The Exception (18 page)

“In all seriousness though, that’s a real pretty necklace you picked out, Jake.”

Jake was once again wearing a proud grin. “Thank you, sir.”

We spent the next several hours finishing making lunch, and then sitting around the table stuffing ourselves with my grandmother’s tamale recipe before eating more dessert than my stomach had room for. When we were all too full to move, we slouched back in our chairs. My parents used that opportunity to take turns telling stories about my childhood.

Jake had taken my hand in his and would occasionally chime in with “is that so” or “you don’t say” as he would glance over at me and give my hand three little squeezes – prompting me to roll my eyes and feign annoyance before squeezing his hand back four times.

After a long lunch, we all helped clean up before dispersing throughout the house. My parents went to take a nap and Kenzie locked herself away in her room, leaving Jake and I to watch a movie alone in the upstairs media room.

I reclined against Jake before reaching out to hit play on the remote.

Once I sat the remote down, Jake ran his fingers down my arm.

“So what does Maya have on the Christmas break schedule for tomorrow?” he teased.

“Believe it or not, tomorrow is actually a free day. So we can do whatever you want.”

“I like the sound of that.” The sudden huskiness in his voice caused my breathing to stagger. He nuzzled his head against my neck and began trailing kisses along my collarbone.

“But the day after that…”

“Mmhmm.” He sucked at the sensitive spot just below my ear, causing me to take in a sharp breath of air. I could feel him smiling against my skin at my reaction.

“There is a party Maya is dragging me to. It would be a lot more fun if you came with me.”

“Well, then count me in.”
“That was easy.” I turned, causing him to lie flat on his back and letting him pull me on top of him.

“Like you really thought I would say no,” he whispered, wearing that perfect smile of his. He ran his fingers through my hair and pulled my head down, connecting his lips to mine.

Chapter Fifteen

I was busily curling my hair, getting ready for the party, while Maya sat on my bathroom counter reading Cosmo magazine.

“I still can’t believe he bought you diamonds,” she gushed. I secured a roll of hair in my curling iron and looked over at Maya, who had put the magazine down, looking mesmerized as she stared at my neck. “Diamonds, as in plural. I mean look at that thing.”

I released the curling iron, taking a glance down at my necklace. Unable to control the smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth, “He did good, didn’t he?”

“Pfft. I’ll say. What do you do that makes guys keep wanting to buy you nice jewelry?” She playfully swatted me with the magazine. My smile faded into a frown at the reference to Gabe. Seeing the change, Maya let out a breath of air as she reclined against my mirror. “Jeez. I’m sorry, Em. I wasn’t thinking.”

“S-okay. I’m more mad than sad about it now anyway. How could he just throw our friendship away like that, ya know?” I rolled another piece of hair into the hot iron.

“Come on, Em. I’m not trying to take his side here, but try to think about it from his point of view. In his mind, there was hope for more than friendship.” She pursed her lips together and moved them to the side.

“Gah…I know.” Setting the curling iron down, I placed both my hands on the counter and looked over at Maya. “I just hate that he had to ruin everything. We were so close, and then he just completely removed himself from my life.”

“Do you wish you would have done it differently?” I raised a brow at her question. “Picked Gabe instead?” she clarified.

“No. As much as I miss him, losing Jake would completely break me.”

I watched her face shift as she processed what I was saying. “So are y’all going to try to make it work next year then?”

There was that question again, the uncertainty that kept rearing its ugly head. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “We haven’t talked about it, and I’m scared to bring it up in case he doesn’t want to have to worry about a girlfriend back home his first year of school.” Understanding, Maya nodded her head.

I bit my lip as a smile threatened. “Although, I’m almost positive I heard him utter something when he gave me my necklace. I’m not one hundred percent certain but...” I took a breath.

“Yes. Go on.”

“Well, I said something about how I couldn’t believe he bought me my first diamond. And…” Maya’s eyes looked as though they were about to pop right out of her head.

“Bitch! Spit it out! I’m in suspense over here.”

“It really sounded like he said that he wanted to be able to give me my last diamond too.” I clamped my hand over my mouth and Maya’s jaw dropped.

“Shut the hell up!”

***

Maya never has liked to get to a party on time. She is a big believer in being fashionably late, something about making a grand entrance or whatever. I’ve never really been one to care either way, but for her it’s crucial so I’ve always just gone along with it.

I texted Jake once Maya and I were in her car to let him know we were finally on our way and to see if he was at the party yet, but he never responded. Pulling up to the house, I checked my phone once more but still no message. I was trying not to worry about his lack of response, but this was so not like Jake that it was hard not to.

