A Stormy Love

Chapter 22

Jake nervously fidgeted with the sugar wrapper as he waited. The waitress gave him a small encouraging smile every time she passed his table, but Jake didn't really seem to care. All he could think about is how unconvinced he was with this idea. 'Maybe I should just cancel before I embarrass myself even more...' he thought as his picked up his iPhone. The door chimed as it opened and Jake hung up the phone before it could even get to it's first ring. Too late to back out now. He could feel his heart thudding and his palms started to sweat. "God, the traffic today is insane." Jake snapped his head up at the familiar voice and tried to peek through the fake plant leaves on the opposite side of his table. He watched the older man approach his table and his heart pounded violently. They were practically strangers, yet Jake was about to tell him about his deepest and most personal secrets. He stood up as the man reached his table, and Jake tried to fake a smile as naturally as he could.

"Hi Jake!" Preston said friendly. Preston used to date Jake's sister until he came into terms with his sexuality. Now Preston was happily married to a man named Trevor and they have 2 adopted little ones.

"Nice to see you again, how've you been?" Preston said reaching out his hand for a hand shake.

"Yeah, fine thanks," Jake replied nervously.

They both sat down as the waitress delivered Preston's coffee and an assorted plate of biscuits.

The boys made small talk about how delicious the pastries were and continues taking bites of it.

"So you're probably wondering why I called you here..." Jake finally spoke up. "I don't exactly know where to start..."

"It's ok, you can talk about anything wih me." Preston replied. He obviously had an incline as to why Jake wanted to meet but he just let him slowly come out on his own. Preston took another sip of his coffee and waited for Jake to begin.

"Ok um...Would it be ok if I started off with a question?"

"Of course Jacob."

"You don't have to answer, I know this is a bit awkward --"

"Jake, please, just talk. I'm not judging you here, you can tell me anything."

Jake inhaled and quickly spit out the words "how did you know you were gay?"

Preston grinned, excepting Jake to ask something like that. "I kissed a friend of mine...a male friend, when I was 17, and I enjoyed it a lot. But I never accepted it and came out until I was 22. The only reason I dated women - like your sister - was because I didn't want to admit it to myself.

"You kissed him and you liked it?" Jake frowned remembering the interacting with Dave in the studio yesterday.

"Have you kissed a guy and liked it before Jake?"

"A lot more than a kiss..." he murmured.

"I see." Preston said, "clearly something has happened to make you wonder about your feelings."

Jake kept looking down at the table, too afraid to make eye contact with the man sitting across from him.

"Um...yeah...but I've never considered him that way before. I've never conceited any guy that way before."

"Does Dave feel the same way about you?"

Jake felt speechless, but somehow managed to formulate words, "How do you know Dave's the one I'm talking about..."

"I've always seen how you boys looked at each other, they way you touch, the way you trust each other. It's been there from the beginning. It's obvious!"

"Oh shit... how obvious..."

"Well to me it is, you two are very sweet."

Jake blushed and fiddled with his hands awkwardly under the table. "So," Preston picked up his coffee, "have you ever found anyone other than Dave attractive?" he took a sip and set the mug down.

Jake shifted in his chair awkwardly, "no..."

Preston narrowed his eyes, "That doesn't sound very convincing."

Jake didn't know what to say... He's always been comfortable with both genders and he's never had trouble showing affection, but he never considered himself truly loving anyone that's not a female.

"Is there a chance you've always been subconsciously attracted to both?" Preston offered quietly. Jake just nodded his head and continued to blush. "So can we talk about Dave again?" Preston asked, "Do you think you love him?"

Jake bit his lip hard; he thought about his friend, about his wicked smile and big brown eyes. God, he loved that boy. Jake suddenly sat up and his stomach flipped. His heart was pounding. Preston stretched his arm across the table and put his hand on top of Jake's, "Steady Jake," Preston soothed, "don't panic. It's ok, take a deep breath." Jake let out a shaky breath.

Jake took a biscuit off of the plate and nibbled the end of it. He hadn't really considered how Dave felt about the situation. "What do you think I should do?"

Preston shrugged, "That's up to you. This is a big deal; he isn't just a crush or a friend...he's your bandmate. This could effect your friendship and your career... I think you need to got think about this long and hard." 

Jake thought about Chris and Tom. If this doesn't work out between Dave and him then this might impact everyone's working relationship. Not to mention the fans, and the press was bound to find out sooner or later.

Preston interrupted Jake's thoughts, "last time I saw you, you were pretty serious with (Y/N), what happened to her? How's she doin' these days?" All the blood drained from Jake's face and his could hardly form inhales and exhales. "Umh" Jake cleared his throat even though his mouth felt unbelievably dry. "I need to--" Jake suddenly shot up from his chair and swiped his jacket from the back of the chair. "I'm sorry, I can't do this. I need to go."

Stumbling while trying to maneuver around the cafe, Jake tried keep his cool without the tears falling from his eyes. "Thanks for the advice, but I just--" Jake whimpered while unsteadily pacing himself away from Preston who was now confused and standing beside his chair.

The cool breeze blew through the coffee house as Jake ran through the door and down the street. "What am I going to do" Jake repeated in his mind.