Sweetness (Bold As Love) (10 page)

Jake

I order an Oreo Blizzard and Drake a vanilla ice cream with sprinkles. Mike orders Emily a banana split, her favorite, and a brownie sundae for himself. While we are waiting, Mike asks me a question. “So, what exactly is going on between you and my daughter? I saw that kiss and your arm around her waist at the game so don’t even think about giving me that look.”

I give him a sly smile and decide on the truth. Mike doesn’t seem to me like the kind of guy who should have someone pulling his leg. “I really like her. She’s been opening up to me about her mom and stuff. I knew she called her last night and I told her that next time, she should just let you talk to her.”

“
She told you?” Mike was in disbelief.

“
Yeah, and everyday during lunch, I try to make her more comfortable around people. I have her talk to me about anything and have her look at my eyelids.” Mike gave me a questioning look and I continued. “I close my eyes while she talks to me. Soon, she’ll have to look at them. Anyways, she’s doing pretty well. I asked her out on a date too.”

Mike’s eyebrows shot up and he began to look a little uneasy. “She agreed,” I say before he opens his mouth. Then his expression turns to full fledge shock.

He slowly starts to talk, “I don’t know Jake. I don’t want her to get involved just when she’s coming out of her shell. If she gets hurts, she could easily go back to square one and then what if I can’t get her back out?”

“
It’s simple,” I said. “I don’t plan on hurting her.”

“
Just because you don’t plan on it, doesn’t mean you won’t.” He sighed. “Just please be careful with her. I don’t want to lose her again.” I nodded just as our ice cream was ready. We headed to the booth where Emily was cracking up over something Drake said.

I sat beside her leaving Mike to sit beside Drake. Ice creams were handed out and we dug in. Emily moaned, “It has been way too long since I’ve had one of these. Drake, you’re a genius.” Drake smiled and continued to lick his ice cream, getting sprinkles stuck to the side of his mouth. It would be useless for me to say something about it until he finished it.

“
I have another game tomorrow; you guys coming,” I ask looking over at Emily who glances over at her dad who in turns shrugs.

“
I have some papers that are due Thursday and I haven’t done them yet. I was planning to do them tomorrow. Sorry Jake.”

“
It’s fine. What are our plans for Thursday?”

Mike spoke up. “We’ll probably leave around five to be there by seven. That way we’ll have a little wiggle room from rush hour traffic. You can meet us at our house a little before five or we can pick you up; either way is fine with me.”

“
I’ll meet you at your house. What do I owe you for the tickets?”

“
Don’t worry about it. It’s on me. I’m just happy to take Drake to his first game.”

“
Mike, I can’t let you do that. Just tell me.”

Emily put a hand on my shoulder. She looked at me (yes!) and said, “You might as well just let him. Once he has decided to pay for something, you can’t convince him otherwise. I can’t wait to go and see Crosby play again.”

“
She used to say that she was in love with him and that she would marry him one day,” Mike says with an evil grin.

“
Dad!”

I look over at Emily and try not to laugh. “Emily Crosby, huh?”

Drake chirped in before I could tease her more, “Emily and Sidney sitting in the tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

Her cheeks were a bright red. “You guys are horrible! Sidney Crosby has to be one of the hottest players and one of the best, especially for his age! There’s nothing wrong with liking him.”

“
You don’t like him Emily. You
love
him,” I say laughing. She elbowed me in the ribs. “That hurt Emily!” I was still laughing. Her expression was priceless.

“
Well, I’m sorry I have a thing for hockey players,” she bursts.

Mike is laughing too. “Now that you mention it, I guess you do. Her previous boyfriends were hockey players…
all
of them. She’s attracted to them like a moth to the light.”

I look over at her with a raised eyebrow “How many boyfriends have you had?”

“
Just a few.”

“
Emily, don’t lie to the boy.”

“
Yeah, Emily. You aren’t supposed to lie!” Drake gives her a pointed look while I wait for an answer.

“
Six is a few. There was Gregory, Trey, Derek, Conrad, Aaron, and Zachary.”

“
Ah yes. Conrad. That break up was hard on you. They were inseparable,” Mike adds.

“
You’ve had
six
boyfriends, Emily? I can’t even get one girlfriend,” Drake exclaims. We all laugh. Six boyfriends? And she was inseparable from one? Was that the bad break up she mentioned? Emily’s quiet demeanor returns for a second as if she’s missing something. Or some
one.
A wave of jealously washes over me at the thought that she misses Conrad. This was dangerous territory and I was ready for a subject change.

“
Jake hasn’t had that many girlfriends,” Drake laughs.

I give him an evil glare. “That you know of little brother.”

Emily chirps in, “Well, how many Jake? I had to spill, and so do you.”

“
Four. Mike, how many girlfriends did you have in high school?” He gives a hearty laugh and says, “Too many to count. I was what you kids call these days a player.” We all laughed.

It was getting time to head home. “Drake, wipe your mouth. We should probably get going.”

“
Thanks Drake. Ice cream was exactly what I needed,” Emily says as we leave wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“
Next time, we should go to Cold Stone’s,” he says.

A beautiful smile breaks out on Emily’s face. “Cold Stone’s it is. Maybe we’ll go this weekend, if Jake says you can come with me.”

I wrap an arm around her shoulders and say, “What? I don’t get to come?”

She wraps an arm around my waist and says, “Of course you can.” I grin and kiss her forehead. We reach Mike’s car and they go to get in. I stop Emily and tell Drake to get in my car, a few spots down. I lean in to whisper in her ear, “Will I see you later?”

She nodded. “I’ll come around eleven, okay?” She nodded again. “Bye Jake.” I waved and headed for my car with a smile plastered across my face. I got in and headed home. “Everything okay,” I ask after he’s been quiet for a few minutes.

