His Unplanned Lesson

by Nickie Nalley Seidler

  “What the hell are you doing here?” She looked at Jake, then pointed her eyes back at me.

  When Jake didn’t answer, she turned to me. “What’s going on?”

  I looked at her confused. I knew she must have known Jake, because he was at her party the night we met. I’m slightly bothered with her tone and why Jake was being silent.

  “Is anyone going to talk to me or are we just going to be rude?” Ava planted her hands on her hips, getting angrier by the minute.

  “I was just kissing Jake goodbye so we could head out to your appointment.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Is there a problem?”

  “Oh a big problem. Jake, why don’t you tell her that big fucking problem I’d have.” Her looks could kill.

  I shook my head, squinting my eyes as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on in front of me. Ava was upset, Jake wasn’t talking, and I’m lost.

  “I’m sorry, could someone fill me in here?” I admitted. My head was buzzing with confusion.

  “So, how long you been fucking my brother?” Ava points in between us with the serious look on her face.

  Jake steps in front of me and offers to walk her to her car and settle whatever it was that seemed to be the issue. Ava didn’t agree but turned around while Jake led her to her Mustang. They had a small squabble and the next thing I knew, Ava got in her car and started to pull away. I threw my hands up in the air, feeling even more confused that I’m not leaving with her. What the fuck was that all about? Jake walked back to the porch and shook his head.

  “Ava wants to go alone.”

  “What the fuck was that, Jake? What’s the problem? Brother? How are you her brother? I’ve never…” My head was seriously spinning with a million questions.

  “Half-sister.” He rolled his eyes.

  “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”

  “I wasn’t always around. I never lived with Ava.”

  “I’m confused?”

  “We haven’t talked about it, you should be.” He kept eye contact, but acted as if it wasn’t a big deal.

  “Jake, this is my problem with you, I want to know about you. Are we on the same page here? I want to be with you, and you want to be with me, we’re just taking things slow, are we not?” I crossed my arms and stared at him for the truth to come out.

  “I was never around when you two were growing up. It was really rare that I came around. Ava and I have the same mother, different fathers. I don’t know why I figured you knew this already. Is it a big deal? Because I didn’t feel like it was? Ava and I aren’t close and haven’t been. She grows this protective side over me and it drives me nuts.” He reached for my arms to unfold and hold my hands. “And yes, I do want to be with you and we’re taking things slow.”

  “So, Ava’s upset because she didn’t know that I was dating her brother?”

  “Half.”

  “Same thing.” I sighed. “I guess I would kind of be upset, too. I feel bad for never telling her but she’s been so depressed and talking about her and her ex that I didn’t bring anything up. Gah, I feel horrible.” I sat down on the outside chair and my phone buzzed in my pocket. That must have been Ava.

  I took it out and read the message.

  Ava: Stay away from him, Sadie. He’s bad news. I’m so pissed you didn’t tell me about this. I’m your best friend!

  I re-read the message about five times before I put the phone back in my pocket. I looked up at Jake, who was now messing with a shutter, then back down at the ground. Bad news? Those two little words with such powerful meanings kept repeating in my head over and over. Why in the world she would say that? Since she was pissed, I knew not to engage her at the moment. I wanted to show Jake and ask millions of questions, but decided to wait this out. That gut feeling of mine was coming back that was scaring me. Something was off.

  I watched Jake take the shutters one by one and go to the windows and nail them on. He opened them up plenty of times to make sure they were even and closing the way they were supposed to. I started feeling upset; I could feel it in my stomach and couldn’t shake what the fuck just happened. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to discuss it with Jake or Ava. I wanted to hear it from Jake because I wanted him to be honest and tell me what’s going on.

  I walked over to him while he was putting on the last shutter. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” I leaned against the house, facing him. His eyes met mine and back to the shutter.

  “Why are you letting Ava get to you?” He pounded the nail into the shutter, vibrating the side of the house.

  “It just seemed strange to me, that’s all.” I shrugged my shoulders.

