Part 2

“Jake I swear to you I am not wearing this,” I said stubbornly. An extremely large full-body rabbit costume was hanging off my fingers loosely. Frankly, I didn’t care if it fell to the floor and shattered to a million pieces.

“But it’s the last one,” Jake responded.

“Well we already did enough anyways,” I told him, pointing to the mess of clothing scattered across the floor.

Jake didn’t say anything. Instead, he clicked through the pictures on the camera.

I eyed him carefully. “I hope you’re deleting those.”

“I will if you put that on,” he chirped.

“You’re crazy. Fine, don’t delete them.” Tossing the rabbit costume to the floor, I walked over and sat on the back of the sofa.

“Oh, so you’re perfectly fine with this picture and this picture and this picture and this picture?” Jake said absentmindedly. He didn’t show me which pictures he was looking at, but judging by the expression on his face, he looked pretty darn pleased with himself.

I shot straight up and stomped over to him. “Give me that!”

The camera was in my grasp, then gone within a second. I looked up to see it hovering over my head and Jake smiling triumphantly at me. The strap was just a few millimetres out of my reach and I didn’t dare tippy-toe in fear that I might topple over.

“You’re really short you know and you’re wearing heels too,” Jake commented.

“I’m like5 feet5! That’s pretty average,” I scowled. My arms folded across my chest and I put on the best death-glare I could manage.

“You look like an ant from up here,” he laughs and brings the camera behind his back.

“That’s cause you’re a beast,” I grumbled and poked his chest hard, letting it rest there.

And suddenly, I realize that we’re standing close together and that I was touching him. Well, not really touching touching, but still, I didn’t want to remove my finger. I stared at the spot where the tip of my finger dented his shirt and gulped. After a few painful seconds, I cleared my throat and stepped back.

“So,” I said, as if nothing has happened. The confused look on Jake’s face told me that he didn’t suspect any of the internal battle I was having just a few moments earlier. “If I put on that hideous costume and you snap a few pictures, you’d delete the picture?”

Jake nodded solemnly. “You have my word.”

He could tell I was unconvinced.

“Oh, be reasonable Jessica. Who am I going to show those pictures to? Honestly,” he added.

I looked over him, head to toe and picked up the costume from the floor. “You better not be lying,” I threatened.

The only good thing – though I hate to admit there was anything good – about the suit was that it was big enough so I could slip it on without taking any of my clothes off. Reaching behind my back, I zipped the zipper as far as it would go and turned around in embarrassment to face Jake.

“You look…interesting,” Jake choked out, his voice strained from not laughing.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I mumbled.

I could tell that Jake was enjoying himself way too much. He made me get into various poses and gestures and took three times as many pictures as he did with the previous outfits. It was extremely embarrassing. Finally, Jake clicked the last picture.

“Done,” he said happily.

I climbed up from my squatting position, which I don’t want to talk about, and let out a sigh of relief. “Finally?”

“Finally,” he chorused.

“I thought it would never end. Talk about embarrassing,” I said, reaching over to unzip.

“Your face is really red,” Jake told me with a slight tone of humour in his voice.

I’m beginning to think that Jake enjoys my torture a little too much for his own good. We’ve been here for hours and all he’s ever done was either giggle, laugh, smile smugly or cough from trying to stifle his laugh.

My hand tugged at the zipper but it wouldn’t budge. “Damn it,” I cursed under my breath.

“It’s getting pretty late. Let’s just try to do the runway properly a few times then we’ll call it a day,” Jake said.

“I can’t,” I squeaked, still trying to unzip the zipper.

Jake turned to me. “Why not?”

“My zipper’s not moving,” I said sheepishly.

“Pull it down,” he told me.

I scowled. “I know how to use a zipper.”

Unfazed by my glaring, Jake smirked. “Then I don’t really see the problem.”

“Argh,” I cried in frustration. “It’s stuck.”

“What do you mean? Just, you know, give it a good tug.” He made a yanking motion with his arm.

I ignored him and twisted my head as far back as it would go. “I think it’s caught in something.”

Jake sighed and walked over to me. “Here let me see.”

My hands fell to my side and I let him examine the zipper. His fingers prodded and poked at the top of the zipper. “Yeah, it’s stuck,” he stated.

