The Exception (6 page)

Maya didn’t miss a beat saying that she didn’t care what they ordered as long as they ordered a cheese as well. I seconded that opinion, causing Jake to fake surprise at how easily I chose what pizza I wanted when there were so many topping options.

“You took her to get ice cream, didn’t you?” Gabe joked.

They fist bumped again and broke out in a knowing laugh. It was a little weird how Gabe was all of a sudden just OK today about Jake and I. I mean I was glad because I didn’t want things to be weird or complicated. I just wasn’t expecting this, I guess.

“What can I say? Choosing an ice cream flavor is a big decision. And besides, Jake here saved the day.” I turned around to smile at Jake who took the opportunity to give me a quick peck on the lips.

“Sure did,” he said triumphantly. “We got all four of the flavors in question and shared.” He squeezed me a little tighter to him, and I thought I saw a defeated look on Gabe’s face. But I couldn’t be sure because, at that moment, we were interrupted by an irritated Kenzie and Ryan.

“Whatever, I didn’t want to listen to your stupid music anyway!” Kenzie shouted before shoving Ryan’s headphones back at him and stomping away in our direction.

“Good! Cause this is my stuff!” Ryan huffed.

I don’t know what has gotten into Ryan today. Actually, make that here lately. Kenzie has always seriously crushed on him. He used to be very sweet about it, but ever since she has been back from camp this summer he has seemed to be increasingly more hostile and annoyed with her.

“Sexual tension?” Jake whispered in my ear.

“Please. Ryan views her as an annoying little sister. She’s fifteen, remember?” I whispered back.

“Whatever you say, Blondie,” he teased.

Sure, things have been different between them lately, but it couldn’t possibly be because Ryan was into my sister could it? I mean, she is only fifteen. I thought about it for a second longer, then pushed it out of my mind. There was no way Ryan looked at her like that.

When my sister approached us, she asked if I would please tell Ryan to leave her alone because she was no longer speaking to him. She threw one more scowl in Ryan’s direction, then stormed off to the house. When she was gone, Ryan finally walked over and sat with us.

“What did you do to her?” Dylan scoffed.

“Nothing. She has just been exceptionally bitchy here lately,” Ryan snapped back.

“Whoa bro…chill man. Just chill,” Dylan let out in a sarcastic tone trying to diffuse the situation.

“And don’t you two look awfully cozy?” Ryan said harshly, looking at Jake and me.

“Seriously, Ryan? You’re upset at my sister. That doesn’t mean you have to be a dick to me.”

Ryan was about to say something else but was interrupted by Gabe laughing to himself. Realizing everyone was now looking at him, he shrugged at us.

“Sorry, I find it amusing that, that is her new favorite word. I thought it was reserved just for me. Apparently not,” He said popping his P and his T.

“What?” Maya chimed in, “Em never says stuff like that. And we always hang out together, so when would she have.” She stopped mid sentence, realizing exactly when I would have said something like that to Gabe.

Everyone else knew that since the beginning of last year Gabe had made it a habit of climbing through my window. That is everyone except my new boyfriend or whatever he is. We all sort of looked around in awkward silence until Maya spoke up again.

“So who’s going to order the pizza?”

“Wait? Am I missing something here?” Jake asked a little uncomfortably.

“Nope. Unless you didn’t know Gabe here snuck into Emma’s bedroom window just about every night,” Dylan informed with a shit eating grin on his face, cueing both Gabe and I to shoot him a look at the same time. “Sorry. Guess you didn’t know.”

I just sat there. I didn’t know if I should move, say something, or what to do. So I sat there. I mean, how do you explain to the guy you just went on a date with that it is in no way how it sounds. Stupid Dylan.

“Dylan, sometimes you can be such an ass,” Maya shot out before standing up. “Come on, Em, you and I will go inside and order the pizza while the boys act like children,” she spat while shooting Dylan a look.

Maya had just started to order the pizza when Jake walked in the house.

“Hey, Blondie. Can we talk for a sec?” he asked nervously, scratching the back of his head.

“Uh, yeah. We can go up to my room. It’s the one on the left,” I offered. Jake turned around and headed for the stairs as I looked back at Maya. She had a concerned look on her face, while trying to force a smile.

When we walked in my room, we both stood there silently for a second looking everywhere but at each other.

“So listen,” Jake finally said, “I don’t want to be that guy you know? So if there is something going on between you and Gabe, just tell me.” He let out a frustrated groan. “Look, I don’t want there to be, and I know I don’t really have a place to even say that. There’s just something about you, Emma. I can’t explain it. I know I barely know you and this sounds crazy.” He stopped for a moment, his jaw clenching as he ran his hand through that tousled, deep brown hair of his. He looked at me with those piercing blue eyes and then took a step closer and grabbed my hand. “Emma, just say the word and I’ll step back.”

