Believe You Me

After we reluctantly pulled away from a second kiss, I dragged a soaking wet Jaime and his bag inside. I led him down the hall to my old bedroom, where we stripped out of our wet clothes down to our underwear and climbed into the small twin sized bed. Our legs intertwined and I laid my head on his bare chest, listening to his heart beating steadily. His fingers were absentmindedly running up and down my spine, giving me slight chills.

"Jaime..." I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Hmm?" He hummed in response, his chest vibrating.

"Is this official, are we really... together?" I whispered to him, looking up at him.

"As long as this is what you really want." He said simply, not looking at me.

"How is this going to work? What do best friends that are in love even do?"I asked, sitting up and looking at him. He looked at me, his eyes sparkling with the light of the Christmas lights strung around the top of my room.

"The same exact thing that others who are in love do. I'll take you on dates. I'll leave you cute surprises and notes. I'll spoil you, and I'll undoubtedly make you mad at times, but I'll make it up to you with your favourite things. I'll take you places and show you off to everyone, proving to them that I have the perfect girl. I'll make you fall in love with me more and more, each and every day, and I'll keep falling in love with you, more and more, each and every day." He was smiling softly, his dimples barely showing in the shadow that lied gently across his face. My stomach fluttered and I leaned in, pressing my lips softly against his.

"You're every girl's dream guy. I'm so lucky to have you." I said with a smile after I pulled away. I lied my head back on his chest and his fingers began to run up my spine again.

"I'm the lucky one." He murmured as he pressed his lips gently against my forehead. We sat there for a few seconds in silence before he spoke back up again. "Eve, will you come back with me tomorrow? I can't go back and deal with everything by myself. I need you." He said, not looking at me. I sighed and pressed my face into the crook of his neck, kissing it lightly. He sucked in a sharp breath and I let out a giggle.

"Of course I'll go back with you. I don't want to have to try to fall asleep without you next to my side, I'd hate every second of it." I admitted quietly, planting another kiss on his neck.

"Stop that, Eve." He groaned, shifting uncomfortably. I laughed and rested my head back on his chest, closing my eyes and focusing on the sound of his heartbeat. He let out a sigh and rested his chin against the top of my head. "I love you, Evelyn." He whispered quietly.

"I love you too, Hime." I whispered back, smiling as I did.

*************

When I woke up, I was alone. I frowned at the empty spot next to me and got out of bed, taking some basketball shorts and a hoodie out of my bag and throwing them on quickly. I walked out into the hall and began to search the hall for a sign of anyone. There were voices coming from the down the hall, and I followed them, eventually leading me to the kitchen where my dad and Jaime were sitting and chatting.

"Evelyn!" My dad said when he saw me, standing up and holding his arms out. I walked into my dad's embrace and he wrapped me tightly in a bear hug. "I'm so glad to see you, I've missed you. You don't come around nearly enough." He said after pulling away. I took a seat next to him and across from Jaime, who was smiling at me softly, his eyes sparkling and full of life. I smiled back at him sheepishly, still in a daze over the fact that this all was actually real.

"I'm sorry daddy, I don't mean to." I said, turning my attention back to him. "The whole jewelry business has been hectic, I've been running across the country like crazy these past few months."

"That's what Jaime was telling me, he said that work was consuming your life." My dad said. I glared at Jaime, but I couldn't keep up the act after seeing him smile at me and a smile broke across my face. My dad cleared his voice, breaking the stare between me and Jaime. Jaime's cheeks turned red and my dad let out a hearty laugh. "So, you guys are heading back today?" My dad said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, Vic's in the hospital, dad..." I told him. Both of my parents knew all of the guys, as they met them a few years ago when they flew out to California to check on me. "Jaime had told me that as well." He said in a sad tone. He patted my hand that was laying on the table. "I'm sure everything will be fine, I have no doubt about it. That Vic is a strong kid, he can handle it." He gave me and Jaime a smile before standing up and stretching. "What time does your flight leave this afternoon, do you guys have time to grab some lunch before then?" I opened my mouth to tell him that I hadn't even bought the tickets yet, but Jaime spoke first.

