Pleasure

Chapter Sixteen

Aria

I watch as Jacob's car speeds up and pulls in front of me. He exits the car and shoots a worried look to me. I stand up from the curb and stare back at him.

"What's wrong, are you okay?" He searches my body for any signs of injury or harm.

"I'm fine, Jacob. Why do you look so worried?" I ask, grabbing his arm to calm him. He looks down at my arm, then frantically around. He inhales deeply before returning to a regular breathing pattern.

"Are you okay?" He asks. His posture relaxes as he stares down at me, calmer.

"I'm fine, I just wanted you to come get me. I walked here to get my mind off things, but on the way I hurt my ankle and it's sort of hard to walk." He looks down at my ankle and examines it with a hard look. He wraps his arm around my waist and puts my arm over his shoulder.

"Let's take you home then," he smiles and starts walking me to his car.

"Wait," I jolt to a stop. "Can we go somewhere else? I sort of don't want to go home yet."

He smiles down at me and nods. We walk to his car and he slides me into the passenger side. He trots over to his side and gets in. He silently starts the car and we pull off.

"My dad's back." I blurt out randomly, staring out the window.

"Was he ever gone?" Jacob asks, looking over to me. I remember I never told him about my father. I never told him anything, really. I only asked questions about him.

"Yeah, he was in the military. Well, he still is, but he came to surprise my mom and I." I smile, still touched by his gesture. Jacob looks over at me and pinches his lips together, peacefully watching me.

"Well that's good, Aria." He smiles and squeezes the wheel.

"Are you okay?" He looks uneasy, which makes me uneasy. "I hope I didn't scare you with that fun fact about my dad."

Jacob laughs and glances at me. "No, of course not. I just . . . you worried me when you told me to get you." He explains, looking dead ahead.

"Why?"

"I don't know," he smirks. "I just worry about you Aria. I don't know, I feel like I have to protect you because . . . I don't know." He trails off, biting his lip. He drops his hand on his thigh and wipes it back and forth on his jeans.

I smile, because I find it cute that he feels the need to look out for me. I reach for his hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. He overlaps his hand on mine and brings it to his lips before pecking it.

"I'm gonna take you somewhere." He smiles and kisses the back of my hand again.

After about 20 minutes of driving around, he takes me to a secluded area with a bunch of trees. I ask him where we are but he doesn't answer. He exits the car and walks over to my side before helping me get up and out.

We walk through the trees before coming along a patch of green area. I look up and see a break in the trees, staring up at the night sky. He props me against a tree before walking through the bushes. He pulls out a woven basket and sets it down on the ground in front of him. He pulls out a blanket and lays it on the ground.

"Come here," he smiles and helps me to the blanket. I lay down and stare up at the stars. He lays down next to me.

"Where do you find these places?" I smile, looking over to him.

"I don't know, I walk around all the time." He puts his hands behind his head and takes a deep breath in. "I like to find quiet places to think about stuff."

"Stuff like what?" I ask, keeping my gaze on him. He lets his mouth droop before stretching back to its normal shape. He shrugs his shoulders slightly. "Jacob, why were you so worried about earlier?"

"I told you-" he starts, but I cut him off.

"I know what you said, but it looked like something more than that. I saw it in your eyes." He sighs and rolls on his side, now facing me.

"I don't know, Aria. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. I want you to be safe, all the time. I want to spend every second with you and if those seconds aren't happy then I want to do anything to make them happy." He takes a thumb and strokes my cheek softly. "You couldn't possibly understand the things I feel for you, Aria." He whispers, staring into my eyes.

I smile and take his hands into mine. "I'm starting to get an idea." He pulls his lips tight and lets them slide upwards. He pecks my lips and pulls away.

A frown suddenly comes across his face and he tries to hide it. I begin to think about days before this with the whole Courtney situation.

"Can I ask you something?" He nods, hesitating. "What was Courtney talking about, when she said you can't keep something a secret."

Jacobs sighs and rolls back over. "I told you, don't worry about her."

"Jacob,"

He doesn't look at me this time, he just stares up at the sky. I say his name again, softer and more sincere.

"Aria, if I told you half the things I knew, you would never want to speak to me again."

"For the last time, you don't scare me."

"But that's the thing," he instantly rolls on top of me and props up his elbows. He looks down at me, continuing to speak. "You can say you're not scared all you want but I know for a fact you'll think differently. You're too innocent and too fragile to live through my horrors. And I'm not risking that. I'm not risking scaring you away."

"We all have secrets, Jacob."

"Mine are more than secrets." He hisses. "I'm just telling you to be patient, Aria, please. I will tell you when I'm ready. I just need to know you'll be ready too."

I want to fight this. I want to argue and tell him I'm ready. I want to prove it to him. I feel inferior. I don't feel so flattered anymore about him wanting to protect me. But there's an urge inside of me that makes me bite my tongue. I almost feel sorry for him. That's only because he thinks I will be scared away. I see fear behind his eyes and he doesn't want anyone else to notice that. He's hurt but he doesn't want to put that pain onto me. I like him and I'm not sure he understands that. I haven't been with many guys in my life, but Jacob is definitely different. And I'm not sure why, but I keep coming back to him. We're two completely opposite people, but I feel like I'll always come back to him.

So when he says he doesn't want to scare me away, my mind runs amock when I think of the horrors he's been through...