Always (Bold as Love)

by Lindsay Paige

  That's not the case, though. She's even more important than those things. I don't really understand what I'm supposed to do. Last time we talked, she wanted me to do whatever I needed to do to make it in the NHL. I'm doing just that. What more does she want?

  If I thought I couldn't sleep before, I definitely won't sleep now. I want nothing more than to run after her and talk this out, but I can't leave Drake, and I'm not going to wake up him. It'll just have to wait until morning.

  I've been staring at the ceiling all night. There's absolutely nothing interesting on my ceiling. I've scanned the surface and haven't found anything to hold my attention for more than a second. There's a creak from the other side my door and I know that it's Drake. My door opens seconds later and Drake peeks in.

  “You're up?”

  “Yep. Hungry?”

  “Of course!” he says, rubbing his stomach.

  Chuckling, I get up and we go downstairs to raid the fridge. Turns out, I need to go shopping. The milk is two weeks expired, the cereal boxes are empty, and the fridge is pretty bare.

  “C'mon. We'll grab something and go eat with Emily.”

  “Awesome!”

  We head upstairs to get ready and leave minutes later. Running through the drive-thru at Hardee's, I get us each a biscuit. Drake knocks on the door five times in a row before deciding that that was enough. Emily opens the door a minute later, looking disheveled in a tank top and shorts with pink penguins on them. Her eyes catch the bag of food and she moans.

  “You boys are the best!” She steps aside and we come in. Emily fixes us all something to drink while Drake and I take a seat at the table. After she places the glasses on the table, she sits sideways in my lap.

  “What are you boys up to today?” she asks, taking a bite from her biscuit.

  “I want to go to the beach,” Drake says with a mouthful.

  “Don't talk with food in your mouth, Drake,” I warn before taking a bite of my biscuit.

  Emily just nods and uses one arm to go around my neck, her fingers running through my hair at the base of my neck. She seems distracted while she eats and plays with my hair.

  “Are we going to the beach or what?” Drake asks looking between me and Emily, only she doesn't seem to hear him. “Emily?” he asks.

  “Hmm?” she looks at him.

  “Are we going to the beach?” he says, clearly annoyed at having to repeat himself.

  “Oh, yeah. Sure. Right, Jake?” Sweetness looks at me.

  “Yeah. We can do that.”

  “Good,” Drake smiles.

  Emily finishes her food and says, “So I'll go get ready and then we'll go to your house for y'all to get ready? Okay, good,” she adds without waiting for me to reply. Emily hops off my lap and walks out, down the hallway and to her room. Drake and I finish our breakfast in silence and afterwards, I clean up.

  “Jake,” Emily calls from her room. “Can you come here for a second?”

  “Coming,” I yell back as I leave the kitchen. Her back is to me and from the looks of it, she's only wearing her bottoms, which have Penguins across the back.

  “Can you tie my top? Every time I do it, it's either too loose or too tight.”

  “Sure.” I walk over to her as she holds the top over her breasts and I grab the strings. Chuckling, I ask, “Who are you going to root for when I play the Penguins? Me or them?”

  Emily's shoulders sag. “I hadn't thought of that.”

  I tie the one around her neck first. My fingers keep grazing her skin, which is warm already.

  “Definitely you,” she says, finally answering my question. I laugh, but before I can respond, she says, “I'm sorry about last night.” Her tone is serious and she's speaking quietly. “It's not that I don't appreciate us or anything like that. It was just... never mind, it doesn't matter.”

  I finish tying both sets of strings and Emily turns to face me, wrapping her arms around my neck and standing on her tiptoes.

  “I'm ready for whatever our lives give us and I'm prepared to miss things along the way. I'll follow you anywhere. I only want to spend my life with you.”

  I run my hands from her shoulders down to her waist, smiling. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Then she's gone from my arms. Sweetness walks over to the door where a bag full of towels and sunscreen is waiting. “Let's hit the road, Jack.”

