Sweetness (Bold As Love) (15 page)

I wrap my arms around her and her face buries in my neck. “Jake,” she says.

“
Yeah?”

“
Thank you for staying with me today.”

“
It was my pleasure. Thankfully, Drake was invited to stay another night at his friends so I’m free.”

She hugs me closer to her and says, “You’re like a furnace, you know?”

I chuckle and say, “I know.” The she falls asleep in my arms.

An hour later, Mike checks in and sees Emily sleeping. He hesitates and then says, “You can stay here tonight, if you’d like. I don’t want her to wake up if you move away from her.”

I knew wearing my sweats would be worth it. “Okay. Thanks.” He nods and goes to his room. I kiss the top of Emily’s head and fall asleep.

“
Jake?” Emily whispers. I open my eyes to see her looking at me. “What are you still doing here? Does my dad know?”

I give a sly grin and say, “Yeah. He thought if I moved, you would wake up, so he told me I could stay. How are you feeling?”

“
A little better,” she says snuggling up against me.

Waking up beside her was wonderful. “Are you hungry,” I ask. She groans and mumbles a no into my chest. I chuckle. “So this is what happens after I take you out on a date,” I tease.

She looks up at me and says, “Maybe so. But look what happened because of it. You got to spend the night with me.”

“
That’s right.” I go to give her a quick kiss but she pulls away from me. “What,” I ask.

“
I haven’t brushed my teeth since yesterday and all I did was throw up. You aren’t kissing me.” She rolls away from me and gets up.

“
Where are you going?”

“
To the bathroom,” she says like it’s obvious. I bring my arm behind my head and watch her brush her teeth. She walks over to me with a smile on her face. She lies down on top of me and kisses me. I wasn’t expecting her to fully lie on top of me. Not that I mind, but I just didn’t expect it. After the kiss, she rolls off of me and props herself up on her elbows. “You definitely feel better,” I tell her with a smile. I put the back of my hand on her forehead and it feels cool. She gets under the comforter and I feel her hand slip under my shirt.

I raise an eyebrow and she just cuddles up to me. Her hand goes further up, just trailing her finger in swirls driving me insane. “Maybe, we should just lay here all day,” she says.

I kiss the top of her head, “Maybe.” I hear footsteps coming down the hall and soon Mike appears in the doorway wearing a suit.

He says good morning and walks over to my side of the bed. “How are you feeling honey?” He places the backside of his hand on her forehead.

“
Okay,” she answers.

“
You’ve lost your fever. That’s good. If you don’t need anything, I’m going to head to work.”

“
I’m fine Daddy,” she tells him in a sweet tone. Her hand is still moving under my shirt and I want to grab it to stop her, but if I do that then Mike will know. Hurry up and leave!

“
Alright honey. If you need anything, just call me okay?” She nods and a few minutes later we hear the front door close. I grab Emily’s hand and roll over on her.

“
Must you do that,” I ask inches away from her lips.

Giggling she asks a question of her own. “Does it bother you?”

I lay on my side keeping her hand in place. With my free hand, I lift up her shirt to expose her stomach. I trail my fingers over her stomach barely touching the skin. “Does it bother you,” I ask with a smirk. Her stomach falls in and she’s trying not to breathe.

I chuckle and lean in to kiss her. She takes the opportunity to grab my hand and intertwine our fingers. Her chest is pressed against mine and all I want to do is touch her all over. I groan and get some air, lying on my back. Emily stares at the ceiling with her hands folded over her now covered stomach. I take slow breath and try to tame myself.

Looking at Emily, I see her bit her lip. “What’s going on in that head of yours,” I ask her.

She turns her head to look at me. She thinks about it for a second then her eyes go wide. Emily jumps up and runs to the bathroom. I throw the covers off of me and follow her. She’s holding back the pieces of hair that came loose. I go to her and hold them back for her.

When Emily finishes, she flushes and puts all her hair back into a ponytail. She brushes her teeth and makes the comment that maybe she doesn’t feel that much better. I come up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. I watch her watch me in the mirror while she brushes her teeth. “Maybe a shower will make you feel better. Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll fix you some more soup?”

