Summer Nights

At first, daylight brought none of yesterday’s troubles. I woke up, noticed Jake was still beside me, and cuddled into him. He stirred.
When I finally remembered everything, I retracted myself and stared at the ceiling calculatingly. I wasn’t in a pugnacious mood – quite the opposite really – and so I wrapped my arms around Jake again. It was only now starting to sink in – there was a chance, no matter how small he’d said it was - there was a chance that Jake would not be around for much longer. He’d said he’d have the checkup as soon as we went back, and that was when he would find out whether or not he would have to undergo an operation.
I shut my eyes tightly, because at this point in time, I could not imagine how dull my life had been before and would be without Jake. It was weird and cheesy and crazy, but all those romance books I'd read had been right - he completed me. I felt alive when I was with him. He amused me, he cared about me, was there for me. And he needed me now. It was amusing how morning provided different views on situations.
I accidentally hugged him tighter and he woke. He turned his head and looked at me groggily.
Smiling sheepishly, he said, “Howdy.”
“Hullo, there young chap,” I replied. He smiled and turned and rubbed his nose against mine.
“Eskimo kiss,” he said and, at my delighted yet slightly confused look, elaborated, “This is how Eskimos’ make out.”
“Hmm, it’s a huge turn on,” I laughed. I was glad we were both pretending last night hadn’t really happened. I still had questions, but honestly, I just wanted to forget about it while we were still at the beach. Then, when we would go back home, everything would crash down and we would have to face reality.
He flashed his wonderful, slightly crooked grin – when it happened, it was always higher on the right – that told me he was really happy.
Then his lips slid down and we had a real make out session that left me breathing terribly hard. Morning breath or not, Jake was just too hot.
When it was over – partially because I was afraid of going too much further, partially because Jake understood my hesitance, and partially because, again, Braxton had to knock on our door – we both got up to quickly dress. I opened the door and smiled at Braxton and Emma.
“How do you do,” I said, a little breathlessly.
Braxton arched his eyebrows at me and said slowly, “Fine.”
Emma butted in, thank god. “Listen, Jack and Vaughn are already up. We’re going to go eat breakfast and then meet them outside. It’s raining so it’s really up to you what we’re going do.”
“Ugh, you guys are making me decide?” I groaned. “I’m not creative at all.”
Suddenly, as I heard Jake’s voice, I also felt a warm palm squeeze my cheek. Yes, I mean the bottom one. I visibly jumped but realized I could not remove his touch without Braxton figuring us out. “Yes, you are, Wynter. Come on, let’s make it girl’s choice then, so that the pressure’s not all on you.” He gave another little squeeze on the word pressure, and I chuckled nervously.
Braxton misunderstood that chuckle. “Come on, don’t be so nervous. Let’s eat, and then decide. You guys ready to go down stairs?”
“No,” Jake and I said at the same time.
This time, at the raised eyebrows, Jake covered. “We still haven’t bathed or anything. In fact, we just got dressed to meet you guys.”
“Oh,” Emma said, and stared pointedly at me.
“Okay,” Braxton shrugged and closed the door, but I still managed to hear him say, “What weirdoes.” I couldn't believe he was that oblivious, but I was still thankful.
I spun around and gave Jake a small push. “What is your problem with my ass?” I scolded him, yet the smirk that played on my lips revealed my true intentions.
“I noticed what a sexy ass you have when you were cleaning up after me yesterday. You were bent over, and man-oh-man,” he whistled. “I had those fantasies, you know – that maid and master kinky kind of thing.”
“You're such a guy! I’d so totally beat up your fucking rude ass,” I growled, though half pleased.
“I guess being sick does have its advantages.”
My breath hitched at his unceremonious reference to his sickness. He noticed my reaction, and he reached out to me, wrapping me in his strong arms.
"Wyn," he whispered in my ear, sending a flash of his hot air against my sensitive skin, "Just calm down. I'm not going to randomly drop dead."
I whimpered - a pathetic sound I couldn't help but let escape. I didn't want to lose him. I'd just found him. So much happiness - only there'd had to be a catch.
He snuggled his head into my neck, murmuring, "I'm going to be all right."
I let my hands snake up his chest, over his amazing muscles, until I cupped his face. I reached up and brushed my lips over his. He let out a groan, and a small smile flitted over my lips. "I know," I said, even though I didn't. "But I can't help but be worried, Jake. I-I care about you."
That was an understatement, for sure. I wasn't quite sure about the extent of my feelings for Jake, but in the week we'd spent at the beach, he'd grown on me. A lot.
At my words, he pulled back a bit, and his eyes scanned my face. They were green, but a darker shade, and turbulent again. "Shit, Wynter. God knows I care about you too." He looked up at the sky, shaking his head. His blond hair fell back around his face when his eyes settled on me again.
I gulped at the need swimming in his eyes. I'd never had a guy look at me this way before.
"I want you," he growled in a husky voice.
My eyelids flitted shut, and before I could comprehend what I was doing, I responded, "Soon."
I hadn't meant to make a promise to him. But even though he wasn't exactly pressuring me, I couldn't help but give in to him.
I wanted him too.

