Bloom Later ⋆ Jake Brockman

𝖛𝖎𝖎𝖎. Playboy Bunny

✧⁺❀ C h a p t e r e i g h t . . .

As Jake stood in front of his wardrobe, rummaging through his clothes, Natalia sat on the side of his bed (still in her underwear) swinging her legs. He was taking an extremely long time to find her something to wear - to say that his parents would be home any second - which wasn't doing any favours for her anxiety. She sprang up and walked over to stand next to him.

"As much as I appreciate your fashion knowledge and know that you want me to look runway ready, I'm willing to throw anything on at this point."

Jake looked at her. "I'm not bothered about what you wear. It's just that we're not the same size and if you put something on that's noticeably mine, then my parents are going to end up thinking that we... you know."

"I know what?"

"They're going to think we had sex."

This caused the wind to be swept from Natalia's lungs. "Don't your parents think I have standards? Why would I have sex with you?"

He scoffed. "Have you seen me?"

The sound of a car turning onto the estate could be heard and Jake sprang to the window, pulling his curtains apart. He let out a curse. Hastily, he reached into his wardrobe and pulled out the first two things he could find, passing them to Natalia.

"It doesn't really matter what my parents think now. I think it looks a lot worse if they walk into my room and see you laid out half naked, like a model on the front page of a Playboy."

Natalia took the clothes from him. "You know, Jake," she tutted teasingly. "That's an oddly specific example. Do you fantasise about me dressed as a Playboy bunny often?"

Rolling his eyes, he gave her the finger, before quickly leaving and promising to stall his parents for as long as he could. She heard him racing down the stairs and upon looking back out the window, saw that he was already out talking to his parents. She really had to hurry.

After pulling on the clothes Jake had given her, Natalia knew she should probably run downstairs immediately, but seeing as though a mirror was hung on the interior of the open wardrobe, she couldn't help sneaking a glance. He had given her a pair of grey tracky bottoms and an Oasis t-shirt that was far too large for her. The clothes must have been washed if they were in his wardrobe, but the smell on them was unmistakably him. Most boys at her school stank of an industrial accident at a Lynx factory, but Jake's aftershave was soft and the smell rose to her nose gently.

In fact, she quite liked the way she looked in his clothes. Natalia shook her head internally. Of course, that had nothing to do with the fact that they belonged to Jake; she just really liked the outfit.

Quickly glancing out the window again, she could see Sue and Pete approaching the front door, despite their son attempting to coax them away from it. She sprinted down the stairs and into the living room, where she hastily grabbed a small table and placed it in the centre of the sofas and armchairs. Opening a cupboard and grabbing the first board game she could find, she opened the board and quickly arranged some pieces so that it looked like a game was in session.

Karen and Ben were already in the living room, seated opposite her and Natalia thought she might have to explain what she was doing, but without instruction, Ben grinned cheekily (but knowingly) and moved his piece to take his turn. Natalia wondered how often Jake had pulled a similar thing to convince his parents all was well at home.

Seeing a blanket at the side of her, Natalia draped it over herself in an attempt to cover her outfit and detract attention, then continued to play the game with the two youngest Brockmans (which appeared to have been going on for some hours now). She heard the door open and footsteps enter the house: the contrasting slow, purposeful gait of Sue and Pete (likely because they were inspecting the house) and the much quicker walk of Jake, who hurried into the living room and quickly seated himself on the floor.

As the Brockman parents entered the room, Karen picked up a playing piece and set it down a few spaces away.

"Well done, Karen, you won!" Natalia yelled - with what she hoped was sufficient enthusiasm to convince Sue and Pete that the game had been a real one. "We've been here for hours playing this."

"I thought it would never end," Jake added helpfully.

"Of course I was going to win," Karen stated assuredly. "Lord Sugar doesn't raise losers."

Sue and Pete exchanged a look of pleasant surprise. They had been expecting to walk home to their house looking like the aftermath of Chernobyl, but it looked perfectly clean. In fact, maybe it was nicer than when they had left.

"I have to be honest," Pete chuckled, "We thought the house would be a mess, but actually you've all been well-behaved. We didn't need to leave early, after all. It's nice to see Natalia's kept you all in check."

"I hope they weren't too much hard work for you, sweetheart," Sue cooed to which the blonde shook her head brightly, responding in the negative.

"If we'd have left Jake in charge, alone, we'd probably be walking into a house on fire with three dead children inside."

"Pete!" Sue chastised her husband for the unpleasant image he conjured. She then re-adopted her smile of sunshine. "Well, seeing as though everything seems to be perfect, me and your dad will just get a cup of tea in the kitchen and leave you to finish off your game."

Karen sighed melodramatically. "Didn't you hear us say? I won!"

Ben stared at the board with his face screwed up in concentration. "Actually, you didn't win, because we weren't even playing. Natalia just - "

At this, Jake sprang up and ushered his parents out of the living room, before they could properly comprehend what Ben was saying. "That's right. We weren't playing, because chess isn't a game. We take it very seriously."

Once they had left, Jake shut the door behind them. He sighed with relief and threw himself on the sofa, stretching out in relaxation.

"Do you know what? I think we just about got away with that."

Suddenly, a thunderous crash was heard from the kitchen, followed by a high-pitched scream (likely from Sue) and the loud, gruff barking of a dog. The living room door slammed open, revealing a very angry Pete.

"Why the hell is there a bright red dog in our kitchen, tracking paint all about the bloody place?"

Karen and Ben giggled and ran out to the kitchen, calling "Benji" affectionately. Natalia, on the other hand, felt the blood drain from her face. She looked to the side and made eye contact with Jake, who was equally pale.

How on earth were they meant to explain themselves? There was nothing they could possibly say.

Jake managed a small smirk at Natalia then turned to his dad, maintaining his appearance of confidence and ease.

"Actually, I think you'll find that it's blood orange."

'*.°✩ ━━━ love, alinah