She spits and rinses out her mouth before answering me. “Okay, thanks Jake.” I kiss her neck and head for the kitchen hearing her turn the shower on. I fix her soup and fifteen minutes later she returns wearing a white tank top and plain purple pj bottoms. Emily’s hair is brushed back and still wet. As she sits down at the table, I place the bowl in front of her and go to fix myself a ham and cheese sandwich.

“
I do not want to go to school tomorrow, whether I’m feeling better or not.”

“
Why,” I ask.

“
Oral report.”

“
You’ll do fine.”

“
Maybe, but that doesn’t make me any more willing to do it.”

I shake my head and take another bite of my sandwich. My cell phone starts vibrating in my pocket. I reach for it and answer hearing Drake’s voice. “Jake, can you come get me? I’m ready. Can we go see Emily today? Can we go get ice cream?”

“
Calm down buddy,” I say with a laugh. “Yeah, I’ll be right over. We can see Emily, but she’s not feeling well so you have to be extra good and watch TV, okay?”

“
Okay. Are you leaving right now?”

“
Yep.”

“
Okay. Bye Jake. I love you.”

“
I love you too buddy.” I close my phone and return it to my pocket. I finish my sandwich and tell Emily the plan. She keeps eating slowly. I kiss her forehead when I get up and feel that it’s warm again. “Take some medicine while I’m gone. You’re fever is back.” Emily nods and I leave to go get Drake.

When Mike comes home around six, Emily and I are lying on the couch under her blanket and Drake is sitting in the recliner to the left of us. Mike checks Emily for a fever before sitting in the recliner to the right of us. Emily hasn’t thrown up as much as she did yesterday and she seems to be in a better spirit.

I’ve constantly run my fingers on her neck, down her arm, up her back and repeat it again. Every now and again, she would grab my hand and hold it in place for a few minutes. We’ve been watching cartoons all day because Emily insisted that Drake could watch whatever he wanted to.

Emily’s cell phone buzzes from the side table. I grab it for her and see Mom on the screen. I hold it out for Mike to take and Emily rolls over to bury her face in my chest. Mike steps outside to talk to Judy. Couldn’t she just leave her alone? Emily’s arms wrap around me and she holds on as if her life depended on it. Mike doesn’t come in until an hour later with a grim look on his face.

“
Em, I got to get Drake home,” I tell her softly.

“
I don’t want you to go,” she whispers into my chest.

My heart cracked and I hugged her tighter to me. “I don’t want to go either, but I need to get him fed and ready for bed. All you have to do is call me, okay?”

She takes a deep breath and releases me. She stands up so I can get up. Standing, I put my arms around her again and kiss her forehead. “If you need me, just call me.” I tell her again.

“
I’ll see you later,” she whispers.

Emily

After Jake and Drake left, I let my dad keep my phone and I went to my room to lie down. Even though I didn’t talk to my mom, it’s all I can think about. What did she want now? What will she do next?

I bite my lip and fall asleep full of worry.

I wake up the next morning still not feeling well so I got to spend the day lying on the couch watching TV. On and off I sleep and when seven thirty rolls around, Jake stops by to see me. My dad informs me that he has to go out of town for the night. He offers to stay home but I make him go.

Jake offers to stay with me, but I make him go home too. It’s just me and Jerry Springer for the night. Jake and Drake go home around eight thirty and Dad leaves a few minutes later. Everything is peaceful until nine. I text Jake to see if I can come over. Of course, is his reply. I grab my keys and drive over there.

He opens the door before I can knock. He greets me with a kiss on the forehead and I take in his shirtless body and gray pajama pants. He looks delicious. Drake is already in bed and his dad isn’t home. He leads me to his room and I crawl into his bed. He climbs in and brings me to him. “How’s it going sweetness?”

“
As good as it can go, I guess.” I bury my face in the crook of his neck. “Can I stay here tonight,” I ask quietly.

“
Of course.”

“
Sweetness,” Jake whispers his new nickname for me. I snuggle closer to him and he chuckles. “Time to wake up.”

