by JL Paul
My cell rang and I jumped, spilling Cammy’s milk. I snagged a couple nearby napkins to sop up the mess but Cammy grabbed them from my hands and glared.
“Answer the phone,” she ordered.
I checked the number. It was Jake. “Hello?”
“Hey, Iz. I’m not interrupting class, am I?”
I smiled, relieved and excited to hear his voice. “No. I’m at lunch. Where are you?”
“In a hotel room about fifteen minutes from your school. I drove by earlier and it’s huge. How do you not get lost?”
I gasped, catching the attention of the people at a nearby table. “Really? You’re that close?”
“Yep. Happy birthday.”
“Thanks,” I blushed. My hands began to tremble as I mentally counted down the hours until I could escape the campus and see him again. “I have a few more classes before I can meet you.”
“Do you have to wear plaid skirts at that fancy school of yours?” he asked in a teasing tone. The heat in my cheeks was nearly scorching.
“No,” I said.
“Too bad. I was imagining you frolicking around campus in one of those Catholic school girl outfits.”
I was going to hit him. Hard. In the stomach. “I do not frolic, and I think those uniforms went out of style ages ago.”
Cammy and Annie giggled beside me. I threw them each their own menacing glare.
“Call me when you get out of class, Iz. I’ll see you soon.”
He hung up, and my entire body turned to rubber. I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the next few hours.
Chapter Six
“Isabella, what do you think you’re doing?” Annie demanded, glaring at me while I sat on my bed to tie my shoes. I glanced up at her, totally thrown by her question.
“I’m getting ready to go meet Jake,” I uttered. She should have known that—it’s all I talked about all day.
She raised a perfectly plucked brow. “Like that?”
Standing, I ran a hand down the legs of my jeans. They were my favorite; comfortable but not holey or anything like that. I also had on a green t-shirt. I have a thing for colored t-shirts, and the green one matched my eyes. My hair was gathered into a neat ponytail. I didn’t see a problem.
“What? Do I have a stain on my shirt? Something on the back of my jeans?” I looked over my shoulder, twisting in complicated ways to see if that was the case.
“Bella,” she sighed gently. “You’re going to town to meet a boy. A very cute boy. Dress up!”
I laughed and took a step away from her. “I’m going to town to meet Jake. He’s taking me for a fast food dinner. He doesn’t care what I look like.”
Annie started to protest but Cammy came to my rescue. “Let her go.” I smiled gratefully until Cammy’s eyes turned scheming. “We’ll get a hold of her before the dance tomorrow night.”
I gave her a wary look. “What do you mean you’ll get a hold of me tomorrow?”
“Nothing,” Cammy grinned. She pushed me to the door. “Go. Have fun. Give Jake our love.”
I was about to demand answers until she mentioned Jake and set off an entire flock of butterflies in my stomach. I darted out the door before I turned chicken and hid beneath my bed.
***
My hands trembled as I parked my car in front of the hotel. It took me three tries to dig my cell phone out of my pocket and four to hit the correct button.
“Hey, Iz. Where are you?”
“Parking lot,” I managed to squeak.
“Be right there.”
I got out of the car and smoothed my shirt. I leaned against the door, trying to look cool and casual. That worked only when I shoved my shaky hands into my pockets.
A couple minutes later, he appeared, robbing me of breath. He was dressed in jeans, a hoodie and a baseball cap, grinning. He pulled me into an embrace before I could move. All nervousness flew away as I jerked my hands out of my pockets to throw around his neck. I hadn’t realized how much I missed him until I inhaled his scent and memories of our night together flooded my mind.
Finally, he edged back and produced a slightly smashed rose from the front pocket of his sweatshirt. He held it out to me earnestly as my eyes grew. I couldn’t think of a thing to say. No one had ever given me flowers before, except maybe my father.
“Happy birthday,” he said, blue eyes sparkling. I took the flower and it trembled in my grip. He kissed my cheek and waited for me to say something.
