-Chapter Twenty One-

“So about Jake. . .?” Danielle drawled, wriggling her eyebrows.

“Yeah, what about him?” I said, answering her question with a question. I took a sip of my coffee.

“What’s the status now?” London asked.

Danielle, London, and I were currently sitting in Starbucks, minding our own business.

“What do you mean by ‘status’?”

“Okay, we obviously have to spell it out for you,” Danielle replied with an eye roll. “Do you like Jake or not?”

I choked on my coffee, beginning to cough furiously. Once I sobered up, I responded. “Erm, random question. And no, I do not like Jake.”

Danielle gave me a flat look. “Yes you do.”

“She totally does,” London stated. “She even thinks he’s hot!”

Danielle gasped loudly — a bit too dramatically if you ask me. “Oh my gosh, really?”

“Yeah, she said it last week when I saw her at the beach! I think it was after her surfing lessons?”

“No way!”

“Yes way!”

“I said, no way!”

“And then I said, yes way!”

“Would you two shut up?” I asked, my face red in embarrassment. People began giving us awkward looks, and I sunk back into my chair.

They both scowled at me. Danielle mumbling, “She’s obviously in love with him.”

“No I’m not!” I practically yelled.

Great. Now we have the whole café’s attention. I inwardly grunted.

After everyone went back to minding their own business, I sighed. “You guys are so annoying.”

“But you love us!” London said. “. . . And Jake.”

I groaned. “I do not like him! He is just a friend.”

“Aw, but sweetie, you know you do!” She patted my head, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

What can I do to get Thing One and Thing Two to shut up?

“You know how I know that you like him?” Danielle mused.

“Why do you think I like him? Please tell me.”

“Well, you always stare at him like he’s some kind of god.”

“Because she thinks he’s hot!” London chirped.

I rolled my eyes at her, my cheeked tinged pink.

“And you are always talking about him now.” Danielle stated.

“I am not,” I huffed.

“Yes, honey, you are,” London said.

Dan smiled at her. “And you always have to look perfect when you plan on seeing him.”

London grinned at me. “All these facts are true. You’re in love with him.”

“I am not in love with him! How many times do I have to say it? Even if all of those things are true! It doesn’t mean I like him.”

But do I?

“So you admit you that all of that stuff is true?” Danielle asked.

I glared at my coffee cup. “Yeah. . . I guess,” I muttered.

“What was that?” London questioned, cupping her ear with her hand as though she didn’t heat me.

“Yes! I admit it!”

“Admit what?”

“That I. . .” I sighed, facing the fact. “That I like him.”

* * *

“I’m here :D Tell London to drive faster!”

Wanna know who that text was from? Jake.

I still can’t believe I like him. Most importantly, I can’t believe Dan and London realized it before I did. Jake is the first guy I’ve liked since. . . him.

But, I can’t like him, right? I guess it could be a possibility. . .

Rule Number One: I have to be prepared for the worst possibility at all times.

After walking in on Christian, I know for sure that I wasn’t prepared back then. I now know that I have to be strong, even if something that terrible was to happen again.

Rule Number Two: I cannot let my heart get broken again.

Rule Number Three: I can’t let someone mess with my feelings then throw me away like an old toy that no one wants to play with. I won’t let it happen.

Yes, I told London about Christian.

Now, she hates him with all her heart. Kind of like me. . . But, she said she hates him because she went through something similar to it with one of her ex-boyfriends.

Anywho! Now, we are in the car, headed back to Vicky’s house.

“London, Jake told me to tell you to drive faster,” I said to her, pressing the reply button on my phone.

“Just did. And do you miss me that bad, Boo-Bear?”

“Stop calling me that! And nah, I’m just bored. Don’t feel too special ;)”

“Stop calling you what, Boo-Bear?” I smirked, pressing the send button.

“Grr. -_-”

I started laughing out loud, receiving odd looks from the girls. “What?” I asked innocently.

Danielle gave a knowing look to London. “She’s definitely texting Jake right now.”

Rolling my eyes at her, my phone buzzed in my hands.

“Almost here?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, like two minutes away.”

“Okay :D HURRY!”

“Chill your face. We’re almost here!”

“I simply cannot ‘chill my face’.” hereplied.

“Whatever.”

“;)”

I scowled at my phone, but then ended up smiling. This boy. . .

We pulled into the driveway of the mansion. The perfectly manicured lawn and evenly trimmed hedges seems so familiar to me now. I’ve only been here for a week and a couple of days. It feels like I’ve been here for a month or so. 

Just about every day I’ve been here, I’ve seen Jake. He either came here, or we met up somewhere. It feels like I’ve known him all my life. Almost like how I know Danielle.

“We’re here!” I texted him.

“FINALLY.”

Following the two girls into the house, I kicked off my shoes and put my jacket on the coat rack. I walked into the living room.

Jake was there, acting as if this was his own home. He was sprawled across one of the larger couches like a puppet without strings. The TV was on, and there were a few food wrappers and paper cups scattered around.

Really, Jake? The boy should be lucky that Vicky has a couple of maids.

I shook my head, walking up to him. “What is this?” I gestured to the large mess.

“Spiderman Two?” he asked, pointing to the TV.

I grunted. “No, Jake, I didn’t mean the movie that you’re watching.” I face-palmed myself. “Why did you make such a mess?”

“Matt helped me with it, so it’s not completely my fault. He just fell asleep.” Jake nodded in a direction behind me.

