"We should take a shower," I breathed, plopping down on the rug in the center of the art room. The soft material beneath me relaxed my stiff muscles. We had just finished setting up the art supplies. The tiredness of attending back-to-back classes and arranging the room had taken a toll on my body. When Jake said he wanted help with it, he did intend the same. And when he said he was taking me for dinner, he did take me to the french diner outside his apartment.

I lifted onto my elbows and looked down at Jake. He was sitting beside my legs, staring at me intensely. Both of us were sweating due to the shifting we did a couple of minutes before. Even though I felt all greasy, beads of sweat on Jake's tatted white skin made him look ten times swoon-worthy. I gulped down a mouthful of dryness as he traced a circle over my ankle without breaking eye contact.

He slowly wrapped his fingers around my ankle, making me look at him with anticipation. A subtle smirk appeared on his lips, and before I could even process his actions, he pulled me towards his body. Our faces were just an inch away from touching as he swiped a drop of sweat off my neck.

"Yes, Amy, let's take a shower," he whispered, pressing his forehead to the side of my head. The smell of his musky cologne mixed with sweat almost made me cling to him. But I gave a subtle push to his chest and detached myself from his intoxicating embrace.

"I meant, separately," I stated, clearing my throat. Jake threw his head back and laughed, giving me a full view of his magnificent neck. Snap out of it, Amy! I quickly looked away from him and shook away my temptation.

"Too bad, I thought together." He said, getting up from the floor and pulling me up together with him. I looked back up at him and saw a playful expression on his face. It made me smile. His lips were right over my ear when he whispered. "Maybe, some other time."

I slipped away from his presence as soon as he led us out of the room. I found a pair of sweatpants and a shirt on his bed. How was I supposed to fit in them? It was Jake's and way too over my size. But as they say, beggars can't be choosers. It was befitting with me in that situation.

~~~

Jake gave me the privacy to complete my presentation on Dante's Divine Comedy, due the next day. The mere thought of standing at the podium and giving a presentation made me nervous. Nonetheless, I gathered all the relevant details to prepare myself for the best.

You can do it, Amy. Make Dante proud.

I occupied his room while Jake was catching up on his homework in the living room. A smile appeared on my face with the thought of us being so comfortable around each other. I needed my space, and I appreciated that he wasn't clingy like he had been for the last few days.

It had been several hours. My eyes were burning so, I finally saved the ppt and shut down my laptop. After debating over going outside for good ten minutes, I decided to crawl back to the bed.

I kept thinking about the kiss we shared in the art store that day and how he had almost confessed his love for me. I didn't know what would have been my response to it, but I most definitely didn't expect that coming. Sure we were nothing less than a couple, but we never put a label to it. Everyone except my family, who was due for Thanksgiving, knew about us being together, so it only made sense to take that final step of acceptance.

We didn't speak about it while driving back to his place or even during dinner. It appeared that Jake was avoiding the whole confrontation. I didn't know what to think about the way he was struggling to let out his feelings. He was trying hard to suppress something which I could feel through his touches. It was evident in his eyes.

Despite the regrets that were stopping him from expressing his love, he conveyed it to my heart. I could only imagine that euphoric moment when those magical words would roll out of his lips without a single trace of hesitation.

I will wait for it, Jacob, even if it takes you forever to spell it out and even if it takes all the patience in me to keep waiting. Because I already am in love with you, every single piece of you, broken or not. And whether you accept it or not, I know you are in love with me too. I hope that you let go of everything that once was but is no more.

On that note, I typed in a quick text to Seb. I had made my mind to at least get some information out of him without hinting to Jake that I was investigating him on his back.

Me: Can we meet at the coffee house tomorrow after college?

I tossed my cellphone aside and closed my eyes, giving a try to fall asleep, knowing very well I wouldn't be able to. After shifting a couple of different positions and failing miserably, I sat up huffing. I looked in the direction of the door contemplating whether Jake was still studying or had decided to sleep in the guest room. I released a few deep breaths before hopping off the bed.

Adjusting my ever-drowning long sweatpants and brushing my hair with my fingers, I opened the bedroom door and walked out quietly into the living room. My eyes were still on the couch where Jake was sitting a few hours ago but weren't there anymore. As soon as I turned towards the kitchen, I met with him. He was there, in all his glory, taking out the orange juice from the refrigerator.

Although I came out with that exact intention, I pretended to be surprised to see him there. I leaned against the bar facing him and pointed towards the juice. "I was craving orange juice."

