Waiting for Something (11 page)

Nine

“
Marlie! Marlie! Wake up! Come on, we have to leave soon,” I shook her lifeless figure.

“I’m up, I’m up. Jeez,” she moaned.

“Marlie, I’m going to be able to finally sit in Jake’s arms without having to say goodbye. Come on, this is the most amazing thing ever!” I put on my lipstick.

“Hold your horses,”
Marlie crawled out of bed.

“I’m just excited, ok? Back off. I saw the way you and Carter were eyeing each other.” She grabbed some coffee from the pot that I made.

“Yeah, so? He’s nice. You know that,” she grinned at me.

“Yeah.
He’s nice,” I winked.

“Shut up, it’s not like that!” she slapped my arm. 

“Whatever, go shower you horn ball,” I laughed.

“I’m not horny.” She stuck her tongue out.

“Fine. Shower you spaz,” I bossed her again and she obeyed.

We got ready and left for the graduation ceremony. I wore a floral sundress with black pumps, soft pink lipstick, mascara, blush, and eyeliner. My hair hung down in loose curls and I wore a pearl necklace and earrings. I thought I looked really nice actually.

We walked in and it was packed. We thought arriving fifteen minutes early was good but apparently not. If it wasn’t for Jake’s parents we would have been in the far back. Once it started, it was almost like a play for the most part. I loved it, and seeing Jake up there just made me so proud and I couldn’t believe that I could call him mine.

“Ladies and gentleman, I now present to you the graduating class of 2013. Congratulations, men,” the speaker presented them and everyone cheered. It was amazing. Jake did something for himself
on his own and his parents never had to help him once.

“Jake! Oh
my gosh, I’m so proud of you!” I ran to him and kissed him.

“Ali Cat, you’re gorgeous today,” he smiled down at me and brushed my cheek.

“Thanks,” I blushed and he snickered a little.

“Well, son, you did it. We’re proud of you. Here, this is from me and your mom.” His dad handed him a check. I didn’t know how much it was but I’m sure it was a lot.

“Jake, man, you guys looked badass” Carter shook his hand.

“Why do you think I chose this branch?” he smiled and his dimples practically made me melt.

“Alright, how about dinner for a celebration?” his mom spoke up.

“Sounds good.
I need to take care of things real quick but I’ll just meet you guys,” Jake adjusted his attire.

“
You going to wear that badass uniform?” Carter teased.

“Of course he is. He looks sharp. You’re so handsome, just like your father.” His mom actually choked up a bit.

“So where we going?” Carter gave Marlie a look that I knew was more than friendship.

“Well your father and I got us reservations in Bertrand at Mister A’s. We can leave anytime,” she put her purse around her shoulder.

“Alright, sounds good. I’ll meet you guys there,” he hugged his mom and dad.

“Ali, would you and
Marlie want to ride with us? Then Jake can take your car,” Carter looked at me.

“Yeah, that’ll work. I’ll see you in a bit, Jake. You were amazing,” I whispered in his ear and kissed him one last time before following the rest of them.

Once we arrived I knew that his parents would of course pick this place. It was spectacular. Everything was so beautiful and the view was breathtaking. Even my parents wouldn’t take me to a place this nice. Some of the meals were over $40 and to me that was too much.

“So, Ali, you ever been here before?” Their mom looked at me as we sat down at a table.

“No. It’s really nice. I love it,” I smiled and continued looking at the menu.

Once Jake arrived everyone ordered and I actually had a great time. We all talked and joked around and Jake wouldn’t keep his hands off me the entire time. I was so ready to go back home and start our relationship together. I just wanted to leave now.

“Alright, Jake, how are you getting home?” his dad asked as he paid the check.

“Well I’ll either go with you or Ali Cat, Dad,” he put his arm around me.

“You can come with Marlie and me. In fact, Carter, you should come too,” I smiled.

“You sure?”
Carter asked.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun. Jake, you want to drive?” I grinned.