I turned around, seeing Matt lying there on a separate couch, asleep. He literally looked like he was dead. He was in a pair of boxers, one of his legs hiding under a blanket.

Lazy pigs, I thought to myself.

A sigh escaped my lips. Men these days. “You have to clean this up. You do know that, right?”

“Nah, I’ll get Cassie to do that,” he replied, referring to one of the maids.

“She only works on Mondays and Fridays, smarty.”

“Oh. . .” he trailed off. “I’m screwed.”

“Yes you are.”

“Can you help me?” he asked, giving me the puppy dog face. Darn. Can’t say no to that.

“No.” Yay! I managed.

“Please? I’ll give you some chocolate.”

I could really go for some chocolate! I bit my bottom lip. Hm, relaxation, or a yummy snack? Who would say no to chocolate?

“Ugh. Fine,” I gave in.

“Thanks.”

After picking up what seemed like a million wrappers, I went to the kitchen to wash my hands. Jake came up next to me. “You know the chocolate that I owe you?”

“Yeah. About that. . . Pay up!” I demanded.

“Erm, I kind of ate it all of it earlier.” He smiled sheepishly at me.

I scowled at him. “By any chance was the chocolate that you ate about this big?” I made a box with my fingers, showing how big I was talking about.

“Yes?”

“That was my chocolate.” Without giving it a second thought, I took the mini hose that was connected to the sink and sprayed him in the face with a blast of cold water.

“What—”

“Never eat a girl’s chocolate.” I sprayed him again. Serves him right! You don’t go around eating people’s stuff! Especially when it’s chocolate!

Chocolate to me, is basically what Danielle thinks of her Nutella — except I’m not that obsessive over it.

“Could you stop that?” he asked, padding his face with the bottom of his shirt, revealing a very nice abdomen. Honestly, I don’t see why he had to wipe his face off with his shirt that was practically soaked. Oh, but I wasn’t complaining.

“Nope!” I sprayed him again. “Never – Eat – My – Chocolate – Again,” I told him, spraying him with each word.

“Fine, I won’t eat your. . .” he trailed off, gazing somewhere behind me, looking like he was lost deep in thought.

I turned around to see what Jake was staring at. In a blink of an eye, the hose, my only weapon, was snatched out of my hand, and I was being sprayed.

From my neck, down to my knees, I was drenched.

“That’s what you get.” He winked at me, smirking.

“I will get you.”

“Not if you can’t catch me!” In a flash, he was off, whirling around a corner and entering a hall.

“Get back here, Jake!” I called out, running for him. I gasped, slipping on the wet tile floor. I landed on my butt with an ‘oomph’.

How did Jake manage to escape that fast, then when I try, I fail miserably? Grr.

I stood up quickly. My bum was wet and was clinging to me in all the wrong places. Gross.

Running in the direction Jake took off, I tried my best to not slip again. As I went to the main entrance of the mansion, I saw the front door close with a bang. Jake!

Time to catch the bear. Get it? As in Boo-Bear? No? Oh, okay. . . Though I was funny for a second.

I ran out of the door and into the grass. The bottom of my socks got wet from the damp ground. Gosh, I should’ve thought of that ahead of time. I took my socks off in a rush, almost tripping in the process. Throwing them behind me, I continued my chase.

I went around a corner of the house, seeing Jake standing there. Boy, wasn’t he prepared.

He stood there, garden hose in hand. He took my weapon, which was the sink’s hose, and upgraded it big time. A wide smirk was stretched across that perfect face of his.

“Ready to get soaked, Alex?”

My eyed went wide as I backed up slowly, shaking my head.

“Aw, well that’s too bad.” He put turned the water on, putting it up to full blast.

The cold water came in contact with my skin, and goosebumps erupted all over my body. I shrieked at the coldness.

“Stop it! J-jake, stop!” I squealed. I tried my best to dodge the water by running around zig-zag style. Do you really think that worked?

If you guessed no, then you are correct!

I started to run away from Jake, trying to get as far away as possible. I don’t want to get wet! Even if I’m already soaked from head to toe. . .

My attempt to escaping failed, because Jake just followed me with the hose.

How long is that thing? It seems as if it never ends!

“Ah!” Jake’s voice sounded from behind me.

I turned around in confusion. Jake was lying on his back in a small puddle of mud. The hose was a good few feet away from Jake.

Hum. I guess it does end. . . ?

Then my eyes went wide as I realized that he could possibly be injured. I ran towards him, crouching down next to him.

“Jake are you— Woah!” I slipped in the mud puddle. My reflexes kicked in, and I stopped myself from crashing down and landing on my face.

I gulped, noticing our position. My hands were on either side of his head. My face was just inches away from his, our breath mingling.

Usually, I’d say something like ‘You’re in my personal space zone’, but oh no, not with Jake.  My chest started pounding as my heartbeat picked up. I’m sure Jake could hear it too.

His bright green eyes flicked down to my lips, stayed there for a moment, and locked with my hazel  eyes.

Come on, Alex. . . Resist the urge to look down at his lips. Don’t do it! Don’t do it! Don’t do it!

Something cold came in contact with my skin. I didn’t realize this until a few seconds later. I jumped back from Jake like he was on fire and stood up to my feet.

I glared over at the two girls who were laughing at me. Danielle and London.

Trust them to ruin this almost perfect scene. I hate them both.

HEYYOOO!!! How did you guys like that? ;) Anywho! First person to comment gets a dedication. Imma try to upload soon. I've just been really busy lately! >.< NEW COVER! (decided not to use the one on chapter 20.)

            ~Storylover11~