Jake

29. Almost There

"We've still got a few hours."

She looked away from her hands that had still been shaking a little from when she had vomited more than an hour ago. Of course she had brushed her teeth. Apparently they saved so many of those free toothbrushes you get from the dentist, so she just used one of those. She didn't really see how many they had, so in the back of her mind, she was still wondering. And even though it had been a while since she did brush, her mouth was still minty. And she loved it.

"I know." His eyes scanned her quickly, yet slowly. Slow enough that she could see, but fast enough so that it only took a second.

"But do you know what I want to do for some of that time?" She was honestly a little surprised since he had stood in the bathroom with her, rubbing her back as she practically vomited her lungs out just of the thought of that Crestview scum. And he was still willing to make out with her? No, he wanted to.

"Seriously? I mean...really?"

He scratched his nose a little as he said, "Do you really need to ask that question? I always want to, y'know."

"I figured. But enough to act on it now?"

He smirked, "Of course. Don't you?"

"Well," she said, "yeah, but... I dunno. Forget I said anything, I'm just confusing myself now."

He chuckled. "You know it's bad when you confuse yourself." She smiled a little, looking to the window on her left. His hands held her wrists while his thumbs stroked the inside of them, feeling the now mostly smooth surface.

He said softly, "I like that."

She looked back to him and said, "Well, you helped make it happen. Have I ever said thank you?"

He smiled. "Yes. Many times." She smiled big enough for him to see her teeth for a brief time before softly biting her bottom lip and sucking on it a little.

She said, "Uh, can I?" He nodded before opening his arms. She pulled him into a hug and rested her head sideways on his shoulder, like a pillow. She was close enough to his neck so that the Jake Aroma was stronger than ever. And she loved it.

She pulled away and said, "Can we go get something to eat? My stomach's too empty. I'll pay."

He grinned and said, "Well, since I can, why not? Let's go."

She smiled and they went downstairs. Everyone else was still sitting on the couches, having conversations until they came down. They all stopped so Jake's mom could say to her, "You're okay, right?"

She replied, "Yeah, fine."

"Okay, good. Oh, and your shirt should be done in about a half hour." Sophia smiled, remembering that she still had on one of Jake's shirts.

"Okay, cool."

Jake cut in, "We're gonna go get something to eat. See you soon." They all nodded and mumbled goodbyes as they left.

They stopped off at Steak 'n Shake and each had a burger and fries. They had each closed their eyes and swirled a finger over the shake page on the menu and picked a random one, then swapped once they got there. Jake got Double Chocolate Fudge and Sophia got Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. It was funny because that was the one she wanted. He may or may not have cheated just to please her, but she really didn't care either way. She was still thinking about tonight. And why Adam would want her there. Wondering what he would do and trying to figure out if he ever realized who she was. Or maybe he was after Jake. What if she was just a distraction?

"Soph?"

She blinked a few times. "Huh?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Are you okay? I said your name like, three times."