"Of course, you were." He smiled, taking a swooping look at my comical appearance from head to toe. He poured me a glass of orange juice, handed it to me, and leaned against the counter across from me. He kept watching me as I gulped down the orange juice. After drinking a few mouthfuls, I looked down at the remaining content in my glass, then up at him. He took a step towards me, securing the glass from my hand. Without breaking eye contact with me, he sipped down the juice slowly.

That was the hottest thing I had ever noticed, more so when with each sip, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down in a rhythm. So, without wasting a once-in-a-while moment, I traced its movement with my index finger enjoying the way he stiffened due to the contact. The moment lasted only a second as he set the glass beside me, gripping the counter on my other side, and locked me in with his darkened eyes.

"I was thirsty too," he said as casually as if he wasn't invading me with his closeness.

We looked into each other's eyes for as long as to make my heartbeat uneven and lock my knees. Jake was the first one to slice through the silence between us.

"Is your presentation complete?"

All I could do was nod as a response before collecting myself together and stepping away from him. He was still holding up the same position on the counter, but his eyes never released me even for a second. Not even when I round the corner, heading back in the direction of the bedroom. I didn't know what I wanted him to do at that moment, follow me to the bedroom or let me breathe away the flutters dancing in my stomach. My eyes met with his charcoal orbs, and I didn't miss the subtle smirk on his lips just before I closed the door.

As soon as I was out of the tension that was melting me down, I pressed my forehead against the door, closed my eyes, and took in some controlled breath. I had only reached my fifth breath when a light knock made me snap out of my relief. At that point, I wanted to open the door and pull Jake inside and also hide somewhere away from him so that I could breathe.

Jake looked up at me with a smile as I opened the door for him. The sight of him almost put me in a daze. He was holding the doorframe with one hand while the other one was inside his jeans pocket. And to add those additional killing elements, he was chewing gum. With that spine-chilling smirk on his face, he looked like death at my doorstep.

"I got you a gum," he said, fishing out his hand from the pocket. There was a watermelon-flavored gum on his palm. Okay, that's not even my favorite. My eyes flickered between his face and the gum on his palm. He laughed, tilting his head to the side. "Not your flavor, I see. How did I get that one wrong?"

Jake looked down at his feet with embarrassment and shook his head. There was nothing wrong with trying something new. I took a step closer to him and reached for the gum. "I can give it a try."

Our hands brushed as I grabbed it from his hand. The taste wasn't that bad. It didn't even taste like watermelon, more like someone. Jake folded his arms across his chest and watched me chewing with a grin. "Do you mind if I step in?"

I simply shook my head and held the door open for him. Once he was inside, I closed the door and turned towards him. Jake was looking directly towards me when I noticed the black lead smudge on his cheek. I reached up and brushed his cheek lightly. "Were you sketching again?"

He held my wrist, pulling it away from his face. "I've made something for you."

I waited for him to tell me what he made for me, but the moment he took two assured steps towards me, I backed up to the door. He brushed the pulse on my wrist with his thumb and leaned closer to my face. Jake released my hand while placing his other hand on the side of my head. I sucked in a deep breath as his eyes fell on my lips. I could smell the mint flavor of the gum in his mouth.

There was something the way he looked at me like I was the most attractive one in the room. I had never felt that beautiful before, like the way his eyes made me look. Maybe, that's why he invaded my being with his presence. The reason why I found him alluring wasn't his charms. It was because he made me feel wanted and made me feel attractive too.

Another minute went by with us breathing against each other's faces. It was slowly turning into a torture game for me. I wanted Jake to either step away or kiss me. The latter was more dominant. If he wouldn't have decided in the next few seconds, I made up my mind to take charge of my hands. As if he heard the conflict in my mind, Jake leaned his face to the side of my head, making me freeze on the spot. His lips grazed the sensitive skin of my ear as he whispered. "Close your eyes, Amy."

Even without him asking, my eyes were already closed, and my palms fisted to my side. I felt his hand moved from my side and came in contact with my neck. Once he finished whatever he was onto, he said quietly. "You can open your eyes now."

As soon as his hands pulled away from me, I reached up to feel the item on my neck. I slipped around him and rushed to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, and what I saw almost made my heart do a backflip. I ran a shaky hand over the pendant and gasped. It was around three inches glass vile pendant containing a pencil carving with my full name carved on the lead. I couldn't believe someone who owns a billionaire legacy would do something worth all your heart. I was still in awe when Jake walked in, making eye contact in the mirror.

He seemed adorably nervous and hopeful as he leaned against the sink beside me. There were two things I could do at the moment, tell him how touched I was with his gift or show him all that I was feeling inside. I chose the latter and didn't even care if he wished the former. Taking a deep breath, I slid my hand around his head, then took hold of his t-shirt and connected my mouth to his.