  “I wouldn’t let it bother you.”

  “She’s my best friend. Why did it bother her so much, though?”

  “Sadie, relax.” He kissed my cheek. “Take a breather.”

  So he ignored my question completely by telling me to relax. What the fuck? Ok, maybe I was over-reacting. Maybe it’s nothing and Ava was just moody and she’ll come around. I felt horrible that I didn’t go with her like I planned, but she was a big girl. I’d call her later and see how it went.

  “Looking good.” Luke stood behind us from the porch, interrupting my thoughts. “Hey Jake, thought I saw your truck.”

  “Yeah, I’m here quite a lot these days.” He chuckled, while getting back to work.

  “Hey Luke! How do they look?” I turned towards the shutters.

  “It looks nice. About time those got fixed. Glad Jake could give you a helping hand.”

  “Yeah, they were in desperate need of some help. What are you up to?”

  “About to get some stuff for guy’s night. Sorry, no ladies allowed.” Luke laughed, heading over towards his car. “Jake, you’re still coming, right?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

  “Must be one hell of a guy’s night.” I picked fun.

  In all actuality, I was happy Jake was going to guy’s night. I kind of wanted time to just relax and be alone before my shift tomorrow. All this on my mind, I needed to sit back, watch a movie and veg out. I needed to go check out a gym too, and get my ass back in jiggle worthy shape. It’s been too long and I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to.

  The mailman came and dropped off a package for me that I ordered online. Jake was curious what it was, but I knew it was for him and I wasn’t ready to give it to him yet. I had ordered a nice tool kit for him for all the help he’s done for me. I figured it was a nice gift to show my appreciation. I wanted to cook him a nice dinner and spoil him. At the moment though, I was questioning everything, even though I felt so sure not that long ago.

  After a few hours passed and I helped Jake around the house, he called it quits and spent an hour with me before he went home to shower and go hang out with the boys. I didn’t ask and he didn’t tell. I think I preferred it that way. Not that I had any suspicion of anything bad, as Luke was a good guy who wouldn’t do stuff like that.

  I texted Ava back finally, while I cooked myself a small dinner. I didn’t hear back from her right away so figured she was ignoring me. I asked how her appointment went. After putting in a comedy, I fell asleep on the couch. I had been so exhausted lately. Lips pressing against mine and a hand running through my hair woke me with a jolt not much later.

  I bolted up from the couch, almost butting heads with a sweet Jake.

  “Jake, you scared me!”

  “I knocked and you weren’t answering, the door was open. I’m sorry. I let myself in.” He kissed me again before I wrapped my arms around him. He always seemed to know to be there when I wanted him around. I glanced at the clock, as it was almost one am. Popular timing for him to come over.

  “It’s okay. I must have fallen asleep watching a movie. How was guy’s night?”

  “Same ole, same ole.” He sat next to me on the couch and lifted my legs onto his lap. Looking into my eyes, he smiled. “I want you to be mine, you know? After earlier, I wish I would have said it then. Bu
t I do. I know you want to take things slowly. I respect that. But I want to be yours.”

  I smiled wide. “For someone I remember saying he was clueless about how to have a relationship, I’m pretty sure you’re amazing at it and you’re just saying things. You’re great, you’re sweet, you treat me with respect, and I couldn’t be happier with anyone else. We click, Jake. We click.”

  He scooted over on the couch and slowly leaned in, pressing his lips to mine. I returned the kiss, pressing my tongue slowly into his mouth while our tongues connected and danced around. My hands traveled to his broad shoulders, feeling his muscles and his strength. He was turning me on and it was hard to stop myself from peeling his clothes off and making him mine. All mine. Every inch of his sexy body, mine. The beauty of that four letter word was now true, he just made me his.

