Love Realized (The Real Love Series)

chapter FOURTEEN

Thud … thud … thud … Jake couldn’t figure out who was pounding on his head. He tried to open his eyes and see, but the sharp, stabbing sensation that hit his poor eyeballs was too much to handle. Slamming his lids shut, he turned his head to the side in hopes of getting away from the source, but that only made his stomach pitch and roll. He broke out in a sweat and attempted to keep the need to vomit under control. Lying there, with his eyes closed, he took slow, steady breaths—in the nose and out the mouth. The less movement he made, the better he felt. He really did a number on himself last night. Good ol’ Jack Daniels … Ugh! Just throw up and get it over with, you’d feel better.

“You’re right … you would feel better once you throw up and get it over with.”

Okay, so maybe I'm still a little drunk since I seem to be answering myself now. This time, though, the voice didn’t respond to a comment, it gave instructions.

“There’s a trash can next to your bed, and a sports drink and pain killers on the nightstand. Are you going to be able to get yourself up and in the shower, or are you going to need help?”

Great, the voice in my head was Gillian’s … well isn’t that just a kick in the balls? He attempted to roll toward the side of the bed again.

“Why the hell would my voice, in your head, be like a kick in the balls, Jake Michaels?”

What the …

His eyes shot open and landed straight on the woman who possessed the voice, and who happened to look amused at his state of distress. His stomach did a complete nosedive before leaping into his throat. Of course, the mother and nurse in her recognized the signs, grabbed him by the nape of his neck and pushed him toward the trashcan she had lovingly placed next to his bed. As he emptied the contents of his stomach, it took him a split second of embarrassment to realize this was not how he wanted her to see him. But then, the convulsing of his stomach distracted him from everything else as he fought, once again, to gain some control.

Once the heaving started to calm down, a wet hand towel appeared in front of him and pressed against his face, and he felt the bed dip from the weight of someone gently sitting down. Fortunately, it didn’t make his stomach revolt. He cautiously rolled to his back with the hand towel covering his face as his embarrassment set in. He groaned out loud at the thought that he just puked in front of the woman he wanted to be with.

“Now that your stomach is empty, take these and drink this. I’ll be right back.” He felt her hand place the pills in his, but he quickly grabbed on to it and gave it a squeeze.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I figured you would need them after Ryan told me you were sleeping in your clothes and shoes. Then I saw the half empty bottle on the counter.” Jake pulled the towel half way down his face to look at her as he realized Gillian had just told him that his son witnessed him in this condition.

“Don’t worry, I told him that you didn’t feel very well last night so you must have fallen asleep with your shoes on. He didn’t see the bottle, I put it away.” She finished her sentence off with a smile, knowing exactly what he had been thinking. He settled back down, and she gave his hand another gentle squeeze before slowly standing up from the bed. As she leaned back down to remove the trashcan, Jake put his hand out to stay her.

“Oh dear God, please do not take that out … this is already humiliating, I don’t need to add you cleaning up after me to the list.”

She just shook her head at him. “I seem to recall a really cool friend of mine holding my hair back a few months ago when I was puking. Was that you, or did I just repay the favor to the wrong guy? Because that would really suck. Besides, I do this for a living, and I'm a mom … it means nothing to me.”

But he truly thought that was totally different since she was only getting sick because she was so upset. She had managed to cry so much that she had made herself sick. All he did was hold her hair back and pick her back up off the floor when she was done. She had needed him. He was getting sick because he acted like an idiot and didn’t handle something very well. Although he didn’t agree that it was a favor she needed to pay him back for, he relented on the topic and just nodded his head at her.

She accepted his nod with one of her own, ending the conversation on that topic before she made her way toward the hall. Jake couldn’t help but watch her as she walked. She turned and looked at him, gave him one of her smiles and said, “And when I get back, you can tell me what the hell happened to your hand.” Then she walked out of the room, trashcan in hand.

His hand? At the mention of his hand he automatically flexed it, and the pain that shot through his knuckles gripped him. He lifted it up from where it had been holding the wet towel on his face and took a look at it. It was just as he had expected. There was some dried blood, a moderate amount of swelling and broken skin. Thankfully, though, he didn’t think any bones were broken. He quickly popped the pain medication in his mouth before taking a cautious sip of the sports drink. When his stomach seemed to handle it well, he drank half the glass. His body was clearly dehydrated from his evening activities, which, unfortunately was not how he had planned to spend it.