"Our flight leaves a little before five, so we definitely have time, Mr. Anaya. " Jaime told my dad with a smile. He saw my confused look and smiled at me. "I bought our tickets this morning, I hope you're okay with that." He explained.

"Of course I'm okay with that." I said to him with a smile.

"Perfect!" My dad jumped in. "Go get ready Evelyn, we'll leave whenever you're ready." He gave us a smile and headed towards his study at the end of the hall. Jaime and I headed towards my room together, hand in hand.

Jaime closed the door behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, kissing the back of my neck softly.

"Jaime, stop." I moaned, closing my eyes. I peeled myself out of his arms and slid my pants and hoodie off.

"Eve." Jaime said sternly, shocking me. I turned around and looked into his soft brown eyes, seeing that he was smiling. "I just wanted to see you. God, you're so beautiful." He breathed, placing his hands on my hips and planting a kiss on my lips. His hands slid up my body gently, causing my breath to hitch.

"My dad's in the other room Jaime, we can't do this right now." I sighed, and he pulled away from me reluctantly, his fingertips lingering on my skin.

"I know." He sighed back. "You're just so beautiful though, I can't help myself." I smiled at him and kissed him on the lips before turning around and throwing on a hoodie and jeans. The only downside of Florida in the summer was the constant thunderstorms. Jaime waited patiently while I did my hair and make up.

"Did you tell my dad about us?" I asked Jaime, who was sitting on the bed while I applied a thin layer of eyeliner.

"No, I didn't think that it was my place to tell him." He told me, looking at me through the reflection of the mirror I was standing in front of.

"We can tell him together at lunch." I smiled at him. I finished putting on my make up and went to let my dad know we were ready. A few minutes later we all piled into my dad's car and headed to lunch.

***********

We were sitting in the booth of a quiet little ma and pop diner, shooting shit and catching up over the things that had happened in the past year. I told my dad about my most recent craft fair that I had attended in New York, while Jaime told us about the band's latest venture in Mexico. Our food was served to us and we were eating quietly, save for a few comments here and there.

"So dad," I began, setting my fork down on my plate and wiping my mouth with my napkin. "I've got something to tell you."

"Aw shit." He said after popping a french fry into his mouth. "Please tell me anything except you're pregnant. I'm not ready for that yet." Jaime choked on his food, causing both me and my dad to laugh.

"No dad, of course not. I'm not even ready for that myself. I, well we, just wanted to tell you-" My phone started ringing , cutting me off midsentence. I pulled it out of my purse and checked it, seeing Vic's name on the screen. "I'm sorry, I really need to take this." I excused myself from the table and took the phone into the restroom, answering it along the way.

"Hello?" I said as I answered.

"Evelyn, I'm so glad you answered!" Vic said excitedly.

"Vic? I didn't think you were allowed to have your phone in the hospital?" I said, leaning against the sink.

"You know me, can't ever be without my phone." He laughed dryly. "Did Jaime make it there okay? Tony told me last night that he caught a plane to try to bring you back."

"Yeah, Jaime's here, everything's fine. We're uh... We're kind of official now." I said shyly, blushing at my own words.

"That's great, Eve! I'm so happy for you guys, really. I knew this would happen eventually, Mike owes me $50." Vic said happily.

"You guys had a bet going on us?!" I exclaimed, the humor not hidden very well in my voice.

"For about two years now. You guys were bound to end up with each other eventually." We both laughed before he continued on with his sentence. "So, not only did I call to check on you guys, but I also called to tell you guys some good news. Is Jaime with you right now?"

"No, we're out at lunch with my dad. I left Jaime with him while I took your call. What's going on?" I said, my tone evident with worry.

"It's nothing bad Eve, settle down. I was going to wait until you were with Jaime, but I just can't. They found a donor, the surgery's scheduled for tomorrow!" He said excitedly.

"Vic that's great, oh my goodness!" I squealed with excitement. "Everybody is going to be glad to hear that! We'll be there, I promise. Don't you worry. Our flight leaves later this afternoon, so we'll be there."

"I'm so glad. I'll see you tomorrow then. Love you Evie." We said our goodbyes and hung up the phone. I squealed with excitement again before heading back to the booth to tell my dad and Jaime the good news.