Stay With Me

Tonight was going to be Jess and Jack’s first official date since getting back together, it had been a little weird this past week but Jack was hoping to make everything normal after tonight. He had spent the better part of the week planing what he thought would be the perfect second first date but trying to top their first first date would be hard.

He had thought about going back to the park where they celebrated their three month anniversary but decided against it. He wanted to do something different in order to create a new memory they could share. He thought about doing the fansty restautrant and expensive food but he realised that really wasn’t Jess’ thing. She was more of a simple girl and that’s when his great idea came to him.

He would cook her a three course dinner at his house and after they would cuddle on the couch and watch movies that she chose. Jack was mostly excited about being able to cuddle her without worrying about who was watching. The pair tried to keep the PDA to a minmum around Alex they didn’t want to flaunt their relationship infront of him, especially Jess.

She still felt guilty about leading Alex on, rarely would she even allow Jack to hold her hand when Alex was around. It’s not that it felt wrong she just felt guilty. Jack understood and knew not to push the issue. If she was still uncomfortable holding hands around Alex then he’d deal with that.

Alex was thankful that couple weren’t all over each other all the time, he knew they only did it for his sakel. He was slowly coming to terms with the fact he had lost Jess and it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. His crush was slowly deteriorating as he saw how happy they made each other. The three teenagers were all handling the situation very maturely.

Jack made his way downstairs and to the kitchen, pouring himself a bowl of lucky charms. He sat on the couch watching the Saturday morning cartoons as he quickly ate his cereal. He was laughing at the children's show when there was a knock on the door. Jack got up and contemplated putting on some pants before opening the door. He decided against it and opened the door anyway.

“Why do you never wear pants?’ Alex asked as he walked into the Barakat’s home.

“Pants are for losers” Jack retorted as he shut the door. “What are you doing here anyway?” He asked as he walked back over the the couch.

“Iunno, I got bored and we ran out of lucky charms” Alex said making his way to the kitchen his eyes lighting up when he saw the box of his favourite cereal.

“So you’re using me for my food?” Jack questioned eyes still glued to the tv.

“Yeah pretty much” Alex poured himself a large bowl of the cereal and added milk before he walked over and took a seat next the Jack. The pair sat there watching mindless cartoons for almost an hour until Jacks phone ringing forced him to go upstairs to get it.

“Hey baby” Jack said as he sat down on his bed “Wassup?”

“Haha Nothing much just wondering what you had planned for tonight?’ Jess said as she searched through her wardrobe for something to wear.

“Not telling, It’s a surprise!”

“But Jack I need to know what to wear!”

“Just wear something casual, trust me.” He said as he remember he still had to go shopping to buy some ingredients.

“Alright I trust you.” Jack continued to inform her on some details but not all. He wanted to surprise her with his romantic meal. He organised to pick her up at 7 and they’d go from there. They reluctantly ended the phone call as Jack returned down stairs to find Alex now lying on the lounge.

“Who was it?” Alex asked sitting up making room for the other boy.

“Ah um it was Jess” Jack awkwardly said sitting down as Alex let out a loud sigh.

“Dude, you know you can say her name around me I mean she is your girlfriend.”

“Yeah but it’s just kind of weird” Jack defended.

“I know but I don’t want it to be weird and the only way to make it not weird is for you to talk about her” Jack agreed and decided to tell Alex about the date he had planned for her tonight. Alex thought it was cute and decided it would be a good idea if he accompanied Jack on the grocery shopping trip. Not trusting Jack to buy the right foods.

As the boys walked through the isles of the store they put into the basket things Jack would need in order to cook his three course italian meal as well as some snack foods. For entree he was going to make Garlic bread, not knowing how to make it from scratch Alex picked out the best pre-made one he could find.

For the main course Jack was going to attempt to make his mother’s famous Spaghetti Carbonara. It was like a creamy pasta with bacon and mushrooms. He got all the ingredients from the list his mother wrote for him before deciding to buy a frozen pizza as well. Just incase his cooking endeavour didn’t work out.

