I bite my lip and decide where I want to start. “What do you see when you think about the future, Jake?”
He seems caught off guard by the question, but he answers anyway. “I see myself going to college and playing hockey. I see you.”
“Am I with you at college or am I at another college?”
“It would be great to have you there with me, but if you want to go to another college, then that’s where you’ll be. Sweetness, what’s the point in all of this?”
He wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me to him. I rest my head on his shoulder and say, “Roy asked about our plans for the future. I told him that we haven’t talked about it. He basically said that he didn’t want you giving up any of your dreams to be with me. He said that even if I’m worth it to you, he still didn’t want you to do that.
“I don’t want you to do that either. He said that you would end up regretting it and that love just wasn’t always enough. He told me that it wouldn’t be worth you giving up a dream for something that might not last anyway.”
Jake’s body tensed beneath me. “I just…it just bothered me because we haven’t talked about it and he completely caught me off guard,” I add.
“Sweetness, listen to me. I would do anything for you. Going to different colleges doesn’t mean we have to break up. We can still last through college. I don’t want to lose you.”
“But Jake, how do you know we would even last? How can we go to two different colleges and think it will work? And if it does, who says our careers will even allow us to be together?”
Jake hooked a finger under my chin and made me look at him. “We are stronger now than ever. Of course, there will be hard times, but it can only make us stronger. Look, we’ll talk about this more when we get home. This is supposed to be a fun weekend.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be Sweetness,” he cuts in.
“Can we just go back to the cabin,” I ask.
“Of course we can.” Without going back inside, we got up and headed to the cabin. Back at the cabin, Jake turned on the stereo which conveniently had a CD full of slow, love songs on it. “I don’t want you out the this dress just yet,” he says as we begin to dance.
“Hold on. As much as I love being taller, heels are just not my thing.” I hold on to his arm and bend to undo the straps and get out of the shoes. “Okay, that’s better,” I say, wrapping my arms around Jake’s shoulders.
We sway to the music for hours. Occasionally, Jake would twirl me around or send me out and bring me back in. The lights were off and it was just us dancing in the dark with music in the background. Jake kissed the top of my head, “I love you, Sweetness.”
I look up at him and smile. “I love you more.”
He chuckles. “You wish. I love every single detail about you. I love your smile and your laugh. I love the way you are with Drake. I love your mistakes and your victories. I love you more than what the entire galaxy can hold. Emily, I love you. Imperfections and all.”
“Imperfections,” I tease. “What imperfections?”
Jake chuckles.
“Anyway, I couldn’t have said it better,” I tell him. He smiles and leans down to continue the kiss that was interrupted earlier. After a few minutes, I break away and breathlessly say, “Let’s go upstairs.” Jake picks me up like we were newlyweds and I laugh. I hold on tight as he carries me upstairs.
In our room, I take off my dress and put in on the hanger so I won’t ruin it. Jake’s arm wraps around me from behind and he kisses my shoulder. I reach back and wrap my arms around his neck. His hand slides down my arm and down my body. When his hands reach my waist he turns me around to him. I push him backwards onto the bed while I kiss him. All he did was unbutton his shirt, before he came over to me.
I ran my hands over his chest and grasp his shoulders as I straddle him. I pull him so he sits up and I push his shirt back and off his arms. Topless, I push him backwards and work on his belt, dropping kisses along his torso. I unbuckle his belt and pull it from his pants. I unbutton his pants and undo the zippers. I walk backwards on my knees and when I reach the end of the bed, I hop off.
Jake lifts his hips and I pull off his jeans. I throw them on the floor and crawl back on top of him.
I had been sleeping maybe two hours when I hear, “Sweetness. Get up.” I roll away from Jake and grunt a “no.” H
is chuckle is a tad irritating this early in the morning. “Come on, Emily.”
“Why,” I moan. I feel him roll off the bed. A second later he is standing in front of me in boxers. I quickly close my eyes. “I’m sleeping, Jake.”
“Alright, you leave me no choice,” he says.
Next thing I know, Jake has once again picked me up. “Where are we going? I’m naked,” I say. He reaches down and picks up his white dress shirt.
“You can wear this.” He continues down the hall and into another room. He walks until he reaches the double, sliding glass doors. He puts my feet on the ground and I put on his shirt, buttoning it up. The air was cool but comfortable. I rested my hands on the railing as Jake tells me that we are going to watch the sun rise. He stands behind me and places his hands atop of mine. I lean back into him.