He’s lucky I wasn’t facing him or I would’ve smacked him. “Then un-stick it!”

I felt his hands tugging at the zipper and I waited impatiently. Finally, a zipping noise came and cold air flowed into the insides of the costume, neutralizing the hot stuffy air inside. I let out a sigh of relief and began to wiggle out of it. Jake pushed the top of the suit off me, his hands running down my shoulders. They were cold but felt nice against my hot skin. His fingers slowly ran down the rest of my arm, pushing the rest of the material. The big fluff of white and pink fell to the floor. I stood there unmoving and so did Jake. A tense atmosphere settled over us. What was he thinking now? Was he as aware of his hands against my skin as I was? I craned my neck to catch a glimpse of his face and he was staring down at me with a blank expression. It was quiet for a moment and I eyes roamed the rest of his face – his messy hair, his bright shining eyes, his rough cheeks from not shaving, his tense jaw line. It seemed like he was doing the same and our eyes met. Slowly, I turned around to face him. Even though I was wearing heels, he was still a bit taller than me.

Time stopped.

I thought back to what Stacy said about going after him and realized that might not be so bad. It really wouldn’t be so bad. My breath started coming out quicker, anticipating what would happen next. Jake’s hands slid off my arms and held onto the tips of my finger tips. And then he leaned forward. He moved painstakingly slow, his eyes searching my face the entire time for any sign of hesitation. My heartbeat quickened and pounded against my ribcage so hard that I was sure he could feel my racing pulse at the tip of my fingers. Just when I was about to end both our miseries, just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, just when I was about to throw aside all the care in the world and grab him, his cell phone rang.

My eyes widened and I jumped back like I just got struck by lightning.

Jake fumbled to get the phone out of his pocket. “Hello?” he said hoarsely.

His head was ducked down so I couldn’t see his face. Was he feeling disappointed? Or relieved that that phone call saved him? I was deep in thought, disregarding his conversation until I heard her name.

“Scarlet calm down, I’m almost wrapping up,” he whispered into the phone, like he didn’t want me to hear. I didn’t want to hear either. There was a slight pause and then, “Okay, I’ll see you later.”

“You have to go?” I asked in a small voice. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

“Yeah, Scarlet’s…being Scarlet,” he said jokingly, a small smile forming on his lips.

I didn’t laugh.

Jake cleared his throat, his eyes darting around the room. “Like I said, let’s just go over the runway walk a few more times and we’ll call it a day.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty late. You probably wanna go home now,” I said resentfully and spun around.

The beginning of the runway never looked so far away but I made it. Walking was an easier thought to me now, but of course when one burden is lifted, another comes. What if I still couldn’t do it? What if all these hours were just a waste of my time but most importantly Jake’s? Would he be disappointed? He’d probably be mad that I took away his precious time that he could’ve been spending with Scarlet, I thought bitterly.

Looking in Jake’s direction, I saw him smiling with full confidence as if nothing happened and my stomach knotted tightly. Ugh, what is he doing to me? With a curt nod, I stared straight ahead and began to walk, feeling relieved compared to that rabbit costume I had to wear before. Left, right, left, right, left, right –

“Again,” Jake said.

I stopped walking and stared at him hopelessly. “Again?”

“It was good! Way better than before,” he reassured me. I didn’t miss his little glance towards the clock. “But it just needs a little more wow.”

“A little more wow?”

I tried to decipher his expression. It was impossible to tell what Jake was thinking 99% of the time because his face never betrayed him. I wish I had that. Jake always told me I was an open book; he could read me so easily it was like my pages were already sprawled out across the floor for him.

He nodded. “Just a tiny bit.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. “I can do that.”

Jake flashed me an award winning smile. I had to look away before I did something stupid. “Okay, let’s see it then,” he said.

The butterflies in my stomach fluttered non-stop and it was hard for me to concentrate. Get a grip, you shouldn’t be thinking about him like this. Remember who he’s married to, I instructed myself sternly. Eyes forward, back straight, I made sure not to make any eye-contact with Jake as I walked. With every step I took, I reminded myself to up the confidence in my next step. I was surprised when I reached the end of the runway. Jake didn’t say “Again” and I didn’t fall.

After getting over my initial shock, I glanced at Jake. “Well?”

He looked at me with a stunned expression. “That was – that was…actually pretty damn good.”

