” Mom asked, still sounding concerned. “I mean, it’s Christmas…”
“I’m sure. They don’t care.”
“If you say so,” replied Mom dubiously, letting it go. I examined Jake’s face, but his hair had fallen over his eyes – on purpose? I bit my tongue, holding back the question I so desperately wanted to ask. But it wasn’t my business to know. He would tell me when he wanted to.
Mom went into the living room, leading the way. I started to follow, but Jake didn’t. I turned around, and realized that Sammy was still stuck onto his knees. Instead of helping, I turned away again, fighting back a smile.
***
4.34PM, Friday, Dec. 25th
My Room, 400 West 37th Street, New York
“Sorry about my Mom,” I apologized. I sat down on my bed, kicking my shoes off. I’d shoved most of the junk and stuff under my bed about an hour ago. Spotting a pair of panties I’d missed, I quickly pushed them under a dirty plate when Jake wasn’t looking.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jake said, with that easy smile that made my heart flip. He sat down next to me and I felt the mattress shift under his weight. “I think it’s sweet. She cares a lot about you.”
“Well, she has to,” I sighed. I picked up one of Jake’s hands and started toying with it. His hands were warm, a lot warmer than Blane’s. “With my Dad always away, she has to ask like two parents for my little brother. Did you know Sammy hasn’t spent a Christmas with Dad yet? He promised us he would come this year, he promised and promised, and now it’s Christmas Day and he’s not here. I mean…” I caught myself. “Sorry. You probably didn’t want to hear any of that, I just –”
“No,” Jake said quickly. “No, of course I want to know about things that bother you. I’m your boyfriend, remember?”
I blushed. I loved the way he said, “Boyfriend”. He was my boyfriend. Nothing could keep us apart. Well, except for…Blane. Oh God, I was a horrible person. Here was a lovely, sweet guy who’d been drawn into my stupid little plan that could only result in three broken heart. I had to tell him. I’d made up my mind a long time ago, when I realized I had feelings for Jake, so it was just a matter of time, and choosing the perfect moment.
Was that now? It was my birthday and Christmas, so he was less likely to be mad.
I opened my mouth, about to say something, anything, that could initiate the hardest conversation of my life. However, before any words came out, Jake spoke.
“I mean, I’m actually a little jealous of your family,” he said carefully. His words were measured, controlled, but for some reason I could still pain disguised in his words. He was staring down at my hands, his thumb twisting the ring he’d given me. “I mean, I haven’t talked to my family in years.”
Was that why he was cold when Mom apologized for taking him away from his family at Christmas?
Seeing his pain made any thoughts of confessing the truth about my senior project completely disappear. I couldn’t tell him now, not when he was so vulnerable, but I promised to myself that I would tell him soon.
“Hey,” I said, softly. “Hey, Jake, look at me.” When he looked up, I saw anger and hurt in his grey-green eyes. “Tell me, Jake. You can tell me anything. I mean, I am your…girlfriend.”
Jake gave a sharp intake of breath and looked straight into my eyes. I could tell that the word “girlfriend” meant as much to him as much as the word “boyfriend” meant to me.
“Well, my family is kind of a big deal,” he started, slowly. “I mean, I never thought that they were, but they differently did. And they were proud of that. And because of their influence, their money, their power, they thought they were better than most normal people and looked down on them.”
I blinked. Wow. Jake was rich? I had no idea. He seemed so normal…
“But I never thought that,” he said hurriedly, as if afraid I would think otherwise. “I couldn’t agree with the things my parents were saying, so I left. Best decision of my life, since it meant I met you.”
Thud-thud-thud-thud went my heart.
“...So Oscar told me you’re applying to Harvard,” Jake continued, this time shyly. He stared down at his hands around mine. “And I think maybe I’ve outgrown the whole dorm thing. So…what I want to know is…if the college accepts you…do you want to get a place with me off-campus?”
I wasn’t expecting this.
