Rekindled- Jake Kiszka

Chapter 38, Part 2

When I saw her in the doorway, it was like a wave of emotions washed over my body. It had been nearly a month since I had even run into her at the coffee shop, let alone seen her at the house. 

"Alex?"

She gives me a shy smile that's only purpose was the lighten the shock. "Hey, I came to talk but it looks like this may be a bad time. I should have called, I'm sorry."

I think for a moment, looking over at Josh with a curious expression as if asking his permission for an unspoken proposal. She was his ex, and I couldn't invite her in if it made him uncomfortable. Luckily, he's gotten good at reading my mind and sends me an encouraging nod before taking the food outside. 

"No, you can come in, we're just having a little barbeque. There's plenty of food and drinks if you'd like to join. We can talk or we can deal with all of that later."

The confusion on her face mixes with shock as she looks over my expression as if she was looking to make sure I wasn't joking. "Really? You're cool with me coming in?"

"Al, we're grown adults, I'm ready to get over all of the drama. Come in and eat, we're having a bonfire and watching a movie later, you can stay as long as you'd like."

Her smile soon grows, causing mine to do the same as I step to the side for her to come into the house. I go over to the fridge and get a beer, cracking the top off and handing it to Alex before we head out back to where everyone was talking and eating.

It was a busy scene, all of the side conversations along with Josh being his usual social self while running all of the food. He thrived in that kind of environment, one where he was chatting with someone new every 5 minutes about a different topic. Sam was being relatively social himself, though he listened more than he spoke. I always admired his curiosity, he wanted to learn everyone's story and find some way to relate back to it to make them feel comfortable. Danny seemed laid back around the new girl he had been seeing recently. I mentally curse myself for forgetting her name while watching them talk and laugh with some of their friends, even though I had only met her once after a gig so it wasn't hard for the name to slip my mind. Then there was Jake, sitting with a group but only talking when he was asked to. Every fiber of my being hoped that no one else was thrown off by his mood as much as I was. His eyes burning into me and Alex when we came out of the house made me want to pull him aside right then and there and talk some sense into him. The way that his face showed no emotion, but his eyes connecting with mine felt like he was holding back a million words as he took a swig of his beer. Instead of playing into him, I simply roll my eyes and lead Alex over to the grill, giving her a plate to get food and talk with Josh while I found us two seats beside each other at the table. 

-

People left the party at their own pace, quite a few people left early but some stayed. Alex ended up leaving after the bonfire, along with everyone but the boys and me. We never got a chance to talk about our little fight, but I'm sure we can find another time, plus everything with Jake was clouding my thoughts far too much to care. The guys decided against a movie since everyone was already gone, instead helping us clean everything up which I was eternally grateful for. Danny left first with his girl, then Sam and Josh after helping us put the last of the chairs away. 

"Thank you again for all of your help guys, see you soon!" I call out as the two brothers begin their walk back to their homes just across the way. The second they stepped out the door, the house suddenly felt cold, and I watched as my security blankets walked away. Jake stands at the counter, watching me as I close the door and lock up for the night. I turn to look at him, standing with an expressionless face, "What's your problem?"

He scoffs and stands up straight, looking amused as if I had said something funny. "What's my problem?"

"Pretty simple question, Jake."