Always (Bold As Love 4)

iss your flight.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on. Sweetness, if this is too much for you, I’ll stay.”

“No. Of course, it isn’t. Nothing’s wrong. Give me a goodbye kiss and get your butt on that plane.”

“It’s not goodbye. I’ll be back, Sweetness.”

He leans down, taking his time, holding his lips just centimeters from my own. Jake’s breath escapes from his mouth and feathers my lips, the minty smell of his toothpaste rising to my nose. We stand there, looking at one another with our lips barely touching, waiting for the other to give in. Of course, as I’m sure Jake knows, I give in first.

My lips crush Jake’s as my arms wrap around his neck. I make it worth my while. I’m not going to see him for two whole weeks after all. My eyes well with tears at the thought. Stop. I’m not going to do this in front of Jake. The kiss ends too quickly, and I hug Jake as if I’m never going to see him again.

“I love you,” he whispers into my hair.

“I love you too.”

I release him from my hold and watch as he picks up his bag, walking away. He looks back once before he goes through security. I give a small wave, hoping that he can’t see the tears falling from my eyes. It's more tears of fear over the fact that he's leaving for two weeks. I'm terrified of being without him, even for a short period of time. It's something I'll have to get used to though if he makes it in the NHL. Security gets him through quickly, and then he disappears onto the other side of the airport.

I bite my lip, not wanting to leave just yet. With a deep breath, I walk over to a row of seats, claiming one. I sit there for four hours. Jake sends me a text that asks if I made it home safely, and that he was about to board.

I tell him I did and to let me know when he arrived. Maybe I'm just hearing things, but I swear that faintly, I can hear the announcement for his plane to begin boarding. Rising, I walk over to the wide windows and wait. Once I see a plane, possibly Jake’s, climaxing, my heart tells me that it’s time to go. Turning on my heel, I head home.

4

Jake

Turns out Eve from the girls' team was invited for a camp for girls. I chatted with her while we waited to board. Once it was time, I sent a quick text to Emily.

Now, I’m flying high above the ground and sitting between Eve and some guy. Currently, Eve holds some of my attention, but I can’t help but wonder what was really bothering Emily earlier.

“Jake? Are you listening?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“About?” Eve inquires.

“Emily.”

“I should have known.” She rolls her eyes.

“Something was bothering her; I just don’t know what.”

“I would be upset if you were my boyfriend and you were going to another country for two weeks. She is probably just going to miss you.” She runs a finger down my arm, and I ignore it.

“Yeah. Speaking of boyfriends, where is yours?”

“I have one? Why didn’t I know?”

I chuckle. Eve is a character. Over the past few months, I’ve really gotten to know her. Eve isn’t afraid to speak her mind and tell you exactly what she is thinking. I like that about her. Eve’s fun to be around, and I’m glad to have her as a friend. She makes the plane ride short. Once we have landed and arrived at the hotel, I text Emily.

Here, Sweetness. Talk to you soon. Love ya.

Love you. Is her reply. Shoving my phone in my pocket, I settle in with a guy from Cali. He goes by Brown and seems nice enough. Eve is on the next floor up as all the players from both camps are in this hotel. We’re supposed to have supper together tonight at the hotel. Energy floods my system with excitement.

I can’t believe that I’m here, in Canada, for a hockey camp with scouts. This is going to be amazing. While I wait for dinner, I relax on my twin bed. Tomorrow is going to be busy, and I need to be prepared. However, as dinner comes, it seems Eve has different plans.

“We should go out. Explore the town.”

“I don’t know. You should know that we have to be up at five.”