“Thanks,” I said, nearly choking on the word. I shivered, and he pulled off his sweatshirt with a sigh.
“Here,” he said, handing it to me. “Put this on.”
“Won’t you be cold?” I asked. Déjà vu anyone?
He tugged on the long sleeve of his shirt. “Nah. Come on. Let’s take your car to get some food.”
I pulled his shirt over my head, careful not to crush the rose, and handed him my keys. My nervousness had snuck back into my stomach and I didn’t trust myself to drive. He grinned and opened the door, allowing me to climb over the console to the passenger’s seat.
We ran through the Burger Kastle drive-thru and Jake handed me the bag of aromatic food. He headed back to the hotel, and I followed him up to his room. Once again, I found myself alone with him, totally vulnerable, but I didn’t feel an ounce of fear.
We sat at the small table and ate. I remembered my vow to find out more about him so I pelted him with questions.
“Jake, what’s your favorite color?”
He furrowed his brow. “Green. Like the color of your eyes.” He winked and shoved a fry in his mouth. My heart soared to my throat. “Why?”
“Well,” I started, taking a sip of my drink. “I realized the other day that I didn’t know a whole lot about you.”
He shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “Ask me whatever you want.”
So I did. I asked about his favorite food; favorite movie; favorite thing to do. He answered each question patiently. When I ran out of questions he smiled softly. “Done?”
“For now,” I smiled back.
“Good,” he said as he sprang from his chair and strode over the chest of drawers across from the bed. He smirked as he opened the top drawer and withdrew a couple parcels. “Present time.”
“No, Jake,” I gasped, heat touching my cheeks. “This is so unnecessary. You don’t need to do this.”
“Sure I do, so just shut up and open them.” He scooted two brightly wrapped gifts at me as he leaned against the wall to watch, arms across his chest. “Go on.”
With a sigh, I snatched one off the top. It was the smallest and I as I ripped the paper off, I frowned. It was a CD in a plain green jewel case and no label–just a bunch of scrawl in black marker.
“Me and the guys were playing around in the studio one day–you know, kinda unplugged style. The guys in the sound room recorded us. You are the only person other than me and the band who have a copy. We all signed it for you, too.”
My breath left my lungs in a whoosh. “Jake,” I managed to say. “This is amazing. Thank you so much.”
He just grinned at nodded at the larger box. “Open that.”
I blushed, a little embarrassed. I hated opening presents in front of people except for family at Christmas. But Jake was nearly squirming in anticipation, and I didn’t want to let him down. I tore at the paper and found a plain brown box. When I lifted the lid, I squealed. Inside were concert DVDs from every awesome band available: Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Greenday, Nickelback, Pink Floyd—the list was endless.
“Jake, this is just awesome. I don’t know how to thank you!”
His eyes softened as a smile floated across his face. “Well, I know you love music like I do. I thought you’d enjoy them.”
I pulled one out and flipped it over, reading the back cover. I was beyond words. I had one or two concert DVDs but nothing at all like this.
“Okay, before you get all emotional or whatever you girls do, there’s one more thing.”
&nbs
p; I tore my eyes from the DVD to glance at him. “Huh?”
He produced a long, slim box wrapped in shiny green paper. He slid it on the table to me, and I caught it reflexively before it could fall to the floor. “My sister helped me with this one.”
I couldn’t stop staring at him. He sighed and nudged the box, forcing my eyes to the package. I carefully ripped the paper off and lifted the lid. My heart stopped as I fingered the shimmering gold bracelet. I smiled at the round charm with ‘IZ’ engraved elegantly on the front. I flipped it over and read ‘Love, Jake’. I couldn’t stop the emotions as my eyes misted. I stood on shaky legs and hugged him. He rubbed my back and chuckled lightly.
“I take it you like it, then?”
I nodded in his chest, ashamed to show him my moist eyes. He squeezed me as he dropped a kiss on the top of my head. He held me for a few minutes more before reluctantly loosening his grip. “I wrote a new song, and I want you to hear it.”