“You know I do,” he grabbed the keys from me.

“We’ll see you two at home. Nice seeing you girls,” his mom smiled.

Once we got back to their house Carter and Marlie decided to hang out together, obviously.

“You in the mood for ice cream, Ali Cat?”
Jake turned and looked at me.

“I’d love some,” I grinned.

“Well let’s go. But how about we get it to go?” he brought his hand up to my thigh.

“Alright,” I felt butterflies in my stomach.

We drove through the drive thru andboth had chocolate cones. He drove us down to the beach and I got out first.

“I haven’t walked on the beach in so long.” I licked my cone as we started along the shore.

“Why not?” he grabbed my hand and entertwined our fingers.

“I had nobody to walk with,” I shrugged.

“Well now you do,” he smiled at me.

“I hope I do for a while,” I squeezed his hand.

“Ali Cat, you know I have feelings for you.” His words were soft.

“I have feelings for you too, Jake,” I couldn’t help but smile.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about,” he turned and looked at me.

“What do you mean?” My heart sank.

Heartbreak

“Ali, I have to leave in a week,” I let out a huge breath.

“What do you mean? Where are you going?” she stopped us.

“I’m getting sent to North Carolina. I’ll probably be stationed there for a long time like 15 years…or more.” I watched as the cone dropped out of her hand and the pain sunk in.

“When did you find
out?”she looked down at her feet.

“Two weeks ago,” I gulped.

“Two weeks ago and you didn’t tell me?! Why would you keep something like this from me?” I saw her tears.  Even though she tried to act mad, she was heartbroken and so was I.

“Ali Cat, I didn’t want to ruin anything for you,” I sighed.

“Do not call me Ali Cat right now, Jake Thomas,” she pointed her finger at me and that pissed me off more than anything.

“Don’t point your finger at me like that, Ali. You know I hate that. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t want this to happen. Not right away. I want to be with you no matter what the distance.” I put my hand on her arm.

“No. Don’t touch me. Please. I just can’t right now,” she pushed me away.

“Ali baby?
Sweetie, it’s me. It’s still me. I still love you. I want this. I want us.” I felt tears roll down my cheeks as I admitted something I didn’t think I’d ever feel.

“Jake, I love you so much.” She threw her arms around me and I felt her sob into my chest. I grabbed the back of her head and held it against my chest. I cried right with her.

“It’s a good thing we changed,” I tried to lighten the mood.

“You’re telling me,” she laid her head on my shoulder.

“Ali Cat, I want this. I want you,” I put my arm around her waist as we sat in the sand.

“I don’t want you to leave me, Jake. I’m still a virgin. I can’t give you what most girls will. Not yet.” She must have been thinking about this for a while because this really just came out of the blue.

“Where is this coming from?” I felt confused.

“Let’s be honest with each other. You’re not a virgin and I get it. You have needs but I’m not about to give it to you until I know for sure it’s the right thing. And I know lots of girls would give you whatever you wanted in a New York minute.” I felt her chest get heavy.

“Ali, look at me. Really look at me,” I lifted up her chin and she turned her head to me.

“I’m sorry, Jake.” She looked down again and I brought her eyes back up.

“Ali, I love you. I’ve never in my entire life loved someone truly the way I love you. I will wait for you. I promise you I will never force you into anything and I will never stray. I want this more than life itself.” I saw tears form in her eyes.

“You mean that?” I felt the shock in her voice.

“Yes, I pinky promise,” I held out my pinky and we pinky swore.

“I can’t believe you actually love me. You don’t realize how huge this is to me.” Her face looked beautiful in the light.

“Well, I hope you love me back because otherwise...” but before I could finish, she cut me off.

“Of course I love you back!” she squeaked and hugged my neck.

“Good because you aren’t getting rid of me.” I kissed her forehead.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” she giggled.

“You know, I should take you home.” I realized the sun had started to set.

