The Exception Read online

  I had just closed my eyes when I heard the tap, tap, tap on my window. When my window didn’t open right away, I thought maybe just maybe Gabe decided to leave me alone and let me get some sleep after everything that happened today. I wasn’t that lucky. I heard the window open and thought about throwing my pillow at him.

  “Gabe. I swear to…” I started, clearly agitated, but was cut off by a voice I wasn’t expecting.

  “Not Gabe. Just me. But please keep going. I like you addressing Gabe when it sounds like you’re going to kill him.” Jake chuckled.

  “Jake? What are you doing here? I mean, I’m glad you’re here. I just wasn’t expecting you,” I rambled on while trying to smooth down any stray hairs and adjust my oversized t-shirt.

  “Oh. Were you expecting someone else? I can go.” I could hear the playfulness in his voice as I heard him continue toward me, causing my heart to speed up.

  “No!” I said a little too quickly. I took a deep breath before answering again. “No to both, actually.” I got out – more under control of my voice this time.

  “Good.”

  Even in the dark, Jake made his way over to my bed with ease. He sat down right next to me and placed one hand on each side of me. He was close enough that I could see him looking directly at me. We sat there for a moment before either of us spoke – not that I could have if I tried. Something about him being this close to me, in the dark, on my bed, with my parents right downstairs had butterflies going off in my stomach and took away my ability to trust what would come out of my mouth.

  “So, what’s next?” he asked as if this were the most normal thing in the world.

  “Wha…what?” I asked slightly breathless. What does he mean what next? I don’t even know what is going on right now.

  He gave me one of those perfect smiles and had a look on his face that caused my body to react. Then suddenly he moved, pulling his hands back and standing right beside my bed. What the heck was going on?

  “I mean, what do you and Gabe do after he crawls through your window?”

  At the mention of Gabe, I felt a twinge of guilt and disappointment. Ever since I started dating Jake, a part of me has felt bad when Gabe crawled through my window. I was excited when Jake crawled through my window tonight, but now I know that he only did this so he could better understand what goes on between Gabe and I – I can’t help but feel disappointed about that.

  “Well, he usually waits until I’m really comfortable and almost asleep, then decides to crawl through my window. So, so far you’re right on track. Then, he walks straight into my bathroom. Usually while I’m telling him how irritated I am that he is robbing me of my sleep. But knowing he won’t leave until I talk to him, I storm in behind him and give him my best annoyed face.”

  “OK then,” was all he said before turning and going into my bathroom. I let out a sigh before following him into the other room. Just like I had to do with Gabe, I turned on the light as I walked in.

  “What now?” As soon as he said that, I went from disappointed to frustrated. Does he really not have enough trust in me that he felt like he had to come get a play-by-play of how things go with Gabe?

  “Really? You came all the way here to reenact what it’s like when Gabe crawls through my window?” I tried to not sound as frustrated as I was but clearly failed. His face turned into a frown, and he sunk down into my bowl chair.

  “Can you blame me? Emma, I know he’s your friend, but he is still a guy. And you…you are beautiful. And if this is what you sleep in, I really want to know what happens next,” he gestured to my oversized t-shirt while now sounding frustrated himself.

  “OK. Again, really? After today, did you plan on coming over here and picking a fight with me?” I was currently on the verge of being borderline mad.

  Jake leaned forward and ran his fingers through his tousled hair before looking back up at me. “No. But I did want to know what it was like between the two of you. Then I see you, in this shirt that hangs just past your ass and. Damn it, Emma. Can you not see why this would be hard for me?” He sank back into the bowl chair and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back.

  I wasn’t stupid. Of course I knew what this had to look like from his point of view. I probably wouldn’t be crazy about another girl crawling through his window either. But this is just how it has always been between Gabe and I. And gah. Why did life have to get so complicated?

  I walked over to Jake and reached down to grab his hand. At my touch, his eyes opened and found mine. “I know this probably looks bad and doesn’t make any sense to you. I like you Jake, and if Gabe crawling through my window is going to make things wrong between us, then I’ll tell him he can’t do it anymore.”

