forget-me-not

Chapter 4

Graduation was on a Saturday and I took the following Monday off of work. After we napped for an hour or two, Jake woke me up to go to dinner with everyone. I didn't really want to but I knew I would regret it. I wasn't going to let Danny ruin my graduation day completely. Jake and I didn't talk much about what would happen when he did finally come home. He had a bag packed in his car with clothes from his parents house. I think he was expecting to stay with me, no matter what he had to do. I don't mind, it's the safest I've felt since he left two years ago. He's been gone for almost six years total and nothing has been the same.

Now it's Sunday morning and we're eating the breakfast he made before I woke up.

"I think we should slug around today." I tell him.

"What is this slug around you're talking about?"

"You know, slug around." I say, throwing a sweater over me and zooming to the living room. I plop myself on the couch into a ball.

"I think you were moving a little too fast for a slug." He laughs and plops himself down next to me.

"We can slug around for a bit, but I want to take you to dinner."

"Only because we haven't had a date since you got home."

"There's plenty of those to come." He stares at my right eye but doesn't say anything else.

We get ready to leave by six. He's driving us to a restaurant but wouldn't tell me which one we're going to. Within the last 24 hours, I find myself enjoying falling into Jake. He hasn't been home for so long and yet it's so easy for us to be together like he never left.

"Remember this place?" He asks me. I look up and realize we're in the parking lot of the Italian restaurant he took me for our first date in high school.

"What a wonderful first date." I blush.

We had a great time at dinner. It felt like we were teenagers again. Isn't it kind of crazy? I didn't think we'd keep in contact after so many years, but it was a pretty mutual feeling that we couldn't stop thinking about each other. The break up was circumstantial and I know if he hadn't left, we would still be together. I had a few glasses of wine at dinner and the wine drunk is hitting me once we're driving back to my place.

"I always forget how different wine drunk is from normal drunk." I laugh.

"It's a strange yet nice feeling." He laughs back. He pulls into my driveway but doesn't shut the car off.

"What's the big idea?" I smile. He looks at me with the prettiest brown eyes and holds my face.

"I've just missed you a lot." He whispers. He kisses my right eye.

"I missed you, too." I whisper back, our breaths colliding into each other. His bottom lip brushes against mine and our tongues meet. We kiss like we need each other, like it's been too long since the last and we have to catch up. His mustache scratches my lips, but I can't get enough. He runs his hands through my hair and down my body, unbuckling my seatbelt. I reach down to unbuckle his and pull us closer together. We reluctantly pull apart when we both hear the noise of a car door shutting. He looks in the rearview mirror and his jaw tightens again. My stomach turns and my breathing stays heavy, but not for good reason like a couple seconds ago.

"Stay in the car." He tells me. I don't move a muscle as I watch him watch the mirrors of the car.

"This guy must be clinically insane," He says. "Let's go, I'm getting you into the house."

He shuts the car off and runs to my door. He guides me quickly onto the porch. I gave him a copy of my key so he's unlocking the door with his keys right now. Which is good because I can't think straight. He shoves me inside first and locks the handle but doesn't shut the door yet. He stands big and tall in front of my door when another figure, a bit smaller, approaches slowly.

"What else could you possibly want?" Jake asks in a monotone voice.

"I don't know who you think you are, but she's my girlfriend." I hear Danny reply. Jake holds back a laugh.

"Look, you've had your chance while I was gone, but I'm home now. You've ruined your very many chances and now it's time to leave her alone."

"You don't know or get her like I get her. I've been taking care of her. Where have you been? Not here!"

"You only had her because I wasn't here. And you bought her roses, she hates roses. I wouldn't call punching her in the face, 'taking care of her'. Don't make this harder than it's gotta be." Jake tells him. My heart is racing. I didn't think any of this through when I met Danny or when he started hurting me. Or what would happen when Jake came home. I hear Danny laugh under his breath. He actually thinks I would choose him over Jake.

"Is Jake better than me? So much better you had to talk to him through our entire relationship?" Danny yells, still laughing. He knew this whole time? He knew who Jake was? Is that how he justified his many one night stands?

"Stop laughing and get off of her porch."

"Or what?" Danny says angrily. I hear him take a step closer to Jake. Without hesitation, Jake punches Danny in the face and Danny stumbles into the railing. He grabs his nose and laughs like a crazy person again.

"I'm just getting started, Maddy, if this is how you want to play it." Danny directs toward me. I've been standing directly behind Jake this entire time, too scared to move. I hear him spit on the ground and back slowly off the porch. I hear a car door open and shut and then the car drives off like it's in a hurry. Jake quickly moves me further into the house and slams the door. He puts his hands on his head and paces before looking at the hand he punched him with.

"I'm getting you a security system tomorrow. And we're changing the locks." He tells me. I nod silently, glued to the spot he put me in.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't know it would be like this. I didn't know he knew about you." I whisper. My hands are still shaking at my side.

"Don't be sorry, you can't control someone who's narcissistic and unstable." He walks over to me and takes my purse off my shoulder, throwing it to the side. He pulls me into him and I bury my face in his chest. He runs his hands up and down my back and plants a kiss on my forehead. I pull away to look at his hand.

"It's fine, I'm used to it." He forces a laugh. His hand actually does look fine, but I'm sure it hurt to hit Danny's hard head.

"Let's get to bed, it's been a long couple of days." He sighs. He leads me to my bedroom and sits on the edge of the bed, watching me walk in. I stand in the doorway, admiring him back. I don't know anyone who would defend me the way he always has. I walk to him and wrap myself around him. Our faces are centimeters apart, his mustache tickling my lips again. Danny has never had facial hair.

"I'm so happy you're home." I whisper into his mouth. His hand slides up my arm to the back of my head. He gently pulls my hair back and places a kiss on my neck. I let out a sigh, silently asking for more. He smiles against my neck and kisses up to my ear. His other hand tickles my thigh at the hem of my dress before he slides it off over my head. Craving more, I pull his lips onto mine while unbuttoning his shirt. I slide my hands up and down his bare muscular arms while pulling myself tightly into his body. He unclips my bra with one hand and tosses it behind me.

"Let me love you." He breathes heavily as he flips us onto the bed, landing on top of me. He slides his pants off, wearing only his boxers now. He holds my hands above my head with one hand and kisses my lips. His tongue explores my mouth slowly as his other hand trails down the center of my body, covering me in goosebumps. His hand hovers above my panties before it slides into the warmth between my legs. Within a few minutes, I'm shaking, moaning into his ear. My body squirms underneath his as I try to catch my breath.

"You're such a good girl." He whispers in my ear.

"Yes, sir." I whisper back and reach for his boxers. I slide them off and pull him on top of me. "Please."

"I love when you beg." He grunts. He pushes into me slowly at first, and then takes me like it's been too long, because it has. It's been two years since I've felt so physically loved. Especially twice in one night.