Home is Always You

The Truth

Back to Present Day

"What about last night?" Jake asked, taken aback by Jade's statement. Jade couldn't answer right away as she was a bit scared of what she wanted to say, but also she feels like she's about to burst if she doesn't say anything at all.
"Look, I told you I'm not sorry. I love you and nothing will change that. I don't want you to be pressured by it. Don't-"
"I love you, too." Jade cut him off.

Jake's almond eyes widened at the sudden confession. His body froze as Jade stood in front of him and suddenly bent her body so their faces aligned. She cupped his round face and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"Wai- wait, what?" was all Jake could say. He was not sure how to react to that. He was happy, without a doubt. However he was a little bit confused, he doesn't want Jade to think that she has to reciprocate his feelings or just because something happened.

"For the longest time, I kind of known it was there. I just never bothered to explore it or really think about it. I don't want to jeopardize our friendship because it means the world to me." She sat beside Jake and held his hand.

"Jade, I-" was all Jake could say. He's still baffled.
Jade looked at his eyes intently and squeezed his hand.
"Look, we don't have to rush into anything. We don't have to be committed to each other right now, and that's okay. We both feel the same way and that's enough, right?"
Still taken aback, all Jake could say was "I think so?". Jade let out a chuckle and teased him. "Not expecting this?" He nodded. "Let's go the airport dork, or I'll be late!"

They both exited the park hand in hand. With flushed cheeks and intertwined fingers, they kept glancing and smiling at each other. When they both got in the car, Jake still couldn't believe of what happened. Before starting the engine, he settled down, looked at Jade sitting in the front seat and asked, "Did you just really confessed in our college meeting place? The very place that witnessed what we both went through for most of our adult life?"

Jade shot him a death glare, then broke out in laughter. "Just drive, or I won't be able to make it to Fort City by tonight." Jake turned on the engine and they are finally on their way to the airport, surprisingly with time to spare. Jade rolled the window down a little bit to feel the air on her skin, and closed her eyes for a bit. Jake saw her and reached out for her hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

When they finally arrived, Jake unloaded Jade's luggage from the trunk of his sedan. "Do you have your ticket and ID with you?"
"Yes, I have them with me."
"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you inside the departure area?" Jake asked, still holding on to Jade's luggage. "No, it's okay. People might actually recognize you and you might get mobbed a bit and we don't want to make a scene here." Jade let out a chuckle.

"Don't make it hard, come on. Are we going to be always like this when one of us leaves?"

"I just... well, I'm gonna miss you. It had been fun with you around and I didn't want this day to come, I dreaded it. But I can't be selfish because I will leave as well because of the upcoming tours." That was all he could say when in fact, he had thought of a lot more.

"I am gonna miss you, too. The past 2 weeks have been great. You take care, okay? Especially when you go on tour. Text me when you can." Jade gave Jake a tight hug then kissed his cheek, took her luggage and waved goodbye. All Jake could do was fake a bit of his smile and wave back.

Text me when you're boarding and when you land. Don't forget to eat and drink water. I miss you already. I love you.

Jake sent Jade a text message before leaving the airport. He wanted to go home straight, but thought of making a pitsop.