  He made a frustrated sound as he sat up and grabbed my other hand as well. “Emma, I don’t want to dictate what you can and cannot do with your friends. But I also can’t sit around anymore knowing some guy is sneaking in here when you look sexy as hell.” I blushed at his words and reached out to touch his face before letting my hand fall back down into his, wishing the whole time I could take away the pained expression that I know I put there.

  Looking into his eyes I couldn’t tell if he was mad, or hurt, or nervous, but then he took a breath, “Emma, you’re not like any other girl I’ve dated.” Nervous – he was definitely nervous. “I’m not sure what it is about you that makes me this crazy, but I know why this Gabe thing bothers me so bad.” He took another deep breath and squeezed my hands a little tighter. “I love you, Emma.”

  All I could do was stand there with this goofy grin and look at him like an idiot while his words sank in.

  “Say something please,” he choked out.

  “I love you too, Jake.” I bit my lower lip as a huge smile spread across his face.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yes! Of course I do. How could I not?”

  He didn’t waste any time reaching up and pulling me down onto his lap so that I was straddling him. He took my face in his hands and kissed me. It started out gentle and sweet, but then his hands dropped to my bare thighs. I felt his hands tense when they made contact with my skin. He sucked in a breath, which caused a shiver to shoot down my spine. He deepened the kiss, and I felt his hands begin to creep up my leg. Instinctually, as if my hands had a mind of their own, I reached up and tangled my hands in his hair.

  “Emma,” Jake growled, pulling back just enough for him to speak. “If we don’t stop now, I don’t know if I can trust myself to stop later,” he breathed heavily.

  I touched my forehead to his and closed my eyes. “What if I don’t want you to stop?”

  As soon as my words were out, his lips found mine and his fingers ran straight up my thighs until his hands cupped over my lacey hipster panties. I was instantly glad I was wearing one of my new Pink purchases. When his fingertips tightened around my curves, I sucked in a sharp breath of air. Embarrassed, I started to pull back – stupid betraying body. I never could trust myself around this boy. But Jake didn’t seem phased. He ran one of his hands up my back and pulled me back into him.

  I could feel him smiling against my lips. “I love the effect I have on you, Em,” he whispered, so close I could feel his breath on my neck, causing my skin to tingle on every surface his breath touched. His words managed to ease my nerves and I sank back into his kiss, losing myself until I felt his hands stop at the top of my rib cage. He must have felt my body tense because he broke the kiss, leaving us both breathing heavy. “You are calling the shots tonight, Blondie. Nothing will happen unless you want it to.” he uttered huskily.

  I could barely think, much less respond, as his fingers teased the top of my lacey hipsters and he peppered kisses across my collarbone. “Jake,” I sighed. I could tell he enjoyed hearing his name breathlessly escaping my lips because he reconnected his lips to mine and kissed me hungrier than he had before. His hands were everywhere, roaming across my bare skin. Each pass of his fingertips made me crazy in a way I never knew was possible.
r />   I was so lost in the moment that I almost didn’t hear Jake utter, “Don’t let go.” When he started to move, what he said registered. Without hesitating, I wrapped my legs around his waist as he stood up from the chair. He never broke the kiss as he walked us back into my room and gently laid us back down on my bed.

  Though I have never been drunk, I imagine this is what it must feel like. Your head in a blissful fog, consumed by thoughts of things you would never be brave enough to do sober. Each kiss from Jake seemed to pull me deeper and deeper into this state of being wonderfully out of control. I reached down and began to tug at Jake’s shirt until it was up by his shoulders. With one smooth motion Jake lifted up and shrugged out of his soft tee, revealing his toned torso that I couldn’t resist running my fingers down. I have never in my life been so bold. I knew that if there were any more light than what was being provided from the moon, my cheeks would give away what I was feeling in this moment.

  Breathe, Emma, Breathe.