He remembered the events from last night that led to him punching a wall in front of Allie, which was something he regretted doing, simply because he shouldn’t have lost his temper like that. He tried to come up with a way to ask Gillian how her night went. He clearly needed to come up with a backup plan. Should he just tell her? Confess his love? He quickly decided that was a bad idea, especially in his current condition. It probably wasn’t the best way to go about revealing things. He decided to get up and shower, to wash the night off of him, and maybe clear his head a bit. He slowly stood and assessed his ailments: headache... yes; stomach ache … not so bad anymore; throbbing, swollen hand … absolutely.

Shower and icing his hand were first and foremost on the to-do list, followed by something simple for breakfast. Gillian had brought Ryan home, and he wouldn’t want his son to see him like this. That was unacceptable. He took a hesitant step toward his bathroom, fearing that his stomach might revolt again. Fortunately it didn’t, so he pressed on and made it through his shower with minimal issues. Well, excluding his hand, because that made things a little difficult as far as washing his hair and everything else was concerned. Oh well, you usually pay hard when you make dumb ass decisions.

Coming out of the bathroom, he made his way over to the night table to finish off the sports drink and noticed his phone sitting there. There were a few notifications there when he opened the screen, but one that really jumped at him. There was a text from Gillian from last night telling him she was thinking about him. Once again, his heart picked up in pace a little at the giddy feeling that gave him. Even though she had just gone on a date with another guy, she was thinking of him. Hope bloomed inside him while he finished getting dressed so he could get his day started.

When he walked out of his bedroom, he could hear the sounds of Dylan, Ryan, and Gillian in the kitchen. It sounded like they were setting the table. Jake walked out to see all three of them doing just that while the boys debated over who was going to sit where. “Where do you want to sit, Aunt Gillian?” Ryan asked. Jake noticed that his son looked excited to have Gillian there. Of course, he saw her all the time, but on most occasions, it was Jake and Ryan going over to her place. It was rare that she was here to eat a meal; she always seemed to be feeding them.

“I can sit anywhere you want me to, buddy. You decide,” Gillian replied as she busied herself, pulling some kind of takeout from a brown bag. She placed items on everybody’s plates and turned to see Jake.

“Hey you, how are you feeling?” she asked him as she made her way toward the freezer where she reached in and grabbed an icepack for him. Motioning for him to sit down, he took his usual seat at the table and the boys took theirs, leaving the seat next to Jake available. He noticed that his son took the seat on the other side of Gillian, and he once again picked up on his enjoyment of having Gillian there. Other than Jake’s mother, Gillian was the closest thing Ryan had to one. Although it made him a little sad to think his son may have been lacking something, he wouldn’t have it any other way, considering his biological mother would never have paid him any attention. Once seated, Gillian reached over and grabbed Jake’s injured hand and placed the icepack on top of it. He quickly winced from the tenderness and the cold as she expertly used an ace wrap to secure the pack in place, allowing him to still have some function of his hand.

“Serves you right. I'm pretty sure I know what you did to it, but what I don’t know is why. And I expect the full story later,” she said to him in a low tone with a pointed look.

A little embarrassed that he acted like a child, he just responded with a nod and said, “Thanks.”

She smiled back at him and said, “I ran out while you were in the shower.” Then she gestured to his plate. “I figured beans would be a bad idea this morning, but I got you the breakfast burrito and some rice instead.” Then she handed him a stack of cups containing hot sauce, and he almost melted. He loved that she knew his preference of hangover food. He loved that she was taking care of him. He loved having her here in his house. He loved her … bottom line. As he sat there and saw her interacting with the boys, treating them both the same, he knew that she loved Ryan as one of her own. It was perfect; they would be perfect together. He just needed to make her see it.

“Hey, you’ve got that faraway look in your eyes again... you okay?”

Jake snapped his attention back over to Gillian. The concern he saw on her face was heartwarming, and it only spurred him on. He was going to do this, and he was going to make this happen. The anticipation that overwhelmed him yesterday and then turned him into a crazy man when things fell apart was back. He reached over and gently laid his injured hand over hers, then gingerly wrapped his fingers around hers, as best as he could with the wrap on. He gave her hand a tiny reassuring squeeze before smiling at her and saying, “Couldn’t be better.”

