Mission B.R.E.A.K.U.P.

Chapter 14

~Chapter 14~

It was futile to deny it anymore. She was in love with Jake Walters. She smiled as for the umpteenth time that day, the thought flitted through her mind. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. He had a strange hold over her. He brought out a side of her no one had been lucky enough to even see, let alone induce.

Whenever he walked by she found herself getting nervous. She would stammer. She! Emma Ralph, who managed to remain unaffected by all found herself biting her lip nervously when he passed by.

It was therefore all the more heart-breaking for her to think that he had been ignoring her for two whole days now. He refused to talk to her or even acknowledge her. She had tried to make conversation but he would simply shrug, give short replies and walk away.

Why had she been such an idiot? How had she hurt him like that? She knew he wasn’t in love with her but he had obviously been hurt by her outright rejection and disgust at finding herself in bed with him. For all she remembered of that night, she might have been the one to start the whole affair herself.

The fact that the wedding was the next day luckily helped distract her from her melancholy as she found herself swamped with work. She was running around the house ensuring it was all perfect. Today was the rehearsal dinner and she hadn’t even had a minute to sit down. It was to be at home and she was to handle the décor for this as well. She was just inspecting the table cloths when Cheryl approached her.

“Oh Emma, they’re beautiful!” Cheryl said admiringly.

“You think so?” Emma asked uncertainly, “I would prefer a more pastel shade, don’t you think?”

Cheryl hugged her, “You work too hard! Thank you so much for this Emma. It means a lot!”

Emma smiled. Cheryl was starting to grow on her and she found she really liked her. Cheryl beamed at her and walked back to the garden where some of her friends were waiting for her. Emma sighed. What with all this work, it was going to be a long day.

Emma put in a little extra effort that night. She wore a red sleeveless and backless dress that reached the floor and trailed behind her when she walked. She left her hair untied and let it flow down her back and shoulders. She wore her silver Jimmy Choo stilettos and a silver bracelet in her right hand.

When she went out, she received numerous compliments on not only her outfit but also the décor. Everything was beautifully done. However she remained slightly distracted all evening. She couldn’t find Jake anywhere. When she saw him at last, she was disappointed to see him engaged in a conversation with Grace. Uncomfortably she watched them, internally wincing at the smiles and jokes they shared. She walked past them on purpose a few times hoping they would notice. Or more specifically, he would notice. But he didn’t even seem to care. Where was Ethan? She finally spotted him having champagne looking sulkily out the window.

She approached him cautiously, “Hey Ethan!”

He glanced up at her and frowned.

“Hey.” He replied sulkily.

“Are you ok?” she asked. All she wanted to tell him was to get his girlfriend away from Jake.

He sighed, “I have no idea why I’m telling you this, but Grace and I broke up.”

Emma stared at him dumbfounded for a while.

“I’m so sorry. What happened?” she asked when she managed to find her tongue.

“Apparently she’s still in love with her ex.”

Emma felt her heart sink as she stared at him.

“But- I-” she stammered unsure of what to say.

“Don’t worry. Jake’s a good guy. He wouldn’t cheat on you,” Ethan dismissed taking a gulp of champagne, “But I can’t help what Grace feels.”

“Ethan I’m sorry. You should enjoy tonight though. Let’s dance,” She said feeling sorry for her moping ex.

He snorted sarcastically, “Are you kidding me? I can’t wait for tomorrow just so I can get out of here.”

“Ethan please. I feel terrible leaving you like this,” she said taking his hand and leading him to the dance floor.

He clumsily wrapped his arm around her waist and they danced for a while. She felt genuinely bad for him and so tried to cheer him up with conversations and gossip of their mutual friends as they chatted while dancing. She found herself feeling quite comfortable with him and she actually enjoyed herself. So did he apparently, because he leaned close and whispered a thank you into her ear as the song ended before he walked away to sit with a few of his friends.

She couldn’t believe she had done that. But it felt good. Letting go of grudges and putting behind bad experiences really made her feel so much more at ease.

Jake watched as she danced with Ethan. He watched his arm on her bare back and it made him want to punch a wall. She looked gorgeous tonight. So much so that it physically hurt him to look at her and yet he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. He forced himself to so that he could listen to Grace talk. She had approached him that evening asking if he would be her date for the night. Just as a friend of course, since Emma would be too busy with the arrangements to actually attend the party as a guest. He had agreed as he was certainly not taking Emma. Not after what had happened between them. The woman he was quickly falling for hated him and he could not blame her.

Grace told him Ethan and she had broken up but she had avoided telling him the reason why. He hadn’t pushed her for it either. After all, it was none of his business. But now he secretly wished they hadn’t because then he wouldn’t have to see Emma in that man’s arms looking as happy as she did.

After the toast by the best man and maid of honour, as the evening came to an end, all the guests retired to the room except for a few who helped volunteer to clean up. Emma herself went upstairs to change before she would come down again too. He walked behind her and felt a lump in his throat as he watched her climb the stairs in front of him, flipping her hair to the side to take off her earrings as she walked, allowing him a view of her back uncovered before him.

She clearly hadn’t noticed him, as she started fiddling with the zipper on her dress as she neared her bedroom door. She tugged hard but it was clearly stuck. Clearly upset, she tugged harder but the zip didn’t budge.

“Darn it!” he heard her say under her breath. She opened her bedroom door to go in and try again and when she finally looked up to reach for the doorknob, she saw him.

She gasped and seemed to pale when she did. He pretended to ignore her as he walked past her into his room. Just as he was about to close the door she called out to him.

“Jake my zipper’s stuck. Could- could you help me?” she asked timidly.

He shrugged coldly as he closed the door roughly. “Ask Cheryl or someone.”

He turned around and leaned against his door letting out an exhausted sigh. He knew if he unzipped her dress, he would never be able to reign himself in. It would only be the first article of clothing he would get off her that night.