Jake finally opened the door, bleary eyed
and extremely rumpled. My heart tingled and my lips curved. “Um…
hi.”
“
Iz,” he yawned. “It’s
early. You okay?”
All the worry and the hurt and the confusion
formed a clump in my throat that I couldn’t swallow. I shook my
head and let the tears fall down my face.
“
Come here, angel,” he
whispered, gently taking my hand. He tugged me in the room and shut
the door. He pointed at the messy bed. “Sit. Tell me what’s
wrong.”
I opened my mouth to speak but the words
just wouldn’t come. How could I explain to him how empty I felt?
How could I describe the agonizing pain that clutched my heart with
an iron fist?
“
I miss you.” The words
were feeble and nowhere near what I wanted to say.
He knelt before me and tucked my still damp
hair behind my ears. “I never left you, Iz.”
I pushed his hands away, the pain shooting
through my heart and spewing from my mouth. “Yes you did. You never
called or sent me text messages or anything! You just dropped out
of my life. And I hate it.”
The tears were streaming down my face like a
tropic storm, but I paid them no heed.
He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and
pulled me to his chest, whispering softly to me. He kissed my hair,
my head, my temple. “Shh, Iz. Calm down, angel and let me
talk.”
I buried my face in his chest and allowed
the steady beat of his heart soothe me. My tears slowed as my
breathing settled. He rubbed his hands up and down my back until my
sobs stopped. Edging me back, he pressed his lips softly to
mine.
“
I just wanted you to be
able to relax and enjoy the last few weeks of your senior year. I
wanted you to be able to study so you could ace your finals. I
wanted the reporters to leave you alone.”
I sniffed. “But it’s hard to enjoy any of
that without you.”
His lips twitched as his eyes brightened. He
brushed his lips against mine again. “Iz, I think we needed this
time away from each other. You told me you’re ready for your
finals. You managed to organize that whole charity event. You
handled those reps like a pro. And you did it all perfectly. I’m so
proud of you.”
I blanched as the blood drained from my
face. “So you think I’m better off without you?”
“
No, Iz,” he said, hugging
me to his chest. “Not at all. I just think you had your mind on too
many things besides where it needed to be. When I stepped out of
the picture for a while, you got the important things done that
needed to be done—without the press circus distracting
you.”
“
I can handle the press
now, Jake,” I said firmly.
He squeezed me again. “I know you can.”
“
And I’m ready for my
finals.”
“So you’ve said.” He tipped my chin and
kissed me. “Don’t you know how much I’ve missed you? It was so hard
to be without you, knowing I couldn’t just call and tell you that I
love you. But, if we want to make it together, we have to be able
to make it alone, also. And I think we can do both.”
I wound my hands around his neck and played
with the ends of his hair. It had grown out some since the last
time I’d seen him. “So, what are you saying?”
“
That I want you back, if
you’ll have me.”
A glimmer of joy flickered inside me. I
stood on my toes and pressed my lips to his. “Of course I will. I
love you.”
He scooped me up in his arms and dropped me
carefully on the bed. He sat next me and pulled me into his
arms.
“
I love you, too.” We sat
together, silently, for a few minutes. He kissed my head and
scooted us further up the bed. “It’s still early. Let’s take a nap
and we’ll talk some more when we wake up.”
Grinning, I kicked off my shoes. He held the
blankets up and I scampered under them. He tucked me in his arms,
dropping random kisses on my face, as the past weeks caught up,
lulling me and dropping my eyelids.
Jake’s light breathing and soft snores
tickled my hair as I relaxed into him, feeling safe and content in
his arms. I was on the edge of blissful sleep when a soft knock on
the adjoining door startled me. I waited for Jake to say or do
something but he didn’t budge. I climbed over him and padded to the
door, cracking it open slightly.
“
Jake, dude, you might want
to see this,” Nick said.
I pushed the door wider and smiled. “I’m not
Jake but maybe I want to see that.”
“
Oh, hi, Iz,” Nick grinned.
“Where’s Jake?”
“
Sleeping,” I said, sweet
smile spreading rapidly across my face.
