Turning life around

Campfire

Jake's POV:

I was at the campfire with my friends. We were sitting on wood benches, purposely taking up more space for when the others arrive.

And then they do.

I see Tris' car pulling over, and a few seconds she opens the door, smiling wildly and talking to Tina. The sight of her in the moonlight, with that gorgeous smile of hers make my heart beating faster than it should've been.

But when she gets out of the car, God knows it doesn't get better. She was busy with her chat with my sister, but it only made me admire her candid beauty even more. She stands tall, in an outfit that flattered her figure so well.

As they walk towards the gathering of people, all my attention was on her. The confidence eradiating from her attracted all the eyes in the place I'm sure. She had this thing that made you lose all your focus. She was this star you'd still see in a cloudy dark sky. The one whose smile was worth fighting for, whose laugh engulfs your heart like a warm hug.

- Dude.

Fingers snap in front of me. I snap out of the haze, and look around, confused.

"What?"

Luke bursts out in laughter. "You're so whipped, Jake."

Oliver joins him. "You should've seen the look on your face. Oh my god that's the woman of my dreams! ", he adds in a high-pitched voice, mocking me. 

 "Are you ever gonna ask her out?" Jaden follows.

I take a sip of my beer to delay my answer as much as possible.

- I don't really know, I answer honestly.

"Why not?! You've had eyes for her since college, man! Don't you think it's finally time to shoot your shot?" Jaden asks.

- Look, I sigh. She's an amazing person. You all know that already. But she's special. So special that I think it's worth not taking the risk of ruining my friendship with her. We have something. And I'd hate myself forever if I ever mess it up for the sake of a romantic thing.

"Jake, do you see yourself with anyone else? Seriously."

- No, I answer Oliver.

"Okay then!", Luke says. "You should ask her out. What do you have to lose?"

- Her. If things go wrong, I'd lose her.

We sit a little in silence as I watch her from far away, as she's meeting up with Grace and Amy.

I make eye contact with Jaden. He shrugs.  

- I missed having her around, Oliver says. We had so much fun together in college, remember?

The guys nod along, and I smile as the memories flood in. The morning swims before class, basketball games whenever we had common breaks, study sessions in coffee shops. My friends are pretty close with her too. Can I blame them? She's the fucking best.

As that last thought enters my mind, I see her finally coming towards us.

She shrieks in happiness at the sight of my friends. Our friends.

Oliver chuckles as they hug each other tightly. A bunch of "I've missed you so much!" and "Oh my god it's been so long!" were thrown around.

Jaden gives her a playful punch on the arm. 

"We should've met as soon as you came back!", he reproached her.

- I know, I'm sorry! she winces. Things have just been... chaotic. There's so much we need to catch up on!

Luke comes towards her with a smile.

"Let's see if you've still got it.", he says in a daring tone, sticking out his hand between them.

"You bet", Tris answers as her eyes glimmer.

We all assist to the most complex and longest handshake I've ever witnessed. I watch the whole thing, in awe.

I never realized how much I missed their (quite impressive) handshake.

We all laugh once they're done.

Her eyes meet my gaze, and she smiles even more. She immediately comes to hug me.

"Missed me too? It's been years since college, man! What've you been up to since then!?"

I chuckle at her ridiculous sarcasm. She looks up, smiling genuinely at my reaction. But she suddenly looks like she remembered something and pulls away.

"I'm gonna go get the others, you should totally meet them!" she throws as she leaves hurriedly before turning her back to us.

Once she's out of earshot, all the guys start talking.

"You guys are so in love"

"Gosh it's so obvious"

"Just ask her out, already!"  

"She likes you too, dude."

"Have you even seen the way you look at each other?!"

"Or the hug she gave you?"

I chuckle at them, but deep down, I'm really hoping it's true.