The unspoken Rule (10 page)

A few days later

He was still on my mind.

No matter how hard I tried.

To get my mind off of him, I accepted a date from Wesley. I liked him, I really did, just not as much as I did Jake. Wesley was kind, and I enjoyed spending time with him.

"Hey," He greeted me from behind.

I turned around seeing Wesley before me. His green eyes were gorgeous, flecks of blue in them. He gave me an Earth-shattering smile.

"Hey," I greeted back.

"How are you?"

"Good, you?" I put my things away in my locker.

"Better, now that I can see your pretty face."

I beamed at his comment; Wesley gave me a shy grin.

"You're so sweet," I told him.

We weren't exactly dating, and I had made that clear to Wesley. I was just testing the waters. I didn't want to become attached to someone just to lose myself in the process.

"I try,"

We walked to the parking lot outside, Wesley's hand hesitating before grabbing mine. I laced my fingers in his, liking how it felt right. Secure.

So we strolled, our hands intertwined, outside. Some people smiled at me, seeing that I was blushing. I felt like I was on top of the world, nothing bringing me down.

I had moved on, and I felt proud of myself.

Jake's POV

Maria had moved on.

That point was clear as day.

She was holding hands with that basketball guy. What was his name? Wendall? William?

It didn't matter.

What
did
matter was what my heart did. It sunk. It sunk down to the pits of my stomach. I felt...envious. Like I wanted to be the one who was holding her precious hand.

He wasn't good enough for her. No matter what people said.

But she had forgotten about me. And quickly. She sure did bounce back fast. It had only been a few days. I hated seeing her with him. It made me feel guiltier about losing her.

I had such a great catch. Such a perfect lady. And I had lost my grip on her. I had caused her to lose trust from me, which was understandable, considering what I had put her through.

I still thought about our break up. Each and every day. It ran through my mind non-stop. A constant reminder of my mistakes. My God-awful mistakes. I had screwed up. Majorly.

But she still made me jealous. And boy did I miss Maria.

I missed her.

Jake's POV

I thought about Maria all day that Sunday.

How did our relationship get that complicated?

Right, drama.

First, it was when we were secretly crushing on each other. Maria had been afraid to admit her feelings for me because I was Laura's brother. And because I was a notorious player.

Then, we started hanging out, and eventually admitted our feelings to each other. That day was pure pleasure. I hadn't felt that ecstatic in a very long time.

And then we dated. Bonfires in her backyard. Listening to music in my room. I didn't care what we did. I just loved it because I was spending time with her.

After that, Maria saw Cynthia sitting in my lap. Which I still regret to this day. It wasn't entirely my fault. I was trying to get her off of me. Cynthia was trying to turn me on, which I wasn't at all. She made me feel turned
off
. I still can't believe I dated her, and had actually enjoyed hanging out with her. Cue gagging.

Next, Laura found out about us dating. And it had been when we were making out! I had never felt such a passionate kiss before, and then Laura barged in and ruined it.

And then Laura made us break up! 'Cause she was mad we didn't tell her! How could she have been that selfish? It was unreal! It had been a painful day, not being able to act like our normal selves around each other. Maria, thank goodness, finally got permission from Laura.

Maria then runs to me, literally, and finds me… with someone else. Kissing someone else! Making out with a certain ex-girlfriend. And her heart shattered.

Let me make something clear here, before you get angry with me. I was
entirely
desperate. It was a time in need, and want. I had figured that kissing a girl would take my mind off of things. And it did, for a while. But let me make another point:

I, in no way, enjoyed Cynthia's kiss.

She was a horrible kisser compared to Maria.

Maria's kisses were more of love. Whereas Cynthia's was just to say she kissed me. So she could spread all the gossip and rumors she wanted to.

So Maria saw me and I ran after the person I saw speed away. It turned out, it was Maria. And I felt so so so so bad. Guilty. Awful. Horrible. And I just felt down right dirty. I hadn't technically cheated on Maria, since at the time, we weren't going out, but still. I felt like I had lost all chances of getting back together with her. Which I did.

So now, here I am. Alone. Grim. No possible future with Maria at all.

She had found someone else, after all.
Wesley.

Ugh. It made me sick the way he acted around her. Well, okay, maybe not.