When he probably should have let go and moved his hand back into his own personal space, he left it there. He hoped her perception of this move would be curiosity, and not awkward contact, as he glanced down at the sight of their hands. Aside from the bulging icepack and bandage, the sight of their joined hands thrilled him. He chanced a glance back up at her and found her watching him. Not being able to control his smile, he let her have it. The responding smile of hers was exactly what he had hoped for.

He kept his hand firmly in place, but he looked over at the boys. Ryan was looking at him inquisitively, and Dylan was busy stuffing his face. Jake gave his son a small nod to acknowledge he was aware he had questions, and that they would discuss it later. Ready to move on with the day, Jake asked, “So what’s on the agenda today, boys?” He proceeded to take a big bite of his burrito.

Both boys, who apparently shared a brain, said in unison, “We want to go to the batting cages today.” Jake and Gillian laughed at the boys. It was clear they had discussed this and planned a unified front to present to the adults.

Gillian spoke up first and said, “While I think that would a great thing to do today …” she motioned to Jake’s hand for the boys to look at. “We have an injured player in our midst.” She shrugged her shoulders in an “oh well” type gesture for the boys, but Jake knew he wanted to do it. He wanted to go to the batting cages with Gillian and the boys. What better way to start off his pursuit of her than in the same situation he first laid eyes on her … when she was swinging a bat? It was perfect.

“Nonsense, I don’t recall getting placed on the disabled list. I'm not benched, Coach. A little tape, and I can do it just fine,” he said with a smile before he continued to eat with one hand. Both boys erupted in victory cheers.

“Okay, tough guy, it’s your hand. Batting cages, it is. We just need to stop by our house for Dylan’s gear.” She took her hand out from under Jake’s and started to unwrap it. “All right boys, finish up your food, then you know the drill. Different house, same rules; I prepared, you clear.” And with that, both boys jumped and got busy, knowing that if they didn’t do what they were supposed to, their plans for the day would disappear.

As the boys made their way to the sink with the dishes from the table and began to load the dishwasher, Jake reveled in the domestic feeling this scenario gave him. Gillian continued to unwrap his hand and then cautiously removed the icepack. “It’s okay … it’s numb from the cold,” he reassured her as she examined his hand.

She nodded and said, “That may be the case now, but it won’t be in the batting cages in an hour. You sure you can do that? We can just promise to take them another time.”

“No, I told Ryan we would do what he wanted today. And that is apparently what they both want to do.”

“Okay, do you need help tying your shoes?” she asked with a smartass smile. Well, considering his humiliation of her seeing him vomit, help tying his shoes should be nothing. But he was still a guy and there was some serious pride involved. Then again, she would kind of be touching him, so he considered it, but realized he had to maintain some sense of dignity.

Letting out a small laugh, he said, “No thanks, I'm pretty sure you’ve done enough for me today. I’ll be right back.” He hurried to retrieve his shoes. His hangover was under control and practically forgotten at the thought of getting to spend the day with Gillian.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gillian watched as Jake practically skipped down the hall toward his bedroom. Okay, maybe he didn’t skip, but he sure looked giddy. Even though that was a little strange, she disregarded it, because that meant whatever he was upset with Allie about last night, must not be bothering him today. Well, the boys were excited, too, so it could just be the batting cages … the male species could be so weird. She laughed to herself as she stood and retrieved her purse and Jake’s keys from where she left them. She went to check her phone for messages and send one to Allie letting her know Jake was fine, but when she reached into her purse and dug around, she couldn’t find it. “I must have forgotten it at home,” she mumbled to nobody in particular.

“Forgot what at home?” Jake asked, startling her a little.

“Where did you come from? I didn’t even hear you come up.”

He gave her a look that basically said, duh. “Apparently … What did you forget?”

“My cell phone must be at home. Help me remember to get it when we go there for Dylan’s gear.”

