You're My Savior

Chapter Nineteen

Jake's heart sinks as he hears Johnnie's words. He feels guilty for not reaching out sooner, and he wishes he could have done more to reassure Johnnie that he was always thinking of him.

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I never forgot about you, I promise. I've been really busy with work and all, but I should have made more of an effort to stay in touch." He glances over at Johnnie, hoping to convey his sincerity.

"Well that's just you too." Johnnie shakes his head, smiling. "You were always kinda distant with people, especially by text. I remember our old friends and how you hardly messaged any of them."

Jake chuckles softly, realizing that Johnnie is right. "Yeah, I guess I've always been a bit of a lone wolf. I don't like to rely on other people too much, and I'm not the best at keeping in touch. But I'm working on it, I promise."

He reaches over and gives Johnnie's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I'm glad we're here now, though. I'm not going to let you slip away again."

Johnnie laughs a bit. His pale complexion was a little flustered.

Jake notices the slight flush on Johnnie's cheeks, and he can't help but smile. He finds it endearing how easily Johnnie gets flustered.

"You okay there, Johnnie? You're looking a little red." He teases, knowing that it will only make Johnnie blush more.

Johnnie smacks Jake's shoulder jokingly. "We are almost to your place?" he asked. "I'm a little red because it's hot as fuck." he makes the excuse.

Jake laughs and rubs his shoulder where Johnnie smacked him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was so hot in here." He reaches over and turns the air conditioning up, trying to make Johnnie more comfortable. "We're almost there, though. Just a few more minutes."

He glances over at Johnnie again, admiring his side-profile.

They reached Jake's house. Johnnie gets out of the car, covering his face with one hand to block the sun as he walks with Jake to the front door.

Jake opens the front door and gestures for Johnnie to go inside. "Welcome to my humble abode," he says with a grin.

"Make yourself at home." He follows Johnnie inside and leads him to the living room, where he plops down on the couch. "So, what do you think? Not too shabby, right?"

"No, it's nice." Johnnie replied, sitting on the couch and taking a look around.

Jake is relieved that Johnnie likes his house. He's always been a bit self-conscious about it, but he's proud of the way he's decorated it.

"Thanks. I've put a lot of effort into making it feel like home." He looks over at Johnnie, noticing that he's still fidgeting with his rings. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, it's actually clean." Johnnie laughs, "What's up dude?"

Jake chuckles at Johnnie's joke, but he's not really in the mood for small talk. He takes a deep breath and decides to just go for it.

"I was wondering... why are you still single? I mean, you're a good-looking guy, and you have a great personality. It's hard to believe that you haven't found someone yet."

Johnnie sighs at this. Remembering his ex-girlfriend Alex for a moment. "Well, I was in a relationship."

Jake's heart sinks when Johnnie mentions this.

He had no idea that Johnnie had been in a relationship before, and he feels like an idiot.

"Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't know. What happened?"Jake asks gently, hoping that Johnnie will open up to him.

"I'll tell ya," Johnnie nods. "So, I met this girl named Alex. Um, she was apart of a group I was in for like YouTube and stuff, called My Digital Escape. It's when I was living with Bryan at the time–"

He paused, his face looked.. a bit traumatized.