Chapter 29- free

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Getting in line behind Jake, I smile and take a breath as they start calling names. Closing my eyes, I hear them call Jakes name as I clap for him. After he gets off, it's my turn. Walking out onto the stage, I have the biggest smile on my face as the principal hands me my diploma. My mom stands up and claps really hard. Face turning red, I thank them and walk off. Knowing it was over, I jump up and whoop as the ceremony ends. We all throw our caps in the air as I hug Jake really tight. He hugs me back and holds my arms "we're free at last."
I nod and clear my throat, "I just wanted to let you know that.. I haven't been honest with you."

He raises an eyebrow, "oh?"
I close my eyes and breath as I stand on my tip toes and meet my lips with his. Holding onto his shoulders, I kiss him with all those feelings that I had bundled up inside me. Whispering in his ear, I gulp "I think I love you."
He pushes me back, grabs his cap and walks away.

"Jake?"

Standing there in the middle of the celebration, I felt like he had made a promise to never hurt me; yet he just walked away when I opened myself up to him! Telling myself I don't need him, I spot my mom and brother walking toward me as I smile. Hugging them, I sniff "this is the best day of my life right now."
My mom cries and hugs me as I finally let my tears go. Crying, my mom pets my hair "sh, it's okay; you graduated. I just need to say-"
"Hey mom, stop breaking down like every 10 seconds," my brother rolls his eyes. Lip trembling, she wipes her eyes "a mother can cry if she wants." I chuckle as my brother hugs me tight. "I'm so proud of you little A, I can't believe you really did it. I knew you had it in you all along."

Tears flow down as I look at him with watery blue eyes, "you are the best brother a girl could have Mitch. And I would never change it for the world."
Mitchell kisses my forehead as he closes his eyes to keep them from getting watery. I bite my lip to keep from crying more as I hear a voice "Congrats Ashely. I am so proud of you."
Spinning around, I find my dad and hug him "you came?"
He nods "I wouldn't miss my own daughters graduation now would I?"
I laugh and shake my head, "well, it means a lot that you came." He pulls me to his chest and hugs me hard. My dad has never hugged me this much before. I smile and my dad sniffs "I think this is the best moment right now"
I try to hold back tears and wipe the loose ones away, "I.. I just- I love you dad."
He kisses the top of my head "I love you to monkey, I always have." Sighing, he releases me and I excuse myself and go find Carter.

She squeezes me tight and smiles "we did it A! All those high school years are over."
I hug her back and sniff "your parents must be so proud of you C."
Before I knew it, she was crying on my shoulder and I pat her back "I know, me too." Looking at Jake, I see him hugging his parents as our eyes meet. Looking away quickly, I gulp "we need to keep in touch in college okay?" She nods "uh yea we do, I'm your best friend Ash. Even though I'm going to Texas State, I'll still have time for you."
I smile "where's Jesse gonna go? Same place I hope?"
She beams and nods "yeah, he told me a few weeks ago he got accepted there, I was so happy we practically made out on the floor."
I laugh "ok, I don't need to know all the details. You go find Jesse okay?"
She sighs and hugs me one last time before she walks off. Standing there, he appears in a formal shirt and pants as he walks up behind me and hugs me tight. Kissing my neck, I jerk and turn around as I smile and scream "you came!" Wrapping his arms around me, he nods "of course I came, I wouldn't miss this for anything."

Blushing, I smile and mumble "well, thank you for coming Bruce. It means a lot to me that you came today."
  Looking around, I spy Jake and smile as Bruce traces my arm up and down.
"What do I have to do to win your heart Ash? You're not making this very easy you know."
I chuckle "you're a smart guy, figure it out."
Untangling myself from his clutches, I smirk and walk away toward the door. Opening it, a breeze of chilly evening air hits my face as I step outside. Walking toward my red BMW, I hear thunder as a slight sprinkle comes down.

  Closing my eyes, I reach for my car door handle as someone calls my name. "Ashely!"
Whipping around, I walk toward the voice and stop a few feet away from my car. Hearing it thunder again, I yell "what Jake!"
He clears his throat and walks toward me at a fast pace. Brushing back a few strands of hair, I gulp and raise an eyebrow as he gets closer. Yawning, I look at him as he stares into my eyes "Ash, I know what I did back there was stupid and selfish. And I guess I was a little freaked out by what you said earlier."
  Blushing, I rub my arm "uh it's not big deal. I'm sure you don't even like me anyways. I'm not even gorgeous, so like I said it's fine."
He grins "you're beautiful Ashely, and I wouldn't pay attention to those Victoria Secret models or those celebrities that try and convince girls to lose weight. You're perfect just the way you are."  He smiles and I sniff "you really mean that?"
  He nods and winks, "with every word."
I blush more and look down to see a puddle of droplets on the concrete. Looking up suddenly, I clear my throat, "we better go inside before-"

  Kissing me soft and gentle, he pulls back and opens his eyes. I smile and kiss him back as the rain pours down on us. I look up and open my mouth to see if any droplets would fall in. Chuckling, he smiles "that's cute," and kisses me again, and again on my neck. Laughing "stop it, that tickles," he stares me in the eye "would you care to dance?"
Rolling my eyes, I ask "really, in the rain?"
He smiles "well, I already accomplished your fantasy, so this will be something extra."
  Tilting my head, I grab his hand and hold his shoulder "how did you know about that?"
Shrugging, he bites his lip "lucky guess?"
I chuckle "you're so full of it," as he leads. Watching my feet, I follow him the best I can without messing up as he lifts my chin up with his finger, "look here, not at your feet."

I nod and hum softly as he spins me. Smiling, I clasp his hand again and we continue. Moving my feet the wrong direction, I sigh "I suck at this man, I need to learn how to dance."
  He chuckles "at least you're trying, it's really all that matters," as he kisses my forehead. I smile "well, thanks dude."
Stopping after he whirls me around, I face him and look into his greenish-blue eyes. Reaching for my cheek, he leans his head in and kisses me as the rain falls hard now. Wrapping my arms around the base of his neck, we touch foreheads as a trickle of water comes down my nose. His lips felt soft when we kissed as he holds my waist and smiles, "why do I always get like this with you Ash?"
Raising an eyebrow, I chuckle "what exactly do you get like?"

"I feel all bubbly inside and all that crap," he rolls his eyes. I blush "it's called love idiot."
He hugs me tight and places his head on mine, "ah, I knew that."
Laughing, I nudge him and walk away, "let's get inside. I'm already soaking wet as it is." He runs after me as I open the door and step into the warm, dry arena. Jake holds my hand as he asks "so where did you get accepted?"
"LSU, you?"
He frowns, "University of California."
I shrug "well, I guess we'll have to go long distance then," as I giggle. Eyeing me, he excuses himself as I look at Bruce.
Laughing with Jesse, he looks at me and waves me over. Blushing, I walk over as he wraps an arm around my torso, "I still need to give you your graduation present."
Surprised, I smile "aw, you don't need to get me anything. I'm really hard to shop for so yeah."
He rubs my arm "no objections Ash, you're going to love it."
Jesse smirks and nods at me with confirmation. Bruce states "I forgot to tell you that I got a baseball scholarship."I nod and place a hand on his chest "that's amazing Bruce, congrats!"
He says thanks and squeezes my arm as I jerk, "I should probably look for Jake."

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