I nodded again and stepped back, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “Help me put this on, first,” I asked, taking the bracelet out of the box. His fingers brushed my wrist as he fastened the hook and made my skin tingle in an eerie sort of way.
“It looks good on you,” he said, a twinkle in his eyes. I blushed and ducked my head but the wide smile on his face clued me in that he’d noticed. He picked up a guitar out of a case and strummed on the strings. Plopping on the bed, I scooted up to the headboard.
“That night with you inspired this song. And be warned, this is the closest you’ll ever get to me singing about butterflies and rainbows.” He gave me a stern look that he totally ruined when an impish grin cracked his lips.
Laughing, I pulled my legs to my chest. I rested my chin on my knees and listened as he strummed a short introduction and began singing, sending my heart to outer space. He sang about a night free from responsibility and hanging out with a friend. He sang about lying under the stars and watching fireflies play in the fields. It wasn’t the least bit corny. It was more about realizing how insignificant you really were and how so many out there had more on their plate than you. I felt the tears build behind my eyes as he finished. He just looked at me, waiting for my reaction.
“Wow,” I managed to say, my frozen body still absorbing the notes that seemed to waft in the air.
“Thanks,” he grinned, setting his guitar back in the case. “That song is on the CD I gave you.” He paused to stare at me a moment. “What do you want to do now?”
“Listen to you sing some more,” I blurted. My cheeks heated again.
It was his turn to blush as his grin softened into a deep smile. I gasped.
“What?” he asked.
“You have a dimple!”
Rolling his eyes, he stood and held out a hand to help me to my feet. “Let’s go for a ride on my bike.”
“Your bike?” Surely he didn’t ride a ten-speed all the way here from Chicago.
“Motorcycle,” he laughed. “You’re not afraid, are you?”
“How did you manage to haul all these gifts and your guitar on a motorcycle?” Was he a magician, too?
He laughed again and tugged on the sleeve of the sweatshirt I still hadn’t returned. “It wasn’t hard. Give me the sweatshirt back. You can wear my jacket—it’ll be warmer.”
I removed his sweatshirt and took the heavy leather jacket he handed me. The sleeves fell way past my hands and Jake smirked. He rolled them back a little and zipped the jacket up before removing his hat to pull the hoodie over his head. He put the hat on backwards, stuffed the keycard in his back pocket and took my hand.
The motorcycle was big and intimidating. Jake grabbed a helmet hanging from the handlebars and forced it in my hands. “Put that on, Iz and get on back.”
“Shouldn’t you wear the jacket?” I asked. Maybe I was stalling, though I wasn’t sure if it was fear of the bike or fear of wrapping my arms around him so intimately. “You’ll be in front, you know.”
“No, I’ll be fine. Just do as I say and put the helmet on, huh?”
I huffed. “Don’t order me around.” I wasn’t mad, really. It was the principle of the thing.
He rolled his eyes again—a quirk of his I was beginning to recognize—as a small smile played around the corners of his mouth. He took the helmet from my hands and gently put it on my head. He fastened it tightly, his fingers brushing my skin and sending sparks down my spine. “Will you please get on the bike, Iz?”
“Much better,” I grinned. He shook his head and helped me to climb on the seat. I hesitantly put my hands on his waist as he started the bike. I felt him sigh as he grabbed my hands and tugged them tighter around him. Those sparks went off again, this time in my stomach.
“You okay?” he called over his shoulder. I nodded, and he eased the bike out of the parking spot and on the road. My fear flew away with the wind as I rested my helmet clad head on his back, enjoying the closeness and the thrill.
We drove around the small town for about thirty minutes before I could tell Jake was getting a little bored with the easy pace. I had a feeling he’d prefer to go faster but didn’t want to do it with me behind him.
When he parked in front of a small café, he helped me off the bike and to remove the helmet. I was grateful I’d stuck my hair in a ponytail, although I was sure it was still a bit of a mess. He turned his hat the right way and opened the door of the café for me.