“Sure, I can do that.” She handed Jake his keys and turned and called the boys. When she turned back around, Jake was much closer to her and once again startled her. She reflexively went to take a step back, but Jake halted her with a hand around her waist. He was very close, so she had to look up to see his face. The strong lines of his jaw, and the soft look of his lips, should be a contradiction, but they weren’t. Jake was a very attractive man, and being this close to him was a new experience for her. Or maybe it was the feeling she got when she was this close to him. There was a feeling of anticipation and nervousness that had never been there before. And although foreign, she welcomed it.

Momentarily distracted by his soft lips—which she was staring at—he smiled at her and broke the spell. A little embarrassed for being caught staring at his lips, she could only imagine what she must have looked like doing that. It was almost like she didn’t know how to act around him now. She realized it was because of those two moms at the football game. They had made her wonder about being with Jake … and now she was thinking about it. And she knew she shouldn’t. Jake never gave her any indication that he wanted her … except now?

Since they were standing there in the front doorway of his house, a little too closely, she forced herself to look up into his eyes to see what he wanted. When her eyes met his, she felt herself now staring at those. First the lips, now the eyes? Mesmerizing. Jake was simply mesmerizing, and she couldn’t help the fact that for some reason she was now seeing him in a different light. He cleared his throat, and she blinked a few times to focus again.

“I wanted to say thank you again. Not just for taking care of me this morning, but for looking out for Ryan. I love that you know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t have wanted him to see me like that. I really appreciate that.” She could smell the mint of his toothpaste—he must have just brushed his teeth. This reminded her that she just had a bunch of hot sauce and hadn’t brushed hers.

Suddenly self-conscious, since he hadn’t let her go, she brought her hand up to cover her mouth before speaking, “You’re welcome. I always take care of the people that are important to me.”

“You do more than most people, Gillian, and I am lucky to have you in my life,” he said before he leaned in and placed his lips against her forehead. He kept them there for a few moments longer than a simple friendly gesture. No, this one was different, and not just for him. It felt different for her, too. She closed her eyes and felt her body sway toward his, seeking a little more contact than what they had. She felt his hand apply a bit more pressure on her waist as he confirmed with this gesture that he liked that she had done that. He wanted her body pressed against his. His lips lingered and remained pressed to her forehead a moment or two longer before he took in a deep breath just as he pulled them away.

Her hand that had been covering her mouth had moved its way to his chest. Their bodies were still pressed against each other, and she glanced up to see him looking down at her. She knew that she should move away, but he wasn’t doing so either, which must have meant that he wanted to be pressed up against her. Once again making eye contact with him, something passed between them that she didn’t recognize, but it was there nonetheless. She thought she felt his body tighten against hers as he began to lower his head again, but this time it was aiming for her lips. She started to close her eyes as she prepared for what was about to happen, when they were both startled by the boys running into the room.

When she pulled away from him this time, he let her. But he reached out and took her hand and squeezed it while positioning it out of view from the boys. She wasn’t sure what he was trying to tell her with his eyes, but she knew that he felt something pass between them, too. She turned to face the boys as she tried to calm her racing heart. The feeling of almost getting caught by the boys, combined with the heady sensation of being pressed against Jake’s body was enough to make her a little breathless. Her voice sounded funny when she said, “You guys ready to go?”

They, of course, both looked at her because she sounded funny, so she cleared her throat. “What?” Jake helped by saying, “Batting order is decided by whoever gets to the car first.” And just like that, they took off running out the door. She went to follow, but realized that Jake was still holding her hand. Turning her head back to look over her shoulder at him, he didn’t let go of it—he just looked back at her.

“You coming, too? Or are you trying to cheat and prevent me from getting there before you?” she said in her cool, flirty voice she discovered the other night. This kind of surprised her since she hadn’t intended it to come out that way, but it felt … okay.

Jake must have picked up on it because he used his grip on her hand to hold her in place as he moved in close to her again. He leaned down and placed another gentle kiss on her forehead, before whispering, “I would always put you before me, Gillian.” When he pulled back and looked down at her, she could see the full meaning of the words he spoke. He wasn’t talking about batting order anymore. A thrill of excitement tingled its way up her spine as she absorbed what he was saying. Or at least what she thought he was saying. She was fully aware of the fact that she could totally be seeing something that wasn’t there … but for some reason, she really hoped it was. All she could do was give another little smile.

“We better get going.”