My boyfriend just asked me to move in with him. This is insane. A whole other level of insane. I mean, it’s almost as if we’re actual adults with actual jobs and actual lives.
“I know we’ve only known each other for a few weeks,” he said, seriously, looking straight into my eyes. “But it’s been the best time of my life. I think we really have something here, Summer. I want to spend all my time with you. When I’m not with you, I’m worried all the time. I love you, Summer and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I mean, I know it’s a huge financial responsibility,” he said quickly. “But I can get a job bartending or something. I mean, I don’t have to box anymore, if you don’t want me to. I’ll work some nights, you can if you want to, I don’t mind. We’ll get a cute little flat with a nice kitchen and I can cook…”
He stopped talking abruptly, running his hands through his hair. With messy hair, he was somehow more adorable.
“I know we’ve only known each other for a few weeks,” he said, seriously, looking straight into my eyes. “But it’s been the best time of my life.
In one sudden movement, I jumped up and grabbed Jake into a hug tight enough to make his eyes water.
“Ow,” he said, wincing. “Get off, Summer.”
Laughing, I pull away, but only so I can give him a long, lingering kiss.
“That was a yes, in case you didn’t know,” I said, when we both pulled away for breath.
Cupping his face in my hands and staring into his eyes, suddenly bright green, I knew, deep in my heart, that this was right. It wasn’t the same uncomfortable, panic I’d felt when Blane had told me he wanted to marry me, but a deep, resonating happiness that made me feel so happy I felt like I could do something stupid and embarrassing, like sing from the rooftop or something. This was so right.
The only thing that was ruined the perfect moment was the memory of Blane’s face when I’d walked away. The guilt tainted the pure happiness coursing through my body. It was like poison in my bloodstream, constantly there – and it wasn’t going to leave me until I told Jake the truth. I opened my mouth, and –
“Sum-sum!” Sammy called from right outside my bedroom. “Mom says we have to go eat turkey now, or it’ll dry.”
We both jumped and moved away from each other quickly. Sammy came in and looked at both of us.
“What you two doing?” he asked curiously.
“Nothing,” we said at the same time, unable to look at each other.
“Mom said you were kissing.”
Mom! I couldn’t believe she would say that to a kid!
“We weren’t kissing,” I hastened to assure him. “We were holding hands.”
Sammy rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips.
“Like I believe that. I’m five already, you know.”
***
Ж Oscar Ж
“What were you doing in the city?” I asked Jake.
I’d been in the city, spending Christmas with my folks. I was surprised when Jake had called me, asking if I was still in town and wanted to go back to the University together, since though it was true Jake’s parents lived in some high-rent apartment in the upper-east, they hadn’t talked in months. The last time Jake tried to call home on his birthday to talk to his little sister, they hung up on him and had his number blocked.
“I was at the ring, quitting my job,” Jake said, off-handedly
“You quit your job? Why? I thought you said they paid well!”
“I know, but Summer said she didn’t like me fighting.”
We walked to the train station in absolute silence. It was getting dark already, despite being quite early. It was snowing heavily…and it was on Christmas Day. I didn’t know if Jake planned it to quit on Christmas, but he’d been delaying a long time. I guess he was hoping Summer would suddenly turn around and tell him she’d been kidding. I still couldn’t believe Jake would do this for her. Boxing was his one true love. And he was letting that go, all for some girl.
And it was Summer.
I ignored the throbbing pain in my chest. I was not important. Summer was. She was everything. I just hoped Jake could see that… and somehow I think he did.
“But your job wasn’t in that part of the city,” I said, to break the silence. It wasn’t probably uncomfortable for him, but it was for me. “How did you find me so fast?”
“Oh. I was at Summer’s, spending Christmas.”
I was at Summer’s, spending Christmas.
Calm down. You go to Summer’s all the time. You spent Christmas there last year, when your brother had mono, remember? This doesn’t mean anything.
