Never Too Late

Chapter 8.1: Jake Colin

That same night, we headed for Sam's Log Cabin, the same restaurant we brought Alex when he first moved to the loft. He had just finished dropping his classes, and I had just finished my shift. I arrived there about 7:30 in the evening, and everyone was already there. There were five of us: Alex, Harvey, Laura, me, and some random guy I didn't know. He looked skinny and a bit like our age, so I just assumed he was a guy from school. He was somewhat good-looking, but I didn't give a shit; he was sitting to the left of Laura, and Harvey was on the right. I stood in front of their table as soon as I arrived, and I sighed.

"Work's tiring, my dear friends!" I took a deep breath, and I looked at the new guy. "Hello. You're a new face."

"Oh, Liyah!" Laura laughed as she pointed at the guy. "This is Jake Colin, the guy from eight grade!"

"Wait!" I was shocked. He was a guy Laura and I were looking forward to meet back in eight grade because his girlfriend or somewhat girlfriend, Samantha Rivers, got hit by a car and got amnesia and moved to Paris. "This is Jake Colin? Samantha River's boyfriend?"

"Yeah!"

"She's not my girlfriend." He laughed. "I wish she was, but I haven't heard from her for years."

"So she still hasn't recovered her memory?" I sat beside Alex, right in front of Jake.

"Unfortunately, I didn't get any word. Hopefully, she has, but I truly don't know." He nodded. I smiled, and he started a different topic. "Nice to meet you, Liyah. So, you're Liyah Loveworth? You were quite popular back in Neptune."

"Not in a good way, I'm afraid." I laughed. "Nice to meet you too, Jake."

"How's work?" Alex smiled at me, somehow trying to look cute, and I had to admit: it was SUPER cute.

"Tiring." I smiled and sighed. "So where's your girlfriend?"

"Ugh." He shook his head, still smiling. "She's my ex now."

"Oh!" I tried to sound a little less ecstatic, but it was very difficult. Laura and Harvey just grinned there like they already heard the news. "That's sad. I'm sorry."

"Well, she couldn't handle the fact that I'm leaving for a while." He replied. "It was dramatic at first, but she was the one who broke up with me, so I'm feeling a little less guilty."

"She's gotta understand though."

"Yeah, she did." He added. "It was a peaceful breakup. She just wanted to be a little hasty."

"I didn't know you two are exes now, Liyah and Sander." Jake said. "You're pretty casual for two exes."

"It's because he won't survive without me." I kidded. "He needs me, even as a friend."

"It's true." He laughed. Jake seemed really entertained with how Alex and I seemed to be into really good chemistry.

After that very fun dinner, we got back to the loft about ten o'clock. Jake hung out with us for a moment since his apartment was just a few blocks away. We were seated out the living room for a while. Laura and Harvey were on their own, slowly kissing and cuddling on the couch which was something I learned to live with. Alex went to his room to change. I was left in this very calming and weirdly casual conversation with Jake on the other side of the couch. It seemed like the TV was only turned on for the background noise.

"So, you haven't heard from Samantha or from her family?" I asked. We were sitting right next to each other, nothing sexy. "I mean, haven't you tried?"

"I tried several times." He replied. "I tried sending e-mails and calling her or her mother, but I never got any answer. You know, exposing her to a different environment in Paris won't help her recover her memories."

"So, her father blocked you out."

"Yes..." he sounded really sincere about Samantha. Other than Alex and Nick, I never thought I would meet a guy as man as them. "Her dad said it would be easier for the both of us if she just left."

"And up until now... for these many years of repeated failure, you're still waiting for her to come out of the blue when you don't even know if she remembers you?"

"I don't know. To be honest, I don't know. I knew her for so long. We shared our childhood together. I loved her before. I don't love her any less now. I just knew deep within myself that she was the one." He smiled like he wanted to cry, like he was tired of waiting, but if it was for the right person, he would do it every day. I was so thrown back.

"How could you wait for someone for so long, and you don't even know if they'll be back?" I got serious, because in my case, I broke up with Alex because it took too long for him to be back, but after meeting Jake, I felt like it was possible... to wait so long for the right person.

"I don't know how I do it. I just wake up every morning, and I think of her, and I just know she'll be back." He laughed with a sense of fear. "I know she's the one, so I'm waiting for her."

"I wish I could think like you, Jake." I said. "I couldn't handle being too separated from Alex."

"You love each other." He smiled, and somehow, it felt really good. "I could see that. It's all over your faces. So you broke up because you couldn't handle the long distance thing?"

"It sounds immature, I know!" I said. "I was spoiled. I didn't understand his position, but I was wrong. I shouldn't have broken up with him while he worked so hard in Seattle. It was a mistake."

"I know." He chuckled. "I made so many mistakes, but we'll both be waiting for the right thing and the right person."

"Yes, we will, Jake." I smiled. "I wish you best of luck with Samantha."

"You too with Sander."