The excitement in Jake’s eyes mirrored my own. His caresses began on my face. His mouth was soft. Savoring each kiss, his lips brushed over every part of my face. Hungrily, my mouth reached for his, hoping to kiss him, but he gently grazed my lips and moved on. Gentle. This word best described Jake’s every move tonight. In earnest resolve—a synonym if there ever was one—he moved ever so slowly and gently for me.
Repeating his earlier steps of unbuttoning my dress, his lips stopped traveling and my body lay still. His eyes stayed glued on mine. I briefly thought about my mom. What would she have said, if I told her what I wanted to do tonight? I wasn’t sure if she would have encouraged me or discouraged me. My mind also drifted to my conscience. As much as my body desired to love and be loved, there was a part of me—unsettled—like I was betraying myself in some way. When my mind came back to the moment at hand, I realized Jake had begun redressing me. He gazed lovingly into my eyes.
“Jake?” I whispered his name. “What’s the matter?”
“Emily, I’m content to just be with you tonight. We don’t have to do anything else.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Sweetheart, as difficult as this is for me, I want to keep you as you are until we get married—and trust me, we will get married.”
“Jake…I’m OK. I want to do this for you…with you. I’d like to be with you tonight.” No matter how much I wanted to sound confused, his intentions were clear.
“Emily, I’m going to honor your wishes. That’s how much I love you,” he answered with regret written all over his face.
Almost every part of me wanted to be with Jake. He must have somehow read that tiny part of me that regretted saying yes. I loved Jake for knowing me so well. I loved him for wanting to help me keep my promise to myself and to my mom, no matter how difficult it was for him. But most of all, I loved him for loving me so much. Tonight I knew, if ever I were to walk down the aisle, he would be the one at the altar waiting for me. I knew that’s how much I loved him.
My eyes opened to a frantic thought. Road trip. Oh my gosh, I wasn’t ready to leave, and all my friends would be waiting for me at the house.
“Jake, Jake! I have to go. I haven’t packed for my road trip and we’re leaving in half an hour.”
“What? You’re going somewhere?” This was a change. He sounded groggy and I was wide awake at six in the morning.
“I’m going to Vegas to watch the football game with my college friends, remember? I have to leave right now.”
“Don’t go. Stay with me.” He held me prisoner in his arms—a happy prisoner. “How am I to go several days without seeing your beautiful face?”
“Jake, let’s be real. You won’t see me for three days whether or not I’m in town. I don’t think Chief Reid is going to let you leave the hospital for a week at least.”
“Stay a little longer. I’ll fly you out to Vegas later today.”
“No. I have to go. Sarah will be waiting. I’m getting up and leaving, OK?”
“Should I come with you?”
“No. Stay in bed.”
“I mean to Vegas.”
“Jake. Don’t be silly. I’ll call you later. I love you.” I ran out the door and rushed home.
Chapter 8 Road Trip
Within minutes I was home, showered, and packed in time for my friends to arrive. Though I didn’t want to be away from Jake, I looked forward to seeing my friends again.
Ding Dong! Ding Dong! 6:30a.m. Right on time. I was looking forward to spending some time with Sarah and getting her caught up on all the craziness of the last five days. She would be able to help me focus and sort out my feelings. I opened the door and to my surprise, it was Jake.
“Good morning, my love.” Jake planted a kiss on my lips. “I wanted to stop by and see your face before you left.”
“Didn’t you just see my face? Didn’t we see each other the whole night?”
“Love, I’ve never slept as well as I did last night. We’re going to have to have more slumber parties.” He grinned at me. “Here, I brought you your favorite breakfast.” He handed me an almond croissant and a latte. My stomach growling, I was grateful for the food. “How did you sleep last night? You claim you don’t sleep too well outside of your own bed.” He obviously doubted my original claim.
This was a tough question to answer. In all honesty, last night was the best night’s sleep—ever! It felt so right to be with him in his bed, to be held by the man who adored me. But, if I admitted this to him, he would want to sleep together every night, and I didn’t think I could resist the temptation. I had fallen once only to be rescued by Jake of all people. Next time he would not be such a Good Samaritan.
“Well? How did you sleep?”
“I’m going to plead the fifth on your question.”
“Why? Could it be because you enjoyed it as much as I did?” His lips slowly widened to a grin.
“No comment,” I answered with a grin of my own. “Don’t you need to get to the hospital early and prep or something?”