Chapter Nine- You belong with me
It’s now been almost two months since that day at the beach with Luke. During those two months, our relationship grew so much stronger and I find myself falling harder for Luke every single day.
I finally reconnected with Daniel and James and all six of us are just as close as we used to be. Honestly- I see at least one of the boys every single day. Beau has turned out to be my second big brother; he’s always there when I need him and he’s the one who can make me laugh until I feel abs coming in just from doing something stupid. Daniel’s the one who I go to when I need ‘advice’…not by choice, but because he told me that he wants to start a book on deep and meaningful quotes and he wants to try them out on actual people before he puts it on paper. James is a total sweetheart and is usually my shoulder to cry on when Luke isn’t with me. And Jai is the one who I’m closest to besides Luke. Even before I moved- I always levitated towards him, we just seemed to get along the best. But recently I’ve noticed him beginning to become distant from me. Like sometimes when I’m with Luke and we walk into a room where Jai is, he’ll get up and leave really suddenly. I haven’t talked to him about it- but it’s starting to hurt my feelings a bit…does he not want to be around me anymore? Or is mine and Luke’s relationship just getting on his nerves?
I’ve started my first semester in year 11 at Penola, and I’ve settled in fairly well. I’ve made other friends besides the boys and they’re absolutely amazing and so welcoming. Their names are Maddy, Jess and Eleanor. I’ve actually known Jess since preschool- but we were never really friends. So far, my life is finally becoming balanced again and my happiness is increasing every day. I’m just thankful for what I have.
Today I woke up with a sudden jolt and looked at my clock. It read 8:00am. Thinking it was a Friday; I quickly pushed the covers off of my bed and ran towards the bathroom, not wanting to miss the bus for school. It took me a good three minutes before I realised that I was Saturday…
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I mumbled as I dragged myself back to my bed and settled back into the covers.
After half an hour of not being able to sleep, I decided to get up and go down stairs to make the family breakfast since no one else was up yet.
I walked into the reasonably large kitchen and opened the pantry doors. I got out all the ingredients that I needed for pancakes and prepared the batter. It only took me about twenty minutes to finish it all, including the cooking time, and still no one was awake yet; so I grabbed two pancakes for myself and sat down on the couch- turning the TV on to Spongebob.
I finished eating, so I decided to get out my iPhone and go on Tumblr. A while later, I got a text from Luke asking me if I wanted to come over. I said yes, and went upstairs to get ready since I told him I’d be there in just fifteen minutes.
I got dressed a pair of dark wash denim shorts, an oversized cream coloured knit throwover and a pair of black ballet flats. I decided not to put on that much make up, just foundation and mascara, grabbed my phone while leaving a note for my parents and left the house. I walked down my street for a couple of minutes before I arrived at the Brooks household.
I didn’t even have time to knock on the door before it opened and Luke came out, engulfing me in a bear hug.
“Well hello to you too!” I laughed as Luke kissed me and let go of the death grip he had around my waist
“So what do you have planned for today?” I said while smiling up at him.
“Well just for you, I organised a picnic for us!”
“Aw well aren’t you just the best boyfriend ever” I giggled slightly
“You know it!” Luke winked at me and led me into his and Jai’s room.
Jai was already in there on his laptop. He saw Luke and I enter the room and looked uneasy. Luke left the room to do some last minute preparations for the picnic with Gina in the kitchen, and Jai was almost about to leave too- but I stopped him before he could go anywhere.
“Ok, now you have to tell me what’s going on sooner or later.” I looked at Jai
“What are you talking about?” Jai looked even more uneasy being in a room alone with me; he’s never been like this before- ever.
“You know what I mean! You’ve pretty much been avoiding me for the past week! What have I done to upset you?”
“No! You’ve done nothing wrong, it’s just…nevermind- it’s nothing.” Jai looked down at his feet and shuffled around awkwardly while I continued to stare at him, trying to get some answers.
“Jai, it’s obviously nothing if you can’t even be in a room with me anymore!”
“Look- just leave it alone!” I was startled as Jai almost screamed at me
“Fine.” I crossed my arms, slightly taken back from his little outburst of emotion
“Dakota…” I could tell Jai regretting shouting at me- I could tell by the look in his eyes.
“What?” I snapped at him, turning to face him
Jai took three steps forward and before I knew what he was doing, he planted his lips on mine. It took me a few seconds to realise what was happening. I didn’t kiss back, but I stayed there in shock. I quickly pushed him away as the thought of Luke appeared in the back of my mind. I didn’t say anything to Jai, I didn’t even look at him after the kiss- I just silently walked out of the room and went straight to the bathroom.
I looked at myself in the mirror and tried to make the redness leave my face. I couldn’t believe what just happened. What did the kiss mean? Jai knows that Luke and I are in a relationship and out of the blue he just decides to kiss me?! I knew that I had to tell Luke, but I didn’t want to ruin the day that he had planned for us. And even more importantly, I didn’t want to put a strain on their relationship- I hated it when the boys fought. But I had to tell him. I didn’t know how I could keep a secret this big from the one I loved the most. Luke had a right to know…it was just a matter of finding enough courage for me to come out and say it. I was just worried about what he’d say. Would he be mad at me too?
I put my head in my hands as I tried to comprehend the sticky situation I just got myself into.
“If you could see that I’m the one who understands you, been here all along so why can’t you see, you belong with me, you belong with me.”
