Sweetness (Bold As Love 1)

“Jake?” I looked over at Emily and she leaned in, kissing the corner of my lips and flicking her tongue out. “You had some chocolate,” she said when she leaned back.

If I wasn’t turned on the other night, I was now. Before she could lean back completely, I placed a hand behind her neck and pulled her to me. I kissed her, flicking my tongue over her lips to get her to open to me. She did and our tongues were moving with urgency. She sighed into my mouth.

I kissed her for a little bit longer before releasing her. She stared at me for a moment, and then it must have hit her where we were because she looked around at the adults giving us shocked glares. She picked up our trash and threw it away.

When she came back to the table, she held out her hand with a big smile on her face. “I’m most definitely ready for part two.” With that, we returned to my car and left for our next destination.

15

Emily

That kiss was all I could think about on our way to wherever we were going. I had seen a change in Jake’s eye after I got the chocolate off of his face. That kiss ignited a fire in the pit of my stomach that was still ablaze. Everything over the past few years just melted away and all that existed was Jake and those lips.

I saw that we were heading towards the beach. We weren’t really going, were we? I saw that I was right when we parked at a public access.

“I thought we could walk down the beach to the pier,” Jake said looking over at me. “We can just leave our shoes in here,” he added, taking off his shoes and socks. I slipped off my flip-flops as he got out of the car and came to open my door. He held out his hand and I took it. We walked over the walkway and down to the beach.

The sand was cool beneath my feet. Jake tried to pull me out to the water. I shook my head, “Jake! It’s going to be freezing!”

He laughed and said, “Okay. You’re going to make me do this the hard way.” He pulled me to him and picked me up.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and begged him to let me down. “Jake! Please! It’s going to be so cold!” All he did was laugh and walk closer to the water. He sucked in his breath as the water ran over his feet. I tightened my grip around his neck. “Jake! You will regret this,” I warned him as he set me down.

I tried to resist, but he was stronger than I was and soon my feet touched the freezing water. I squealed and Jake laughed harder. He allowed me to run back to the cool sand and he followed me. I started walking down the beach, leaving him behind and hoping that he thought I was upset.

“Em, wait up,” he said.

I kept my steady pace and he jogged to come up behind me. He grabbed me from behind and twirled me around. I let out a laugh and he set me down, turning me to face him. He pushed a strand of hair behind my ear and smiled at me.

“How can I even pretend to be mad at you when you look at me like that?” I asked.

He leaned in, his lips brushing mine as he talked. “You are really beautiful standing in the moonlight with the ocean and stars behind you.”

I involuntarily sucked in a breath, feeling his arms going around my waist and pulling me to him. I didn’t know what to say so I decided to let my lips do the talking. I stood on my tiptoes and crushed my lips to his, wasting no time in deepening the kiss. I ran my fingers through his hair and down his neck, and then started the descent down his back. He groaned into my mouth and slid one hand up my back while the other made a trail of fire up my arm. The blaze in my stomach intensified, running throughout my body and slipping into my blood.

Reluctantly, I pulled away. I needed air, and I was afraid of what would happen if the fire inside took over me. That look in Jake’s eyes from earlier had returned. “C’mon,” I said, tugging his hand and walking towards the pier.

“Emily, sometimes you drive me insane.” I glanced sideways at Jake, but he wasn’t looking at me. Before I could say anything, he started talking again. “You’ve taken over my life and my mind. All I can think about is wanting to hold you in my arms and make sure nothing ever hurts you again. Then you kiss me like that, making my mind go into overdrive. It’s… crazy. You’re amazing, you know that?”

A blush took over my face and I was speechless. I wrapped my arm around his waist and gave a light squeeze that he returned. I leaned into him and we made the quiet walk through the soft, cool sand to the pier.

We walked up the steps and down to the end of the pier. Between the lights on the pier and the moon shining down brightly, we weren’t in the dark. I placed my hands on the railing and Jake stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. The stars looked dim with the lights around us. Nevertheless, the scene before us was beautiful. The salty air and the waves crashing below us relaxed me.

I leaned into Jake and decided to ask a question that had been on my mind for the past few days. “Jake? Can I ask you a question?”

He kissed my neck and said, “Of course.”

“Where’s your dad? Like, Drake is always with you and you never mention him.”

Jake sighed and was quiet for a few minutes. “The day my mom died, I didn’t come straight home like I usually did. I wanted to hang out with the guys and, when I got home, I found her collapsed on the floor. She was already dead, but I tried to save her.

“My dad got home and found out I wasn’t there when it happened. He was devastated and angry that she died alone. The blame was on me for not being there to save her. My dad started drinking heavily. He goes to work, comes home to get trashed, and then repeats it all the next day. I keep Drake with me because he doesn’t need to be around that any more than he already is. Plus, with me he will be watched. Since then, Dad goes to work to make the money and

I take care of everything else.”

I leaned my head against his. “Oh, Jake. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m used to it now. I just wish he would get over his anger and quit drinking. Drake misses him. Hell, I miss him.”