Before I could question him any further, Jake’s phone went off and he pulled it out. His screen lit up, and Jake’s eyes widened, stopping in his tracks.
“Missed call?”
“One,” he admitted.
“Cute girl?” I joked.
“Summer.”
My blood ran cold.
“Anything important?” I asked, attempting to sound offhand.
“God, I hope not. I just asked her to get a place with me next year. We’re going to live off-campus.”
“And she agreed?” I said, incredulously, unable to keep the disbelief out of my voice.
“Yeah,” he said, grinning at me.
I felt like I’d just been punched in the gut, hard. It was over. It was really over. Summer always had crushes on guys, and most of them would reciprocate her attention, but whenever anything got serious, she would always back off. She just wasn’t ready for anything serious, preferred having fun and playing the field to having an actually boyfriend. And who could blame her? She was still in high school. It was the reason I’d never made a move before, though I’d had a crush on her for years. I didn’t think she would take me seriously. And now –
It was too late.
“Hey, sorry for not telling you, dude,” he was saying. “But you’re cool with it, right? But you should be grateful. If I move out, they probably won’t stick you with someone else for a few months. You can have some privacy for a while. I know I’m not easy to live with. Hey, don’t tell Summer that.”
I smiled vaguely, hiding my hurt.
“Did she leave a message?” I asked, trying not to sound too interested, even though it was killing me inside. We pushed past a few college girls, who were all studiously ignoring the guys whistling at them on the other side of the road.
“Yeah,” he responded. “Hang on, let me just –”
He stopped walking, concentrating hard on the screen, his brow furrowed. I stopped as well. The guys were walking towards us, getting nearer and nearer. They looked even bigger under the bright halogen light. I shifted, uncomfortable. I was suddenly wishing Jake would hurry up.
“What is it?” I said, trying my best to keep the anger out of my voice.
I think I hated him. I wasn’t sure.
“Summer said –”
“Hey,” called one of the guys who were walking towards us. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”
They were talking to Jake. I looked at him. Jake, for his part, was looking nonplussed.
“I don’t think so. Could you let us pass?”
All four of them were stood in front of us, blocking our way.
“I don’t think so,” another guy mimicked. His neck had to be at least as thick as his head. “No, I think you do. You beat up my boy Ford the other day at some ice rink. Made him look real bad in front of his lady. He had to get stiches.”
Jake’s eyes glazed over, became hard. I fought the urge to take a step back. I recognized that look.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jake said, his voice dead. Uh oh.
“Oh, I think you do,” the guy sneered. “And I think we should teach you a lesson. How does that sound?”
“I really don’t think you should do that,” I warned.
“My boy Ford said you had some girl with you,” the biggest guy continued, ignoring me. “Said she was a hot piece of ass.” I winced. Not a good move. I didn’t even want to see Jake’s face. The stupidly obtuse guy ploughed on. “How ‘bout it then? Fight me and my boys and if we win, you give us all a night with your girlfriend…”
Though I wanted to keep out of this, I suddenly found my blood boiling.
The other two gave raucous laughs.
“…unless you scared,” the guy finished.
There was a long, tense silence.
“But what if I win?” Jake said, his voice calm, unfeeling. Being Summer’s boyfriend, he had to be at least twice as mad I was right now, yet he managed to control his temper perfectly. “What will you do for me?”
“That’s not going to happen,” the guy with the thick neck guffawed. “But let’s say it does. If you and pretty boy here –” When did I get involved? “–can fight us and win, we’ll do anything.”
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
Jake seemed to consider it for a moment. Then, closing his eyes, he rolled his neck back, slowly.
“Good enough for me.”
Then he pounced.
***
Author's Note: Back. Missed me? <3
I suck at action writing, just FYI. Probably because I've never been in a fight before in my life. Still, I've seen enough movies to write a decent fascimile. Pointers would be appreciated, though :) X Comment your tips, and I promise to read them x
P.S. VOMMENT <3