I didn’t even have to think about it. I’m not saying I’ve never thought about Gabe and I before, but he is one of my closest friends. Besides, with Jake it is different. He can make my heart beat faster just by being in the same room. One look from him and I am suddenly aware of every nerve ending in my body. At that moment, I knew one thing for sure. I did not want Jake to step back. In fact, all I really wanted was for him to press his lips into mine.

“I don’t want you to step back. Yes, Gabe crawls through my window sometimes. He is one of my best friends, but that’s it.”

That must have been all he needed to hear. Before I could say anything else, Jake took another step forward, closing the gap between us, and kissed me. I was completely lost in his kiss and didn’t even think about the fact that we were standing in the middle of my room with the door open.

“Oh, shit. Um, sorry.”
I looked up to see Maya with her hand over her mouth trying to back out of my doorway. Jake and I took a step back, looked at Maya, and then looked at each other. Both of us were wearing the same stupid grin. “Oh crap. Sorry you guys. I wasn’t even thinking.”

“It’s fine, Maya,” Jake said kindly. “Emma and I were just leaving anyway.” He looked over at me with that perfect smile.

“Right. Well. Then I will see you guys outside.”

As soon as Maya was out my door, Jake turned to me, “After you.” He gestured with his hand for me to go first. When I went to take a step forward, Jake grabbed my hand and pulled me back toward him. “Wait. One more thing.” Jake crashed his lips into mine for a second time before stepping back with a smile that reached both of his ears. “Now you can go.”

“Oh that’s how this works, is it?” I asked slightly breathless.

“Yeah,” he uttered in a low, commanding tone. “Would you like me to show you again?”

“As much as I would like to say yes, everyone is going to start to wonder what happened to us.”

“Alright. I will just have to steal you away again later.”

“I’m counting on it,” I said as sultry as I could, then turned to walk out my door.

“Are you flirting with me, Miss Crawford?” he teased.

I stopped and whipped around to look at him, placing a hand on my hip. “I would never.”

“Oh, we’ll see about that.” He lunged forward and with one quick motion threw me over his shoulder. Despite my attempts to wiggle free, he carried me like that all the way outside where we rejoined the group.

When Maya saw us coming she yelled “Ow ow,”
then slapped my butt before he put me down. “So what happened to the two of you?” she asked innocently.

“Got lost.” Jake shot back with a wink.

“It’s official. He’s a keeper, Em,” Maya joked.

“Oh good Lord.” He was just as bad as she was. “Maya, looks like you might have met your match,” I giggled.

“Hell yeah,” she exclaimed. “That’s why he’s a keeper.”

***

When the pizza got here, Ryan and Gabe brought it and some drinks out to the gazebo. Maya made sure that she and I grabbed what we wanted before she let them unleash on what was left.

By the time we were done eating, the sun had gone down. The guys decided to build a fire in the fire pit, even though it was still like ninety degrees outside. Dylan was hell bent on making s’mores. I never understood why he liked those things so much.

“I just realized I kinda hijacked your day. Hope I didn’t ruin any of your plans or anything,” I said, turning to Jake as he sat back down beside me.

“Even if I had plans, I would have changed them if it meant getting to spend all day with a sexy blonde in a black bikini.”

“Oh, your good.”

“That’s what they tell me.”

“They?” I questioned.

“OK, that’s what you tell me,” he said before pulling me over onto his lap. “Speaking of you, do you know what I would like to do with you right now?” he asked mischievously.

“Do I want to know that answer?” I challenged.

“Well,” he said, standing up with me in his arms, “You’re going to find out the answer.”

“Oh, no. Don’t even think about it.”

“What?” he asked innocently. “You’re not afraid of a little night swim are you?”

“Maya!” I yelled. “Help!”

“Bye, Em. Have fun!” she called back.

“Traitor!”

Maya laughing was the last thing I heard before I hit the water.

“Holy crap the water is cold!” I shouted when I surfaced.

“Some might say refreshing,” Jake countered.

“Well, some would be wrong,” I stated while swimming to where I could touch.

“Is that so?”

I could hear Jake swimming behind me and stopped to face him as soon as I could touch the bottom.

“Yes. Because this water is freaking cold.”

“You didn’t seem to mind this afternoon.” He raised a brow, then cocked his head to the side.

“You think you are being so cute, don’t you?”