  I had so much uncertainty, but I wanted to take the risk. I wanted to risk this because I felt it was worth it. As much as I still didn’t know about him, I know I really liked this man. I loved how Jake made me feel. The butterflies that flew around every damn time I saw him. The tingles on my skin when he touched me. The smell that I would be very happy to smell forever. Who could be certain about everything in a man they were dating? Nobody knows someone instantly. The feeling he gave me, assured me that I wanted to keep feeling it. I wanted to dig to the bottoms of the Earth, discovering him from head to toe. Or maybe that was just the visual I was giving myself because I wanted to rip his clothes off this very moment.

  Chapter 7

  Jake and I have been inseparable. Well, when he’s not at work busting his ass, he’s over at my place. I realized I haven’t gone back to his house since that first night long ago. I guess it was just easier for him to come here. Not that I minded, I loved being home. Work has been great and I’m actually becoming friends with some of my coworkers. They’re super sweet and it’s been an easy job so far. Who would have thought I’d work at a clothing boutique? At least I get a discount. Joining the gym has been a gift to me. It released so much of the tension that I’ve been building up. I felt better and it made things easier all around. I felt my strength coming back and my skin tightening after losing weight. The more beautiful I felt the more comfortable I’d be opening up more with Jake, who just happened to be a member at the same gym.

  The sweat was pouring off my face as I came off the treadmill. I was having a great run listening to some rock music, which never fails to get me in the mood. I had a short shift at work today and then Jake was taking me out on a date early tonight, which was nice. He doesn’t get early nights that often.

  I felt hands wrapping around my waist and kisses reaching my neck while I lifted my head up to see that it was Jake.

  “You got a great work out, I see.” He spun me around and brought me close to his body. Basking in his scent, I could feel him pressing into me through his pants. It made me smile knowing what I did to him, but also upset me because I knew how much of a tease I’ve been being. It’s been a couple of months now and we haven’t had sex. I knew I was working myself up to it since it’s been so long for me. I craved him and I know he craved me. He wanted me more than ever and I saw it all over his face on a daily basis. He was patient with me and that I respected.

  “I was just heading out to get ready for work.” I kissed his lips gently. “But I can’t wait to go on our date tonight.”

  His hands roamed my body before I put him in check. We were in public. “Watch it, boy.” I laughed.

  “I’ll pick you up at six.” He kissed me again before letting me go. “Still haven’t heard from Ava, huh?”

  I sighed, “No, I figured I’ll call her again tomorrow or something and see what’s going on. I feel horrible and she needs to know that it wasn’t my intention to hurt her.”

  He wrapped the towel around my sweaty neck. “Don’t worry about it, she’s just dramatic.”

  He walked me out of the gym to my old beat up truck that he finally got running for me. It was a happy reminder of all the fun times Bobby and I once had together.

  I just left Jake and he was on my mind all the time. Heading home to shower, I admired all the beautiful trees swaying in the southern wind. Fall was quickly approaching and it would start to cool down a bit out here.

  ~*~

  Halfway into my shift, the store got pretty dead and we girls didn’t have much to do other than stand around. We finished all of our tasks for the day. The clothes were folded, inventory was checked off and the bathrooms were cleaned.

  “So, you excited for your date tonight with Mister Mysterious?” Savannah always loved to call Jake Mister Mysterious because of the things he kept to himself. I didn’t mind so much because I figured it was just jealously over how good of a relationship we had.

  “We’re going to some fancy Italian place. I’m actually looking forward to it. We don’t get to spend too much time together during early hours of the night.”

  “Doesn’t that ever bother you? Like, why he doesn’t come around till late at night?” She leaned up on the counter.

  Savannah questioned his life way more than I wanted to think about it. I took it as he was just a reserved person and what I was supposed to know, he’d tell me.

  “No, Savannah, stop.” I smiled, fidgeting with flyers laying on the counter.

  “Seriously, Sadie, think about it for just a second with me.” She stared me down before going on. “He only visits you mostly late in the evening. He never talks about his family. He didn’t tell you his sister was your best friend. You know almost nothing about him. You don’t ever go to his house. Something is up with that, girlfriend.” She pointed at me, signaling to me her seriousness.