  We take her car to my house where Drake and I change. Afterwards, we are on our way to the beach. Sweetness appears to be in a good mood, singing along to the radio with the windows down, bopping along to the beat. The beach is crowded as expected and we have to walk a ways to find a spot.

  “Can I go get in the water already?” Drake asks me.

  “Sunscreen, first.”

  Emily hands him the sunscreen and then I help her lay out the towels.

  “Seriously?” I ask, seeing that not only is she wearing a new bathing suit with the Pens on it, but she bought herself a towel as well.

  “I ordered them before you were drafted, so hush. Plus, they are still my favorite team. You're just my favorite player.” She smiles easily and sits on the towel beside me. Drake tosses her the sunscreen and looks at me for approval.

  “Be careful and the water doesn't go higher than your waist without me in there with you.”

  “Got it,” he nods.

  So much for him going in the water, not that I'm complaining. He sits close enough to look for mole crabs. Turning to look at Emily, she's slathering sunscreen over her arms. We take turns passing the sunscreen to one another as we apply it to ourselves. Last, but not least, I rub it on her back after she does the same for me.

  “You know, if you keep on with all this Penguins gear, I'm not going to be able to be seen with you in public.”

  Emily laughs and shakes her head as she moves to lay on her stomach first with her head towards the water. I've got my knees pulled up and my arms resting on them. My eyes are focused on the water's edge where Drake is digging quickly.

  “I'm probably just going to work this semester and take a couple of online classes at a community college, so I don't get too far behind. That way, it'll be a little easier to be there when Drake gets home from school, that kind of thing. Have you heard anything more from your dad's attorney?”

  “Apparently, when my mom got sick, she made him set up a will, right? The house is mine and it's paid for. I can either keep it or sale it. What money he had goes to me and part of it goes into a trust fund for Drake when he gets older. That's pretty much it. Are you going to be okay with online classes?”

  “Yeah. It's no big deal. I've dropped my classes in Charlotte already. We just need to ride up and get our things from the apartment and inform the landlord. Have you registered Drake yet?”

  “No. It makes more sense to do that after we find a place. I can't register him at a school when I don't know if we're going to be in that district.”

  Drake runs up to us, kicking sand behind him. Proudly, his chest moving as he catches his breath, he holds out his hand. There are three little mole crabs in his hand. Emily moves so she's sitting up like I am and holds out her hand. Drake drops all three into her hand.

  “I loved finding these little guys when I was growing up,” Emily comments.

  “Don't you want to come help me find more?” Drake asks, hopeful.

  “Sure.”

  We all go to Drake's spot and find the hole gone. The tide came in and filled it back up. Gathering around, we dig, cupping handfuls of sand and tossing it aside. Sweetness squeals whenever she grabs one and it moves around on her hand, claiming that it tickled. That's how the day passes. We wade in the water for a while and then dig for crabs. Around two, Drake's ready to head home and everyone's hungry.

  There's a pizza place on the way off the island and we stop there to eat. It's pretty good and then we go home. The next couple of days pass just like this one. We make the arrangements that Emily's going to stay at my house with Drake whil
e I go up for the camp. I leave tomorrow and today, it's just me and my little brother spending the day together. Emily's supposed to be coming over later. She wanted me to spend some time with him before I left.

  31

  Emily

  I'm just about to leave the house to go over to Jake's when Dad calls.

  “Hey, hon. Do you want to eat supper with me tonight?”

  “I would, but Jake leaves tomorrow and I really want to spend tonight with him. I'm getting ready to head that way now, actually.”

  “You've seen him all week. A couple of hours won't hurt ya.”

  “Dad,” I stress. “He leaves tomorrow. What's the big deal?”

  “Look, I expect you to be at Carrabba's in an hour. Don't be late.”

  “Seriously, Dad?” I ask, getting pissed. This is my last night with Jake for a while and he wants me to waste part of it by eating supper with him?

  “You better be there, Emily.”

  “Fine.” I hang up and throw my phone onto my bed. This is ridiculous. Why tonight? Why not tomorrow? Stomping, I snatch my phone off the bed and call Jake.