“Let’s stay just a little bit longer,” she snuggled close.

“The last time we sat on the beach like this we fell asleep together,” I reminisced.

“My neck hurt so badly the rest of the week!” She giggled. Her laugh was contagious.

“So, about North Carolina,” I got back to the big problem.

“Let’s just enjoy this moment.
The moment where we’re together and watching the sunset.” Her voice got low into a whisper and I knew that she needed this. She needed something to hang on to. I would give that to her because for now, it’s all that matters.

Eleven

Monday at school killed me to the core. I knew that Jake would be gone by Saturday morning and all I wanted to do was be with him. Yesterday Jake came over for supper to meet my parents formally and they fell in love with him. Dillon wouldn’t shut up again. Of course he already considered Jake a friend. My dad was a little hesitant at first but he did soften up. And Jake basically charmed the pants off my mom. After supper we all sat out on the back porch with the fire pit going and made s’mores. It was so surreal and I didn’t want it to end. But nonetheless here I am at lunch with
Marlie, Carter and even Justin. Justin cleared everything up with us, apologized and everything, so I feel like he’s over Marlie.

“Hello? Earth to Ali,”
Marlie waved her hand in front of my face.

“What? Sorry, what did you say?” I played with my food.

“I asked what you were doing after Jake leaves on Saturday,” she looked at me.

“I don’t know. I have dance practice that day so I’ll probably do that and then call Jake when he gets to his house,” I shrugged.

“Why don’t we go out on like a movie thing? You know, like a group,” she nudged Carter.

“Yeah, Justin, you should come too,” Carter piped up. I knew Carter was kind of bummed about Jake too.

“Could I bring a friend?” he looked up from his food.

“Yeah, sure.
Who is it?” Marlie, nosy as ever.

“It’s Jenny from my English class.” He looked nonchalant and I knew that Jenny was more than a friend.

“Jenny the blonde? She’s really pretty. Yeah, sure. That sounds great,” Marlie smiled.

“So, Ali, what do you say?” Carter smiled at me.

“Wow, I’d love to accompany your guys’ double date but I’d rather not be a fifth wheel.” I kind of sounded bitchy.

“Ali, it’s not like that at all. Come on, you’ll need a distraction,”
Marlie tried to compromise but I just wasn’t in the mood.

“I don’t need a distraction,
Marlie! I need to be left alone and not treated like some poor, helpless animal. I can take care of myself and get through this by myself,” I finally snapped.

“Ali, chill out. We’re just trying to help,” Justin stepped in to try and take the heat off of
Marlie.

“Seriously?
You’re telling me to chill out? That’s hilarious. I gotta head to my locker before class. I’ll see you guys later.” I got up, dumped my tray and stormed off to the bathroom to bawl my eyes out.

“Ali? Are you in here?” I heard
Marlie walk in.

“I’ll be out in a second,” my voice cracked.

“Ali, let me in. Come on.” She tapped on the stall door.

“I’m not in the mood,” I groaned.

“I’m not leaving until you are in the mood.” I watched as she sat on the floor against the stall.

“Get up. The floor is disgusting,” I wiped my tears.

“I don’t care.” She stood her ground.

“Fine, I’m coming.” I unlocked the door and she stood up.

“Thank you. The floor is disgusting,” she grinned.

“I don’t know how I’ll get through this,” I admitted.

“God doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle,” Marlie put her hand on my arm.

“I’m not that strong.” I let my shoulders sag.

“Oh, sweetie, come here,” she held her arms open and I fell into them letting the tears flow.

After missing all of sixth hour, I finally came back during seventh and I felt like I might actually make it through this. I could graduate and then go to college in North Carolina or something and life would work out. My parents wouldn’t be thrilled about the whole moving-somewhere-for-a-guy thing, but they’d learn to accept it. I got home after school and Jake was there on my front porch talking with my mom.

“Oh, sweetie, you’re home,” my mom smiled.

