Wait For Me

Chapter 12

"So, how was that dinner thing?" Casey asks as we walk out of the school front doors.

"What dinner?" Jake frowns.

"It was okay." I say.

"Just okay?" Casey asks. "I don't believe that."

Casey has been bugging me the whole day and today is one of those days where everything aggravates me easily. I have made the decision in talking to Ron, I just don't know how to get him alone with me. I really want to get the weight out of my chest and tell him everything that's going through my head.

"Who's that family anyway?" Casey continues. "How do you know them?"

"My parents are friends with them." I say.

"That's it?"

"Yes, Casey, that is it."

"If that's it, then why didn't you want to go to that dinner?"

'Because I wasn't feeling good that day."

"Since when do you do excuses?"

I don't understand why Casey can't just mind her business? I don't plan on telling her about Ron. This has always been my secret and I plan to keep it that way, hopefully not for long.

"Listen, Casey, someday I'll tell you everything you want to know, but right now I have no answers for you."

"Aha!" She exclaims. "So you are hiding something!"

I roll my eyes and continue walking down the steps.

"Listen, I have to go, but you are going to tell me everything." Casey walks aways and I'm left with Jake.

We're in silence for a few minutes till asks me if he can borrow my calculator for his math homework.

"Thanks." He says as I hand him my calculator. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. It's just my mom doesn't take this long to pick me up." I say, looking for my mom's car in the long line of vehicles entering and exiting the school parking lot. "Did you tell your parents about your car?" I ask, remember that night that Casey got us into.

"I did." He says. "They weren't too happy about it."

"I'm sorry." I say, feeling bad for him. I know it wasn't his fault and he didn't deserve what they did to their car.

"It doesn't matter. It's just a car." He shrugs. "I don't know if I should say this, but would you like to hang out sometime?"

I turn to him. Hang out? "Um," I start, but don't know what to say.

"It's ok if you don't want to."

"It's not that." I sigh. "It's just that I have a lot of things I have to work out first."

"It's ok." He nods. "I'll wait. I'll wait for you."

His words left an empty feeling in my chest. Waiting? No, I don't want him to do that.

"Jake, you don't have to wait."

"But I want to. I really like you Tiffany and I would love to be with you but if you're not ready then I'll wait. It'll be worth it at the end."

"I'm not saying it won't be worth it at the end, but you might meet someone else and you might get feelings for them and you'll have to forget about me."

"I wouldn't do that." He shakes his head. "I only want you. I have to go, but I'll see you."

I watch him away and I can't help but feel bad for him and myself. Waiting is not a good feeling, especially on someone that doesn't want to be waited on, but loves someone else. It's all my fault, I gave him the chance to try and make a move when I shouldn't. If I knew that Ron was here sooner, then I wouldn't have to worry about Jake. I'm not sure what to do, I don't want to let him down or anything, but I don't feel the way he does.