In which I fall in love with my brother's best friend.
*****
"Don't pretend like you don't feel anything." His voice is low, sending shivers down my spine.
"What do you mean?"
"You know damn well what I mean."
"I don't know what you're talking about...
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I'm on my way to make breakfast when I decide to check on Jake again. After what happened last night, I'm pretty sure that he'll have a hangover once he wakes up. The morning sun has risen, casting its ray upon his face. He's still sleeping.
I climb on the bed and sit beside him, staring at him, crossing my arms on my chest. Then his eyelids flicker, and a few moments later, he opens his eyes.
He abruptly sits up and backs off, his back smacking the headboard. "You're scaring me," he barks. I must have looked like a ghost.
"Spill it." I glower at him.
"What?" he rasps, squinting his eyes before squeezing them shut. He curses. His head must be spinning.
"Last night," I say. "What was that all about?"
He groans, touching his head. "Shit. I was knocked out, wasn't I?"
"Uh-huh."
"I got carried away."
"For what?" I ask. "What celebration?" I go straight to the point.
He laughs, closing his eyes, looking like he doesn't even believe that it's happening. "My internship."
My eyes widen. "You got it?" I remember Jake telling me that he applied to some oil companies for his internship. I just don't know which one of them he got into.
Jake opens his eyes, and a wide grin creeps on his face. "Yes. And it's even more unexpected than I thought."
I raise my brows.
"I got the one in Texas," he says.
My jaw drops. The oil company in Texas he applied to is one of the three major players in the country. "That's sick," I exclaim.
He nods, happiness skating all over his face.
"Oh, Jake, I'm so happy for you," I squeal, hugging him. "This is amazing. I can't believe it." Getting into that company as an intern may broaden the chance for him to be recruited once he graduates, but even if it doesn't guarantee that, he'll get so much knowledge and experience. And he deserves it, after all of his hard work. I'm so proud of him.
But then sadness washes over me. That means he'll leave Boston, and I'm going to feel so lonely here.
When he notices the sudden change of my mood, his brows furrow. "What's wrong, Mels?"
"I'm so happy for you, but it sucks that I'm going to be stuck here without you." I sulk.
"Hey, look at me," he says softly, and I look up at him, startling him as he sees me tearing up. I hate it when I'm being a crybaby in front of him, but he just has this aura that allows me to be vulnerable when I'm with him. "No, no, no. It's not gonna suck. You're finally here, Mel. You got into the college of your dream," he says, his palms on my shoulders as an attempt to comfort me.