Jake and I walked downstairs once we were done making out. As we walked down the hallway, he kept trying to touch my bottom again. I ran ahead, giggling, but still worried as hell that Braxton or someone in our troop would discover us.
I gave him a stern look before entering the breakfast area. I immediately spotted Braxton, Emma, Jack, and Vaughn, sitting together at a table for four. I walked over to them, and with Vaughn's help, attached one of the neighboring tables to it. Jacob sat down across from me. I felt his foot rub up my calf, and I shot him another playful glare before crossing my feet off to the side.
"Howdy," I muttered to everyone. A couple greetings were mumbled in return. Talk about a sleepy bunch. "So, is it still my choice? What we do today, I mean."
"Of course," Braxton muttered around a mouthful of food.
Vaughn grinned at me. "Make it something painless."
I stuck my tongue out at him. “Well, I thought about it for a really long time, and I decided that I don’t really want to ‘go’ somewhere, so how about this: after Jake and I take Giovanni and Fuzz out for a walk – before it gets to rain too bad – we can go to the game room, or play some pool, et cetera. Then we can head back to our room and play other games.”
“Games?" Jack asked uncomfortably.
I nodded.
He shrugged, obviously not overly enthused. "What about our gig?"
"We don't have one," Vaughn answered.
"You don't?" I asked, surprised.
Emma giggled. "Thank god. I was getting tired of hanging around at cheesy bars."
Braxton shot her a glare.
"Okay, then, so it's settled, right?" I turned to Jake. "Let's go."
He raised his eyebrows.
“You know how we discussed the fact that I’m not going to walk your dog anymore…?” I said, bobbing my head, trying to send out meaningful signs for him to just go along with me.
“…Yeah…?” he said, and I stood.
“Okay, we’re going to walk the dogs and then we’re going to come back here.”
“But hasn’t the rain already started?”
“Shut up. Okay, bye guys!” I smiled, waving cheerily, and then I glanced back to make sure Jacob was following me. As soon as were out of eyeshot, I took his hand in mine.
“Where are we going?” Jake asked.
“To walk the dogs.”
“But it’s raining!”
"Not yet, it isn't. Come on, I want to spend some extra time alone with you," I purred, pulling him into me and leaning up to peck his cheeks.
He grinned. "Your so fucking sexy."
I smiled unabashedly. There was nothing as satisfying as the guy of you dreams calling you sexy.

The day followed its due course. As promised, we went to the arcade room, and when we found out that Jack had a Twister mat in his car (don't ask) we retired up stairs to Braxton's room to play.
Eventually the day was over and everyone cleared out. I followed Jake into our own hotel suite and, after grabbing my pajama, entered the bathroom. I took a quick shower to wipe off the excess grime and dirt. I put on my change of clothes and made a turban on my head out of the towel, to help my hair dry faster. As I walked past the toilet, I saw it had been wiped clean, and I gulped heavily. The last evidence that last night had happened was gone, and quite possibly I had imagined everything. Everything seemed so normal. Like Jake wasn't possibly going to die. Like he didn't have cancer. Like he didn't have a pregnant girlfriend. Wait, no - a possibly preggo girlfriend.
When I exited the bathroom, Jake sat up from his place on the bed, and as I was passing him, he managed to smack my butt.
“Jake!” I hissed, but I was barely concealing my laughter. Again, the back of my mind reminded me that seconds ago I'd been thinking about tragedies and now here I was laughing hysterically.
“What?” he said innocently, and he disappeared within the bathroom.
I rolled my eyes and got under the covers of the bed. I loved how the sheets were cold, regardless of the warmth and humidity. The window was open, and the curtains were billowing quietly. My mind strayed until Jacob came back out. I tried not to focus too much on his toned chest, and I wanted to curse him for coming out completely naked, except for the towel that was riding oh-so-low on his hips.
I gulped, and while he was fumbling around, I looked down at my nails, pretending to examine a very uninteresting piece of dry cuticle that was jutting out.
Jake went back into the bathroom and then returned seconds later with a white t-shirt and blue boxers.
He turned off the main light, leaving only his bedside lamp on. He got under the covers too and immediately wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me flush against him. I giggled as he began nibbling on my neck, and I turned, smiling happily.
“Today was fun,” he muttered, looking into my eyes.
Still grinning, I nodded. “It was.”
“How tired are you?” he asked.
“Pretty tired,” I responded.
“Do you mind if I leave the light on a little bit longer? I’m almost done with the book,” he explained, and then he reached over and Eskimo kissed me.
“No problem,” I said.
He thanked me and then kissed my forehead. He let go of me and began to read. I sighed, turning on my side. I tried really hard to fall asleep immediately, but I had too many stupid things on my mind. Tomorrow was the last day here. We would stay the night, but early in the morning, we would be off. Life would go on, even though this magical place had made me feel as if time had stopped. Summer vacation would end in a month. I’d be leaving off for college. I’d been accepted at the University of Maine, which had one of the most excellent pre-med programs. Lately, I’d regretted not going to West Virginia University. I would have to make new friends and I didn’t even have a car, so going around would be a problem. But Nathan would be going there, and he would help me out. I felt horrible about leaving my family behind, and even more so Emma. However, it was too late to change my mind now. Finally, there was the whole thing about Jacob and his cancer. I kept trying to forget about it. It seemed so unreal, so strange. It seemed totally far-fetched that something horrible could happen to him, something as drastic as death.
And even though I had all these things on my mind, sleep somehow managed to find me, and before I knew it, I was unconscious.