  “Hey, Sweetness. What's up?”

  “Dad! He wants me to eat dinner with him tonight. Tonight! I won't be over until later.”

  “Alright. No problem. I'll just see you then.”

  “Yeah,” I say flatly.

  “I love you.”

  “Love you too,” I gloom.

  Ugh! Part of me just wants to skip dinner, but I can't stand the image of my dad sitting at a table my himself, a glass of Dr. Pepper already waiting for me. It wouldn't be right to stand my own father up. With a long, drawn out sigh, I leave for the only Carrabba's he could be talking about. The one in Wilmington, a whole forty minutes away. By the time I get to Jake's, 110 minutes will pass at the minimum. 6,600 seconds. That sounds completely depressing when I get down to the nitty gritty second.

  And depressed is exactly how I feel when I reach my destination. Dad texted me to let me know that I just had to inform the hostess who I was and she would lead me to the table.

  “Name?” the short blonde asks without even looking up at me.

  “Johnson.”

  “Right this way,” she finally looks up at me with a plastered, fake smile. Someone doesn't want to be here tonight. That makes two of us. I catch sight of Dad and skid to a stop. What the hell? Who are those people? A woman about my dad's age is sitting beside him, laughing with a hand on his arm. She's wearing bright red lipstick and a shirt with pastel flowers all over it. Sitting to my dad's left are two guys, in their twenties, I'd say. They resemble the woman as they have the same dark hair and long noses.

  Dad looks at me and gives me one weak ass smile. Now that he's seen me, I have no choice but to go over and sit between one of the guys and this woman.

  “Hi, Daddy,” I say sweetly, completely bullshitting it. I can't be bombarded like this!

  “Hey, honey. I want you to meet Cherish and her sons, Blake and Chris.”

  “Nice to meet y'all,” I greet, taking my seat.

  My eyes zoom in on this Cherish woman and how her hand is over Dad's on the table. Oh, no. He's dating this woman! He dragged me away from Jake so I could meet his girlfriend. What about that screams that it can't wait until tomorrow?

  “It's so good to finally meet you,” Cherish speaks in an almost squeaky voice. “Your father has told me so many things about you.”

  At that, I glare at him. It's going to be tough to tamper down on the bitch rising within and be polite. I want to say, “I wish I could say the same about you, but I didn't even know you existed before today.” Instead, I tell her, “It's great to meet you too.”

  As expected, a Dr. Pepper was waiting for me. I grab my glass and take a sip.

  “You're married? How old are you?” one of the boys asks like I'm twelve. I can't remember which is which.

  “I'm nineteen and engaged. How old are you?” I counter and okay, I don't turn nineteen for a few more months, but this ass doesn't know that.

  “Twenty-three.”

  With a look to my dad, he decides it's time to intervene. “She's not getting married any time soon, though.”

  Oh, and that just sounds so much better. Thanks for the support, Dad. “We're waiting for our life to settle down a bit before we try to plan a wedding. My fiancé is going to be playing in the NHL. Between that and trying to move, go to school, and take care of his nine year old brother, we're a little busy at the moment.”

  Mentioning hockey caught their attention. “Really? That's awesome.” Thing 2 says. He's the one closer to me.

  “Damn. That's great,” Thing 1 whistles.

  I redirect my attention to the woman. “How long have you two been dating?”

  Cherish looks at my dad likes it's a trick question. “About five months,” she squeaks.

  “That's great. How did you two meet?”

  “I met her during one of my business trips. My company and another got together for a conference and Cherish was there,” Dad answers, looking at her lovingly. I want to puke. Now I know how Drake feels around me and Jake.

  “So sweet. I bet it was love at first sight. I adore love stories like that!” I say with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm.

  Our waiter thankfully arrives to take our orders. Unfortunately, he doesn't stay long enough. I turn my attention to the pair of Things and ask what they do for a living. They aren't that bad looking, now that I've taken in their appearance. Anyway, that question jumpstarts the conversation and I can sit back and just input here and there.

