You Are My Sunshine

PART 5

Lightning lit up the sky as Jake walked toward Abigail's front door. Abigail shrieked in terror. "Sorry." she apologized, "Storms like this scare me."

The thunder rolled as Jake gave a half-smile. He opened the door to water rushing over the awning covering Abigail's door. "Oh my."

"You're not driving in this." She demanded. "I can't see three feet in front of me in that. It's just not safe."

"I'll be okay. I'm from Michigan. Snow, rain, sleet, hail. Whole nine yards." Jake said.

"No." She said, firmly. "Please stay here until it lets up. I can make dinner, we can watch a movie. If you need to stay the night I have an inflatable mattress that I can sleep on in the living room."

"If anyone sleeps on an inflatable mattress, it would be me." Jake corrected her, shutting the door.

"So you're going to stay?" She said, visibly getting excited.

"If you insist." He said, sitting his guitar down beside the door. "But I get to choose the movie."

Abigail hugged him with excitement. She noted how warm he felt in her arms. His embrace was caring, yet firm. "Thank you."

She directed him to her bedroom, where she spent a lot of her time. She had made her bed that morning, and she silently thanked herself for that. She propped up the various pillows and stuffed animals strewn on her bed to create a sitting area for the two of them. "My tv is in here so we'll have to make do." She said, handing him the remote.

He sat on the bed and took off his shoes. His shoes also were beaten up white vans. Abigail wondered to herself if he had noticed hers and made his choice dependent on hers, or if he just made the decision based upon comfort. She also took note of his clothes. He wore a black and white striped tee shirt that he had partially tucked into his dark wash jeans and a light grey flannel. She wondered if he put effort into his outfits or if he just simply matched together articles. Either way, she believed he was very well put together.

"Abigail?" Jake asked.

"Yeah?" She replied, breaking her gaze from his shirt.

"Can you picture it? You and I together?" He asked.

Abigail sat down next to him on the bed. "I honestly don't know. I've never been with anyone." she shrugged. "I don't know what it's like to be with someone."

Jake nodded.

"Don't think that I can't imagine loving you. Like old romance novels with you sweeping me off my feet and us living happily ever after." She added.

"Us...I like the sound of that." He smiled.

"I do, too." She said.

"It's really not as complicated as we're making it." Jake laughed.

"I figured it wasn't." Abigail snickered. "I just don't know what to say or ask."

"You always seem to know what to say, though." He said.

"Yeah, but around you...you give me butterflies. Something about you makes me feel like an idi-"

Abigail's words were interrupted by a quick peck from Jake's lips.

"Did you just mean to kiss me?" Abigail asked.

"I don't know. But can I do it again?" He responded quickly.

"Yeah, I would like that." She said with a small laugh.

Jake leaned into her slowly, she didn't move a muscle. His kiss landed slightly above her top lip, creating an awkward smooch.

"You missed. Your lips are supposed to touch mine, you dingbat." Abigail joked.

"I love you." Jake said

"I never thought love could be anything like this." She said.

"Like what?" He questioned.

"Fun." She answered.

"Does that mean you love me?" He asked.

"Yeah." She nodded.
Abigail walked into her living room, where her book was. She grabbed it and turned around to find that Jake had followed her. He was looking at the titles that lined the shelves. He noticed one, and she watched as he took it from the shelf. "Care if I borrow this?" He said, holding up the novel.

"Not at all." She smiled.

Jake sat down, crossing his legs. He immediately started reading the novel. She grabbed the fuzzy throw blanket from the nearby accent chair and sat down beside Jake. She rested her head on the back of the couch and let her legs dangle off the side. They stayed like this for a while, reading in silence. Jake eventually settled his arm right behind her head, brushing her stray hairs down. His fingertips migrated to her head, caressing her head, only stopping to turn the page. Abigail shifted her weight to move her head onto Jake's lap. He continued to soothe her flyways, starting to gently massage her neck periodically.

Abigail's eyes began to feel heavy as she drifted off to sleep. Jake noticed after some time, glancing down at her slumber. He marked her page with the bookmark she removed, and marked his with a stray business card from his wallet. He scooped her up and carried her into her bedroom, resting her on the bed. He gently kissed her forehead. He shut the door behind him as he left the room, trying his best to be silent.