67. Chapter 67
Jake
Walking into Lottie’s house, which feels an awful lot like our house recently, and seeing her crying on the couch isn’t what I was expecting.
She still hasn’t answered me as she tries to get herself together, and then I notice the box at her feet, the journals and letters scattered around her.
She’s finally read them. I know they’re all from our school days before we actually met in person, but I hope they’ve given her a real insight into how deep our friendship ran.
Taking a seat beside her, I wipe the tears away from her cheeks with my thumbs as she closes her eyes at my touch.
“I was just thinking about how this is all so unfair, you know?” she sniffles.
You can say that again.
“This must be so heartbreaking for you, J, you have all these memories of us.” She points to the letters and journals. “And I remember only snippets. It’s so cruel to you.”
“Hey now, it’s not only cruel to me, baby, but also you. Don’t forget that. I don’t care what you remember or what you don’t. Just that you’re here with me right now, and I’m loving where we are and how things are between us.”
She nods. “Me too.” Her eyes are still watery, but she manages to offer me a small smile.
“Tell you what, why don’t you have a nice bath while I cook dinner, and then we can sit and go through the letters together, maybe provide some context?”
“I’d really love that. Can we have that prawn linguine for dinner?” Her eyes have gone from sad to pleading, and who am I to deny this girl?
“Sure thing.” I give her a quick kiss on the lips and walk off to start running the bath for Lottie.
Then, I crack on with the food. Bella, my diligent sous chef, is by my side the whole time, just in case I need a taste tester.
As I’m setting the plates on the table, Lottie comes walking out in one of my hockey jerseys.
Just my hockey jersey by the look of it, and I nearly swallow my tongue.
She looks like my ultimate fantasy come to life.
I can’t tell you how many wet dreams I’ve had of her dressed like this.
And there she is, sashaying toward me like she has no clue of the effect she has on me.
“J? Are you alright?” she asks, probably wondering why I’ve not said anything in about five minutes.
I go to open my mouth, but nothing comes out, so I’m left here looking like a flapping fish as she comes closer. Every step closer to me she gets, my dick gets harder and harder. Calm down, Jake, don’t maul her at the dinner table.
“I-I, y-you are in my jersey,” I manage to croak out.
She tilts her head to the side. “Have I never worn your jersey in front of you before?”
“Not without any other clothes, no.”
Her mouth forms an adorable little O as she takes in what I’ve just said. “Shall I go and put something else on?”
“No!” I rush out, almost shouting and startling her. “No, what you have on is fine.” Running my hand down my face, I pull out her chair. “Let’s eat.”
After what was one of the most torturous dinners I’ve ever endured, we snuggle back on the sofa, going through the letters I sent religiously to Lottie. Her replies are safely tucked away at my penthouse, and maybe I should get those so she can see what she said to me as well.
We laugh at teenage me when I tell Lottie about my disastrous first kiss, we cry when we read the letter about my dad, and we laugh again when we recount Lottie's first—and what appeared to be last—date with a kid named Troy. Seriously, was he a High School Musical reject? It still makes me laugh to this day that he took her to Burger King on her birthday when she’s a vegetarian.
I mean, come on, dude. Burger King? Seriously?
It’s a surreal experience when we read them and she recalls perfectly what happened, but she just doesn’t recall telling me, or her feelings about me at that time in her life. It’ll be harder when she reads her journals from our college years, I’m sure.
We sit there for hours, pouring over hundreds of letters until Lottie lets out a yawn and we call it a night.
After brushing our teeth side by side, we get under the covers, me being the big spoon to her little spoon. Once her breathing evens out, I whisper, “I love you so much, Lottie.”
I kiss the back of her head, breathing her in before I let sleep take me.