“
No,” I moan. I look up at him with his hair all messed up and he looks so good. I place a kiss on his lips, just as Drake walks in.

“
Emily? What are you doing here,” he asks, excitement filling his voice as he runs over and hops into bed with us. He makes his way between me and Jake.

“
Drake,” Jake begins in a stern voice.

I cut him off with, “I wasn’t feeling well and I was home alone so I came to get your brother sick.”

Drake laughs and says, “Are you going to start to stay over more often?”

I glance at Jake and he answers for me. “Mr. Mike probably wants her at home at night, Drake. Now get out of my bed and go
get ready for school.” He picks Drake up and places him off the bed. Drake laughs and runs out of the room. Jake pulls me to him and gives me a kiss. I feel uneasy now that Drake knows I spent the night in Jake’s bed and Jake can tell. “Don’t worry about it, sweetness. He won’t think much of it.” I nod and roll on top of him with a smirk on my face.

“
I’ll see you later.” I give him a quick kiss and roll off the bed. I slip on my shoes and glance over my shoulder at him before I leave. I run into his dad downstairs who is about to walk out the door. I freeze in my steps. “Um, hi,” I say when he sees me.

“
Are you one of Jake’s whores?”

I gulp. “No, sir.” He cackles like he doesn’t believe me and opens the door for me to walk out. I slink by him and don’t look back. I get in my car and head home. I see my dad’s car and wonder why he’s home. There’s no way I can sneak in. I walk through the garage door into the kitchen to see him sitting at the table.

He takes in my rumpled hair and pajamas. “What are you doing here so early Daddy?” I ask innocently.

He gives me a stern look. “My trip got cancelled. Where have you been?”

I decide to tell him the truth. “I slept over at Jake’s.”

My dad slowly sets his newspaper down, scoots his chair back and walks over to me. He pulls me in a bear hug. “My little girl’s back,” he whispers. I can’t help but laugh. He kisses the top of my head and chuckles. “Don’t do that again though.” I nod and excuse myself so I can get ready for school.

I decide on a fitting green low cut shirt and plain Jane blue jeans. I slipped on socks and shoes. I grabbed my book bag, cell phone, and keys. I wave goodbye to my dad and head to school. I park my car and see Jake a few spots down leaning against his trunk. I slip my bag on my shoulder and walk over to him. He wraps his arm around my waist and gives me a kiss.

“
Hello,” he says in a husky voice.

“
Hey.” I fill Jake in on how my dad was at home and what was said.

“
So sneaking out and staying over at boys’ houses is you being normal,” he asked with a smirk. I shrug. That was normal for me.

“
How about we skip school today,” he asks.

“
No way. I can’t do that,” I tell him.

Jake looks uncomfortable and I can’t figure out why. “What’s going on?” When Jake doesn’t speak, I say, “Never mind. Let’s go to class.”

I step around Jake and walk into the school. Everyone looks my way as I walk in and come to a halt. All over the lockers and hallways were pictures of myself…naked. No. This couldn’t be happening. How did someone get their hands on these? Who would want to do this to me?

I feel Jake behind me and he whispers in my ears, but I don’t hear him. Every one in the entire school is staring at me in my state of shock. Jake turns me to him and cradles my face in his hands. Before he can say anything, anger takes over. I know exactly who did this. I push him away and walk away from him. I turn down a hallway until I find Claire who is laughing at one of my pictures.

I snatch it out of her hand. “How dare you. Do you think this is funny?” I turned and looked at the crowd forming around us. “Do any of you think this is funny? I was repeatedly raped when these pictures were taken and you are
laughing
at me?”

Jake comes up and blocks my view. “Sweetness just let it go.”

“
No,” I pull away from him and face Claire. “You are unbelievable. I don’t know how you got a hold of these pictures, but let me set this straight. I did not pose under my own free will. I hated getting these pictures taken of me. For you to think it is
okay
to share this,” I shook my head and closed my mouth. I was so close to becoming my mother. Jake takes my hand and pulls me away.