Pieces of Love

Chapter 33

The encounter with my parents that evening went surprisingly well. Jacob's parents had phoned my parents the moment I stepped out of their house after Jacob's study session. My dad was generally accepting of Jacob, but trying to convince my mum was the main problem. She had the old-school mind-set that girls wasn't allowed to date until they were twenty-one, and seeing that I was seven years younger than the supposed age limit, you could see why my mum wasn't as keen. Another reason of hers was my growing violin 'career', as she was the person that encouraged me to learn the violin in the first place. Being with Jacob would have been a distraction, but all it took were a few promises and a lot of persuasion to finally make her accept me and Jacob.

Now that all of the obstacles preventing Jacob and I from being something more than friends have been hurdled past, I felt extremely nervous. My boyfriend was freaking Jacob Lynch, talented piano player, probable future captain of the varsity soccer team, and 3.5 GPA scorer. But most importantly, he was my former best friend, a person that could read me and understand me. He was a person that has been through ups and downs with me, and has seen me at my weakest and strongest. By being his girlfriend, I was exposing myself even more to him. I was opening my heart to another person, and yes I was nervous, but I wasn't scared.

Tom was now a thing of the past, but I couldn't help but feel grateful to him for helping me to realise my feelings for Jacob. If I hadn't seen him that day, I wouldn't have realised that Jacob was the one that I needed all along. Of course, I was still going to have to see him in school, a reminder of all the heartbreak he had put me through, but it has helped me in the long run.

On Sunday, Jacob settled on a day for our first date via a phone call. It may seem unromantic, I know, but I would rather have preferred not having him see the prominent blush that appeared on my cheeks the moment he mentioned our upcoming date. He planned the date on the following Saturday, which seemed like a century away, in replacement of our usual study sessions. Jacob had been really secretive about it, refusing to tell me the details even though I had pestered him. The only clue he gave me was to dress casual, which ruled out expensive dinner dates, something that I wasn't really a fan of, ever since going out with Isaac.

***

To my surprise, the week flew by amidst all of our heavy school workload, and I found myself tossing and turning around in my bed on Friday night, unable to get a wink of sleep due to the heavy beating of my heart. The clothes that I had carefully picked out hung on the back of my desk chair, a pastel pink V-neck shirt, high-waist white denim shorts and a navy blue varsity jacket. The neon green digits on the digital clock on my bedside table showed the time: twelve o' seven am. It was only at twelve thirty-four did I manage to fall asleep.

At ten o'clock the next day, I stood at the entrance of the local park, waiting for Jacob to show himself. I looked down at my sandal-clad feet for the umpteenth time, and then checked the time on my phone. Ten minutes later, I spotted a tall figure racing towards me, a brown paper bag swinging from his hand. As Jacob neared me, with his unkempt hair and his frantic expression, I couldn't help but giggle a high pitched sound unlike me. Punctuality had never been Jacob's forte, but I had a feeling the paper bag was the reason for his lateness.

"What's in there?" I asked and Jacob grinned.

"It's a surprise," he said, rubbing the top of my head affectionately, effectively messing up my loose wavy hair. I punched him lightly on the arm, making a sound of annoyance, before proceeding to fix it. Then, Jacob reached out and took my hand, interlacing my fingers with his. With a slight tug, he pulled me along after him. Jacob led me through the park, which looked beautiful in the morning light. It was a light and breezy day, something that was starting to become rare now that summer was approaching. The air smelled fresh, a contrast to the smoking fumes of the city centre of Sans Francisco.