For dessert Jack (with the help of Alex) was going to bake a chocolate cake! It was a well known fact the chocolate cake was Jess’ favourite so he decided to make it for her, and just like every other course he had a back up plan. Sundaes, no one could ruin ice-cream not even Jack Barakat.

When the boys got home it was already 3pm, They had four hours before Jack had to leave to get Jess and a lot had to be done. They decided to start with the cake knowing it would take the longest. They followed the instructions to the best of their abilities but Jack accidentally put in way too many eggs, mistaking the three for an eight. They had to start over this time Alex insisting on cracking the eggs.

After a lot of swearing and frustrated groans the boys finally put the cake in the oven at 4 O’clock. Something that was supposed to take twenty minutes somehow took them an hour. They set a timer to go off when it was supposed to be cooked and hopefully it would be.

The boys eagerly waited for the dining sound indicating their masterpiece was complete and when it did both boys were extremely proud of the cake they had made. It smelt delicious and looked extremely appealing to the point where Alex tried to take some from the side but before he had the chance Jack slapped his hand away.

Alex left minutes later, his mother needing him home. After he left Jack called his mother who had taken a weekend trip with his father. She talked him step by step through her pasta recipe. Recalling every last instruction off the top of her head.

After successfully making the sauce Jack thanked his mother before hanging up the phone and setting up the down stairs lounge room and dinning table. As Jack prepared everything for the evening he realised he needed to take a shower and get ready otherwise he would be late.

Jess stood infront of her wardrobe in nothing but a towel just coming out of the shower. She tried to decide what Jack meant by casual. Were jeans and a top okay or was a skirt the more appropriate choice. She decided it was better to be a little over dressed than under, so she went with a skirt and a casual but nice top.

After choosing her outfit she went to the bathroom and applied a minimal amount of make up. Jack always hated it when she wore too much claiming she looked better without it. Finally she brushed the knots out of her long hair before deciding to wait downstairs for Jack to arrive.

She was only waiting for a matter of minutes before there was a knock at the door. She quickly ran to the door unable to control her excitement as she opened the door she flung herself into Jacks waiting arms. He pressed a light kiss to her forehead as she clung to his skinny frame.

“I’ve missed you.” She said pecking his lips.

“It’s been a day babe” Jack said making her pout, he quickly pressed his lips to hers, smiling into the kiss. Jess called out to her mother saying goodbye as the two walked hand in hand to his car.

Jack being the gentlemen he is, opened the door for her which earned him a peck on the cheek. For the entirety of the short car trip Jess pestered Jack into telling her where they were going. He just continuously shrugged his shoulders repeating.

“You’ll see”

After driving for five minutes Jack finally pulled into the driveway of his humble abode.

“Where going to your house?” Jess asked skeptically.

“Yeah, is that okay with you?” Jack asked opening her door and taking hold of her hand.

“Of course” She said as Jack lead her to the front door, as they walked in Jess’ mouth hit the ground.

The lights were dimmed in the dinning room table as two places were set across from each other. There were two candles that Jack moved to lite as he let go of her hand. The was a bottle of wine to the end of the table as well as a vase full of flowers. He had even laid out a white table cloth. It looked perfect.

“Aww Jack, this is so cute” She said wrapping him in a side hug.

“You really like it?” He asked still not sure, moving his body to face her.

“How could I not?” She siad smiling as she stood on her tippy toes to give him a kiss. Jack wound his hands around her waist and leant down making it easy for their lips to move together. The kiss lasted longer than either expected, both slightly gasping for air as they pulled away.

“Before we get too carried away maybe I should serve you the delicious dinner I made. I wouldn’t want it to go to waste” Jack said taking her hand and leading her into the ktichen

“You made dinner?” Jess said with a mix of surprise and a little but of worry. Jack was a sweat heart but he wasn’t great when it came to cooking.

“Yes but don’t worry if it’s shit then I have a back up plan!” He said making them both laugh. He lead her through the kitchen, as he stopped at each meal.“Okay so for entree we are having garlic bread” He said showing her the bread. “And for the main course we will be having Mumma Barakat’s famous Spaghetti Carbonara which I made but don’t worry she took me through step by step!” He said allowing Jess to smell the sauce. “And finally for dessert we are having your favourite chocolate cake which Alex helped me make!” He said taking the lid of the container showing her the amazing cake.