“Well, that depends,” he said, placing his hands on my hips, causing a million different goose bumps to surface. Stupid betraying body. “Is it working?”

“I just don’t know yet.” I was trying my best not to let him know he was affecting me, but when he was this close, touching me, it was hard to even talk normal.

“How about now?” he took another step closer, closing the gap between us. I shivered in his arms, and a satisfied smirk broke across his face as he bent down and kissed me. “Emma,” he breathed with his forehead pressed to mine. “Something about you makes me crazy. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I met you. I don’t want to sound lame, but I don’t want there to be any question.”

“Question?” I gazed up at Jake, not exactly sure what he was saying.

“Emma, will you be my girlfriend?”

A smile spread across my face. “Jake, of course I’ll be your girlfriend.”

Jake instantly wrapped both arms tightly around me before jumping us backward into the deep end while shouting triumphantly. We were both laughing and splashing the other when Maya and Dylan walked up.

“What the heck is going on over here?” Maya asked.

Jake looked over at her and shrugged. “She said yes,” he responded coolly.

“Again…what?” Maya looked from him to me, clearly confused.

I burst out laughing. “I said I would be his girlfriend!”

“Aahhh!” Maya screamed as she jumped in the pool, which caused me to laugh even harder and cueing everyone else to come over to the pool.

We spent the rest of the night swimming and hanging out in the water. I didn’t want the night to end.

***

Around eleven thirty everyone was walking out to their cars to go home. I walked Jake out to his truck. When he opened the door, he reclined back on his seat and pulled me into him. “Call you tomorrow?” he asked, putting a loose piece of hair behind my ear.

“Sounds good,” I smiled, placing my hands on his chest.

“Night, Emma,” he reached up, grasping my cheeks with both hands before kissing me.

“Goodnight, Jake,” I let out slightly breathless.

That cute smirk spread across his face before he shut the door and drove away.

“Damn, girl! That boy makes me hot just watching you two,” Maya exclaimed, breaking me out of my trance.

“Tell me about it,” I said pretending to fan myself. “But seriously…I’m tired.”

“I bet you are,” she laughed. “Alright biatch, let’s go get some sleep.”

Chapter Six

The next week things couldn’t have been any better. Well, except for with McKenzie, who was in what seemed like a constant bad mood since her spat with Ryan over the weekend. Jake started walking me to class whenever his schedule allowed it. It always makes me smile to see him standing there whenever I walk out of class, and I love walking down the hall with his arm over my shoulder. He mixes so well with my friends; you would swear they had been friends forever. He can even keep up with, or should I say, handle Maya.

Friday morning I could hardly wait till the end of the day so I could go out with Jake, even though I was practically going to be with him all day anyway. It was the second tennis tournament of the year. The tournament was at a local community college, which I loved because we got to miss an entire day of school; then we were already in town, so we could still go out that night.

I met Jake’s mom in between my matches when I went to cheer for him and Ryan. It was a little awkward introducing myself to my new boyfriend’s mom without him there, but she was sweet and easy to talk to. She struck me as the type of person who had never met a stranger. She had big, shoulder-length hair that was the same blonde as his sister’s and the biggest freaking ring I have ever seen. Apparently this woman liked her bling because she wore stacked bracelets with different colored jewels and big chunky diamond studs, with enough personality to match all of it. She was just so quintessential Texas glam.

On the other hand, it was extremely awkward to hear how he was conceived only ten minutes after meeting her. I had never met someone who was so bluntly honest and open about the little details of their life with someone who they had just met. By the end of our conversation, it felt like I had known her my whole life.

I couldn’t keep from smiling thinking about what Jake would say when I told him that I heard he was a mountain baby and that apparently “all you need to stay warm is a handle of Southern Comfort and a big blanket by the fire.” Of course I would finish by adding a big, dramatic wink like she did. Yep, I definitely liked his mom.

After my last match of the day, I found out Dylan had lost his match and that there was a problem. Apparently, he and the guy from the other team, whose name I learned was Talen, already had issues. When they found out they would be playing each other, the trash talk started. At one point during their match, the coaches had to intervene and tell them to play or get off the court. Gabe said it was bad and that once Dylan had lost, he picked a fight with the guy behind one of the courts. Luckily, some guys from our team, including Gabe, saw it happening and pulled them apart before any of the coaches saw. Gabe was usually pretty good at calming Dylan down when he got heated, but for some reason this guy really got to Dylan.

Dylan had always been kind of a hothead but usually cooled down just as quickly as he got mad. Therefore, none of us gave it a second thought once they had been pulled apart. Plus, we were all busy finalizing plans for the night.

