Chapter Twenty Seven
That night, as Lucas was leaving his house to go to Brooke's, Jake and Peyton were exiting the restaurant where they had just had dinner. Hand in hand they walked along the pavement to where Jake's car was parked down the road.
"Jake, honey?"
"Yeah?" he answered.
"Did you not like the food?" Peyton asked, curiously.
"What? No, the food was fine. Didn't you like it?"
"I really liked it," she replied. "I was just wondering if it disagreed with you or something. You've been really quiet tonight."
"Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind."
"Lots of work?" she guessed.
Jake nodded. "Yeah." Only it wasn't the kind of work she was talking about. Peyton had been busy lately, helping Haley prepare for the play and as a result, this was their first proper date since Whitey had spoken to him that morning in his office. He couldn't help but mull over his words, and even though he had been appointed assistant coach, he felt that he and Nathan were no where nearer to finding the drug dealer than they had been when they came to Tree Hill High at the beginning of the semester; all they had achieved was to put a girl in juvie, and thanks to a deal she'd made with the judge she'd be out of there soon anyway.
"Well, if you're piled up with work maybe someone else can help with the boy's basketball team?" Peyton suggested; a concerned note in her voice. "I'm sure there must be another teacher who can do it."
"It's okay. It's just this week; next week it'll be fine," Jake told her. "I'm sorry; I won't drift anymore."
"Well, you better not," Peyton said teasingly. "Haley's sisters are in town and she's spending the night with them so you and I have the apartment all to ourselves and I certainly don't want you elsewhere then."
Jake chuckled. "I promise I won't be." They had reached his car by then so he leaned forward and, after unlocking the door, opened the passenger side for Peyton to get in. She hesitated. "Peyton?"
"I have to tell you something," she said suddenly, making Jake acutely aware of the fact that that should be his line.
"Er…sure."
"Well, actually, it's something to ask you – not tell you."
"Go ahead," he prompted.
"What are you going to be doing next Friday?" she asked.
Jake didn't have to think very hard. "Nothing. I don't have plans."
"So how would you feel about going somewhere with me?"
"Sure. Where do you want to go?" Jake wondered.
Peyton avoided his gaze. "To dinner with my Dad," she said quietly.
"Your Dad?"
"I told you he travels a lot, right?"
"Yeah, on his boat."
"Well, he's docking in next Thursday really close to Tree Hill. He's only here for a few days before he goes to another country but he wants to meet me before he goes back – obviously – and I just thought…maybe you two could meet as well?"
"You want me to meet your Dad," Jake said sullenly. Jake considered himself good with parents and one of his previous girlfriends' fathers had liked him simply because he was "an officer of the law", but, of course, he couldn't tell Mr. Sawyer that. Maybe the case will be solved by next Friday, he thought. Or maybe the case will never be solved and it'll just go on and on and Nathan will have to keep repeating senior year and I'll have to keep teaching kids who don't want to learn – until we get fired and they put new people on the case and –
"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Peyton said quickly, cutting into his thoughts. "It was just an idea."
Jake realized that she took his silence to mean he didn't want to come – which wasn't altogether untrue; it just wasn't for the reason she was thinking of. "No, I'll come," he told her before he could stop himself. A moment later he thought he would fake an illness next Friday morning, but when she beamed at him he knew he had to go.
"You really don't mind?"
"No, I don't mind. If you want me to go, I'll go."
Peyton grinned even wider before hugging Jake and giving him a smacking kiss on the lips.
When she pulled back, Jake kept his arms around her waist to make her stay. "And here I thought you weren't a fan of PDA," he remarked.
"Sometimes it's okay."
"Like now?"
Peyton nodded. "Like now."
"Good to know." Jake smirked before bending down to kiss her neck.
"Jake!" she squealed when she felt his lips on her skin.
"Yes?" he asked innocently.
"Don't do that here!" She pushed at his arms and managed to move back.
Jake pouted. "But you said it was okay."
"Jake Jagielski, you know I did not mean that much of it. Besides, we have an empty apartment waiting for us."
"Then what are we waiting for!" Jake helped Peyton into her seat, before running round to the driver's seat and speeding down the road.
She laughed. He couldn't believe it. She laughed!
Lucas had showed up at her house and they had gone to her room where he sat her down and said he had something to tell her; seven minutes later he finally spit it out. She stayed silent for a long moment – and then she laughed!
"Brooke, it's not funny!" Lucas said, crossing his arms and turning around.
Her only reply was to giggle harder. Lucas frowned; any minute now she'd be rolling on the floor.
"I think I'm going to go –"
"No, don't!" Brooke said, sitting up and grabbing his arm. When he looked at her she snorted.
Lucas stood up. "Brooke!"
"I'm sorry, Lucas. I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you," she said as she came to stand beside him. He gave her a look, forcing her to admit, "Okay, maybe I am, but not because you haven't had sex."
"Then what?"
"You took so long to tell me! And you made it sound so serious. It was like you were trying to tell me that you were the drug dealer! Or you had killed someone – or you're gay!"
"You and Nathan think you're real funny, don't you?"
"What does Nathan have to do with it?"
"Never mind."
"Look, Lucas," Brooke said as she led him back to the bed. "You just made it sound like such a big deal. It's nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Okay, maybe it's not nothing," Brooke conceded, "but it's only a very small thing. Actually, I think it's kind of cute."
"You do?"
"Yeah, I do. Oh – you're not like, waiting till marriage are you?" she asked.
"No, not marriage." Lucas shook his head. "It was just never the right time, I guess. I didn't want to sleep with just anyone."
Brooke nodded. "Sometimes I wish I had waited longer too," she admitted.
"You weren't 14 though, were you?"
"14!" Brooke exclaimed. "Add 2 to that. 14!" she repeated. "Ew! Gross! Who do you know that did it then?"
"Nathan," Lucas told her.
"Are you serious? 14! Jeez. Was the girl 14 too? Or was she a lot older than him?" she wondered and shuddered at the thought.
"I don't know; I didn't ask for details. Brooke, Nathan is my cousin. If you're freaked how do you think I feel?"
"14!" Brooke said again, ignoring Lucas' comment. "Couldn't he keep it in his pants? That's just sick!" Suddenly, she stood up.
"Where are you going?" Lucas asked.
"To eat something. I need to get this gross image of 14 year old Nathan out of my head."