It took him a second to react, but his lips were as eager as mine, a little bit more confident too. There wasn't anything familiar in that kiss except the feel of his touch. It was something new, more possessive, more consuming. His hands glided to the back of my neck, and he pulled me some more against himself. We backed away. But only for a second. We tossed the gums in our mouths to the trash bin beside us, then brought our lips together again and continued breathing against each other. His tongue was already in its game, gently caressing every corner of my mouth, tantalizingly slow and passionate. I was pretty sure we had never been this far gone into each other before. It was no more about having physical contact. We were delving into each other's souls.

He turned us around, but his mouth never left mine. We began walking out of the bathroom and didn't stop until my back came in contact with the wall. His hand moved to the back of my head, shielding it from the wall while his other hand guarded my spine. Even in such an uncontrolled state, he was calm and careful while my mind could hardly gather my surrounding. I tilted my head to taste more of him, his head tilted to taste more of me. We were doing our dominance dance, which neither of us wanted to win or lose.

My hands which were on his shoulders slid down his back and began tugging on his t-shirt. He backed away a little allowing me to pull it off of him. It took me few seconds to process the breathtaking sight of his smooth, tanned and tatted skin. I leaned back a little, enough to run my hands over the contours of his muscles, tensing at my touch. "You're so beautiful."

"I'm pretty sure you stole my words," he laughed, lifting me off the ground, locking my legs around him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and whispered with a grin. "Did I hurt your male ego?"Jake shook his head with a smile that reached his eyes.

"You're the only one who can call me beautiful." He said, carrying me to the bed. He laid me down and kissed the corner of my mouth gently, just a peak. He adjusted next to me and pressed his ear right against my heart, letting his hair tickle my neck. I looked down at him, but he seemed comfortable in that position so, I brushed his unruly hair lightly. A smile appeared on my face as I let my fingers graze his back lazily.

"Wow," I exhaled a little out of breath. Jake breathed against my chest. The vibrations of his laugh rumbled through my skin.

"The kiss or my art?" He asked, tracing the outline of the necklace around my neck.

"Both."

I looked into his eyes and smiled. I placed my hand back on his hair, giving it a sweet tug. We stayed silent for several minutes, enjoying each other's warm embrace.

"Have you ever witnessed a car wreck, Amy?" Jake mumbled. It took me a moment to wrap my mind around his question. But a sudden memory flashed in my head, freezing all my actions. Why did he have to ask about that?

"One year back," I said, running my fingers in his hair. "My older sister, Molly, and I were returning from a friend's house when we witnessed a terrible wreck. There were so many victims, almost four of them, I guess. It gives me chills whenever I remember that night."

"Do you remember anything else?" He pressed his face some more, tightening his hold around me.

"I quite positively don't want to remember anything from that night. Can we please change the topic?"

He pulled back, looking at me with an unknown emotion. His hand reached up to tuck my hair behind my ears, and he smiled. "Sure, your turn to ask."

"What's your plan after college?" I decided to start with something simple.

Jake smiled, brushing my cheek with his thumb. "I want to open an art gallery and decorate it with all your paintings."

He said it so casually. As if he did not just include me in his future. I kissed the pads of his thumb, which moved towards my lips. "What's your plan for the future?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, picking on my nails. "I want to write without thinking about what it's worth, and maybe someday, I will have my books lined up in my library."

Jake held my hand and placed a kiss on my palm. "Amy, I know you are stronger than you show to the world. Keep chasing your dreams, and one day they will meet you halfway. And I know you will be all you wish to be. But whatever you do, don't forget to put your happiness first. I want you to choose what's best for you, what makes you happy, and what fills your days with all the colors of the rainbow."

You make me happy, Jacob.

"And here I thought, I am good with words," I pinched his nose and smiled.

"That reminds me," he said. "Why haven't you written me a love letter yet?"

Oh, you've no idea, Jacob. I'm writing you a whole novel.

I kissed his shoulder. "Even better, I'll write you an essay. So long that you probably have to spend a whole night to read it."

"In that case, you better keep me company while I read your letter." He grinned. "Your turn to ask."

It was my chance to get as much as he would let me about his life before me. I wanted to roll into his entire existence, like that one person who knows you like no other. I wanted to be the one for him.

"Was your high school as eventful as here in college?"

Jake lifted a little and narrowed his eyes. "Not sure what do you mean by eventful." He once again buried his head against my heart. "If you mean by girls, then no."

"No?" I asked in confusion, holding his face with both of my hands and making him look at me.