Jake had invited me to go to a party one of his friends was throwing at a ranch right outside of town and said I could invite whoever I wanted. So before we left the courts, we all decided to meet there later tonight. I told Maya that Jake was picking me up so she could make plans to ride with one of the guys. Dylan, who still seemed a little rattled, spoke up quickly saying he would grab her on his way. Maya shot me a quick smile before playing it off like it was no big deal, and then we all left to go get ready.

***

I was finishing my makeup when my mom walked in and asked if I would be eating with them before I went out. I let her know Jake and I were going to grab food before we met up with everyone else. Satisfied, she smiled and turned to walk out of my bathroom but stopped at the door. “Hey, honey, do you have any idea what has been wrong with Kenzie here lately? She’s been a little snippy, don’t ya think?”

I set my makeup brush down and turned to face my mom. “Oh, she’s just in a bad mood because she has it bad for Ryan, and he made sure she knew he didn’t think of her that way.”

“Kenzie always has had a thing for Ryan, hasn’t she. I wish she would just find a boy her own age to like. Oh well,” my mom said as she let out a breath. “But, honey, will you try to talk to her about it. I think she could use her big sister right now.”

“Sure, mom. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.” I picked up my mascara. My mom gave me a smile, then went downstairs to fix dinner for the three of them.

I was downstairs talking with my family, who was eating dinner, when the doorbell rang. I practically ran to the door, composing myself before I opened it.

“Hey, Em. These are for you,” Jake said with that perfect smile of his as he handed me a bouquet of flowers. “I hope you like roses.”

“Jake!” I gushed. “These are beautiful. We’re not even going on a date, date. You are so thoughtful. You seriously spoil me,” I blurted out, before quickly making myself stop talking before I said anything else. Realizing that I was rambling and that my entire family was listening to the whole thing, caused my cheeks to turn a bright shade of red.

Jake, I could tell, was loving every minute of it. “You’re welcome.” Stepping a little closer, he whispered, “And I will always spoil you,” then continued into my house. Noticing that I was still standing by the front door, he shrugged, “What? I figured you would want to put them in water.”

“Well, yeah,” I walked past him into the kitchen to get a vase.

Jake followed behind me and stopped when he saw my family. “Mrs. Crawford, Mr.Crawford,” he said, gesturing toward them with a head nod, cueing my sister to clear her throat. “And, McKenzie. Don’t worry; I was going to say hi to you too,” he teased.

“Well hello to you too, Jake. And what will you and my sister be doing this evening?” she said in her best parenting voice.

“I’m taking her to go eat and then we are meeting up with some of my friends.”

“And where will you be meeting up with your friends?” she continued, glancing over at me, laughing when she saw I was giving her a look that said stop talking.

“At my friends ranch right outside of town,” he returned kindly. “We usually shoot varmints, and I thought I could teach Emma how to shoot a gun,” he said now looking at my dad. “If that’s alright with you, sir.”

“Jake, do you know how to handle a gun?” my dad asked.

“Yes, sir. Been hunting with my father since I could walk. My dad always says that “a safe gun is one you know how to use and are not afraid of.”

“Alright then. Just make sure there is no goofing off while holding a firearm, son.”

“Yes sir, Mr. Crawford. And what time should I have Emma home tonight?”

My dad looked over at my mom who raised one eyebrow, then turned back to Jake, “Normal curfew is fine tonight. Have fun kids.”

We said goodbye to my family, and as we were walking out of the house we heard Kenzie say, “We shoot varmints,” followed by my mother shushing her, which caused us both to laugh.

***

By the time we got out to the ranch, the sun had begun to go down and a lot of people were already there.

“It’s getting too dark to learn how to shoot a gun, and there are way too many people around,” he said seriously.

“There is still plenty of daylight,” I countered, looking forward to learning how to shoot.

He reached over and placed a hand on my leg, which almost caused me to miss what he was saying, because all I could focus on was how his touch felt. “I take gun safety serious, Emma. When I teach you how to shoot, we will have plenty of daylight and there will not be this many people around. I should have known better than to think I could teach you tonight,” he said, still sounding very serious.

“But you will teach me?” I questioned, bummed that I wouldn’t be learning tonight.

“Oh, my girlfriend will know how to shoot a gun,” this time sounding more playful while sliding over to me. “There is something sexy about a girl who knows how to handle a firearm.”

“Is that so?” I challenged, not being able to resist teasing him right back.

