If We Jump

Stephen and I are a really great couple. But to be honest, the best thing about it was that we could still hang with the band as a group without it being weird. Tonight we were all at a bar, thanks to the power of fake IDs, and planned to go to John and Stephen’s afterwards. I was sitting on one of the bar stools with John, while Stephen and Brian danced ridiculously on the floor. Jess and Justin had gotten a table close by and I had no idea where Josh went. Stephen was going all out, having as much fun as he possibly could.

When everyone was sufficiently exhausted we decided to head back. Stephen was on the verge of being and I was slightly drunk. Jess and Justin were long gone. John hadn’t been drinking as much as the rest of them and Josh… well, he lost his pants.

Once we had walked –well, stumbled- into Stephen’s house, the majority settled in the living room but Justin went straight for the fridge. Josh still had no pants on, only his t-shirt and underwear. “Let’s play a game!” Jess screamed excitedly.

“What do you want to play?” John asked, sitting beside me on the floor. Justin had walked out and sat with Jess already, so we were just waiting for Stephen.

“Oh! Let’s play the question game!” she said. Everyone climbed off the couches and began forming a circle on the floor. Josh yelled to Stephen to grab the shot glasses. When he came out he had various bottles of alcohol and a few shot glasses. He set them down in the middle of us all and sat with me.

“Okay, so basically, it’s like truth or dare but without the dare and you have to take a shot when you answer.” he said, mostly to me.

“That’s it?” I asked. This sounded like a game that was more for getting drunken people into trouble than for fun. He nodded and Josh volunteered to go first. He asked Brian something about when he lost his virginity. He poured some Jack Daniels in glass and shot it back.

“17. Hmm, Stephen. How do you really feel about Dakotah?” he asked with a smirk. Stephen didn’t seem at all phased by his question and answered with confidence.

“I’m ridiculously in love with her.” he said before doing a shot. I blushed and looked at my feet. I hated when he said that. I felt exactly the same, but I was trying to convince myself otherwise. I guess I knew it all along, but I couldn’t believe it. I wouldn’t let myself get hurt again, but the closer Stephen and I became the harder that was becoming. “Jess, are you and Justin dating yet?”

She blushed and did her shot before she answered. “Nope” she moved her yes around the room, deciding who would be her victim. The questions went on and on, almost all of them followed by hysterical laughter. Thankfully, I was only asked a few. We kept picking on Josh about shenanigans he took part in.

“So Dakotah, I have a question for you. What is your hidden talent?” he asked me. The dirty questions had been mostly used up, and everyone was simmering down as the sun rose and they sobered up.

“I’m a pretty good singer…” I admitted. It was something I rarely did, because I wasn’t very confident in that, but the few people who had heard me always said I was amazing at it. I wasn’t awful, but I was nowhere near amazing.

“Really? You want to join our band?” Josh joked and Brian hit his arm.

“I didn’t know you could sing...” Stephen said, kissing my hair. I nodded. “Sing to me sometime?” he asked.

“Not tonight” I yawned, resting my head on his shoulder. We had stayed up all night and it was well after 6 a.m. John was about to fall asleep and Jess and Justin wear sprawled out on the floor.

“Are you tired?” he asked and I nodded in response. “Let’s go to bed” he laughed. I stood and followed him upstairs to his room. He stripped down to his boxers and dug through his drawers. He found a pair of sweatpants and pulled them on before handing me basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I didn’t bother going into the other room to change. I stood up and pulled my shirt off. When I reached for his t-shirt I noticed her was staring at me. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. “Oh, um, sorry” he stuttered and turned around.

“You can look now.” I said when I was finished changing. He turned and walked to the other side of the bed and laid down next to me. He pulled me close to him and placed a kiss on my lips.

When Stephen and I woke up, we went downstairs to see where everyone else was. A few of them were still sleeping on the floor, but Justin and John were making coffee in the kitchen. There was a note from Stephen’s mom saying she had gone shopping and would be home by dinner. She also mentioned that we better not be hungover when she returned.

“Go wake up Jess and the others, I’ll make you breakfast.” Stephen said, and kissed my cheek. I walked into the living room and shook Jess awake. When she was finally up, I sat on the ground with her and we just talked for a few minutes before I woke everyone else up. I had asked her about her and Justin, quietly enough so he wouldn’t hear from the other room. She said they weren’t anything serious, they were just having fun. I believed that. Neither of them seemed to be the type who liked serious commitments. Jess was strong and independent and Justin just liked to have fun.

“So what about you and Stephen? Did you two….?” She trailed off the end of her sentence like I was supposed to know what she was asking.

“Have we what?”

“You know, had sex?” she smirked. I shook my head and she opened her mouth. “Wait, not ever?” I shook my head. She seemed so surprised. Stephen and I had only been officially dating for a little while and I wasn’t ready for that yet. “He’s a keeper” she said and nodded. I don’t know what she meant by it, but I decided not to ask. I shook Brian awake and he pulled Josh off the couch. He woke up when his body hit the floor with a loud thump.

I walked back towards the kitchen and Stephen was sitting at the table eating pancakes with Justin. I sat in the empty chair beside him and he handed me a plate.

Everyone decided to go home and shower or do whatever soon after we ate. I was going to leave too, but Stephen said I owed him a song. “Fine, but you have to play guitar.” I told him. He brought his guitar down to the living room where I was. I told him the song and he started strumming. I was actually surprised he knew it, He Is We didn’t seem to be well-known in Arizona.

Merrily we fall
out of line, out of line
I’d fall anywhere with you
I’m by your side
Swinging in the rain
Humming melodies
We’re not going anywhere until we freeze
I’m not afraid
Anymore
I’m not afraid
Forever is a long time
But I wouldn’t mind spending it by your side
Carefully we'll place our destiny
You came and you took this heart, and set it free
Every word you write or sing is so warm to me, so warm to me
I’m torn, I’m torn to be right where you are

I stopped singing when Stephen stopped playing. He just stared at me for a minute and I started feeling nervous, playing with the hem of his t-shirt that I was wearing. “Holy shit” he said.

“That was bad, wasn’t it?” I asked him, biting my lip.

“No, that was beautiful” he said, shaking his head. “Why didn’t you tell me you could sing like that?”

“I don’t know, I guess I never thought I was any good at it.” There was a short silence between us. “I should probably get going, your moms going to be home soon. Do you want help cleaning up?” I offered. He shook his head and gave me a long kiss.

“Go get your clothes and I’ll drive you” he said. I went upstairs to his room to change. I put my jeans back on but kept Stephen’s shirt. He walked me to the door and gave me kiss. He told me he loved me before turning to walk back to his car. Once he reached the bottom step, I stopped him.

“Stephen?” I called. He turned to look at me.

“I love you too”