Tempted Hearts (bxb)

Chapter 8 - Our Secrets

Before Clueless could even come to an end, Lilly had fallen asleep in her purple beanbag, looking like she'd just been out for a few too many and then passed out. It was adorable, she was honestly helpless when it came to controlling her tiredness. I just really hoped that she didn't start sleep-talking. Then we'd be in for some really weird conversations.

I felt incredibly uneasy. We were sitting, watching the ending of Clueless and only one of us wanted to watch it. I didn't want him to feel like I was forcing him to stay. I was actually kind of hoping that he'd just get up and leave already so that I didn't have to feel the horrible bundle of emotions going on inside me.

"Ah, to be fair, I kinda saw that ending coming," Jake broke the silence. It turns out that he was actually paying attention and not just dying inside, which sent a small wave of relief through me.

"I think it's still weird that they're kind of legally related."

"Yeah, well... I mean it's Paul Rudd so."

"True," I replied, getting off the bean bag to signal that I was officially done with the night, ready to fall asleep just like Lilly had done.

Jake then got up, too. "I think I'll let Emily have my bed tonight," he sighed, staring down at the ground.

"So you're gonna sleep on the sofa?" I asked, pretty pissed off that Emily decided to storm out, come back in and expect to take her newly-found boyfriend's bed.

He nodded slowly. "Best thing I can do in this situation," he added, picking up the empty bowls of snacks and stacking them. I helped him, grabbing other empty popcorn boxes and such, following him downstairs into the kitchen and throwing them into the bin.

"Well, shit... Are you going to bed?" Jake asked me.

"Yeah, I don't wanna be tired for tomorrow," I replied. "You?"

He hesitated. "I dunno. I think I'll go for a walk or something," he said, casually, as if it were a normal thing to do at that time of night.

"A walk? It's like half-past eleven."

"I know. Sometimes I take midnight walks just to... like refresh my mind I guess? I dunno."

I wanted to call him crazy but, the more I thought about it, the more therapeutic it sounded. He did live in a nice area, so it made sense... to a certain extent. It was Jake, after all, anything was possible with him.

"Oh, cool. Isn't that scary?"

"Nah, I ain't afraid of the dark." He grinned, slipping his hands into his jumper's pockets.

"I'm not scared of the dark--you just scared me." My attempts to defend myself resulted in a flushing feeling through my cheeks.

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Do you wanna come with?"

I honestly thought he'd never ask. "Sure"

I got back into the clothes that I had worn the day that I arrived at Lilly's since I did want something a little less revealing to wear outside, in public.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready," I replied.

He opened the front door and we both stepped outside together. A fresh breeze of cool air swept over me. It was a little chilly but definitely not cold. As I looked up, the starry night sky glimmered above us, and the last of the purple glow had finally sunk. There are some things in life that we all forget about from time to time and that was definitely one of them. It was cloudless and peaceful. A perfect night for a stroll.

When we got out onto the streets, I automatically went to walk on the path but Jake walked straight into the middle of the road. He then tilted his head to look at me. "C'mon, you think anyone drives around here at this time of night?"