“Absolutely,” he murmured while bending down to kiss me. We both jumped when someone hit the hood of his truck. Jake looked up to see who it was and then turned back to me with a shit eating grin on his face. “Alright, Blondie, let’s go introduce you to everyone.”

“What is that look for?” I asked, reaching for the door.

“I’m about to introduce my smokin’ hot girlfriend to all my friends.” With that, he was out the door and walking around to where I had hopped out.  He gave me one of his perfect smiles, then grabbed my hand and led me over to where his friends were standing.

“Jake. Glad you could make it,” Evan began, giving Jake a high-five as we walked up. “And I see you brought your friend. What was it again? Gemma?” he asked dramatically, scrunching his face.

“Actually, it’s Emma.”

“I’m just messing with you,” Evan laughed out. “We have all known your name for a while now. Don’t know how we couldn’t with Jake over here “Emma this” and “Emma that”.”

“Whatever man, you’re just jealous that you don’t have a smokin’ hot girlfriend.” Jake was wearing a massive smile as he shot me a wink, causing my insides to warm.

“After tonight, that may be a different story,” he joked, sliding his arm over my shoulder.

“Yeah Jake, who knows? After tonight I just may fall for all of this,” I laughed.

“Well then, darlin’, I didn’t mean to be rude. Let me introduce you to my friends,” Evan played along, turning up his southern charm.

“Hey now. Don’t go throwing around darlin’s; that’s an unfair advantage,” Jake pretended to be worried.

I looked over at Jake, cueing him to throw his hands in the air and look at me with that perfect smile. “Naw, I’m serious. He says darlin’ with that southern drawl of his and the ladies go crazy every time.”

“Ladies?” I teased, looking back at Evan who shot me a wink.

“Worked on you, didn’t it, darlin’?” Evan replied, emphasizing his southern drawl this time. “Bet I got you all hot and bothered, if you know what I mean,” he said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Oh. My. God.” I looked at Jake who looked slightly pissed then I burst out laughing. “If I thought Maya met her match with you, I can’t wait till she meets this guy.” I threw my elbow in Evan’s side just hard enough to cause him to retract his arm from around my shoulders, then walked over to a now all smiles Jake. Once Jake had wrapped his arms around my waist I looked back over at Evan, who I couldn’t tell was smiling approvingly or checking me out. “I thought you didn’t want to be rude,” I said, gesturing over to his friends.

“Oh, right. Emma, this is Brody, Heath, and Spencer.”

“Nice to meet you guys.” They all nodded.

“Hey, biatch,” I heard Maya say as she walked up behind me.

“Maya, you’re just in time. I was just getting to know Jake’s friends.”

“So this is Maya,” Evan chimed in.

Maya smirked as she turned to face Evan, “So you’ve heard of me.”

I glanced up at Jake and just shook my head. Maya could make anything sound sexy and had clearly piqued Evan’s interest. Though at this point I was beginning to think that anything female that moves could pique Evan’s interest.

“Actually, we’ve met before.” Maya looked a little confused and then Evan continued, “At school. Emma here had just introduced herself to Jake and then you walked up.”

“That’s right. You were the brunette with Jake. Lovely to meet you again…”

“Evan.”

“Right. Well, lovely to meet you again, Evan.”

“Where’s Dylan, Maya? Didn’t y’all ride together?” I asked, just realizing that Maya walked up by herself.

“When we got here, I said I was going to go find you and he was supposed to be getting us drinks.”

“Speak of the devil,” Jake said as Dylan walked up with two beers.

“Hey, Reynolds,” Dylan replied a little tense, while handing a beer over to Maya.

Noticing the tension, I leaned over to Maya. “What’s up with Dylan?” I whispered.

“He is still all worked up about that Talen guy for some reason.”

“Really? Why?”

Maya looked as confused as I was and just shrugged her shoulders.

Noticing the obvious tension, Jake suggested the rest of us go find a drink as well. Everyone quickly complied.

“What’s with the face?” Jake asked as we walked up to where the drinks were.

“I, uh. Well, how in the world did a high school kid get so much booze?” My cheeks flushed because I knew that was a stupid question as soon as it came out. But seriously, out of every party I have ever been to, I have never seen this much alcohol. I guess I just wasn’t expecting this. 

Jake laughed, “Older siblings, fake IDs, the usual.”

“The usual, huh? So what’s your usual?”

“Actually, I don’t drink much anymore. I’m typically the designated driver these days, but tonight I made sure the guys set up another ride so I could chauffeur this cute blonde around.”

I had to admit I was glad Jake said he wasn’t much of a drinker. Not that I would have been mad if he was, but there was just something about it that I liked.