“Yeah, we better,” he agreed, and they both made their way out the door. Jake had to let go of her hand in order to lock his door, since his injured hand seemed to have a little trouble. She looked down at her now empty hand and didn’t like how empty it felt. For about a second, she thought to wait for him and then hold his hand again, but figured that she might be out of line doing that, since she wasn’t so sure what was going on. Instead, she made her way to the car.

As she climbed in, she asked, “So who made it first?”

“It was a tie! So we are going to have to get two cages … if we can,” Dylan, the mastermind, said. She knew her son well enough to know that he came up with this approach so that both boys could bat at the same time. So either her son lost, or they wanted to bat at the same time to compete. Gillian was no fool, and her son knew it. Since Ryan wasn’t speaking up, she knew it was true. Not that it mattered—getting two cages would only be a problem if the place was crowded; however, this was most likely the case since it was a Sunday morning.

“Odds on getting more than one cage on a Sunday are pretty slim boys. So how about the two of you quietly decide who gets to go first, and we will get the cage for an extended time.”

Both boys slumped a little in their seats as they said, “Okay.” She just smiled as she turned and put her seatbelt on.

Jake climbed into the driver’s seat and it occurred to her that he might not be able to drive. “Can you drive okay?”

“I'm pretty sure I can. I’ll just use the heel of my hand to push the shifter, but if I need help, you can do it.” He looked over at her and gave her a flirty smile. She had never been on the receiving end of that smile before, and it made her body tingle again. Jake started the car, and they were on their way. She was shocked at the fact that, for the second time in a twenty-four hour period, she was pressed up against a man and getting tingly all over because of the attention. Thinking that she was seriously out of control and must be horny or something, she tried to focus on other things. Things like trying to show a little self-control before she started to rub up against random strangers, simply because they said hello.

After a quick stop at her house to grab Dylan’s stuff, and her cell phone, they arrived at the batting cages in no time. She loved going there with the kids and was really looking forward to doing it with Jake. It’d been way too long since they had done something like this, since the boys were usually together, it was either one parent or the other on these outings.

Her excitement began to climb even more when her body physically responded to his as he took off his sweatshirt. He was wearing a fitted shirt underneath that gave her the most decadent view of his strong upper body as he began to warm up and swing the bat. His body rotated at the waist as he swung the bat with one arm and gave his injured hand a few stretches, testing it to see if he could grip the bat well enough.

The tight short sleeves bunched up closer to his shoulders as his upper arms would flex and relax with each swing. Gillian had never noticed the definition in Jake’s arms before now, which was a shame because they were amazing. But it wasn’t until that moment, sitting there, watching him, that she realized how she had now moved Jake from the just-friends category to the eye-candy category. She shook her head at this interesting development. She was still staring at him, maybe even lusting over him a little bit, when she was tapped on her shoulder by a small hand. Quickly swiveling around, she saw Ryan. “Aunt Gillian, Dylan wanted me to ask you to watch him swing.”

Trying to pull herself out of the lust-induced fog she seemed to be swimming in, she reluctantly got up and made her way closer to the batting cage where the boys were hitting. After watching her son hit a few balls, she glanced over her shoulder to the where she had left Jake, and just watched him hit the ball for a few moments. It was such a beautiful thing to watch. He was beautiful. And as the tingles once again erupted all over her skin, the butterflies started to dance in her stomach, and the weird sensation in her chest returned. Could she be more to Jake? More than just friends? His time must have run out because he relaxed his batting stance and glanced back to where Gillian had been. The disappointment at her absence was evident on his face, and that ache in her chest constricted. He quickly shot his gaze toward where the she was, and when his eyes met hers, he visibly relaxed. She once again found herself smiling like a fool in response to his smile as he held the bat up in her direction letting her know it was her turn to bat. She was moving toward him, without even knowing it, and before she knew it, she was in front of him. He bent over, picked up her helmet, and placed it carefully on her head.

“Got to put your helmet on,” he paused as he gave it his full attention to make sure it was secured. “Wouldn’t want anything to hurt something so precious to me,” he finished his statement with a delicate tap of his finger to her nose. This managed to snap her out of whatever hold he seemed to have on her, as she just stood and gazed at his face. Oh yeah, she knew was falling for her friend—she just didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing.