Roommates with a Player

Chapter Thirty: Team Jacob

            The warm glow of the sun tickled my bare skin, rousing me from my soft slumber. I twitched slightly, assessing my whereabouts before I opened my eyes. I felt the soft sheets that were wrapped loosely around me, the gentle circles being drawn on my unclothed back by a finger, and the rising and sinking of James’ chest.

“Look who decided to finally wake up,” James’ quiet morning voice punctured the silence.

I smiled and burrowed into his side. “Don’t make me get up yet.”

I snaked my arms around his stomach, slowing to feel the abs that were carved into his bronzed skin. I felt a small shudder roll through him from my touch.

“Can you tell me what happened to our clothes?” I asked through a smile, propping myself up to look at him.

“You tell me,” he chuckled, reaching his arm up to scratch the back of his neck.

The night’s memories replayed in my mind and I blushed deeply, rolling over to my find my discarded clothes. With much difficulty, I pulled my shirt over my head and scrambled to slip back on my shorts. Fully clothed, I nestled back into James’ side.

“I’m really going to miss you,” I said, having a lot of trouble forming my words.

“You have no idea how much I’m going to miss you, Emma,” he replied, absentmindedly twirling my hair.

I sighed, closing my eyes. I wanted to make this moment last forever; it seemed perfect. The soft rhythm of James’ heartbeat played a gentle tune in my head and I listened intently, blocking out the rest of the world.

“I’m Team Jacob, by the way,” James blurted, pulling me from my thoughts. If it’d been twenty seconds or twenty minutes since I’d fallen back asleep, I couldn’t tell.

“What?” I asked, propping myself up to look him in the face.

“Remember when we were talking about Twilight and I admitted to reading it?” he said with a smile.

“Oh, yeah,” I recalled the memory of us in his car on the way to his house for the first time.

“Well, you asked if I was Team Edward or Team Jacob. I’m telling you now, I’m Team Jacob.”

“And why did you suddenly remember this?” I questioned.

“I was just thinking about us and what kind of relationship we have. It somehow reminded me of Jacob and Bella’s relationship,” James explained. “Jacob was so in love with Bella, that even though he couldn’t have her and that there were obstacles in the way, he still held out and never stopped caring. I know he’s fictional, but I admired him for that.”

“Hm, I never looked at Jacob like that,” I murmured.

“I just want to let you know that I’ll never stop caring for you. Even if we’ve both moved on and are married with kids, I’ll always have a soft spot for my little Emma,” James brought his hand to rest on my now tear-stained cheek.

I leaned in to kiss James. It was a short embrace, but sweet. I tasted the sadness and longing on his lips, but knew that it would be best for him to go off to military school to live his dreams. He would want the same thing for me, so it was the least I could do for him.

I pulled away slowly. “Now that you’ve told me, how are you going to tell Ricky?”

A short chapter for a little holiday treat! It looks like I won’t be able to meet my Christmas deadline, so times will be a bit off in Emma’s world. I’d say their Christmas won’t be for a little while, so don’t be surprised if they’re opening presents in January! ^^  

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all the wonderful readers who have kept up with me and my many spelling/grammar mistakes. You are all amazing! <33