Chapter 18
It appeared that a goofy smile and a red tinge were becoming permanent for me. And no, I wasn't even trying to be a clown. Although, they say that people in love do act like fools sometimes.
Love. Wow. That's a huge word. Well, not literally huge. I mean, it's just four letters. L-O-V-E. But, it meant so much. Was I ready for that?
Sure, at first I said that I was in love with Jake. But I'm just sixteen years old. Do I even know what love is? I mean, I look at my parents and wonder if I can see myself like that in ten years time. They're still smitten with each other. While other kids go 'eww' when they see their parents kiss, I go 'Aww, I hope I'll find love someday.'
But, when I said 'someday', I meant when I'm around twenty-five or something. Not now.
I don't think I'm afraid of commitment. Or maybe I am. The main thing is, it scared me how I could envision myself in ten years time, wearing a traditional white wedding dress, waking down the aisle towards my groom.
Jake.
I could imagine myself having a honeymoon in Hawaii. We both loved the beach.
I could even see a little girl with my curly black hair and with Jake's heart-melting smile and dark eyes.
Yes, I could imagine all that, and that was exactly what scared me. I was falling in too deep. Even though Jake said he had feelings for me, I felt like I was the one falling too hard. Sure, he liked me now, but what if he gets bored? Could I handle a break-up after seeing all that?
Man, I am never satisfied, am I? Why couldn't I be happy with what I have now?
Although, that was getting kind of hard to do when Jake was fifteen minutes late for our date. Seriously, did he want me to freak out even more? Didn't he know that I'm insecure enough as it is? We agreed to meet at the coffee shop, because we weren't sure what our mums would think if they saw Jake picking me up and then us going out. Now, I was starting to wonder if he stood me up. But…why?
At that moment, my cell phone started ringing. It was Jake. I knew it. I knew this was never going to –
"Sweetie, I am so sorry. You won't believe what happened -" he started rambling as soon as I picked up.
"What?" I asked, alarmed, my annoyance at him being late disappearing.
"My big sis came back with my nephew…and now I have to baby-sit him," I heard Jake say, sighing.
"Oh," I said. "Didn't you tell her that you had plans?" I asked, hoping not to sound too selfish.
"Yeah, I did. She thrust me the baby even faster…I swear she loves torturing me," mumbled Jake.
"Aww, alright. Maybe next time," I said.
"No, I won't be letting you go so easily, missy," he said. "You come over here. We'll hang out right now."
"With your…nephew and sister?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep. It's a date."
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The door was opened by a tall black-haired woman with a pretty, pointed face. She tilted her head at me, resting one hand on her slim hip.
"Yes? May I help you?" she asked. Her voice was a bit softer than I'd expected.
"Um…I'm here for -"
"Rebbie!" exclaimed Jake, literally materialising beside his sister. He grinned widely at me before embracing me in a tight hug.
"Thank, God. I was going to die if I couldn't see you," he whispered into my ear.
"Who's your friend, Jay?" Jake's sister asked, giving me a head-to-toe thorough observation that almost made me cringe.
"This is Rebecca," said Jake, slinging an arm around my waist. "My girlfriend."
I smiled when he introduced me as his girlfriend. Jake softly bumped his head against mine and gave me a squeeze at my waist.
Jake's sister's face darkened. "How old is she?" she asked coldly.
My smile was immediately wiped off. Jake scowled at his sister, his grip at my waist slightly tightening.
"That's none of your business, Clara," he snapped.
Clara raised an eyebrow, throwing a cold glance in my direction before glaring at her brother. "Watch your tongue, Jake."
Jake was about to retort, but I interrupted. "I'm sixteen," I said.
Clara's eyes widened. "Isn't that illegal?"
Jake scoffed. "We're not doing anything illegal. Besides, I'm pretty sure Mum and Dad started going out when Mum was seventeen and Dad was twenty-four."
Clara 'hmph-ed' before stalking away. I felt guilty. Was I doing something wrong? Jake was right though, it's not like we were having sex or anything, so it wasn't really illegal…was it?
Jake turned me towards him and tilted my chin up, locking my eyes with his. "Hey, don't feel bad, okay? She just looks out for me. She's a bossy older sis just like you."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not bossy to my sis."
He pecked me softly on the lips. "Yes, you are," he said, grinning.
Before I could retort, he pulled me into his house to the living room. And sitting on the blue sofa was the cutest baby boy I'd ever laid my eyes on.
"Aww," I cooed as soon as I saw him. He had soft black hair and looked at me with wide brown eyes before grinning toothlessly.
"Ja-Ja," he said, raising his arms towards Jake.
Jake swooped the toddler up in his arms, pressing his lips to his forehead. I couldn't help but be awed by how cute Jake looked with a baby in his arms.
"And this handsome two-year-old is Zane," said Jake, raising Zane's arm to wave at me.
I waved back and patted Zane's cheek. "He's so cute."
Zane grinned again. "Girly," he mumbled, pointing a small finger at me.
Jake nodded seriously. "Yes, this alien is also called a girl. Beware of getting your heart stolen by this mysterious species when you're older, okay?"