He laughed and said, "I was practically a loner, mostly a forced nerd with a passion for art on the side. I hardly got time to try out my game with girls. The only friend I had was Anna. But then, with her being around, you wouldn't need anyone."

The way he talked about Anna made me scowl at him. Even though I knew it was stupid to feel like that. It affected me that he had someone who being around Jake, didn't need anyone else.

"Anna seems to be pretty close to you," I mumbled.

He looked at me, scrutinizing my sudden sour mood but instead of denying it, he smirked. "Are you jealous, Amy?"

I glared at him and flicked his forehead.

"You've nothing to worry about her. Anna wasn't into guys. Who do you think sabotaged my game with the cheerleaders? She somehow managed to steal away all my possibilities of eventful teenage years." Jake held my hand, sliding it away from his head and threading his fingers with mine. I bit my smile, living that feeling to the fullest.

"I don't believe it, Jacob. You're trying to tell me that you weren't like this in high school." I looked at him in disbelief. "Damn! What changed you?"

"Life, Amy," he twirled one of my loose strands of hair around his index finger, directing all his attention there. "I lost Anna, and everything went downhill after her death."

"Oh-" my voice died inside my throat as I looked at his saddened face. "I'm so sorry...I-"

He scooted closer and wrapped his arms around me. "I miss Anna so much, Amy."

I felt that it started again, the nerves going crazy in my head and my affection for him consuming me whole. The need to shield him away from all his pain settled back in my heart. I placed a kiss at the top of his head and took a deep inhale.

We remained like that for several minutes before my cellphone's notification chimed in, making both of us jump out of the daze. I secured it from the nightstand and brought it near my face. It was a response text from Seb, and it didn't help when Jake saw his name on the screen.

"He likes you," he commented.

"Why would you say that?" I tossed the cellphone beside my pillow and glared at Jake. "Who is jealous now?"

"Seriously, Amy," he scoffed, lifting his head enough to look me in the eyes. "He keeps trying to protect you from me as if I'm some monster or something. And do you know how many girls does he follows on Instagram? Only one, and that's you. So, believe me when I say he is into you."

Jake's words irritated me, and I pretended not to dive deeper into his stupid theory. Although he was correct, I didn't want to think or talk about anyone other than us at that moment. We were finally forming up a deeper bond, and that's all I ever wanted.

"Crazy brother and sister duo," he mumbled. "Both of them keep hitting on my girls."

"Girls? And what do you mean by brother and sister? " I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Not literally, Amy. It's only you now," his face dropped again, and his lips formed a tight line. "And yes, Anna and Seb are siblings."

I didn't know how to take in that information. A knot formed in my throat when I thought about the loss Seb had to bear when he lost his sister.

"Why do you hate Seb so much?" I frowned at him.

He took an exasperated sigh, running his thumb at the back of my hand. "I don't hate him, Amy. I'm just angry at him. There's a difference. How could I hate him when he is the closest thing to my dead best friend."

I had a sudden urge to know every single thing related to Jake. Even the ones he was still hiding within.

"I want to know everything about you, Jacob." The words tumbled out of my lips before I could contain them. "I know you wanted me to wait, but I can't anymore. Please."

Jake's body stiffened. I could feel how his fingers tightened around me. He stayed in that state for a few seconds, his heartbeat thudded wildly against mine, and then he relaxed.

"Okay," he finally breathed. "Amy, I-"

His voice trailed as his ringtone went off suddenly. The moment his eyes fell on the caller id, his demeanor changed completely. He detached himself from my body and sat up on the bed.

Bad timing!

Whoever was on the other side of the phone wasn't delivering anything good. Jake's muscles tensed, and his jaw locked as he racked his hand on his hair frantically.

"No! I will be there in few minutes. Just take care of her till I reach there." He said in a broken voice.

I sat beside him the whole time he was talking on the phone. He cut off the call and tapped the cellphone on his forehead, squeezing his eyes. As soon as I placed my hand on his shoulder, he sighed.

"Amy, take some rest. I need to go to the nursing house," he said, taking my hand in his trembling ones and planted a deep kiss at the back of my hand. "Brinda is not well. I have to take a quick check on her."

Jake grabbed his t-shirt from the floor and pulled it on in a quick motion. He was about to leave, but I held on to his wrist, feeling the need to be by his side.

"I will go with you," I said, stepping off the bed.

I was about to head towards the dresser to get my clothes when he pulled me back. "You have got a presentation tomorrow, Amy."

"I'm coming with you, and that's final," I said, tapping on his hand.

You touched my heart with your concern. But I'm coming with you, Jacob.