He kinda seemed,
maybe
, just maybe, like a good guy. But I wouldn't admit it, because I wanted to be the one guy for Maria. I wanted to be with her. I wanted to hold her, tell her I love her, and her display the same affection back. But now I couldn't, because I knew I wasn't a possibility for her anymore.

And so I laid on my bed. I thought about ways to send her back to me.

I needed Maria, gosh darn it!

I needed her.

After a while, a slow grin spread across my face. And somewhere above me, a light bulb flicked on. Eureka!

Maria's POV

Shoot. Did I do the math homework last night? I asked myself, as I took my seat in Pre Calculus.

I fished my notebook out of my back pack, and breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that I had completed the assignment. Thank goodness. Since I was a little early, I grabbed my pencil and walked to the front of the room, where the sharpener was. Walking there, I couldn't miss the sight.

The sight which was Jake and Sarah.

They were holding hands, and practically on top of each other. They were gushing out love freely, as if it
was
free. They were both grinning like they were the happiest people in the world. Nothing to pull them down.

Sarah had a short black bob, with piercing green eyes. She was pretty, yes, with curves in all the right places.

Together, they walked to their seats; which was when I noticed Jake had apparently changed his seat to be with Sarah.

I didn't miss though, the flick of his eyes towards me. They were unreadable, which was unlike him. I could usually decipher them, even with his careful hiding. What was going on?

I had just made it to the sharpener, my back against the class, when I felt a familiar feeling. A prick at the back of my eyes threatened to turn into something more. I willed myself not to cry in front of the class.

Why would I cry, after all? I was dating Wesley now, and I liked him.

But was Jake dating Sarah now? Surely they were with the hand-holding and all. That was a little fast. Almost too fast. I figured he'd be slow at finding a different girl.

I shouldn't think too much of Sarah though. She was just another trophy for Jake to display.

Why did I feel jealous? I shouldn't want that piece of trash people call Jake. He was nothing short of a jerk. A reckless person who didn't learn their lesson.

The teacher called on me to return to my seat. I did, and then realized that I hadn't sharpened my pencil at all. And so I listened carefully in class, trying to remember everything. I stared straight ahead, trying to ignore the small giggles I heard behind me from the lovers. It was repulsive. But the teacher's voiced droned on, and I soon lost focus. My own thoughts surfaced. I vowed to go out with Wesley that night, as soon as possible.

Jake's POV

I think my plan worked like a dream.

Maria was in full view of Sarah and I in math class. I glanced at her, noticing the shock and pain written in her eyes. Inside, I smirked, satisfied with her reaction. Now she knew how I felt when I saw her with Wesley.

Sarah was a nice girl. She had pretty green eyes and a killer hair style. She had curves and wore clothing that highlighted her best features. I had asked her out that Monday, and she immediately agreed.

Of course I didn't miss the stares from the kids in the hallways. They only saw Jake Miller. The guy who bounced from one girl to the next. Some I think envied my girl abilities. Others were the girls I had dumped easily and stared at me with daggers.

I shrugged them off with a kiss to Sarah, and we went on our way. Sarah was hot and after eating lunch with her, I decided I might actually stick around with her. She could actually hold a conversation, so it was pleasant to talk with her.

I stuck a few salty fries in my mouth, enjoying the greasy food. Sarah sat across from me and leaned forward, a serious look on her face. She lowered her voice. "Jake, why did you really ask me out?"

I locked eyes with hers. "What do you mean?" I took a swig of my soda.

"I mean, why did you
really
ask me out?"

I played dumb. "Because I like you."

She rolled her eyes at my answer. "That's it?" She questioned.

"Yeah, and you're nice."

This earned another roll of her eyes. She placed her hands flat on the cafeteria table. "Fine. Don't tell me."

Did Sarah really think she knew why I had asked her out? How could she know? No one knew about Maria and I, save Cynthia and Laura.

Cynthia.

My mind scratched for earlier memories, willing them to surface. I vaguely recalled Cynthia and Sarah being friends before. If my memory served correct.

Crap. That meant Sarah probably
did
know the whole truth. Maria and I. And all the drama of Cynthia too. Crap.

Sarah stood up to leave and grabbed her tray. "I know more than you think, Jake."

And I cursed myself for asking Sarah out. She disappeared, leaving me to my thoughts.

Sarah would probably black mail me. Or, she would team up with Cynthia and crush both me and Maria.