Perfect Imperfections

Five

I slowly walked out onto the porch where Jake was standing with his arms on the railing, his brown eyes lost somewhere on the lake. As I stopped next to him, I saw he was drinking a beer and he took a deep breath, turning to me.

"When do you have school?" He asked and I sighed.

"Monday, I gotta be there at eight." I said and he nodded.

"Wasn't sure if this was a three day weekend or not." He said and I nodded, holding the railing as I stared out at the lake.

"So, any mutated crocodiles living there?" I asked, which made him laugh.

"No, no Lake Placid guys in the lake!" He snickered, which made me giggle.

"AJ, you are something else!" He laughed and I looked at him then smiled.

"A good something else?" I asked and he nodded, bringing his beer up to his lips.

"A good something, AJ, definitely a good something." He said and I nodded as I looked at the stars and moon above us.

"You can see more stars here than you ever could in El Paso." I whispered, staring at the stars.

"Yeah, part of the reason I built my house here." I turned to stare at Jake then he smiled.

"You built this entire house?!" I asked and he nodded.

"Come here." I took his hand as he set his beer down then he led me around the house, stopping at the end of the porch.

"You see that trailer way out there?" I followed where he was pointing and saw a small, run down little trailer down the drive, closer to the woods.

"Yeah."

"That's where I lived while I built this house." Jake said and I looked up at him.

"So, you really built each and every inch of this house?" I asked and he nodded.

"My dad was a construction business owner, my mom was a carpenter. I picked up their trades, learned a little of my own stuff, and now I have my perfect little house." He said then we went to sit as he grabbed his beer.

"It's so nice, I thought this was a professional build!" I said as I sat in the chair and he smiled.

"Thank you." He smiled and drank some of his beer. When he raised his arm, I noticed the silver light of the moon highlighting a few scars on his stomach. Knowing I didn't want him to pry into my sensitive business, I chose not to ask about his scars. I'm sure he didn't want to talk about them.

"We should get some sleep, it's getting late." Jake said and I looked at him then nodded. I stood and followed him inside, watching as he cleaned up and put away all the stuff out.

"Here, you can use the guest room upstairs." He said and led me upstairs to the room that was parallel to the steps.

"Thank you." I smiled and he nodded.

"I'll see you in the morning, AJ."

"As long as I'm not in your sex dungeon, we'll have a good morning." I smirked at his grin then I went into the room and shut the door, taking a deep breath and laying down for bed.

~*-*~

I slowly walked downstairs, scratching my scalp as I went, then I heard the delicious sizzle of bacon in a pan and hummed as I went into the kitchen.

"Morning!" I grinned and Jake turned to me, busting out laughing.

"Nice bed head!" He laughed and I rolled my eyes, trying to control my curls.

"Thanks, Jake!" I laughed and decided to braid my hair into a large braid, tying it off as he served me food.

"I wasn't being mean, AJ-"

"I know." I smiled and took my fork, beginning to eat.

"It's nice not having to cook." I mumbled then I looked up at Jake when he was silent, seeing he looked... slightly upset.

"You-you cook every morning?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, I cook every meal. My family doesn't like to cook, since my mom is so busy and my dad is always working. Then Elias is always working out in the morning and Bella Rae is always so busy with pampering herself and getting ready, so she never has time. I'm the only one-"

"Wait, stop!" I looked at Jake confused and he sighed as he held the counter.

"You cook every meal?! Not your parents?!" He asked and I nodded.

"AJ, that's-" He stopped then took a deep breath, slowly sitting and smiling at me.

"You're not allowed to touch the kitchen in my house." He said and I laughed.

"I'll gladly take that deal!" I grinned and ate my eggs, happy with the taste.

"This is so good!" I groaned and he smiled.

"Good, make sure you enjoy it." He said and I nodded, happy to enjoy food I hadn't personally made. After breakfast, Jake and I played video games on his console for a few hours and I found that I rather liked hanging out with him.

"Hey, I gotta run into town. You wanna go with me?" Jake asked and I bit my lip, worried my family might see me.

"My-my family-"

"They won't be where I'm going, promise. And, I can make sure they don't see you if we happen to run into them." Jake said and I sighed.

"Alright, we'll go." I smiled and grabbed my bag, going to get changed into some skinny jeans and my favorite sweater top. As I went downstairs, I held my socks and sneakers in my hand and I saw Jake was also dressed for the day.

"Ready?" He asked and I nodded.

"Just gotta get my shoes and socks on." I said and sat on the couch, quickly putting my shoes and socks on. When I stood, I jumped as a hoodie hit me in the face.

"Sorry!" Jake rushed as I laughed, holding the hoodie.

"I did not mean for that to hit your face-"

"It's alright! Nice plan though, I like it!" I grinned then we left the house, going to his truck. Once I was in, I buckled and waited for him.

"So, where to?!" I grinned, making him laugh as he drove down the driveway.