“Hi, Mom.
Jake,” I grinned awkwardly.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I’ll leave you two alone. Nice talking to you, Jake.” My mom picked up her iced tea and headed back inside.

“How long have you been here?” I sat on the porch swing with him.

“Like fifteen minutes. Don’t worry, she hasn’t bored me,” he smiled and I felt myself melt.

“Oh, I was worried. My mom can get a little weird,” I winked.

“She’s worried about you,” he stared off.

“Why?” I hated talking about this subject with him.

“What will happen when I
leave. She knows how important I am to you.” He rubbed his chin.

“Jake, I don’t want to talk about this again. The one time was enough,” my chest got heavy.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t want to get in the way of your future. I have mine and you deserve a future all your own,” he glanced at me.

“I will make a future all my own! I choose you. You’re my future, Jake!” I could hear my voice rise.

“I don’t want my decisions to rule your life. It’s not fair,” he put his head in his hands.

“You’re not ruling my life with your decisions. I’m in charge of my life,” I crossed my arms.

“Okay, fine. Let’s go for a walk,” he grabbed my hand and we headed down the block.

The rest of the week was amazing. We spent our time watching movies together and going for long walks.  But now it was Friday. He is leaving tomorrow so my mom and dad allowed me to stay home for the day. Jake and I were going to spend the day at his parents’ personal beach house. It was made for two but it was absolutely stunning.

“Well, we have the day to ourselves. What do you want to do?” Carter said as we walked into the house.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Before I gave him a chance to react, I jumped his bones. Our lips were inseparable.

“Breathe, Ali Cat. What are you doing?” he pulled back and looked at me.

“What do you thinking I’m doing?” I pulled our lips back together and soon enough we were on a bed, our shirts off and my pants gone.

“Ali, I love you. Jesus Christ do I love you. But we can’t do this, not now. Not when I’m about to leave,” he sat up, still beside me.

“We’ve been at for a half hour and now you tell me to stop?” I laughed a little in shock.

“I don’t want our first time as a couple to be like this, right before I leave. This is a big thing for you too, Ali. This something you should care about losing and care about who you lose it to. I want you to be ready. You’re not ready and we’re not ready as a couple,” he sat against the bedframe.

“You know, I should be a little hurt that you’re turning me down, but it’s making me love you more. You care so much about me that when you had the chance to take advantage of me, you didn’t and you have no idea how important that is to me. When we make love for the first time I agree that we should wait.

” I kissed him and snuggled against his side.

“I’m not going to lie, though. You look sexy as hell,” he laid his hand on my naked stomach.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” I put my arm around him and got on top.

“Ali Cat, you are trouble.” And with that, we started making out again.

“Mm, Jake, your phone is ringing,” I pulled our lips apart.

“Shit,
it’s Carter. What do you want?” he answered it.

“I don’t care what they do. I’m leaving soon.” I watched him roll his eyes.

“Yeah, well, I’m sorry that you have to live with them, too,” he sighed.

“I’ll say something, yeah.
Promise. See ya.” He hung up and let out all the air left in him.

“What’s going on?” I looked at him nervously.

“My parents think it’s okay that since I’m moving they can go on vacation for two or three months. Carter is pissed.” I watched as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Oh, I’m sorry, baby,” I wrapped my arms around his back.

“Nothing you can do about it. We should get going. It’s a little late,” he checked his watch.

“What time is it?” I looked out the window noticing it was dark.

“It’s almost nine. I have to leave early tomorrow morning.” He started getting dressed and I sat there starting to feel my heart break again.

“Ali Cat, come on, don’t do this to me. Ali, I love you. You’re staying over, correct? We get to cuddle all night and you have to drive me to the airport tomorrow morning. It’s going to be okay, sweetheart.” He came over and kissed me.

“Promise?” I felt tears roll down my cheeks.

“Promise,” he smiled and kissed me again.