“
Are you and Emily dating?”

“
Why do you ask?”

“
Because you kissed her.”

“
Do you not want me to date her?”

“
No.”

“
Why,” I ask.

“
Because if you break up with her then I won’t ever see her anymore! She’s my best friend in the whole world Jake! If you date her and then break up, I lose my best friend! Why would you ruin that?”

I was surprised by Drake’s outburst. I quickly recollected myself and said, “Drake, if we break up, I promise you can still hang out with Emily. I’m sure she would still want to hang out with you.”

“
You promise?”

“
Cross my heart.” He seemed content with that.

At home, I got Drake into the shower and went to my room to start on homework so I would be finished in time to go get Emily. Thankful that I didn’t have a bunch of work to do, I quickly get started.

“
Jake?”

I look up from my work and glance at the clock. “It’s time for me to go to bed,” Drake continues. I get up and follow him to his room. “Did you have a good day today?”

“
Yeah. The ice cream was the best part,” he says as he climbs into bed.

“
I think so too,” I say. Once he is settled, I tuck him in and kiss his forehead. “Goodnight Drake.”

“
Night.”

I turn off the light and close the door. I flop onto my bed once in my room and continue with my work. I finish just as eleven rolls around. I quietly make my way downstairs and check to make sure Dad is in his room. He’s passed out on his bed with an old home video of my Mom playing. I close the door and make my way to Emily’s.

After a few minutes, I text her and let her know I’m outside. Seconds later, she slips out and walks towards me. I hold out my hand and she takes it. She gives me a quick peck on the lips and pulls me towards my house. “Anxious are you?”

She giggles and says, “I’m just cold.” She breaks off in a run saying, “Race you!” I take off after her and soon I pass her. She’s laughing and I hear her coming closer. “OW!” I turn around to see her grasping her ankle. I run back to her and kneel. As soon as I’m down, she bursts out laughing and takes off. That sneaky girl! I run after her but she beats me to my house.

I catch her around her waist and hold her to me. “That was wrong,” I say but I’m unable to keep the laugh from escaping. She takes my hand and leads me up to my door with a smile. I open the door and we sneak upstairs to my room. I check on Drake and return to my room where Emily is laying on my bed, feigning exhaustion.

I plop down beside her on my stomach with my torso on top of her and my elbows propped up on either side of her head. “You are a devious person, Emily.” She lets out a soft giggle and wraps her arms around my neck.

“
Well, I felt carefree and full of life. It’s been forever since I have so I’ll take that comment with no problem.”

I give her a quick kiss and say, “Well, I’ll take it back then. Hey, about our date Friday…”

I feel her tense under me as she asks, “What about it?”

“
I just wanted to tell you that your dad knows and that Drake knows too. He was upset at first.”

“
My dad knows? How? Why was Drake upset?”

“
He asked me about us while we were ordering ice cream. And Drake asked me if we were because I kissed you on the forehead and he was upset because he thinks if we break up, he won’t see you anymore. He says you’re his best friend.” At that, she smiles. “I promised him that you would still hang out with him.”

“
Of course I would. You’ll pick Drake up tomorrow, right?”

I nod and I push a piece of hair away from her face. She locks eyes with me but they soon drop to my lips. I love it when she does that. I can’t help but smile. “Hey, you owe me, remember?” The girl who I’ve come to learn is full of surprises despite of her past pulls me down to her and kisses me. Her mouth was hot and her tongue slid into my mouth.

Her fingers raked through the hair at the nape of my neck. I hear a creak in the hallway and pull away. “Let me go check on Drake,” I say with a heavy breath. I get up and open my door to see Drake walking towards me. I close my door and pick him up. “What’s up buddy?”

He rubs his eyes and says, “I had a nightmare.”

I take him back to his room and tell him, “How about I lay here with you until you go to sleep?”

“
Okay,” he says sleepily. We lay down and he cuddles up against me. About twenty minutes later, he falls asleep. I lay with him an extra five minutes just to be safe. I get up and go back to my room. Emily is sitting Indian style when I walk in. “Everything okay,” she asks as I close the door.

“
Yeah, Drake had a nightmare so I laid with him until he fell asleep.”

“
That’s sweet,” she says as I sit down beside her. I nod. “So where are we going on this date? I need to know what to wear,” she says.

I was planning on going bowling and then walk on the beach since we would be close. “Flip-flops will work, but bring a pair of socks.”

“
What?”

I smile. “Just do it.” Emily covers up a yawn and lays down, tugging me down with her. She snuggles up to me and lays her head on my chest. “If you’re sleepy, then I should probably take you home.”

“
I don’t want to go home just yet.”

My fingers trail up and down her back. With her warm body lying up against me, I realize I don’t want her to go home.

She looks up at me with her brown eyes and long eyelashes. “What are you thinking about?”

“
Why don’t you sleep here tonight? I can wake up early enough and get you home.”

“
I don’t know Jake.” She bites her lip while she thinks about it. She lays her head back down.

For some reason, I think of her boyfriends. “Hey, earlier when we were eating ice cream, you seemed like you were in another world,” I comment.

“
I was,” she said softly. Should I ask her about it? She answered the question for me. “I was thinking about Conrad and our break up.”

“
What happened,” I ask.

She sighs. “I don’t know. We were fantastic together and we were in love. My mom was just starting with her comments and I was spending almost all my time with him. Then one day, after a perfect day together, he shows up at my house and breaks up with me.

“
I was devastated. After that and my mom pounding me for a week, I just gave in. I started believing what she said. I mean, it had to be true if Conrad broke up with me. He didn’t explain. He just left. Now he’s away at college. I haven’t talked to him since.”

The fact that she was in love with this guy really bothered me. He’s part of the reason she allowed herself to believe what her mom said!