This is just the beginning

Chapter 17

"Are we there yet?" I ask looking outside the window. We have been driving for an hour now and we are far away from the residential area.

"Will you please wait? We will be there in a few." Jake responds.

After what seems like forever, he turns into a farmhouse. I have no words to explain how I feel. I am just over whelmed. I turn to see him and he's already looking at me to see how I react. I smile widely at him and even do a small happy jump.

"This is my parents place. We come here every summer to chill. We have a small farm and if you keep walking down, you will find the sea." He says as we head to a small cottage.

"It's an amazing place. Thank you so much for bringing me. I really needed a break."

"Don't need to thank me. That's what friends do. Besides its summer. Ready to go see the farm?" He asks me and I nod very excitedly.

We went and saw the chickens first. There was even a small pond a little away from the barn where small ducks were swimming. He took me to a place where lots of kinds of fishes were there in big tanks and they had caretakers to take care of this place. Jake's parents are quite well off.  It's a really big place and it's very cool. The perfect place for a weekend chill.

"Blake and Alex will be with the horses? Wanna go horse riding?" He asks looking straight into my eyes.

"OMG you have a stable ? How many more surprises?" I squeal with happiness before we run to the stable.

I am greeted by a over excited Alex who literally pounces on me when she sees me. Blake gives me a quick friendly hug. Jake handed me the saddle and I chose a small white horse named Alicia and Jake chose a big brown horse named Max. Blake and Alex thought it would be romantic if they rode on a horse together so they chose the biggest horse in the stable, Theo. Blake and Alex had a head start while Jake helped me first and then we slowly started to follow them.

"I guess the two love birds are having a great time. " Jake says by breaking the silence between us.

Max and Alicia walked side by side so it meant that me and Jake were only a few inches apart.

"They are, aren't they? They deserve it."
I respond as I stroke Alicia's back. She's a beautiful white horse. This is probably my second time on a horse. So Jake is sure to always stay close to me and that's why he chose a soft horse like Alicia for me. The last time I went on a horse was in a carnival during my middle school. That was a fun experience. I was always amused by horses and secretly I wanted to become a horse rider and go for races. I wanted to make that my sport.

"Yes they are cute together. So tell me about you India." Jake says looking at me as his messed hair slowly moves with the wind.

"Don't be so plain. Ask any question you want to know about me and I'll answer." I respond.

"Okay! How about we play 20 questions ?"he suggests.

"Okay! I'll go first. What's the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?" I ask.

" this  is first question? I thought it would be something like what's your fav color ?"he says  as he chuckles.

"That's a boring question. Anyways answer !!" I demand.

"I think it was in 6th grade, we were playing truth or dare and then I got a dare to kiss this guy. And Blake videoed it and the whole middle school came to know about it." He says as his cheeks go red.

"Who knew the famous quarterback had such a history." I say in between laughter. "Well you're not gay are you?"

"What?? No, I'm straight." He says shocked.

"Cool down Jake. I was just messing with you." I chortle as we follow the love birds. I could already smell the sea from here.

"Okay it's your turn. What's your embarrassing experience ?" He asks as we head to the beach.

"Well, I think it was in Frankfurt, we were waiting in a transit. And i had a nature call but the restroom was full as some German lady was taking her time. I couldn't control and umm..well...I kinda..." I was cut off by Jake.

"You wet yourself? How old were you?" He says laughing hard.

"I was only 7 or so. Well you better not tell this to anyone. Besides it was not my fault. That's not it though. That lady scolded me as I wet the floor. My mom was clueless, she couldn't reply at all."

Jake laughs his head off. He couldn't even balance himself on Max. Maybe i shouldn't have told him. I was just 7 for God's sake.

And like that the whole evening went by smoothly by the beach while we got to know each other. He doesn't like pizzas unlike me. He prefers a proper meal which he finds more fulfilling. He loves to work out and he loves his family.

And I also had another surprise, we had marshmallows for dinner by the camp fire in the beach.

It was nearly 10pm and my curfew was 11pm. Blake and Alex went in Blake's car. Jake and I started once he gave some orders to the care takers. The big gates closed once our car was out. I am really going to miss Alicia. She was a beautiful horse. After about an hour, we entered my neighborhood. Jake parked outside my house exactly at 10:55pm.

"Thank you so much for this wonderful day. I really enjoyed it. Thank you! " I say and lean in to give him a hug. The hug didn't last long, it was firm and warm. Jake is a really good friend.

"Don't need to thank me. I knew you will enjoy it. Will catch up again this summer? Good night India." He says as he ends the hug.

"Thanks Jake. We will. Good night !" I say as I smile to him through the car window.

It was a wonderful day and maybe summer won't be that bad as I thought it would. I should just start to be more carefree and cool and not take things seriously. I want to start living for myself.

Thank you all for reading. Please vote and comment. Enjoy reading and please bare with my errors, okay?