The Next Chapter

Chapter 68

Emery's POV

What. The. Hell. Should. I. Wear?

Jeans? Hoodie? Dress? Skirt- A skirt!

I'll take my black skirt and match it with my purple crop top. Is it too nice? Will it feel like I'm trying too much? 

Ugh, where's Auden when I need him? He'd know exactly what to say and Oliver would know exactly what to wear to something like this. I miss them.

Grabbing my phone I check the time, 6:45 PM, where is he? I head downstairs and put my jacket on. 

"Where are you going?" Mom interrupts me. "It's pouring outside."

"Oh, Ally is having a girl's night." I hate lying to mom but there's no way I'm telling her the truth.

"Now?"

"Yeah, we've been planning for weeks so there's no changing her mind now." I laugh, well, I try my best to laugh but apparently mom buys it.

"Okay, do you want me to drive you there?"

"No, it's fine. She'd come and pick me up."

"Maybe that's here-" She says, looking out the window. Shit, that's Jake's car. Luckily it's raining too much to be able to see the person in the car. "I should say hi-"

"No!" I stop her. "Mom, it's pouring. I'll just tell her you said hi. Stay here, you'll get sick."

She starts laughing. "You sound just like me. I taught you well." She kisses my forehead, "Have fun, honey." 

I thank her and say goodbye before hurrying to the car. "Jesus! It's pouring!"

"Told you."

"Yes, yes, you told me." I put my seatbelt on. "We can go now- What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You look beautiful."

Oh, so many butterflies.

"Thanks." I smile. His eyes linger on mine for a few more seconds before he pulls out of the driveway and onto the road. 

About fifteen minutes later we're at his place, the rain made us drive slower. Not complaining though, I don't want to die due to rain.

Once the car is parked we both quickly run to the front door and Jake hurries to unlock it. He puts his hand on the small of my back and gently pushes me inside. A delicious smell hits me the second I step inside, shutting the butterflies away. I'm starving. 

"It smells amazing. What did you cook?" I ask as we both take our jackets off, he takes mine to hang it on the wall. 

"Fresh pasta with salsa. Nothing much but-"

"It's perfect." I tell him, that made him smile. He reaches out for my hand and I let him take it, I inspect it a bit. It's been long since I saw his fingers around mine, they fit like a glove. He guides me to a set table. 

Two plates of pasta are sat opposite each other, two glasses of wine in front of them, two candles at the end of the table, and a single rose in the middle. It looks like something out of a movie.

He leads me to one of the chairs, pulling it out for me and scooting it in after I sit down. "You can say however much you want that you're not a gentleman but this strongly disagrees with you."

He chuckles. "I did my best. Anything else you'd like?" 

"Nope, this looks great as it is." He sits down. "Although... I see two glasses of wine. Did you plan on me not driving here?"

He laughs. "Perfect coincidence." I laugh and shake my head. 

I take the fork and roll it around in the pasta, getting the perfect amount of salsa in it. Oh my God, this tastes amazing. "Did you really do this yourself? It's amazing!"

"You sound so surprised. I don't know whether to be offended or take it as a compliment." He laughs.

"A compliment, definitely!" I shove another roll of pasta in my mouth while he chuckles. This is really good, I wouldn't mind eating this 24/7.

The food takes about an hour to finish, the wine was really good too. I finished the glass before I finished the pasta. I really needed the alcohol to loosen up, I was way too tense and nervous before. Now I'm more comfortable and relaxed. He's too, I think. His muscles looked tense when he picked me up but they're relaxed now. 

I'm still sitting at the table while he takes care of the dishes. "Sure you don't want any help?"

"No. You're my date. Enjoy it."

"My mom saw you, you know. Well, not you, your car. I had to come up with some excuse that Ally was having a girl's night to avoid any further questions. She even tried to come out to the car, I felt like a teenager again, sneaking off to a guy without my parents knowing." I laugh. It's so strange how fast time goes by. Everyone always says it but you never listen, I should've listened. It went by really fast.

"Did you tell them that you're not coming home tonight?"

"I'm not?"

"Well, it's still pouring. And I got a feeling that Ally got sick so you had to stay behind to help her."

"Right. That's the only reason, huh?"

"Of course. I can't think of anything else, can you?" He says, leaning against the kitchen counter, looking right into my eyes.

"No. But I don't have any other clothes."

"I have lots of t-shirts. Problem solved." 

I shake my head and smile. "You're crazy."

"Crazy about you." He quickly straightens his back and I can see his cheeks turn a darker shade of red. "Well-" he clears his throat. "Desert?"

"Would I ever say no to that?" I say, he chuckles. "What's for dessert?"

"You know, if we were in high school I would've said something really cheesy right about here."

"Oh, I know. I'm still waiting for that. Or have you really matured Jake Evans?"

"I've really matured Emery Scott." He puts some chocolate on my plate and some on his. "Now, this isn't something fancy-"

"You came to my house and got me, cooked me a full meal, and letting me stay here, believe me, this chocolate is perfect." This makes him smile, me too. 

"But just to clarify-" I say. "I'm sleeping on the couch."

He takes a few seconds to look at me. "We'll see about that."

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I'm for real so happy right now, hahaha.