“Aw Jack it all looks great!” She said looking a the cake which surprisingly looked delicious. “Good then lets eat!” He said leading her back to the table sitting her down as he went back to get the food. He brought out the bread and pasta togehter as the two sat down and ate together keeping up a casual conversation.

Jack told her about his and Alex’s trip to the grocery store and how he managed to ruin the first cake. He told her what Alex said about getting things back to normal and she agreed whole heartedly.

“Jack this pasta is actually delicious” Jess said taking another bite. Jacks face lite up at the simple compliment.

As the two finished their pasta Jack cleared the plates and came back out with two pieces of cake with ice cream which they happily ate. The cake surprisingly tasted good and Jack made a mental note to save some for Lex. As they finished their dessert Jack started to become nervous and fidgety which Jess picked up on straight away.

“Jack what’s wrong?” She asked grabbing his hand from across the table.

“What? Nothing, everything’s perfect” He said but she wasn’t falling for it. She gave him the look that meant exactly that, to which he sighed and moved to sit next to her.

“Okay well I know that we have only been re-dating a week but I really like having you as my girlfriend and it really really sucked when you weren’t. I wasn’t happy and everything just well sucked.” He rambled nervously as he went to get down on one knee. Jess’ breath got caught in her throat as he got into the position she had seen so many times in movies. He couldn’t be doing that could he? They were too young, they couldn’t get married! Jack noticed Jess shocked face as he let out a laugh.

“Wow Jess calm down I am not doing that!” Jack said holding one of her hands

“Oh okay good because we’re way too young for that” She said regaining her ability to breath

“haha now I don't know a lot but I do know that I love you Jess and I never want to lose you again. I also know that one day in the distant future I want to get down on one knee and propose to you but until then-” Jack said reaching for something in his pocket. “I want to give you this ring, as sort of a promise that one day I will replace with a wedding ring” He said nervously as he looked up as Jess’ eyes that were now glossy.

Jess couldn’t believe what was happening. Jack actually wanted to marry her one day! She didn’t want to leave the desperate boy waiting any longer so instead of finding the right words to express her love she decided to use her lips. The kiss was passionate and filled with love but at the same time gentle.

“Is that a yes?” Jack asked as they pulled away, their lips still millimeters apart. Jess nodded her head allowing Jack to slip the gorgeous ring onto her finger. The two continued to share kisses before Jack lead her into the lounge room where he had set up blankets and pillows for them to watch movies. Jess smiled as she laid down beside Jack.

“Now it’s time to watch moveis and cuddle!” Jack announced as he wrapped his arms around her. “And it’s your choice in what we watch tonight” He said pressing a sweet kiss to her temple. Jess thought about what movie she wanted to watch before finally deciding

“Home Alone” Jacks face eyes widened as his smile reached his eyes.

”We don’t have to if you don’t want to” Jack said sincerely unable to wipe away his large grin.

“No I want to” Jess said cuddling closer to Jack.

“You really are the best girlfriend ever!” Jack said kisisng her one more time before getting up and putting in the dvd.

“And you’re the best boyfriend” Jess said being cheesy. As the movie began to play the two moulded together in an extremely comfortable position. Jess’ head rested on Jacks chest as he wrapped his arm around her body tightly. Throughout the movie Jack kept catching Jess gazing at her new ring lovingly while twisting it on her finger. She seemed to be infatuated with it, He was just glad she liked it.

As the movie ended Jack asked Jess what she wanted to watch next but instead of answering him she attached her lips to his in a greedy kiss.

‘I can think of better things to do than watch movies” She whispered as she pulled away. Jacks eyes popped out of his head not expecting for this to happen to night.

“Really?” Jack asked to which Jess nodded. Before she could change her mind Jack hungrily attached their lips once again. He picked her up as Jess crossed her legs around Jacks waist, him carrying her up the stairs and straight to his room.