Hollywood Nights//Jake Kiszka

Nine

"Wow, Jake, this is so good," you smile at him. You're eating breakfast in a cozy little corner of the cabin. Jake surprised you once again by revealing he was an amazing cook.

  "Thanks," he mutters. You love his little moments of shyness.

  You smile at him and then look past him.      "Is that a guitar?" You ask.

"I guess," he laughs a little.

  You smile. "I have an idea."

  You get up and walk across the hardwood floor and grab the guitar from the corner. You strum a few chords and begin to hum the tune to an old song that you'd always loved. "Watch me as you look my way, see me smile, be my night and day..." you sing under your breath.

  Jake turns around to face you. "You know that song?" He says with a surprised look on his face.

  "It's one of my favourites," you sit down next to him and keep playing.

  "Mine too," he murmurs, brushing his hair aside, like he does when he's nervous.

  You smile at him and sing the next part. "All of the time I love you..." you play through the rest of the song and notice Jake singing along with you. You stop singing at the end. He gets flustered when he notices and starts blushing. You just smile at him, and he gazes into your eyes, and you absorb this moment. You feel like you've caught him in a vulnerable moment, and you want to stay there for a minute. You've found this man is rarely vulnerable.

  "Why'd you stop singing?" He murmurs, breaking the silence.

  "Because you're a beautiful singer," you whisper. "I couldn't help it." You lean into him, until your foreheads are touching.

  "You keep thinking that, but it's not true," he laughs.

  "Oh, but it is," you respond, pecking him on the lips.

He kisses you back and you sit in silence for a little while afterwards. He stands up then. "We should probably clean up," he says. The intimate moment is over now.

  You put the guitar back and help him clean up. As you're drying the dishes he says, out of the blue, "I used to sing all the time."

  You turn your head towards him. "Yeah?"

  "Yeah," he nods. "Me and my brothers would sing together all the time."

  "Why'd you stop?" You frown.

  He sighs and leans against the counter. "I guess life got too busy. You lose sight of things like that."

  "Are you still close with your brothers?"

"Yeah," he nods, "but I need a break from them sometimes," he laughs.

   "Don't we all need to escape our families sometimes?" You walk over to him and give him a kiss on the cheek.

  "You're right," he turns your face and kisses your mouth.

  "Do we really have to leave tomorrow?" You rest your head against his forehead.

  "Well, you have to go back to work, and I have to fly out soon," he reminds you.

  "Shhh, let's not talk about that," you lay your head on his chest as he wraps his arms around you. "Let's just stay right here."

  "Okay," he whispers.

  You feel so happy in this moment, you could've stayed there forever.