Chapter 25
The car seemed quieter than usual. Jake glanced at the backseat from the rearview mirror. Jenny had fallen asleep. Jake smiled and looked at Peyton, with mischief in his eyes.
"Jake Jagielski, your daughter is in the car!", Peyton exclaimed.
"I know, but she's asleep.", Jake joked.
"Peyton, do you want to know a secret?"
"Yeah.", Peyton remarked.
"At the auction, I would have kept on bidding for you till I got you."
Peyton smiled.
"Want to know a secret, Mr. Jagielski?"
Jake nodded.
"I would have come with you for free.", Peyton said as she reached for his hand.
He stopped the car by the road side and reached for his pocket. He unfolded a piece of paper he had kept since high school.
Peyton looked at it and recognized the drawing immediately. It had been one she made when she and Jake first started dating. It was a drawing of a girl and a boy holding a baby in his arms. She looked at the caption below the picture: "Sometimes, they come back."
Peyton's glance shifted from the paper to Jake. At that moment, her feelings had become clear. She unbuckled her seatbelt and moved closer to him.
"Sometimes, they come back.", she whispered as she kissed him on the lips.

"Champagne?", Lucas offered. "But you'll have to drink from the bottle, I kinda forgot about the glass part.", he added.
Brooke didn't mind. She was having an incredible night for the first time in years.
"So what have you been up to, these past three years?", she asked.
"You know, the usual, college, books and girls.", Lucas replied.
"Girls?", Brooke asked with a somewhat jealous tone.
He laughed.
"No.", he replied.
She tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled, as her dimples surfaced.
"So what have you been up to?", Lucas asked.
"Trying to pass Calculus.", she joked.
They both avoided the serious issues as they continued to make small talk.
"Luke, I need to ask you something."
She looked at him, now more serious than ever.
"Why didn't you bid for Peyton? I thought after we broke up in high school, you'd finally ask her out."
"I didn't bid for her tonight because after all these years, when I saw you, my heart started to race again. It has never beaten this hard for any other girl but you, Brooke. I love Peyton…"
Brooke looked away. The high school drama is back again, she thought.
Rain started to drizzle on them, but neither one noticed.
"Luke, I don't want to do this anymore. I have tried to move on. Come on Lucas, three years. I just don't want all the drama. Peyton is my best friend."
The rain had started to pour down hard. Trying to maintain balance on the boat, Lucas slowly grabbed Brooke by the shoulders.
"Listen to me, you're the one I want. Tonight at the auction you said that you hoped everyone got the girl of his dreams. That's why I couldn't bid for Peyton. Sure I love Peyton. She's my friend. But I'm in love with you. You, Brooke Davis. You're the girl of my dreams."
They were both soaking wet. He placed his coat over her. Her hair was dripping, her feet were cold and to top that off, her eyes were filled with tears.