Nephophile

YOUR FANS

Jane stared up. Her eyes trained on the white ceiling. A head full of wavy strands lay on her side, fast asleep. She sighed.

She looked at Jake and smiled. Never had she ever felt gratitude swelling in her chest, but today, she felt it. She was grateful. Her hand involuntarily reached out to the head of wavy hair. She stopped herself before her fingers dug into his hair. "What am I doing?" She questioned herself when she saw her hand hovering above Jake's head. Her hand recoiled as if Jake had burnt her. "You couldn't have." She whispered with her hand on her beating heart. "Nooo." She groaned and threw the blanket over her head.

The motion caused Jake to wake from his slumber. He raised his head and heard a big sigh from under the blanket. His colossal hand rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Jane's head snapped to the side and stared at Jake in disbelief. He had yanked the cover from her face. "The doctor said you'll be just fine, so when you're ready, we can leave." He said and yawned. Jake pushed the chair back and rose to his feet. He stretched the sleep from his limbs. Jane eyed him, and her cheeks tinted into a shade of pink. His back muscled flexed as he stretched. Jane turned her face away from him.

He walked to the door. "I'm waiting outside. Alexa had sent these." He pointed towards a duffel bag. "Sure, thanks." She said and pushed herself to sit upright. Jake feigned shock. "So you do have manners." He winked and then chuckled.

Jane almost found herself smiling at him but stopped. "I wanna get changed, so get out!" She threw a pillow, which he effortlessly caught. "OK, I'm leaving." He threw the pillow on the bed and left. She got up and a sharp pain shot through her leg. Her ankle was swollen and very red. "Great! Just great!" She yelled out frustrated. Jane threw on the clothes and put her hair in a messy bun. She looked in the bag for shoes and found that Alexa had not packed her shoes. "Barefoot it is." She sighed. Jane limped outside and found Jake leaning against the wall with his face stuck to his phone. A few wavy strands hung in his face. His bottom lip was stuck in between his teeth. Jane got a little flustered and cleared her throat. Jake shot up from the wall and walked up to her. He grabbed the duffel bag and motioned down the hall.

"Where's your shoes?" He asked with creased brows. Jane shrugged. "Alexa hadn't packed them." She said and limped behind him. Jane came to a stop when she saw Jake crouched down before her. "Get on my back."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Or do you want me to carry you in my arms. Either way would work, just say the word." Jane climbed onto his back. He got up as if she weighed nothing and walked down the hallway, out to the parking. "The paperwork?" Jane asked, concerned."

"I did it last night. Whilst you were asleep." He said. "Last night? How long was I out for?"

"About 10 hours." He said and unlocked his car. He threw the bag in the booth and opened the door for Jane. He helped her in and closed the door behind her.

He jogged to the drivers side and got in. The engine roared to life. They drove in silence back to their neighborhood. When Jake parked outside her house, he locked the doors. Jane looked at him in surprise. "Why did you lock the door?"

"What happened out there?" He asked with a serious tone. "Your fans. That's what happened. Your fans." Jane said a little too harsh.

"My what?"

"Your fans. They were so concerned about you making such a big mistake by marrying me that they pushed me into the lake."

Jake stared at her. "I don't even know them."

Jane looked at him blankly. "Of course. You wouldn't know them because they were probably a one nightstand or something. Can you open the door, or do I need to break the window?" She said. Jake shook his head.

"I'll open in a sec, but first answer me this. Why are you getting so worked up about 'my fans?' They're all in my past..." Jane held up her hand and cut him off.

"I'm not getting worked up! I don't want to be looking over my shoulder for who's going to push me into traffic or lakes, Jake!" Jane spat and yanked the door handle. Jake unlocked the doors and watched as she climbed out. Jane limped to her front door and opened it. She went inside and was met with a smell that lured her to her kitchen.

Alexa was just dishing up, and someone else was drying the dishes. The blonde turned around when Alexa squealed and engulfed Jane in a bear hug. Jane's eyes grew the size of saucers. In her kitchen, Olivia, who had pushed her into the lake, was drying her dishes.

Alexa dragged Jane to the dining room with Olivia, who tailed them quietly. Jane sat down and watched as Alexa brought her a warm plate of pasta. "Who made this?" She asked and picked up a fork.

"I did. No one can make my pasta al la pasta like I do." Alexa said with a chef's kiss. "You really need to work on a better name for it then. Pasta al la pasta won't cut it when you're going to include it in your cookbook."

Jane dug in and sighed in contentment. Alexa sure could cook. She always wondered what took her so long to publish her cookbook. "Since you helped me with my parents, I decided that I had to introduce Olivia to you first and then to my parents. She's the one." Alexa said and kissed Olivia's hand. Jane dropped her fork on her plate.

"Is it that bad?" Alexa asked and reached out to the plate. Jane slapped her hand. "It's not the pasta."

"Then what is it?" Alexa asked. Olivia's eyes begged Jane not to tell. "Olivia is." Jane said and stuffed her mouth full of pasta. Olivia's face dropped. Her eyes closed as she waited for Jane to drop the bomb.

"Why the heck am I only hearing about her now? How long have you been together?" Jane said with a fake smile. Alexa smiled warmly. "Since college, but my parents... you know how the story goes."

"Well, I hope you're both happy, and I wish you all the best." Alexa gave Jane a bone crushed hug. "So who's the, you know, man in the relationship?" Jane joked and received a slap on the shoulder from Alexa.

"I feel like im forgetting something." A ding from the kitchen had Alexa running like she was on race track. "My dessert!" Alexa ran to the kitchen, leaving just Olivia and Jane.

Olivia went to sit on one of the chairs. "I never thought you were a lesbian. Just yesterday, you were into Jake. Did your sexuality change overnight?"

"I'm really sorry. I was drunk and under the influence of Heather." Olivia whispered.

"Under the influence of Heather? Hmm. She sure does know how to manipulate people, but a sorry won't do." Jane said in a deadly tone. Olivia cowered in her chair. "Because Alexa likes you that much, I'll try to see past what you've done."

Olivia smiled. "Thank..."

"Give me your number." Jane said with a stone expression.

"For?" She asked and fished out her phone. Jane got up and headed towards her living room. She returned with a pen and a piece of paper. She slid the paper with the pen towards Olivia.

"For just in case." Jane smirked.

*Hallo, Hola, Hello. So feel free to comment your thoughts on what you think Jane wants with Olivia's digits.