Radio Waves (manxman)[Match Maker Series]

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Gabe's POV

I got out of the taxi, paid the driver and looked at the building in front of me. I was more nervous now than I'd been on our first date but that was because I now knew what I'd be missing out on if I messed this up again. 

I'd phoned Jake the day after seeing him, like he'd asked me to and it had been more than a little awkward. Neither of us really knew what to say to the other and we didn't know where we stood with each other either. I'd learned that he was packing up his stuff from his parent's house and his father was going to give him a ride to Frankie's place. Frankie, Match, was going to let Jake stay with him. He'd asked me to give him two days and then meet him here this evening. It had been hard to not pick up the phone and call him again, to not text him like I'd used to. 

I pushed my worries to the back of my mind for a moment and pulled open the door to the bar where I'd had my first date with Jake. Looking back I should have done something a lot more special for our first date like taking him to a fancy restaurant or out dancing. Even a trip to the cinema would have been more memorable than a visit to a bar. But surprisingly enough that visit to the bar was very memorable for me, especially the kiss he'd given me at the end of our date. Being a nostalgic fool I'd even worn the same clothes that I'd worn on our first date, my baby blue jumper and black slacks.

I entered the bar and looked around. I spotted Jake sitting at the bar and worked my way over to him. He hadn't seen me yet so it gave me a chance to look him over. He was a lot thinner than I remembered making his gray shirt hang loosely from his frame and he'd paired the shirt with a pair of black jeans that clung nicely to his narrow hips.

"Hi," I said as I slipped onto the seat beside him and raised a hand to get the bartenders attention.

"Hi." He looked up at me from where he'd been concentrating rather hard on picking off the label from his bottle of beer.

The bartender arrived in front of me then and I ordered a beer for myself after asking Jake if he wanted another, which he declined saying he'd only just ordered the one he was drinking. I paid when my drink arrived and took a healthy swallow of the cool liquid. "Have you been waiting long?"

"No." He went back to picking at his label. "This is my first beer and I've only had maybe two sips from it." He looked at me through the corner of his eye but quickly looked away when he noticed me looking at him. "How is your Mom?" 

Ah, the sore subject had been brought up almost instantly. "She's doing really well. The doctor has put her on some medication and it seems to be helping with the headaches. She hasn't had a seizure since being in hospital so that's good," I replied awkwardly. "She was well enough to hit me around the back of my head." I admitted.

He looked up at me then his brow raised in surprise. "She did? I wouldn't have pictured your mother as the type who would cuff her kids."

I fell into those steel gray eyes and found myself unconsciously leaning closer. "She never did it to the girls but she's said that she needed to keep me in line. Apparently I was always a bit wild and pushed my boundaries." I rolled my eyes and smiled affectionately. "I guess you could say I was just your typical boy."

"Broken bones?" He smiled that breath-taking smile.

"One or two." I chuckled.

"I like your mom." He looked back down at his beer, a frown marring his handsome features. I knew he thought of himself as average but I saw him as the most handsome man I'd ever come across.

"She likes you too." I picked up my bottle for something to do with my hands. I was tempted to pull him close and try to soothe away all the hurt I'd stupidly caused. "I'm sorry Jake."

"Stop apologizing. I've heard it enough and I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready to forgive you." He slammed down his bottle on the bar and turned to face me. "I've messed up too by not listening to that little voice in my head that told me I should stick around and wait to talk to you because deep down I knew you didn't mean what you'd said. It was a stupid misunderstanding. Yes, I was hurt and I reacted to that hurt but, you were scared and your emotions were heightened. We were both in the wrong."

I took his hands in my shaking ones. "You're willing to forgive me?"

"Yes. I can't ever forget what happened but I'm trying to put it behind me and I hope we can start fresh." He rubbed his thumbs over the backs of my hands and a little thrill ran through me at the touch. "I'm crazy about you and I'm not ready to throw what we have away if there's a chance we can learn to trust each other again and can make this work between us."

I released one of his hands and cupped his cheek, running my thumb over the dark circle beneath his eye. "I'm crazy about you too. I'd be an idiot to mess this up again because I hated how empty and meaningless my life was while you were gone. I realized just how much you mean to me, how much I love you. I'm going to prove to you just how special you are and how much you mean to me, and then I'm going to spend the rest of my life loving you because you deserve nothing less."

Jake's eyes misted over and he blinked rapidly to disperse the unshed tears. "You're making it really hard for me to stay even a little pissed off with you. I didn't want to give in to you too easily. I promised my dad that we weren't going back to the way things were yet." He sighed. "All I want to do though is fall into your arms and have you hold me until everything else melts away and I can pretend that everything is okay again."

"It's okay to want to be held. I know it'll take time to mend us, but I really want to hold you too." Jake threw himself into my arms with a whimper and I held him tight, afraid to let him go again in case he didn't come back this time. "I'll earn your trust again Jake but you don't need to earn mine. I know you didn't mean any harm when you kept my mother's secret."

His arms tightened around me and I could feel a wet patch blooming on my shoulder through the material of my jumper. I sometimes forgot how young Jake really was but it was never more evident than it was right now. "I'm here Jake and I'm not going away ever again, not unless you force me away." I could feel him trembling in my arms.

"I don't want to force you away. I don't want you to ever leave me again. I don't ever want to hurt like that ever again." He clung tightly to the back of my shirt and buried his face deeper in my neck. Through the corner of my eye I could see that we were drawing attention from the other customers in the bar but I ignored them.

"Look at me Jake." I sat up straight and tried to push him back slightly so I could see his face but he turned his head away from me. I caught his chin in my fingers and turned him to look at me. His eyes were red and swollen and he looked so fragile. "I'll never let anything or anyone hurt you from this moment on, not even me." I kissed the tip of his nose and reached across the bar for a serviette to dry his eyes. I dabbed at his cheeks softly removing the tears that were still falling.

"I want to give us a chance," he whispered.

"Then come out with me again." He nodded enthusiastically and I smiled. "Tomorrow night?" I didn't even want to wait that long to see him again but I would. 

A/N: The story is not over yet there's more to come :)