tongue tied - jake kiszka

9.

We walked through the dark parking lot out to the big SUV, Jake staying close by my side so I wouldn't fall or something, I don't know. I knew I was still kinda drunk and he was just the kind of person.

He opened the door to the SUV for me, helping me get in, although I had told him I didn't need any help. Turns out I did, because apparently it was higher up than I remembered and my footing missed completely.

His hands found my waist just in time to steady me and his grip tightened as he hoisted me up into the seat. "Thank you." I said, fully aware that one of his hands was still lingering on my hip.

I didn't mind.

Fuck. I didn't mind?

He quickly drew back, shutting the door. Before I knew it, he was on the other side, situating himself in the drivers seat. "The seats lean back." He informed me and I struggled for a moment before finally finding the lever to lean myself back. He did the same, positioning his seat so it was equal with mine.

We laid like that for a moment, neither of us saying anything. I wanted to say something, anything, but I didn't trust my intoxicated mouth.

Fuck it.

As I went to speak, Jake started to as well and we both stopped abruptly. "Go ahead." He said and I shook my head. "No you can."

He chuckled softly. "I was just gonna ask if you had a good time." I nodded. "Yeah I did." I began, before continuing, "I still am. It's been really nice."

"You like Posy, huh?"

"Yeah, I do. She's really cool." I answered, thinking back to how quickly she took me in and how comfortable I was around her. "I never really get along with people. I don't know why, I just like being by myself I guess. I don't know."

"You're not much of a people person." Jake concluded and I looked over at him. "Yeah, I guess that's it." The thought alone made me kind of sad and I hated it. I knew it was just because I was drunk. When I was sober I never really seemed to care or think about it.

"That's okay. As long as you're an our kind of people person." He said, a smile twitching at his lips.

"Apparently I am."

I thought back to the start of the day, meeting everyone and instantly being welcomed and how the feeling didn't fade the way it usually did. It was nice.

We got quiet again but it didn't feel weird. I pulled my legs up into the seat, turning to the side so I could face him fully. I couldn't see him all that well in the dark but I knew what his face looked like and I could see it and the smile that was on it.

"What's got you smiling over there?" I asked and he turned his head again to face me. "I think you're interesting." He stated and I raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

   He shrugged slightly. "You're just kind of hard to figure out, you know?"

   "I suppose."

   "I think you know that. You want everyone to believe you're some stone cold bitch, but you're not. You're not a bitch either." I grinned, slapping at his arm. "Hey now. Be nice."

   He laughed quietly, "That was me being nice. But seriously, I see how you are with Dawn. She's a lot, trust me I know."

   "I get irritated with her." I responded, feeling a little bad about it now that I thought of it.

   "Dawn's a little irritating sometimes." Jake agreed, "But that's not what I mean. I saw you putting her under the covers in there. And helping her into her shirt in the car. You take care of her."

   "She's my roommate." I said simply, like that was answer enough. Jake looked at me and even the dark I knew he was waiting for me to say it. "She's my friend, you know?"

   "Yeah, there it is."

   I sighed loudly. "Yeah I get it, okay."

   He laughed again and I couldn't help but join in a little. "And since I've met you, you've tried to get me to be interested in her. Since I guess she's into me, I don't know-"

   I cut him off, still laughing, "You know she is!" He chuckled, "Yeah I know. But you're a good friend, that's what I'm getting at. You're like this major Dawn advocate even though I'm sure it's obvious that she's not the roommate I'm interested in."

   He fell silent as soon as he said it, looking back up towards the roof of the SUV.

   Shit.

   I felt my face flush and I was glad he wasn't looking at me so he couldn't see. Not that he could in the dark anyways, but still.

   "I'm just drunk, sorry." He muttered and he sounded embarrassed. "It's okay." I said slowly, wondering if he would look at me again and wondering if I wanted him to.

   He finally did, letting out a deep sigh. "Just forget I said that. I'm drunk."

   "Okay."

   We stayed like that for a moment, silent and just looking at eachother. "Maybe you could try to give Dawn a chance." I said quietly, half expecting him to say nothing in return.

   "Yeah, maybe." He said after a moment, but he didn't sound too sure.

   "And like you said, I'm a good friend apparently and you and I are friends, remember?" I said, "I can be a Jake advocate." He let out a laugh. "Yeah, I guess I'll start my own Charlie fan club while we're at it."

   I grinned at him, glad everything didn't feel so heavy anymore. I enjoyed the kid quite a bit, a lot more than what I wanted to admit, but I guess that was just the stone cold bitch thing he was talking about.

   "I think I'm gonna try to get some sleep." I said after a minute. I didn't realize how heavy my eyes were until the conversation had ceased. Jake nodded, letting out a yawn of his own.

   I closed my eyes as I let the sleep wash over me. I laid like that for moment until suddenly I felt fingers running through my hair which was spilling over the side of the seat. I stayed still, holding my breath.

   Soft humming from Jake followed and I opened an eye. "What are you doing?"

   Jake drew his hand back quickly, his voice nervous as he spoke, "I'm sorry." I lifted my head slightly to look at him. "It's okay, I was just wondering."

   "Posy's got this kid sister and uh, we always put her to sleep like that. I thought it would help, I don't know." Jake said quietly.

   I felt my gaze go soft as I looked at him. "You can keep doing it." I spoke, "If you want to."

   He looked at me for a moment longer as if to make sure it was actually okay. I nodded my head so he knew it was.

   I closed my eyes again and I felt his fingers back in my hair, playing gently with the strands. He began to hum again and I was taken back by how soft it sounded.

   I laid there, allowing myself to feel completely at peace as this boy ran his fingers through my hair and hummed the tune to a song I couldn't quite place. It wasn't until I was finally about to fall asleep when I realized it was "My Girl."