Just Because (Interracial BWWM)

Chapter 6

Braelyn looked at her outfit in the full length mirror. She absolutely hated it!

When Duke had told her to come over, she had been skeptic. He had a reputation. But, all throughout class, he'd surprised her. He was smart. He made her laugh, even when she didn't want to. He wasn't a forceful flirt, either. He'd drop little 'baby's or 'sweetheart's, but other than that, he was just a regular guy.

Braelyn had to admit that when he wasn't flirting with her, she would miss it. She wasn't sure what that meant, but she wasn't going to overthink anything. Especially not with Duke.

Or Jake.

He had been acting strangely in the parking lot. Braelyn had been super excited to see him, but it had been kind of odd. She really couldn't put a name to it, though. Not that it mattered, really. She was trying to get him out of her head. He had a girlfriend, whom she still had not met, and she wouldn't interfere with that.

Sighing, Braelyn turned back to the mirror, studying her hair. She really needed a haircut. Her hair had gotten to the center of her neck. An inch or so below her ear. That contested as too long for her liking. Right now, she wore a plain t shirt and some skinnys. She didn't want it to look as though she'd been overthinking something that wasn't even a date. But she was overthinking it. She wanted to look nice. Hell, she wanted to look good. Even if she was still uneasy about Duke, he was absolutely gorgeous.

He was so tall, with broad shoulders. His dark blonde hair hung around his ears, and he looked like he had permanent helmet hair from his Baseball cap. And his eyes.... so big and brown. She like when he laughed. The skin around his eyes would crinkle in the cutest way. And his smile-

'Cut it out!' She scolded herself. She wouldn't gush over him. He was a baseball player. Not just that, he lived in Glenville. Everything about him screamed douche-bag Jock boy, who was so used to getting everything he ever wanted. So why should she get worked up over it? Why should she get all dressed up to hang out with him?

Yet, here she was, clothes splayed all over her floor. She wanted to find something that made it look as though she hadn't tried to be breathtaking, but she did look astonishing.

Her cellphone began to ring somewhere under the mountain of clothes, so she searched for it. Finally finding it, she put it up to her ear.

"Hello?" She answered, not looking at the caller ID.

"Hey, Braelyn?"

Her heart began to race rapidly at the sound of Jacob's voice. "Hey, what's up?" She was surprised by how stable her voice sounded because her heart felt as though it would burst.

Jake paused for awhile before he said anything. "How was school?"

Braelyn laughed, "It was fine, Jake, what's this about?"

"Nothing," his voice sounded a bit shakey. "Can't I just call you to say 'hey'?"

Now she knew something was up. "No, you actually can not. You hate calling people, you told me that once. So for you to call me means you've got something important to say. So, spit it out, silly."

There was another pause, and, for a moment, Braelyn thought Jake had hung up.

"Hello?"

"Yea, I'm here." He replied.

"So.....?" Braelyn was becoming anxious.

"I-uh-I just wanted to know what name of the movie you and Duke were going to watch tonight was." he replied lamely.

Braelyn knew that that wasn't the reason he called. "You're going to have to come up with a better excuse than that."

"What'swithyouandDuke?" he said so quickly that she almost missed it.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he fumbled, "are y'all- I mean do you- is there something going on between y'all. Do you like him?"

"Why?" Braelyn questioned. "Did he tell you to ask me that?"

"No." Jake sounded stressed to the max. "Do you?"

Brae paused, not really sure what to say. Truth be told, yea, a little. But what if that sent Jake a message telling him not to try? That she was unavailable?

'He's unavailable.' She had to keep reminding herself of that. Jacob had a girlfriend. He wasn't waiting for her, so why should she wait for him?

"Yea, I guess I do." She finally answered the question.

"I see." Jake said.

"Why?" Braelyn asked again.

"Why do you like him?"

Braelyn paused, not really sure if ahe could answer that question. Honestly, she wasn't really she why she liked him. "I guess-"

"Nevermind." he said all of a sudden. "Forget I asked. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Before she could reply, he hung up the phone. Braelyn blinked, stating at her phone incredulously.

What the hell?

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Hey guys!!!! So, I'm SO SORRY for how long it's been since my last update. And I know this isn't much, but I'm just getting back into the groove. I've had a major road block these past few Weeks, and haven't had any inspiration. But, it's back now, so I should be bringing updates regularly again. What did y'all think of this chapter? It's really the only time since the first chapter we've seen much interaction between Braelyn and Jake directly. Leave your comments, concerns, and criticisms. I live for the feedback(: Until next time!!!! XOXOXOXO