Chapter 20- Fishing' In the Dark
((Song by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.))
I'm in my old room and I have to say, this week has been fun. It's mostly been Jake and I doing things around the house for our respective sets of parents and visiting children's hospitals and even schools doing autograph signings and Jake, because of his renown as a two time all American, talking to the kids about staying in school and the importance of both school and working hard like he did throughout school. Right now though, its 12:00 in the morning so there are no school visits being done and both Jake and I are tucked into our respective bedrooms. Or so I think until I hear the familiar sound of rocks hitting my bedroom window. I open the door to see Jake dressed in boots and a long sleeved black shirt and jeans. "Hey, c'mon out," he says to me.
"You know we have a thing called cell phones. You could have just texted me on that," I laugh at him.
"Eh, this reminds me more of our childhood," he laughs. "C'mon out. I swear, this time your parents won't get mad because you've been out all night."
"Where are we going?" I roll my eyes as I lean against my arms and sit on the window box.
"Down to the river, we're gonna catch some fish," Jake smiles. "I'm taking Blue too so bring a swim suit. We'll prolly end up in the water by the end of the night."
I laugh, "Alright, alright." I turn around and go through my drawers to find my swimsuit which I change into along with a pair of black shorts and a t-shirt from NYU. When I get done I head downstairs where my father is asleep on the couch with my mother curled against him. That's one thing I'm glad to say, it seems like their love for one another has never fizzled. He's so in love with my mom and I honestly hope that this is the sort of relationship that Jake and I have. If we ever get married that is. I don't want to rush him into anything he nor I am ready for. I've done played that game once and it wasn't fun.
I scribble down a note for my parents in case we're not back till the morning telling them not to worry about me and then leave the yard to see Jake sitting in the front seat of his father's old red pickup truck. We use to take it out to the river all the time so we could fish off of the back end of it. "Ready to go?" he asks me.
I smile and nod my head, "Yup. Did you leave mom and dad a note in case we weren't back till morning?"
"Kirst, I'm a 23 year old man. I don't need to let my parents are every minute of every day and neither do you," Jake laughs.
"Touché." I joke back. Blue, who is sitting in between Jake and I reaches up and licks my cheek in a big wet kiss. "Well hello to you to Blue." I scratch him between the ears and laugh as he barks in joy. He may be an old dog but he's definitely still full of life. I look over at Jake who has his sunglasses on…even though it's night time.
"Don't judge me," he says before I can get a word in.
"Who says I'm judging you?" I giggle. "Jeez, you need to stop being so worried about what I think!"
He drives the short distance out to the river and I get out of the truck when he parks. Almost immediately Blue runs into the river, splashing around as if he was just a pup again. Jake starts setting up the fishing gear on the back of the truck as I plop onto the tailgate. He puts the worm on the hook for me and I cast my line out into the water. The music, coming from the boombox that Jake set up in tailgate beside us, is playing some cheesy country song about first loves and running away together. "Nice night out," Jake smiles.
"I always think it's nice when I'm out with you," I giggle.
"That was almost as cheesy as this song," Jake rolls his eyes, reeling in his line.
"Hey, I was speaking from the bottom of my heart," I playfully shove his shoulder. I feel no bite on the end of my line so I slowly reel it in. I'm not so much in a fishing mood as I am in just a mood to lay here on the tailgate with Jake and look up at the cloudless sky. I put my rod aside and get up off the tail gate, Jake doing the same thing. "Race you to the river?"
"Alright, you're on. One, two…" before he can say three he takes off, leaving me behind.
"Cheater!" I giggle as I run after him. Before I know it, we're both in the river, splashing each other and swimming around. It's like we're children again. I don't mind it. In fact, those days were simpler. There was no worry about abusive ex boyfriends and who was going to do what on Raw or Smackdown or the pay per view. This way may be what he grew up wanting but it's a lot more complicated. And for some reason, I feel tears stinging my eyes. Then I think about it. I'm honestly worried about what will happen at the pay per view. He's in a brutal match with a brutal man. If he gets hurt, I dunno what I'll do.
"Hey, why are you crying?" Jake asks, swimming over to me. We're both treading water and looking into each others eyes.
"What if you get hurt Sunday?" I ask softly.
"Then I get hurt. All that matters with Chris is that he learns that you don't mess with a girl like he messed with you," Jake replies, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"So…even if you get hurt, you're just doing this to prove a point? What if he hurts you so bad that you can't wrestle?" I frown as I lay my head on his shoulder.
"Then I guess I take time off, I get my priorities straight, and I train to make a healthy come back," Jake shrugs. "I bet you're getting tired. What do you say we lay down in the truck bed and go to sleep?"
I smile, "Unless you want to swim some more."
"Nah," he replies. "I need to rest up so I can train tomorrow." I nod, swimming over to the bank and taking a towel from the truck and drying off. I step behind Jack and smacked him in the butt with my wet towel. "GOD DAMMIT!"
I giggle, "That's for all those years you did it to me."
He pouts, turning to me, "But I was only playing when I did that. You said you understood."
"Yeah I did, didn't I? Know what else I said. I also said one day I'd get you back!" I laugh. "Consider that getting you back!"
"Touche, touché," he laughs, laying down on the truck bed and making room for me. I cuddle up close to him, laying my head on his chest and looking up at the night sky.
"It's beautiful, ain't it?" I sigh, my eyes not leaving the sky. So many stars and constellations up there and they've been there since the dawn of time.
"Yeah, yeah it is." I glance up to see that Jake's not looking at me, he's looking up at the sky. He's not saying the sky is beautiful, he's saying I'm beautiful. For some reason I feel the blush spread across my cheeks and I kiss him sweetly.
"Get some sleep, we have a big day of training tomorrow," I smile sweetly.