  When I looked back up at him, he had a smug smile on his face and just like that all my hesitation went back out the window. I reached up and tangled my fingers into his hair, bringing him back down and connecting my lips to his.

  The last thing I remember before falling asleep was Jake’s lips on mine.

  Chapter Nine

  When my alarm went off the next morning, it felt like I hadn’t slept at all. I was so exhausted I couldn’t even think straight. I went to turn off my alarm but was held in place by an arm. An arm? And just like that, last night came flooding back into my memory. I smiled as I looked over and saw Jake lying on his stomach beside me. He was even handsome with his cheek squished into the bed. I began to sit up but only made it up to my elbows before being pulled firmly into his side.

  “Mmmm. Five more minutes.” His eyes weren’t even open yet, and he was so gosh darn cute. How could I say no?

  “You have three,” I laughed, “And then I have to go get ready for school.”

  “Only three? Then I guess I have to make the best of them.” With one swift movement, I was looking up into his eyes. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he lowered himself down to connect his lips to mine.

  “Emma! You had better be up already,” my sister was practically shouting as she banged on my door. “Mom says she needs you to take me to school, and I don’t want to be late! I just have to finish drying my hair.” I froze. Oh my God! McKenzie and my parents were all just a door away from seeing Jake. Here. In my bed. “Emma! Hello?”

  I shot up, bumping my head on Jake’s chin in the process. “Yeah! OK. Got it! Ready in ten,” I panicked, running my hand over where I had just inflicted pain. Then I looked over to see Jake doing the same thing.

  “You OK? You sound like…”

  “Fine, Kenzie. Just running late. Meet you downstairs, mmkay?”

  “Alrightie. But you better hurry.”

  Jake was stifling a laugh as we heard her walk away. I swatted his arm and tried to sound stern, but just looking at him with his hair messy from just waking up made that very difficult. “You so cannot get caught in here. They would kill both of us. And I’m too young to die.”

  “Yeah, it would be kind of hard to date you if your parents killed you,” he teased. He threw the covers back and got out of bed. I quickly faced forward and could feel the blush spread across my cheeks as he pulled his jeans on, then walked to my side of the bed.

  Wait. When did his jeans even come off? Did he consciously sleep over last night?

  “I love you, my blushing beauty.” He kissed the top of my head, then walked over to my window, pausing to look back over at me before he climbed out. “Now hurry up and get ready. I can’t wait to see you today,” he shot me a wink and then he was gone.

  Not ten seconds later my sister was bursting into my room, freaking out that I was still in bed. “OMG, Emma! I can’t believe you are still not up! You have less than ten minutes until we need to be walking out the door, and I am not leaving this room until you are ready. You clearly cannot get motivated to get up and moving on your own. What is with you today? This is so not like you to be running this late?”

  “Sorry, Kenz,” I said smiling, “Just tired today I guess.” At this point, I really didn’t care about the big, sappy grin on my face or the fact that it took me longer than it should have to tear my gaze from the window and look at my sister.

  She looked over and saw the window was still open. Her jaw dropped as she drug her gaze back over to mine, “Was Gabe here all night?”

  “No. Guess I never shut the window last night. You know I can never get him to leave. Must have been so tired it slipped my mind.” My voice was way too cheery. Kenzie was definitely going to catch on if I didn’t start acting like the non-morning person that I really was.

  “Uh, huh. Right.” She cocked one of her eyebrows up and gave me a look. “I seriously can’t believe you would do this to Jake. He is so perfect, and so cute, and clearly crazy about you.”

  A little taken aback by my sister’s accusation, I kicked my legs out of the covers and started to get out of bed. How could she think I would ever cheat on Jake? On anyone for that matter? “I would never do anything to jeopardize what I have with Jake. I really like him. No, I’m in…” I paused as I slipped on my jeans from yesterday that were still on the floor, realizing that I was gushing.

  “Oh my God, Emma. You love him. You’re in love with Jake!” she squealed. “And oh.” She glanced back over at the window, and I knew she knew. “You are so busted, Emma Crawford.”