As we approached the counter, I noticed a bored teenager manning the register and a touch of anxiety niggled in the back of my head. I situated my body in front of Jake’s as we ordered—a hot chocolate for me and a regular coffee for him. I asked the girl questions, making her focus her attention on me and not Jake, knowing she probably thought I was weird, but I didn’t much care. I didn’t want her going into hysterics and hopping over the counter to mug him or anything.
Once the guy responsible for making the drinks plunked our order on the counter, Jake paid the girl, grabbed his coffee with one hand and my arm with the other. He walked me back to the bike slightly amused.
“You don’t have to protect me, Iz,” he said, gentle smile on his face.
“I…well...I just didn’t want her to, you know, go into a lust filled craze or anything.”
Laughter shimmered in his eyes as he took my hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“Are you crazy?” I half whispered, eyes darting around the area. “What if someone recognizes you?”
“Then we’ll deal with it,” he said with a shrug. He squeezed my hand and tugged me down the sidewalk. “Don’t worry so much.”
I relented and followed, answering his questions about the little town. I explained that I lived about an hour and a half away and didn’t know much except for the few spots I visited with my friends on the weekends. That reminded me of a question I’d forgotten to ask him earlier.
“Where do you live when you’re not touring?”
“I have a place in L.A., near the studio.”
My heart fell to my shoes. L.A. was a long, long way from Central Indiana. “Oh,” I said, dropping my eyes.
He squeezed my hand again. “But I looked at a couple places near my dad’s house last week. I’m thinking of buying something near Chicago.”
That was much better—still too far away in my opinion but much closer than California. “That’d be cool. You could come see me more often.”
“I haven’t found a place I really like yet but I’ll look at some more when I’m home for Thanksgiving.”
Yeah, Thanksgiving. I was supposed to take him to home to meet my parents. “Hey, um, Jake? How long of a break will you have?”
He shrugged and finished off his coffee. “I’m not sure, I’d have to check with Doc, our manager, but I think a couple weeks. Why? Do you have another dance you need me to take you to?”
I gave him a sarcastic smile - he was a regular comedian. “Well, I sort of told my dad that maybe you could come over or something so he could meet you. He was asking me all kinds of questio
ns when I asked him to sign the permission form.”
Jake chuckled and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to give me a brief hug. “That’s not a problem, Iz. I don’t mind.”
“Seriously?” I asked, dubious. “You’d really come meet my family?”
“Sure? Why not? Unless you think they won’t approve. I’m hardly one of those preppy boys that go to school with you.”
I waved those words away as though they were flies. “My parents are music freaks. They’ll love you. You should see all the concert memorabilia they have.”
He smiled and glanced at his watch. “I need to get you back to your car. I don’t want you to miss curfew.”
I held on to him a little tighter during the ride back to the hotel, exactly how I wished I could hold on to the night and make it last longer. He parked next to my car and ran up to his room to grab my gifts. I reluctantly unzipped his jacket and handed it back to him once he placed the presents in the passenger seat. I’d already stolen one article of his clothing, no need to turn into a thief.
My throat dried up as I stood next to my car. I couldn’t believe I had to wait until tomorrow night to see him again.
He placed a knuckle under my chin and forced me to look at him. His smile caused my heart to flutter. “Thanks, Jake. It was a perfect birthday.”
“Any time, Iz,” he said with a wink. My heart fluttered faster. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I had to ask. My nerves about the dance hadn’t subsided in the least.
He kissed my temple, making my heart stop completely.
“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to do it,” he whispered close to my ear. I suppressed a shudder and looked into his brilliant blue eyes. “Everything will be fine.”
“What if you get mobbed?”
He laughed and the corners of his eyes crinkled. His dimples appeared much to my delight. “I can handle it.”
He leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on my lips. It was only a friendly goodbye kiss but it left me stunned. He cupped my cheek before stepping back and opening my door. “Drive safe, Iz.”