His grin widened as he mussed my hair. “Go
sit on my bed while I wake Sleeping Beauty.”
I stood in the doorway and watched as he
yanked a pillow out from under Jake’s head and smacked him with it.
I wondered briefly if Annie taught him that trick.
“
What?” Jake whined
sleepily. His hand fumbled blindly over the side of the bed I’d
just occupied. “Where’s Iz?”
“
In my room. Get up. I want
you to see something,” Nick ordered. I giggled as Jake sat up, hair
askew and eyes puffy. Nick winked at me as he pushed me into his
room. I could hear Jake’s reluctant footsteps behind
him.
“
This better be good,” he
grumbled as he plopped on Nick’s bed and scooped me in his arms. He
kissed my shoulder and I shuddered, melting into him. The opening
music for
Entertainment News This
Week
rang out from the television speakers
and Jake groaned. “I can’t believe you watch this
stuff.”
“
I was just flipping
through the stations and I heard someone say they had news about
you and Iz on the special Sunday edition,” Nick
explained.
“
Let’s see what they came
up with this time,” Jake mused as he locked his arms over my
stomach. He pressed his lips to my temple.
“
Glad to see you two worked
things out,” Nick commented, eyes on the heavily made-up hostess.
She was rambling about a popular TV star’s secret wedding and I
suddenly remembered how I used to envy celebrities. Having had a
taste of the paparazzi life, my envy turned to sympathy. I wondered
how many reporters had lined up outside that church and how
difficult it had been for the wedding guests to get inside for the
ceremony.
“
Me, too,” Jake murmured
against my neck. I shivered as my heart pummeled my
ribcage.
“
In other news,” Natasha,
the hostess in desperate need of a root job, smiled. “Bad boy Jake
Johnson visited Isabella Ames’s school campus yesterday to perform
a charity concert sweet Isabella organized.”
“
I really wish they’d quit
calling you bad and me sweet. It’s disgusting,” I said. Nick and
Jake laughed as Natasha continued.
“
Miss Ames gave a brief
statement before the show.” They showed footage of me standing at
the podium explaining the purpose of the show. I was amazed at how
calm I looked on TV. I remembered how jangled my nerves had
been.
“
Impressive, Iz,” Nick said
with a smile. I blushed. Jake kissed my cheek.
Natasha went on. “Miss Ames would not answer
any questions concerning her relationship with Johnson, but sources
report she left campus early this morning.”
“
I hope you checked out
with Admin,” Jake chuckled. I shrugged.
“
Entertainment News
will keep an eye on the story and bring you
updates as they happen,” Natasha promised.
“
You woke us up for that?”
Jake snorted.
“
I didn’t know what she
would say. I thought you’d want to see it.”
“
They’re grasping at straws
now, aren’t they?” I asked.
“
Don’t worry, angel,” Jake
said as he untangled himself from me to slip off the bed and offer
me a hand. I took it and he tugged me to his feet. “They’ll be
there when you get back.”
I lifted my chin, steel in my eyes. “They
don’t scare me anymore. I can handle them.”
Jake hugged me and kissed the top of my
head. “I know you can.” He pushed me gently toward the door. “Let’s
finish that nap. I’m beat.”
***
My finals went well, and I was fairly
certain I’d aced them all, even Calculus. My obsessive studying
came in handy. Before I knew it, it was Friday night and time to
prepare for prom. Cammy and Annie treated me like some sort of
beauty experiment but this time, I didn’t mind. I relented and
allowed them to turn me into a fairy tale princess.
Jake and Nick had driven down Thursday night
but I didn’t dare venture off campus to see him. Someone had found
out he was escorting me to prom and the tabloids had set up a ‘Jake
Watch’ and prowled the perimeter of the school grounds
constantly.
When Cammy and I finally walked down to
Admin to wait for Jake and Nick, we could see a horde of reporters
gathering outside the gates. My heart lifted and flipped when Jake
stepped out of his Mustang dressed in an immaculate black tux, his
hair gelled in his messy way. His dark sunglasses only added to his
devastating looks and when Nick joined his side, dressed similarly,
I knew quite a few hearts would be broken that night.
