“Even though you slept most of the time?” I ask looking over at her.
She looked at me and said, “Yes. I slept really well.” I chuckled and squeezed her hand. “You are quite the pillow, Jake,” she said with a small laugh.
“Why thank you! I try my best.”
We were getting closer to her house
when I spoke again. “Would it be too much for me to ask you out on a date?”
Emily looked over at me and the surprise was clear on her face. She gazed ahead for a few seconds and said, “Ask me and we’ll see.”
I smiled as we walked up the walkway to her house. When we were standing face to face at her door, I asked, “Emily, would you like to go on a date with me? As in a date where we would have nothing but fun, no serious talk. Just good old fun.”
She smiled up at me and pretended to think. “I think that is exactly what I need.”
For the third time that night, Emily surprised me. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned in to kiss me. I pulled her to me and deepened the kiss. That probably wasn’t what she had in mind, but I couldn’t resist. Her body was warm and fit. It seemed to melt into my own. Her hair was so soft as I ran my hand up to grasp the back of her neck. Her hands ran up my chest and rested on my shoulders.
All too soon, it was over and she stepped back with her cheeks blushing. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jake.”
“Sweet dreams, Emily.”
“Sweet dreams.”
She went inside and I made the walk back to my house. I grinned the whole way. I had a date, with Emily. I couldn’t wait. For the first time in a long time, I went to bed with a smile on my face.
11
Emily
Today was a repeat of yesterday for the most part. Papers were turned in. Teachers gave lectures. It was a boring day as usual. I was a little excited about lunch, but mostly anxious. Would Jake sit with me again today?
The answer was yes. I pushed all the doubt out of my head and focused on our “session”. With his eyes closed, I talked to him. Instead of him asking questions, I did the talking.
We had our presentation next period and I asked him to do all the talking. He popped open one green eye and I tried not to giggle. He just looked too funny when he did that. “I don’t know. I think you should try to talk some. It would be good for you.”
“I can’t do that, Jake.” Both eyes were open now and I was trying my hardest not to look away.
“You can talk to me and Drake easily.”
“Yeah, but I won’t be talking to people I’m comfortable with. I’ll be talking to a class full of people who think I’m a quiet freak.”
His smile faded. “They don’t think you are a freak. They just think you aren’t very social.”
He cracked a smile and I rolled my eyes. “It’s the same thing. Please, don’t make me do this, Jake.” I bit my lip while I waited for him to answer.
He took a bite of his burger and said, “Okay, I’ll talk. But you owe me.”
“Owe you what?” I was mostly curious, but there was no telling what he would say, which scared me a little.
He leaned forward and stared at me in my eyes. My gaze dropped to his lips and he smiled. I looked back into his eyes and he said, “Seems like you already know.” I could feel the heat creeping up my neck and into my cheeks. Jake chuckled and I ignored it.
The bell rang and we walked to my locker. I spun the dial and was very conscious of Jake standing close by. I grabbed the right book and the rolled up poster and turned to Jake. He reached for the poster, but I pulled it away. “No way. I’ll keep this. I have to make sure you don’t try and go back on your word.”
He grinned and leaned in close. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
He stood up straight and I took a deep breath. “Let’s go,” I said stepping around him. I heard him chuckle behind me. I liked the sound of it, but at the same time I felt as if he was laughing at me.
While we waited for our turn, I kept biting my lip. I really didn’t want to do this. The familiar knot churned my stomach and my head started to pound.