My eyes widened in excitement, my blood rushing through my veins. “Really?!”

“Really,” he laughed. “In fact, I think that might even match up to –”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Tossing all the restraint that I built up aside, I ran to him and hugged him with such force that he stumbled back against the wall.

“Thanks,” I mumbled against his shoulder.

Jake’s hands found their way around my waist. “No problem.”

His chests bobbled up and down as he laughed and soon I found myself joining in on his laughter. I pulled back, leaning as far as his grip would let me, and smiled. “It’s been a long day,” I commented when the laughter died.

“Very long,” he agreed.

And then, it felt just like it did a few minutes ago – quiet, and full of tension and anticipation. Somewhere in the back of my head, a siren went off and I quickly shook out of it. I wasn’t going to end up like I just did, aiming with high hopes and end up let down and disappointed while Jake feels nothing. I wasn’t going to let my guard down around him again because now I knew what was going to happen. Jake said that nothing has changed and he’s kind of right. He hasn’t changed at all. He’s still following her around like a lost puppy and I’m just the one he goes to when she’s pre-occupied.

“I think I’m going to go now,” I said, unwrapping myself out of his arms.

Jake looked at me with a confused expression. “Huh?”

“I’m going home now,” I repeated and headed for the door. “You can just leave the clothes here; I’ll clean them up tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Jake said.

The door closed with a click behind me. Thankfully, my bag was already packed from earlier today. I grabbed for my jacket and was putting in on when something stirred in the darkness. I stopped moving immediately.

“Who’s there?” I called, my voice quivering. The dark had always been something I was scared of and it was even scarier when there was a stranger lurking around.

“Anybody there?” I called again. Slowly, my hand reached to my desk and I flicked on the light. A scream almost escaped my mouth before I clamped it shut, realizing who it was.

“Anthony, what the hell!” I yelled. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

He smiled at me sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“What are you doing here? It’s like3 inthe morning,” I questioned a bit rudely. You can’t blame me. He’s at his own fault. Lurking around in the dark at3 inthe morning…what’s wrong with him?

“I really needed to see you,” he told me, taking a few steps closer. “Your friend, Stacy, said you were working late.”

“So you waited for me for like 10 hours?”

“You’re always avoiding me,” he reasoned.

I rolled my eyes. “For a good reason.”

Anthony looked at me pleadingly. “Please Jessica, can’t we talk about this?”

“Talk?” Yeah right.

“Just talk,” he said seriously. “I promise I won’t try anything else.

“Yeah, okay,” I scoffed. “Listen Anthony –”

“Just talk,” he cut me off. “I swear I won’t bother you again. Ever.”

I was about to reject him and tell him to go screw himself when Jake came barging out of his office. “Jessica, oh good you’re not going yet. I was…oh.”

Anthony took a cautious step back.

“What’s this dirt bag doing here?” Jake asked.

Oh, so now all of a sudden he cares. “He just wants to talk Jake,” I told him.

“After what he did? I don’t think so.” Jake stood in front of me protectively.

“Excuse me. Who are you to tell me who I can talk to?” I pushed past him with a hard shove.

“Jessica, this guy is –”

“Bad news? Whatever Jake.” Without turning back, I grabbed Anthony’s wrist and pulled him along. “Let’s go,” I told him.

“I’m just looking out for you,” Jake protested. His footsteps quickened as he tried to catch up to us.

“Okay,” I said sceptically, walking faster. “Go look out for someone who cares. Like Scarlet.”

When he didn’t respond, I knew I hit a nerve. That’s what he gets. That’s what he deserves. I bet he’s never been hurt and left alone in his life. Whenever he wasn’t happy, he was surrounded by people. He always had me or Scarlet or some other girl. Even when he didn’t, he had his buddies to back him up. But he needs to know what it feels like and it’s never too late to start learning. Besides, the elevator was already descending and it was too late for me to change my mind. Oh well, sucks for him.

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Holy bananas! i promised sunday night and here it is :D

I'm EXTREMELY pleased with this chapter. I hope you guys love it! Then again, you guys always love what i dont and dont love what i love. if that makes any sense.

thank you for voting and commenting on the previous parts, you're all wonderful

so yeah, still aiming for 90 votes, but you guys always go over, maybe i should aim higher next time haha.