  “Please don’t tell mom,” I begged as I walked over to grab a t-shirt from my closet and slipped it on.

  I was twisting my hair into a bun when my sister crossed her arms. “What’s in it for me?”

  I looked over at her while I put the finishing touches on my hair. “Seriously? What about sister code, or I’ll owe you when you inevitably need my help?”

  “Yeah, whatever. Just remember this the next time I need a favor.” She was all smiles, and I could tell she was enjoying every minute of this.

  “Oh, I’ll remember this all right. You know, Kenz, sometimes you can be a real pain in the butt.” We both laughed, then I grabbed my flip-flops and we were out the door.

  ***

  I was surprised when I saw Maya standing with Jake, Evan, and Gabe when I got to school. I thought that after yesterday, I was for sure going to have to track her down today. But there she was talking and laughing like everything was fine, doing what Maya does best, ignoring the problem and putting on a face to hide her true feelings. Yet this time everything was not fine, I was not fine with what went down yesterday. I was about to say something as I walked up, but Jake beat me to it.

  “Morning, Blondie,” Jake greeted, pulling me into him with a shit eating grin on his face. “You look tired today. Not get much sleep last night?”

  Gabe immediately took the defense. “Come on, man. I wasn’t even over there last night. So it wasn’t me keeping her up this time.”

  “I believe you, bro,” Jake smiled as he slapped Gabe on the back, causing my eyes to go wide and me to turn a dark shade of red. One glance at me, and it only took a moment for realization to sweep over everyone. I was so embarrassed and irritated that Jake had just handled that the way he did. He made it seem like a lot more happened last night than it did.

  Maya looked over at me with wide eyes, knowing all too well a group reveal is not how you want everyone to find out the details of your relationship. “Emma. Emergency bathroom meeting. Now.” She reached out for my arm, but I yanked it back.

  Between sleep deprivation and everything that happened yesterday and just now, I snapped, “Are you kidding me? So we are friends again? Now that my life isn’t “oh so perfect”? News flash Maya; it doesn’t work that way.” In the back of my mind, I knew I should take a moment to stop and clear up any misconceptions, but I was on a roll.

  Then I turned to Jake, “And seriously? So glad I could provide you with bragging rights
. Looks like the joke’s on me this morning.” With that, I knew I had solidified what everyone was already thinking, but in the moment I didn’t care.

  I didn’t bother looking at anyone else before turning and rushing off to Spanish class. Once I had I sunk down in a corner seat, I realized I forgot my book in my locker, but there was no way I was going back out to get it. Maya tried a few times to get my attention during class, but I ignored her. This time I was the one that needed a little space. Thankfully she seemed to understand that, or it just pissed her off, because she left me alone the rest of the day.

  Jake texted me all morning, apologizing for how things went down and for being such a jerk. Right before lunch I told him to stop texting me and that I needed time to think. He texted back saying that he respected that and would be there whenever I was ready to talk.

  I wasn’t really hungry at lunch but knew I would regret not eating later; so I went through a drive-through and ate it when I got back to the school parking lot. I had never eaten lunch by myself before; it kinda sucked, but I was way too embarrassed to face any of my friends.

  Once I’d had time to cool off, I wasn’t sure what it was that made me freak out the way I did. All I knew is that I was embarrassed about the entire thing. And that I was mad at Jake for making it seem like we had done more than we had. And that if we had done more than just kiss, that he felt like he could announce it to the whole freakin’ group! And I was mad at Maya for acting like EVERYTHING was fine and then just assuming that I’d had sex with Jake – when I clearly haven’t – though that’s not what any of my friends currently think. Humph.

  I managed to avoid everyone after lunch but had no idea how practice was going to go down. I was just so embarrassed about what happened earlier, mostly about how I acted. I contemplated telling coach I wasn’t feeling well and taking a sick day. I knew he would believe me, and that it would totally work because I never missed practice even when I was a little sick.