Always (Bold As Love 4)

“How about you do the closet and I'll do the dressers?”

She shrugs and we switch. It's not a minute later that I hear Hannah.

“Good god, Emily!”

I turn in time to see her dumping the top drawer of the nightstand on our bed. Oh, no. Among a few pens, sticky notes, a flashlight, and lip balm, there is a bottle of lubricant, flavored oral gel, and about thirty condoms, which covers up everything thing else that was in the drawer. My face burns and I'm positive it catches ablaze when Kyle pokes out of the bathroom with a box of condoms in his hand.

“There's more in here.”

“Look at Em,” Abella barks, doubling over with laughter.

“Y'all are ridiculous,” I shake my head and get back to packing boxes as if it never happened. It's not as easy as it sounds with the girls still cackling. My neck and face still feel hot thirty minutes later when Kyle is carrying the boxes to my car and Abella and Hannah are removing the bed sheets for me. That's the last thing to do. Afterwards, we sit in the living room. I'm in the middle of the couch with a girl on each side and Kyle is sitting on the arm of the couch.

“You better keep in touch,” Hannah makes me promise.

“And invite us to the wedding,” Abella adds.

“Most definitely. I'll miss y'all.”

The girls hug me and since it's about one, they want me to go out to eat with them. As long as I leave by two, I'll be back in time to pick Drake up. After I drop off the key to the landlord, I meet them at one of the local restaurants. It feels odd to sit next to Kyle, but Abella steals the conversation. Surprisingly, she's got a steady boyfriend. Based on her descriptions, he's a great fit for her. All too soon, it's time to leave.

I pick Drake up from Tommy's and we return to Jake's. Drake carries all the boxes in for me and for now, they are sitting in the living room. The next two weeks consist of phone calls with Jake, hearing about his day, eating take out or mac and cheese, and hanging out at the house. Sometimes, I'm there alone because Drake will go over to Tommy's. We stayed away from my house that first weekend because Dad proposed to Cherish and I didn't want to be around that.

After the first camp, he was invited to the second camp, which followed. Jake seems to love the city. He's been exploring when he gets the chance and he sent me pictures of the apartments he checked out. There was one, in particular, that I loved. Jake also seals a deal with an agent he was speaking with and he stays an extra few days for paperwork because he got a contract. He was thrilled when he called.

“Sweetness, I got it!”

“What? You got the contract?”

“Yes! Long story short, it's an entry level contract that's good for three seasons. We're not going to have to worry about anything for a while, Sweetness.”

“That's great, Jake!”

He has been floating on cloud nine ever since. Yesterday, he got us that apartment and once we make the move and he finds all the paperwork for Drake, he'll register him for school. He comes home today and I can't wait to see him. Drake is up in his room, playing video games. He asked if I wanted to play, but I want to be right here when Jake comes home. I've missed him so much. This go around wasn't as bad as last time, but it was still hard.

And sleep. Gah! I never knew how empty his bed feels without him in it. I don't have any trouble falling asleep, but it's never a good rest. The next morning, I feel more tired than I did when I went to sleep. It's been so tempting not to go sleep in my own bed. It's a little before seven and the doorbell rings. Sweet! Pizza guy is here. I grab my money off the table in front of me and then my crutches. The doorbell dings again before I can get to the door.

“Sorry for,” I begin as I open the door. “Jake!” A lopsided grin is on his face and a pizza in his hands. “I thought you wouldn't be here until later.”

“I left early this morning. Really early. I wanted to surprise you. The pizza guy pulled up right after I did so...”

I squeal and drop my crutches, letting them fall to the floor. I hop to him and he gives me an awkward hug since he's holding the pizza in one hand. Feeling his even more toned body against me, I remember that the last time we had sex was over two weeks ago. With his hand splayed over my lower back and these thoughts in my head, I want nothing more than to drag him upstairs.

“Jake!” Drake yells behind us as he runs down the stairs before we can say anything else.

Sadly, he releases me and walks past me to hug Drake.

“I don't know about y'all, but I'm hungry,” Drake says as he takes the pizza from Jake. He walks away into the kitchen.

Jake turns to face me and picks up my crutches, handing them to me. I take them and place them in their place, but I don't move even as he begins to head to the kitchen. After a step, he pivots and asks what's wrong. I tilt my head slightly, debating for just a second if I should tell him or make him guess.

“Where's my kiss?”

He smirks and walks over to me, cradling my face in his hands. “Forgive me, Sweetness.” At first, he dips his head down and his lips barely touch mine. My breathing near about stops and then his hungry mouth is giving me the kiss I was looking for. It ends all too soon as Drake yells for us to come so he can go ahead and eat.

“Thank you,” I say softly.

“You're welcome,” he replies with a kiss on my forehead.