Olivia // Jake Kiszka

5. Jake

It takes Jake a moment and a few blinks to remember where he is; with the door and window closed, the room is nearly engulfed in complete darkness despite the sun being already up. The other side of the bed is empty and cold when he tries reaching for Olivia. He gets up and opens the window, watching the white curtain softly wave at him.

When he first stepped inside that room the night before, he felt an urge to walk around, take in the details, but he had better things to do. Now, kissed by the sunlight, the place looks even more intriguing and he can't contain himself. The two times he had seen Olivia, she was wearing dark clothes and combat boots. That being said, he expected her room to have a darker vibe. Instead, the walls are white and the bed sheets, baby blue.

The first thing that caught his attention the night before was the book shelf, so that's the first thing he inspects. He walks to it in nothing but his underwear, and lets his fingers slide across the records stored there the same way he did the other night, but this time, he picks one up, Led Zeppelin IV, his lips form a smile before he puts it back into its place. His eyes inspect the books, a lot of romances, three about photography, two cookery and a few biographies.

The floor feels cold against his feet when they lead him to the desk, above which some polaroid pictures smile, hanging from a string. Most of them are flowers and places, but there are three of Joy - in one of them she's with his brother - and a single one of Olivia. She is wearing a flower crown, smiling; her face is turned a little to the side, eyes aiming at something he can't see. The blue immensity of the ocean stretches behind her, melting into the sky, only adding to the beauty of the picture. She looks so pure, so innocent, so mesmerizing.

Part of a wall is covered in photographs, they are large, black and white pictures. He sees rain running down a window, nice coffee shops, cars parked, more flowers and candid shots of random people doing everyday stuff.

"There's a nice one of you in my laptop." The voice startles him, the hand touching one of the pictures immediately falls back to his side, he was so concentrated he didn't hear the door opening. "I took it at Sam's birthday party."

"Oh, I remember that." She walks to him, a smile playing on her lips. She is still wearing the baggy shirt she slept in, her face is complete free of makeup, her hair is a little messy and through it, he can see a few hickeys gracing her neck. For Jake, this is the prettiest she's ever looked.

"I thought about developing and placing it here, it's a really nice shot. Is it creepy?"

"It's artistic," he replies, a thrill running through his body.

"You're so beautiful." She gets a little closer and touches his cheek, letting her fingers slide to trace every feature of his face. "So different, so-" she pauses, thinking; her hand falls back down, but her eyes keep up, bored into his. "So intriguing."

Sam told him many times about how honest she can randomly be, but he wasn't prepared for something like this, nothing could stop the goosebumps. "I'm intriguing? What about you?" His fingers brush the extent of her arm, stopping on her hand. She closes her eyes.

"People think they know me, Jake. But you, they don't even pretend to."

"Who told you that?" She just shrugs, walking out of the room; he follows.

"I thought about making us breakfast," she announces as he follows her to the kitchen.

"Do you always have breakfast with the guys you sleep with?" He asks with a cheeky grin, watching from behind the counter while she looks for something in the cupboard.

"They usually sneak out the moment they think I fell asleep, so I'm not really sure what to do, if I'm being honest." There's a pan in her hand when she turns to him, and innocence in her eyes once again. For some strange reason, the innocent looks drive him crazier than the purposely sexy ones.