The Next Chapter

Chapter 70

Emery's POV

I wake up in one of Jake's t-shirts. Did I put this on myself? I don't remember that I did. Did he dress me after I fell asleep? Or did I wake up during the night, put this on myself, and already forgot?

My questions disappear when I feel his arm tighten around me, pulling me closer to him. I slightly turn my head to see his, he's sleeping. He looks so peaceful. Kind of-

"Staring is rude you know." 

I almost jump out of bed, landing at the edge by his feet. "Jake! You can't do that!" I hit him. "You've given me more heart attacks in two weeks than I've ever had in my lifetime."

He laughs. "Sorry, but it's kind of funny."

"Speak for yourself." I smile. "Did you put this on me after I fell asleep?" I say, pointing at his t-shirt.

"Yeah, we both fell asleep naked but then I woke up shivering and I thought that if I was cold you had to be cold. Sorry, I didn't want to wake you."

"No, it's okay. Just wondering, got confused." I laugh.

"Can you come back here now? I'm not done holding you." He says and reaches out for me with both arms.

"No, this is punishment for scaring me to death." I say, crossing my arms. 

He starts laughing and shaking his head. Within the blink of an eye, he's got a hold of my legs, pulling me towards him and then grabbing my waist, placing me right in front of him. "Nothing you do will keep me away from you from now on. Hope you know that."

"Doesn't sound too bad." I say, positioning myself so that I'm sitting across his legs, facing him.

"It doesn't, does it?" He closes the distance between us, lips crashing into mine. Hands moving up my back. I place my hands on the side of his face.  There's so much force within the kiss, so much passion. "Stay." He says in between kisses.

"What?"

"Stay. Move in with me." 

I stop dead in my tracks, slowly leaning away from his face so I can get a good look at him. "You're not joking?" 

"I'd never joke about this." He says. "Move in with me."

"Jake... This is fast-"

"Do you remember in school when I used to poke at your back during classes? When I called you 'Shortie'? Why did you think I did that? Why do you think I spent all of my free time trying to get your attention?" 

I have no words. My heart's beating so fast, I'm pretty sure he can hear it. 

"Emery, now that I know what it feels like to lose you, I'll do anything to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Move in with me."

"I ehm... I don't know what to say."

"There are three letters I want to hear right now. Please give me those three letters."

"It's not that easy..."

He grabs my face with both his hands. "But it is! It is. Don't you want this?"

"More than anything, you know I do."

"Then what's stopping you?"

What is stopping me? 

"I have to ask... You asked Ava to marry you. You were ready to spend your entire life with another person, how can you be so sure about me when she got the ring? She got the future."

He looks at me for a few seconds then get up and walks into his closet, a few moments later he returns with a box in his hand. He sits back down in front of me, "I bought this ring."

"Yeah, I know. She returned it when-"

"No. No, I bought this ring for you."

"...what?"

"This is your ring Emery, this has always been yours." 

"But- I don't understand. She had a ring."

"Yes, she did. But it wasn't this one, I bought another ring for her. This one is just for your hand, no one else's." 

"So you bought two rings, one for me that you've kept hidden away and one you gave to Ava?"

"Kind of, yeah. I bought yours a long time ago, I was just waiting for the right moment to-"

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, no! I'm not getting engaged now! I'm still-"

"Emery calm down." He laughs.  "I'm not proposing."

"You're not?"

"No, I'm just showing you the ring and showing you that the possibility is out there. Sometime in the future, this ring will be on your finger. I promise you that."

"You promise me that? I'm the one that has to say yes you know?" I tease.

"What? Are you going to say no?"

"I guess you'll have to wait and see." I say, this brings out a smile from him. 

"Now-" He says, putting the box on his nightstand and pulling me into his chest. "Say yes. Move in with me."

I let out a long breath. "You'll have to clean on a regular basis, and we'll divide the chores around the apartment. No way am I doing it all by myself."

His smile spreads out all over his face. I don't think I've seen him this happy, ever. "Say it."

"What?"

"Say the words."

I sigh. "I, Emery Scott, accept the offer from you, Jake Evans, to move in and live with you. Happy?"

He brings our foreheads together. "Never been happier." 

* * *

I took the bus back home. Jake insisted on driving me but I didn't want to risk anyone seeing him. I need to clear up the air with mom and dad about everything. I find them both in the living room. 

"Hi."

"Oh, hi Emery!" Mom says. "Did you girls have fun?"

"Yeah, ehm... Can we talk?" They both look at each other and turn the tv off. I take a seat on the couch to their right so I can see them both. "There's something you should know."

"Are you pregnant?"

"Dad! No! That's your first guess?"

He shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know. You've been in a steady relationship with a guy for a few years now. Michael seems like a responsible person, it was a good guess."

"About Michael... Please don't get too upset, and please let me finish."

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Well... Cutting it off there, hahaha. Sorry, not sorry.