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Chapter 37 - The party

Ronnie had gotten her own room and Josh and his ex went back to "their" room, so you were completely and totally alone with Jake. There was only about 30 minutes or so until the party started, if you could even call it that. It was just everyone hanging out in your guys' hotel room, because apparently you and Jake were hosting. Jake was frantically decorating as you sat on the bed, drinking your cocktail and watching him. You weren't going to help at all, why would you? Jake put some ice buckets out and then took what looked like extremely expensive champagne and placed the bottles neatly in the ice. "Fancy" you said. Jake just ignored that and kept at it, placing a veggie tray and a cheese tray on the table. "Why are we hiding this from Ronnie?" You blurted out. Jake turned to face you, placing his hand on the back of his head and rolling his eyes. "Alright fine." he sighed "My mom gave Ronnie my Grandmothers old wedding ring to give to me.... For you." Jake spoke very matter of factly, not much emotion in his voice at all. "So where's my ring?" you teased, absolutely determined to make him uncomfortable tonight. "Please don't make this more difficult than it needs to be" Jake pleaded with you. "I'm making this difficult?? I think you're doing a pretty good job of that on your own." you snapped back. Jake exhaled purposefully, clearly trying to calm himself down before responding. It was obvious you were already getting to him. "Tell me why I shouldn't just tell Ronnie right now?" You asked, grabbing a cigarette from the end table. "Because you're better than that, or at least I thought you were." Jake retorted. You scoffed, barely able to contain your sheer astonishment. "You've got to be kidding me. Jake you have lied to me, cheated on me, and hurt me beyond repair. You want to talk about being a good person?" You stood up and walked over to the balcony. Jake reached for the cigarettes on the table and followed you out there. You both lit up your smokes and stood in silence for what felt like forever before Jake finally responded. "I loved you. I made mistakes, and I fucked up, and I hurt you, but I NEVER gave up on you. I never left. You did." Jake took a long drag of his cigarette. You could feel a burning sensation in your chest as adrenaline began to pump through your veins. "Can you really blame me?" You asked, turning to face him. Jake looked down at his feet, his once defensive demeanor, now soft and defeated. "No... and that's the worst part." Tonight was going to be harder than you ever could have imagined. "I broke something so beautiful and special, and I have to deal with that for the rest of my life." He continued "I will never find another you. Ever. And I'm so sorry that I hurt you." He put his cigarette out and you did the same. "Yeah, me too." You uttered. The two of you stepped back inside and were immediately met with the sound of banging on the door. Jake took a deep breath, looked into your eyes and grabbed your hand in his "you ready?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. You nodded and sharply pulled your hand away from him. Jake slowly opened the door and Sam, Danny, and Ronnie rushed in, bombarding Jake with hugs and "Congratulations". Ronnie then turned her gaze to you, widening her eyes and making a beeline for you. She spread her arms and pulled you into a hug, nearly squeezing the life out of you. "I'm so happy for you guys! I've never seen Jake this in love." She said, rubbing your back. A lump began to form in your throat and you did your best to ignore it. "Who wants a drink??" Jake's voice boomed over the commotion. You watched as Jake made drinks and mingled with Ronnie and Sam. Danny plopped down next to you on the bed and leaned in quietly whispering in your ear "Are you okay?" You immediately wanted to collapse into his arms and cry, but instead you just nodded. Danny gave you a sympathetic smile "I'm here if you need to talk. Or if you just need a break from this." Danny looked down at his phone before getting up to open the front door. "Josh is here!" He announced. The second Josh and his ex walked through that door, you felt 100 times more uncomfortable, and you weren't even sure how that was possible. "Hey, congrats buddy." Josh said, winking at Jake. "Ronnie!" He attacked his sister and pulled her into a bear hug, lifting her off the ground. Josh's ex just looked around the room, appearing to be completely out of place. Ronnie ran up to her "So you're the new girlfriend? It's so good to finally meet you!" she said, wrapping her in a hug. "You too!" You could tell Josh's ex was trying her best to be convincing, but she was failing miserably. She looked over at you and you immediately looked away, not willing to have any sort of interaction with her yet. You needed way more alcohol first. Eventually the greetings died down and everyone was just mingling. Jake walked up to his new girlfriend and handed her a drink. It was a vodka cran with lime. Ouch. It wasn't like you owned that drink, but it still felt like betrayal. She smiled, gave Jake a quick up and down look, and then smirked "Thank you, Jakey" she said, winking at him. You wanted to vomit. Josh shot Jake a look that said both "wrap it up" and "don't be too obvious" at the same time. "I'd like to propose a toast!" Ronnie exclaimed, pulling the four of you out of that awkward situation. Everybody grabbed their drinks and held them high. Jake made his way over to you and wrapped one arm around your lower back. "To the very happy couple. I'm so excited to call you my sister. I can genuinely say that I've never seen anyone make Jake as happy as you do, and for that I'm so grateful. Welcome to the family!" Everybody tapped their glasses together and shot their heads back to take a drink in unison. You caught a glimpse of Josh and his ex, and they looked more than cozy. She was sitting on his lap with her arm wrapped around him as he ran his fingertips over her thigh. 'Fine. If that's what you want' you thought 'then that's what I'll give you'. You pulled Jake into a hug and whispered into his ear "Happy engagement my love." Jake whispered back "what are you doing?" You pulled away slightly, smirking at him "Exactly what you asked me to do." You pulled out your phone to message Josh, you quite literally couldn't help yourself.

"You look awful cozy over there. What are you doing?"

You hit send. Jake looked down at your glass and saw that it was nearly gone "Can I get you a refill?" You handed him your cup "Yes please. A salty dog." You ordered Josh's favorite drink. Jake clenched his jaw, feeling the pang of that one. Your phone buzzed in your hand.

"I'm acting. I don't know what you two are doing, but it's definitely not believable."

If Josh wanted to play that game, you'd play that game, and you'd win. "It's my turn to make a toast!" You exclaimed loudly, starting to feel the warmth of the alcohol settle in the pit of your stomach. Everybody turned to look at you. Mostly everyone had a look of sheer panic on their face, except for Ronnie. She looked excited. Jake handed you your drink and stood next to you, placing his arm gently around your shoulder. He looked down at you and smiled, waiting for you to begin your speech. Jake didn't look nervous, or mad, or uncomfortable. In fact he also looked genuinely excited. You cleared your throat "Through all of the ups and downs I have never stopped loving you. I have never stopped wanting you. I have never stopped needing you. I know in my heart that we are meant to be together forever and I am so excited to be your wife. To many more wonderful years together. I love you more than anything Jacob Kiszka." Jake's mouth was hanging slightly open as he stood there, speechless. Everyone in the room was just staring at him, including you, just waiting for his response. Jake placed one hand on the back of your head and the other on your cheek, pulling you into a kiss. There was that familiar taste, whiskey and cigarettes. How did he still give you butterflies? Jake's tongue danced around your bottom lip as he scrunched your hair in his right hand and moved his left hand over your lower back, pulling you closer to him. Jake hadn't kissed you with this much passion in months. "Wooo! Get it!" Ronnie exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Everyone else joined in, cheering the two of you on. You were curious what Josh's face looked like, but were far too enveloped in this moment to stop and look. Jake finally released you from his grasp and immediately looked down at his feet, likely embarrassed that he had gone that far. "Who needs a shot?!" Sam shouted. Everyone began to circle the bar, waiting for Sam to hand out the alcohol. Your phone buzzed. It was Josh again.

"Okay THAT was believable."