  “I’m really not that worried about it. I used to, but realized I was stressing over no reason. I trust him, Savannah. He works a late job, too.”

  “As long as you’re happy, I just hate to see something bad come out of this because you’re oblivious to some of these things that would usually bring up a red flag to me.”

  A customer walked in and the door chimed. Thank goodness for that because I knew this conversation was making me feel uncomfortable.

  I got a few texts from Jake throughout the day, which always made me smile and nothing still from Ava. It made me sad because she knew me best and was my only friend besides the girls here now.

  After a short shift at work, I headed home to get ready for date night. Thankfully, I was starving so it was perfect to go to this place tonight. I’m just not sure what I’ll be craving more, Jake or the food. Luke was outside sitting on his porch with a beer and since I was in a hurry to get ready, I couldn’t talk long except to say hi and bye pretty much. I’m sure Luke knew about Jake and me but I never really brought it up to him because I felt awkward talking about my life like that with people. We’re so newly into one another, it wasn’t uncommon to keep quiet for a bit.

  The water rained over my body and never felt better. I loved the aroma of soaps mixed with the steam in the air; it made the bathroom smell so good. I felt refreshed and ready to go. I blow-dried my hair and put on a cute jean skirt and fancy black tank top. Some make-up was applied, but not too much. I felt comfortable, and most of all I felt real. I felt like myself.

  The doorbell rang and I quickly headed over to it, opening it up with the biggest smile. Seeing Jake’s beautiful, clean shaven face wearing jeans and black button down shirt, he was to die for Southern sexy at its best.

  “You look amazing, beautiful, and mine.” He reached in and pulled me into a hug, sniffing my hair. “And smell addicting.”

  “Addicting, huh?” I laughed.

  “Let’s go, we’ll be late.” He brought his arm up, checking his watch for the time. I grabbed my purse that was hanging on the hook, turned the outside light on, and headed out on Jake’s arm.

  The restaurant was stunningly gorgeous, dimly lit by candles and filled with white linen covered tables.. The aroma of fresh bread baking, cheese sizzling, and sauce bubbling, it was heaven to my nose. W
e had a small reserved table in the corner and Jake was so courteous. He pulled the chair out for me and opened my menu. Even ordered what I was planning on eating. He was being the sweetest, all in, hearts and flowers date. It was something I was quite used to from him, but it was something he warned me of from the start, that he didn’t know how to be. Somehow as the days progressed in our relationship, he was proving that more wrong by the hour. I’m not sure how he thought he didn’t know what he was doing because he’s doing a great job at charming me.

  “Jake, you’ve outdone yourself. It’s wonderful and I’m so excited to taste the food.”

  He swished his wine around in the glass, deep in thought. I could tell by his expression that he was thinking of just the right words. With Jake, they were always what I wanted to hear.

  “Sadie, you’re really wonderful and you’ve seriously made my dampened life better again. I was in a bad place in my life, where I questioned a lot of things. Mainly my ability to be someone for someone. You make me feel alive, you make me feel like I’m somebody. You will never know how much that actually means to me. Bumping into you has been the best day of my life so far.” He reached his hand towards mine across the table and squeezed it, while maintaining eye contact. His eyes sparkled with the love I saw in them.

  I could tell his nerves were getting the best of him, opening up and telling me what he had. He struggled with expressing his emotions but I was slowly getting him to come around to admitting his feelings. “I’ll admit, when I moved here, I expected to find friends to get me through life. I didn’t expect to find a man to sweep me off my feet and make me fall in love with him.”

  “Love?” His eyebrow creased, almost like he wasn’t ready to hear that word.

  “You and I both know I’m not ready for that type of commitment in my life. I think you’d agree you aren’t either. It was just a figure of speech, about how you make me feel. You dive into my mind and camp out there. You’ve opened my heart slowly but surely, and camped there too. I really like you, Jake. I love where this is heading with us.”