Chapter 21

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We both got out our cars and I went in my trunk and took out all the shopping bags at which Jake bought most of all of them, and he met me over in my yard as I closed my trunk somewhat struggling with everything.

"Haha! You got more than I thought," Jake commented coming over getting some of the bags.

"Yeah, because of you," I laughed at him locking my car. He shrugged.

"Couldn't help myself Kit-Kat," he pitched his lips closed looking at me. I squinted my eyes at him with a titled head and turned around, not knowing how to take that comment. I unlocked the door to my house and stepped in and my mom was cooking a late dinner and honestly it smelt divine.

"Hey Mother," I called to her.

"Dawn, did you get some stuff?" She called to me. As Jake and I walked down the foyer, into the open living room and kitchen, Jake replied,

"I think she got more than 'some'." Mother, surprised to hear a male voice, jumped a little, turned around and her face brighten.

"Jake! I didn't know you were going to accompany my daughter in all this! How are you sweetie?" She asked him. Jake went around the island and side hugged her and came back.

"I'm doing great actually. I saw your daughter at the mall, and I figured I would make sure she was alright by herself," he grinned down at me. I rolled my eyes huffing my breath at his lie, that was actually believable and pretty good, but I couldn't tell him that. That'll show my weakness.

"Aww how sweet of you. Dee, what all did you get? You got oddly a lot," she said making some kind of sauce.

"Well, Jake was so kind, Mother, he paid for a good load of this," I told her truthfully. She gasped.

"Ohhh how sweet of you Jake! Well just for that, you two go put all that upstairs and join me for dinner. You can have some too Jake. Dee's father is working overtime tonight."

"Alright Mother," I began to walk back through foyer up the stairs.

"Thank you Mrs. Noel, it's much appreciated."

"Anytime Jake," Mother replied generously. I beat Jake to my room and I heard him follow behind me and he stepped inside and looked around.

"Hmm," he said setting the bags down by my bed. "You've grown up."

"I have," I agreed with him, putting the other bags he brought on my bed opening my closet.

"I like it. You know, with the touch of gold and everything. It's nice," he complimented.

"Thanks," I took off my shoes and place them in their appropriate spot. "It was my idea." Jake nodded.

"I can tell. It's better than that zebra print you and all the other trendy tween girls had in middle school. " I looked back at him as he chuckled and I rolled my eyes turning around again.

Jake walked around my room like he was reminiscing what it use to look like, while I went to change. I grabbed a hoodie and some cozy sweatpants, and while he observed some pictures of Charlotte and I from last year's summer at Disney World and camping, I decided to change into my sweatpants in the closet with the door cracked, and I don't know if Jake was paying attention to me with the little he could see, but he asked a question,

"You and Lotte are mighty close huh?" I came back out feeling a relief from my legs in those tight jeans.

"Yup. We met freshmen year and here are, inseparable," I looked at the picture with him. He looked at me and I noticed he glanced at my lips and I backed away to my bed for my hoodie, and I added, "and probably because we know our deepest darkest secrets. We can't jeopardize that if we break up our friendship." Jake laughed, turning around in my desk chair.

"Haha!! That seems understandable." I nodded.

"It really is." Jake put the photo down and looked down at my desk and I figured this was a good opportunity to change into my hoodie.

I took off my shirt and began to change and Jake was oddly quiet while I did, so I finally put my hoodie on, messing up my hair, but feeling like it was appropriate so I didn't fix it. When I walked over and placed my clothes in my dirty basket, Jake was already looking at me.

"Um, can I help you?" I asked him as I walked over to my closet to get my fuzzy house shoes.

"Uh...nothing," he said honestly. I  shrugged.

"Umm...okay..."

As I put on my boots away, Jake picked up a piece of paper from my desk and I quickly sprinted over to him, and I jumped onto my desk to grabbed the paper in his hand.

"Don't read them!" I yelled at him. "These are personal." But with Jake's football like reflexes he sprung his arm back and I couldn't reach it, causing me to fall forward onto his chest.

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down. Calm down. I was reading this one," he said calmly reading from arms length. I was CRAWLING on him.

"Jake please! Don't read them!!" I begged him. "I don't know what I was thinking!" I still reached for the paper, my chest under his chin as he continued to looked up at my paper.

"Hang on, almost done," he didn't look at me hiding his lips into a smile.

"Jake!" I squealed and at that exact moment I yelped his name, my chair fell back from the pressure Jake and I were adding on its back, and we fell to the ground, causing a loud thump like a heavy set guy falling which, I know Mother must've heard from downstairs, but then again maybe not, from the sizzles of sautéd shrimp I smelt.

I opened my eyes to find myself laying on top of Jake, his nose in front of my nose, his dark brown eyes looking at my chocolate brown's, my belly button on his abs I knew he had but never felt, and we stared at each other and he smiled as he was the first to say,

"Well....this is awkward."

I got rolled off of him and quickly got up and snatched the paper from the ground of the one he read and he got up after me.

"If a girl tells you NOT to read something Jake, you DON'T read it," I scold him through my teeth.

"But Kit-Kat, that was amazing!" Jake complimented. I rolled my eyes walking over to my desk ignoring him placing all the loose papers I had into a binder and he came over to me really passionately. "Wait...what was that? What was that for??" I paused before answering...not wanting to tell the truth.

But it came out anyway.

"It's for that contest at school I already told you about, Writers Block?"  Jake was listening as I didn't looked at him and kept organizing my papers. He looked down at me. "Mr. Will suggested I enter, so...I did...." Jake continued to look at me as I licked my lips embarrassed about the whole thing.

"Well...why do you sound so sad?" Jake asked me. "You love writing." I sighed.

"Cause I feel I'm not good enough," I looked at him. He stared at me. "I've never entered into a writing contest before and it's anonymous so I could be the only one who entered or out of one hundred others..." Jake shook his head after waiting a bit and I turned and sat on my bed.

"Dee..." He came over and sat by me. "What you wrote, I know is hundred times better than what anyone I know would enter." I didn't looked at him shaking my head and he gently took his hand and made me look at him. I gasped swallowing. "What you wrote is real...real feelings from inside you, and that's what makes yours stand out the most..." He told me. I looked at Jake's eyes and his...pastel pink lips...and after we stared at each other like at what seemed like forever, he looked at my lips, then my eyes.... he stood up quickly biting his bottom lip as if he wanted to do something, but didn't.

"Well...can we go down stairs now? I know your mom is an executive chef, and compared to my mom, I never eat real food so," Jake joked. I stood up chuckling.

"Shut up," I slapped Jake's arm. "It's not my fault you starve." He laughed.

I closed the door to my room after Jake filed out, and I couldn't help but remember the way he looked when he told me my writing was good...and he sounded so...sweet and sincere about it...I've never seen Jake like that before...especially toward me.

I don't know why Jake was being extremely sweet to me lately, but I'll never, ever, develop feelings for him. That would be crazy and after who goes out with?

Definitely not.

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