You could hear the music from the street when we got out of the car. Either the whole street was also out of town, or they just didn’t care that the neighbor’s kids were throwing a party. Once we were both on the sidewalk, Maya turned to me and shrugged, “Maybe he just couldn’t hear his phone.”

With how loud the music was, that had to be it. Jake had never not texted me back before, and if he was already here there was no way he heard his phone. “Yeah, you’re right. It sounds crazy in there.”

“Come on. Let’s go see if we can find the boys.”

Inside, we pushed our way through the swarms of people, making our way to the kitchen. Out of nowhere, a clearly buzzed Evan ran up to us, fighting back laughter. “I’m so sorry, Emma.” The lack of control he had over his voice made it apparent that he was a lot more than buzzed, making Maya and I laugh with him. “It’s all my fault. Please don’t be mad at him.”

That got my attention. He was talking about Jake. “Evan, what happened? Is he OK?”

Giggling like a little boy, he draped an arm across Maya’s shoulder and put a big wet kiss on her cheek. “Oh, he’s more than OK. But, Em, please don’t be upset with him. I made him do it. Said it was our last Christmas break together before we all graduate and…”

“There she is. There’s my girl,” Jake slurred, grinning like an idiot as he stumbled up to us. “She’s…so pretty. Isn’t she s-so p-pretty?”

Maya and I exchanged glances before I held my arms out to help support my intoxicated boyfriend. “Jake?”

“Hey, Em. I missed you. What took you s-so long to get here?” He snaked his arms around me, dropping his hands to my rear. He stumbled as he took a step forward, attempting to kiss me and almost knocking us over in the process.

“Easy there, cowboy. You are really drunk.” I wasn’t quite sure what to do in this situation. I’ve never even seen Jake touch a beer and now he appeared to be having trouble standing on his own. 

“Holy shit, Evan.” Maya scoffed. “How much has he had to drink?”

Evan swung his head over to look at Maya. Bouncing his finger in her direction, he looked perplexed. “That’s a great question.”

“P-please don’t be mad, baby,” Jake slurred, with a concerned expression while clinging on to me.

I attempted to free myself from his grasp before he had a chance to knock us both down. I let out a small laugh as I tried but failed miserably to untangle myself from his arms. “I’m not mad, Jake. I just don’t know what to do with you right now. You can barely stand on your own.”

Jake let go of me and shot himself straight up. “Nope. See. I’m good,” he let out before landing straight on his butt, causing Evan and himself to lose control of their laughter.

I playfully rolled my eyes at Maya before bending over to try to help Jake back up. “Oh yeah. You’re clearly fine,” I teased.

Hearing the humor in my voice, his smile widened. “It’s all that bastard’s fault,” he pointed at Evan. “I’m s-so happy you’re not mad. I was s-so worried you were going to b-break up with me. I haven’t even had a drink in at l-least thirty minutes.”

Evan almost fell over he began laughing so hard. I sighed as I looked over at Maya and just shook my head. “Come on, Jake. Let’s get you off this floor and into a chair. What do you say?” I asked, reaching over to help him up.

“Or you can c-come down here with me.” Jake reached up and pulled me down on top of him. He buried his head into my neck as he wrapped his arms tightly around my waist. “You smell good, Em. You always smell so damn good,” he whispered slowly.

Even drunk, his words affected me. Feeling his breath on my neck and his arms tight around me almost caused me to forget that we were in the middle of a very crowded room.

“Christ, Emma. Have some damn self-respect. At least get a room before you ride his cock,” a familiar voice barked.

Gabe.

Jake instantly tensed at the verbal attack and before I had a chance to respond, he shot back. “Leave her alone, asshole. She ch-chose me, so why don’t you just g-get lost?”

I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe. Gabe’s harsh words had me paralyzed and torn between angry and hurt. He had never been so cruel, especially to me. I didn’t even recognize the person speaking to me. Frozen on the ground, I peered into Jake’s worried eyes as he grabbed the sides of my face trying to get a read on me.

“So this is who you’ve become? A little slut that gives it up in the middle of a party?”

Screw being hurt. I was mad. I don’t know why Gabe suddenly felt like he could talk to me that way, but it did not go over well – with anyone. I jerked my head in his direction, scowling at him.

At the same time, Jake quickly stumbled to his feet, knocking me off of him. “L-listen, dickhead, I’m warning you. Do. Not. S-speak to her. That way.”