I felt my stomach doing a back-flip. So, he meant I stole his heart? Aww. I laughed when Zane frowned at Jake, and thumped his head.
"Big words," he grumbled.
I really wanted to take him in my arms.
"Can I?" I asked, extending my arms towards Zane.
Jake shrugged. "Sure, but he doesn't want to go to new -"
As soon as I touched Zane, the toddler raised his small arms towards me and almost jumped into my arms, grinning at me. He immediately clutched at my necklace, inspecting it closely.
"Aww, he likes you," said Jake, looking at his nephew lovingly.
"Babies love me," I said, winking at Zane who giggled. He let go of my necklace and leaned closer to my face, pressing a wet kiss on my cheek.
"Whoa, looks like I have competition. Easy boy," Jake said seriously, patting his nephew's head.
Zane simply snickered and hid his head on my shoulder.
At that moment, Clara entered the living room. She looked slightly startled that her son was in my arms.
"I'm leaving," she said, before walking away.
"Bye," Jake shouted back. "Hope you come back really late," he added under his breath when he heard the front door click shut.
Zane sniggered and seemed to agree. He kissed my cheek again.
"He'll be a huge flirt when he's older," I stated.
"Just like his uncle," said Jake, throwing me a wink.
I scoffed. "You hardly flirt. And even when you do, it's like you're joking."
Jake gasped in mock indignation. "I do not. I mean everything I say," he said, raising his head proudly.
"Oh, sure you do," I said jokingly.
Jake arched an eyebrow, smirking at me. Yikes, I knew that look.
"Well, I do want to grab you and kiss you senseless, but I think that'll have to wait after my nephew is safely asleep," he said, locking my eyes in a smouldering gaze.
I turned my head away to hide my blush and to stop having a heart attack from looking into his heated stare.
Even though the date wasn't exactly a 'date', I had a great time with Jake (and Zane). We spent the evening playing with Zane. Jake brought out his guitar and I sang along to a few rhymes while Zane clapped and mumbled a few words. We tried to make him eat, but he ended up splattering food all over us. Thankfully, he was potty-trained by his mother and we didn't have to change his diapers.
7:30 pm found Jake, Zane and I in the living room watching a documentary on Dinosaurs. We were slumped on the sofa, with Zane between Jake and me. But that didn't stop Jake from reaching behind Zane and putting an arm around me, rubbing circles into my shoulder and not realising that he was making the butterflies in my stomach flutter even faster. Or maybe he did and did it intentionally. That cunning little -
"He's fallen asleep," Jake whispered, looking closely at Zane who was leaning on my arm with a thumb between his small lips. "I'll put him to bed," Jake said softly.
He took Zane in his arms and carried him up the stairs. I followed him to the nursery, which had pale green walls with footballs painted on them, a large window overlooking the white crib and a few toys lying here and there. Jake tucked the toddler into the crib before kissing his forehead and patting his cheek. I watched from the doorway, couldn't help but thinking how wonderful a father Jake was going to make.
We walked out of the nursery and Jake softly closed the door behind him, before turning towards me.
"Hmm…I think someone said something about me not meaning anything I said?" he said, advancing towards me. I took a step back automatically.
"Oh, really? I don't think I remember anyone saying that," I stated, tapping my chin and pretending to think.
Jake simply smirked and stepped closer. "Well, allow me to remind you, ma'am."
One moment, I was concentrating on taking backward steps, and the next, Jake had pulled me towards him, crushing me against his chest and pressing his lips to mine. His hands ran up and down my back and I gasped at the heated contact. He pressed closer as I gripped his shoulders to keep my jelly-legs from making me fall. I felt him weave his fingers through my hair and his tongue dart against my lips. Surprised, I slightly pulled back, both of us breathing heavily.
"Too fast?" he asked worriedly, his eyes darker than ever.
I shook my head shakily before lifting my hand behind his neck and pulling him towards me. Our lips met and he opened my mouth against his.
I heard the doorbell ring from a distance. Jake hesitantly pulled away, groaning.
"Couldn't she have picked another time to come back?" he grumbled as he stepped away from me. I couldn't help but feel disappointed as well and longed for his touch again.
We went to the front door, and sure enough, Clara walked inside. She immediately bombarded us with questions about her son – if he was fed, if he was put to sleep and so on. When she was satisfied, she looked between Jake and me and then gave Jake a look that clearly said, 'I'll-deal-with-you-later'. Then she walked away upstairs.
"I don't think your sister likes me," I whispered once Clara was out of sight.
Jake rolled his eyes. "She's been like that ever since Kaylin."
I sharply turned my head towards him. "Who's Kaylin?" I asked.
He ran a hand through his hair nervously. "She was this girl I was crazy for a year ago…" he trailed off.
"And?" I asked, feeling a twinge of jealousy.
"And I was going to ask her out but…it doesn't matter, anyway. The past is past," said Jake.
I frowned, but didn't pressure him. From the way he said it, it really did seem like he was over it and didn't want to talk about it anymore, so I decided not to bother him. I knew Jake well enough to know that when he didn't want to talk about something, he wouldn't say it no matter how much you pleaded.
But as usual, I always thought too much, so I couldn't help but wonder…