  Thing 1, who is twenty-five, owns a successful construction company while Thing 2 is a freelance photographer. The talk steers that way until Cherish decides she needs to speak more to me.

  “What are you going to school for?”

  “I want to be a dentist. It might take me a tad bit longer than normal, though, because with all these transitions coming up, I'm only going to take a few online classes next semester.”

  “You're doing what?” This is news to my father and apparently, it's bad news. “I thought you were going to be in Charlotte?”

  “No, Daddy,” I again speak with such sweetness. “I'm moving with Jake and I won't be able to transfer to a university because it's too late in the year. I'm going to have to transfer to a community college and take a couple of courses there. I thought I told you.”

  That was a lie. I haven't mentioned to Dad about the move to Chicago or school before tonight. He hasn't asked and I haven't offered. Actually, I figured it would be apparent what my plans would be, especially since Drake is involved.

  “You didn't say anything, but it's fine.”

  Interesting. Usually, Dad would have blown a gasket, but with Cherish around, he's calm. Hmm.

  “So you're going to follow, what's his name again?” Cherish asks.

  “Jake.”

  “Right. So you're going to follow Jake to where exactly?”

  “Chicago,” I answer, trying to keep my growing annoyance from my voice.

  “Oh, okay. It's good that you are going to be there to support him through this exciting time in his life.”

  “Of course. There's no other place I rather be.”

  Our food arrives and the small talk continues. Cherish dives into my life and asks how long I've been dating Jake. What's he like? What's his little brother's name? Blah, blah, blah. The list goes on and on and I'm just sitting here thinking, “If you know so much about me, then why don't you know about Jake?” Jake is such a huge part of my life and apparently, she knows nothing about him. The waiter takes our plates and asks about dessert. Dad, of course, wants to order something.

  “Well, I'd love to stay for dessert, but I've got to get going. It was lovely meeting you all and thanks for supper, Dad. I'll see you tomorrow.”

  With that, I get up and leave without a backwards glance. Seventy-five isn't fast enough as I travel the interstate back home. I can't wait to see Jake and tell him about this stunt Dad pull
ed. Why didn't he at least inform me that it wasn't just going to be me and him? Why didn't he just say, “Hey, I want you to meet my girlfriend?” They've been dating five months and I have never even heard of the woman! I wonder if that's why he kept questioning my being home that time. Has she been staying over at the house? Is that why he wanted to know? He didn't want me to come home and run into her? Heaven forbid, what if she was naked?

  Gross.

  Thank goodness, Jake got me a key to the house the other day. I unlock the door and come inside, locking it behind me. The lights are off downstairs, so they must be in their rooms. True enough, they were. Only both were in Drake's room, lying on the bed with a head at each end, watching a Fast and Furious movie. Watching is too strong of a word. Both boys were asleep. Seeing them together livens my soul. I wonder what they've been up to today to be knocked out by 8:30.

  I creep over to Drake's bed to gently wake Jake, who is on the inside of the bed.

  “Love, rise and shine.”

  At first, he squints at me and then looks around. Carefully, he gets out of the bed and we walk across the hall to his room. While I rummage through his drawers for something to wear, he runs a hand through his bedhead hair as he walks to his bed and lays down.

  “Sorry, Sweetness. I didn't mean to fall asleep before you got here.”

  “No worries, love.”

  I find my favorite pair of Jake's sweatpants and one of my tank tops. In the bathroom, I change and brush my teeth and hair before climbing into bed with Jake.

  His voice still groggy from sleeping, he asks, “How was dinner with Mike?”

  “I thought it was going to be me and him, but no. I get there and he's got his girlfriend and her two sons there. I didn't even know he had a girlfriend! Why I had to meet her tonight of all nights, I don't know? Overall, though, it went fine.” I've cuddled up to my man, tangle my legs with his, and relish in the feel of his fingers barely brushing over my back in that tranquilizing up and down motion.