Gabe bowed up and let out a cocky laugh, “Or what Jake? You’re going to slur me to death?”

Jake stumbled forward as I shot to my feet – concerned one of them was about to throw a punch. At the same time, seeing the growing tension, Evan stepped between them and placed a palm on both of their chests. “Easy there, Jake,” he said with a warning glare.

“Yeah, Jake. I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself. Clearly you can no longer handle your alcohol,” Gabe baited.

I looked over at Maya who looked as lost as I was. Gabe was goading him, and I wasn’t sure why. But whatever this was about, it was working.

Jake fisted his hands at his sides and Evan tensed – ready for whatever was about to happen. “Jake?” he warned once more. “Come on, buddy, he isn’t worth it and you are in no shape,” he paused and glanced over at me, “to go down this road. Let’s just get the girls out of here, yeah?”

Jake turned and looked over at me and seemed to calm down a bit. Facing Evan again, he relaxed his fists. “You’re right, Ev. This p-piece of shit isn’t worth it.”

Evan seemed to relax at his words, leaving me more confused than I already was. I had no idea what was going on. I had never seen Jake so worked up about anything. It was like watching someone I didn’t know.

“You know, Jake, I’d leave too if it meant getting some of that sweet ass,” Gabe taunted.

His words sent Jake over the edge. Instantly Jake lunged forward, taking a swing and knocking himself off balance. Luckily, Evan caught him so he didn’t tumble over.

Gabe let out a satisfied laugh before shooting a wink my direction and taking a swig from the drink in his hand. “Don’t look so shocked, Em. I just did you a favor. What are FRIENDS for?” he said maliciously.

I couldn’t help myself. Gabe was way out of line. I marched right up to him and slapped him across the face. Instantly, Gabe put his hand where mine had made contact; for a moment his eyes softened, and he appeared to be himself again. Yet, the moment was fleeting. Almost as quickly, his jaw grew tight, a glare replaced the softness, and he stormed off.

Once Gabe was out of sight, Jake took one look at me and then pushed away from Evan and stalked out of the room.

“Jake!” I called out, turning to follow him; but Evan grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.

“Let him go, Emma. He just needs to cool off,” he said calmly.

I whipped around to face him. “Cool off? What the heck just happened here Evan? I have never seen him like that. Why do I feel like the only one who doesn’t know what is going on?” I could tell my sudden attitude took Evan by surprise.

Evan leaned his head back and pinched his eyes shut before looking back at me. “Look, Em, I know for a fact he never wanted you to see him like that, OK? So just give him some time to cool off.”

“Evan, what are you talking about?”

“I know he’s told you that he doesn’t really drink anymore.”

“Yeah. So?”

“So haven’t you ever wondered why?”

“No, Evan, I haven’t. Why don’t you enlighten me?” I snipped.

“Because it’s not my place to tell, damn it! But look around, Emma, you’re a smart girl. I bet you could piece it together.”

I let out a breath in disbelief.
What in the world was wrong with everyone tonight?

“Fine! If this is how everyone wants to play tonight!” I turned and stormed into the kitchen, Evan and Maya in tow. Grabbing a solo cup off the counter, I grabbed the closest bottle of liquor and poured it in.

“Emma, honey. What are you doing?” Maya asked carefully.

I grabbed another solo cup and shoved it at Maya. “Didn’t you get the memo, Maya? Pick your poison and bottoms up.”

Before I could think twice about my decision, I tilted my head back and took a huge gulp of my drink. I immediately started choking. Oh my God, that burns! How do people drink this stuff? I sat the cup on the counter, and Maya stepped forward and wrapped me in a hug. As soon as I felt her arms around me, frustrated tears started spilling from my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Em.” she whispered. “Tonight has turned out to really suck, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I sniffed. “What the heck has gotten into Gabe, and why was Evan having to hold Jake back like that?”

“I don’t know, Em. None of it makes any sense.”

“No. It doesn’t. It’s like I didn’t recognize either one of them.”

“Why don’t we go find a bathroom and fix ourselves back up?”

“Alright,” I nodded, cueing Maya to take a step back. “I’m following you.”

Maya took my hand as we navigated through the crowd and found the bathroom. I kept my head down, wanting to avoid the stares from everyone that had just seen our little spectacle. I have never in my life been so publicly humiliated. All I wanted to do was get to a bathroom, take a few deep breaths, collect myself, and then get out of here.

Closing the door behind us, I walked to the counter, leaned over and placed my elbows on the granite, and then put my head in between my hands. I slowly took a few deep breaths before turning and sliding down against the cabinets.