They ignored the questions fired at them as
they pushed through the throng and entered the gates. I raced to
him, carefully because I was wearing heels and didn’t want to take
a tumble. I was certain that photo would make headline tabloid
news.
Jake caught me in his arms and kissed my
cheeks as he presented a white rose wrist corsage.
“
You are stunning, Iz,” he
whispered. He offered me his arm. I took it willingly, my eyes not
able to leave him. Nick and Cammy followed behind, and we met up
with Annie and Zach.
The gym had been transformed into an
‘Evening in Paradise’ theme with white lights twinkling overhead. A
tiny wooden bridge stood in the entrance that prom goers had to
cross in order to enter the gym.
Small, intimate tables lined the walls with
tea light candles flickering in hopes of inducing romance. We
claimed a table and watched the other couples laugh and dance to
the local band. Dean and Lance appeared with their dates, both
girls I recognized as sophomores. They acted as if they hadn’t seen
us and I smiled.
“
What are you smiling at,
Iz?” Jake asked, his lips close to my ear.
“
I was remembering how I
used to think I was in love with Lance,” I said as I nodded in his
direction. I took Jake’s hand under the table. “I didn’t even know
what love really was.”
His eyes sparkled as the corners crinkled
with his smile.
“
Come on, Iz. Let’s show
these people how to dance.” He scooted his chair back and got to
his feet, helping me to mine. He led me to the dance floor and
collected me in his arms. As he held me close, I ignored all my
classmates as I swayed dreamily in time with Jake.
***
The six of us hung out in town Saturday,
just goofing off and enjoying our freedom. I couldn’t keep the
smile off my face, ecstatic that Jake and I were together
again.
Jake drove me back to school that night and
kissed me. He pulled back and smiled. “I want to give you your
graduation present tonight.”
I was grateful for the dark because I could
feel the heat rushing to my face. “You didn’t have to get me
anything, Jake.”
“
Right. Like I wouldn’t buy
you a present.” He reached across me and opened the glove
compartment. He handed me a small package. “Just open
it.”
I did as he ordered with shaky fingers. The
paper revealed a tiny black box and my heart hammered.
“
Jake,” I whispered as I
pinched the lid open. Tucked in the velvet padding was a gold ring
with a smattering of diamond chips in a heart setting. Blood pumped
through my veins as I fingered the jewels. “It’s
beautiful.”
He took it from me and slipped the ring on
the third finger of my right hand. “It’s not an engagement ring,
because I figured maybe you’re too young and maybe we need a little
more time together.” He kissed my knuckles and cupped my cheek.
“It’s more of an I-promise-to-love-you-forever ring.”
Tears trickled from my eyes as I nodded. A
tiny bit of disappointment stabbed my heart but I knew he was
right—it was too soon for an engagement ring.
“
Thank you,” I whispered.
“I love it. I love you.”
He pressed his lips to mine and I wrapped my
arms around his neck. “And I love you,” he muttered against my
mouth.
***
I was surprised as we filed into the gardens
to take our seats for the graduation ceremony at the number of
people in the stands. I located my parents, grandfather and Seth
first. Right behind him sat Jake, his dad, Greta and the guys from
the band.
I fiddled nervously with the yellow rose the
Dean had presented to all each girl before marching us into the
gardens. I was happy to see mine was thorn-free because I didn’t
think it would be camera worthy to accept my diploma with blood
dripping from my finger. With my luck, I’d probably get blood all
over my diploma, drip some on the floor, and slip in it, falling
flat on my face.
But luck smiled down on me as my name was
called; I managed to make it across the stage without embarrassing
myself.
***
After the graduation reception, Jake and the
guys, including Seth, loaded all my stuff into the trunks of Jake’s
Mustang and my car. I would ride with Jake, Nick and the guys
following in my car, to my house. They were going to drop me off at
home and come back the next Saturday for the graduation party my
parents planned. I would leave Sunday with Jake and spend a week at
his house. That would pretty much set a pattern for the rest of the
summer.