Chapter Thirty-Three: The Road Trip
"URGH!" Jake groaned as he walked home
"What?" Rosa asked as she walked in, from the kitchen
"You know that prisoner transfer upstate?" Jake said
"Yeah?" She asked
"I have to pick him up at 6:30am tomorrow morning" Jake said
"So. Get up early with me" She said
"It's in Rochester" He said
"Ah. So, what's your plan?" She asked
"Amy and I are going up tomorrow morning" Jake said
"You and Amy?" Rosa asked
"And... I invited Sophia" Jake added
"Why?" Rosa asked
"Because then I have an excuse to invite Teddy to, so Amy won't try and flirt with me" Jake said. Rosa almost smiled at that
"Ok" She said, walking up and kissing him softly
"Are you alright?" He asked as he pulled
"Yeah. Why?" She asked
"You just seem a bit off" He said
"No, I'm not" She defended
"Are you coming down with a sickness?" He asked
"No" Rosa said firmly.
"Alright" Jake said.
They went to work the following morning, and Rosa and Jake said their goodbyes before they left.
"It's just one night" Jake whispered to her
"Exactly. It's weird sleeping here without you" She said. He leant in and kissed her again
"I'll be home before you know it" He promised
Jake realised that he fucked up with the whole Teddy thing, but it was too late for him to do anything about it. Jake sighed, and vowed to spend the rest of his evening with them. That was until he received a picture of a very naked girlfriend
"And my VERY naked girlfriend" Jake said, realising that he said it. Out loud, he followed it quickly with "Sophia does not care about the cloud at all" He said, as he read the caption below
Sophia's wondering where the Hell you are. I thought this would get your attention xx
It did.
"I'm 'a just gonna head up there for a sec" Jake said to Amy and excused himself. He walked into their room, and found hundreds of dolls on the bed.
"I know, I thought it would be funny but it's just really scary" Sophia said as she ran out of the bathroom
Jake started to turn the dolls around, and was even more surprised to find tehir names on the back, which he commented on, which then led to Sophia kissing him saying once they're gone, it will be more romantic. Jake could feel her kiss. Dead. Nothing. Not like when he kissed Rosa and sparks shot through him.
"You know what would be more romantic? Is hanging out fully clothed, with two other people who have fallen out of love" Jake suggested
"What did you do?" She asked
"Don't be mad. I invited Teddy up to Surprise Amy but it turns out she wants to break up with him. And now I promised her that I would run interference, and now I feel like I've let you and all our demon children down"
"Oh, it's ok. You were just trying to do something nice for your friend. And it blew up in your face. Rather spectacularly" She said. Jake could see what Rosa saw in her.
"Everything I do is spectacular. It's a curse" He said "Thank you for being understanding" He added
"Yeah, well. For the record, very cool girlfriend" She said
"The coolest" Jake confirmed
"Hey, and Teddy doesn't get here for another 30 minutes. Till then" He suggetsed
"Let's make out?" She asked
"Great plan" Jake replied, before getting spooked by the dolls and puppets. Instead they walked into the bathroom.
Sophia turned on the shower and walked up to Jake
"Now they can't hear us" she said
"Who?" Jake asked, although it did explain why she was acting so girlfriendly- out in the hall.
"You never know where people hide mics" She said
"Alright. Hey, instead of texting me, you text Rosa to message me?" Jake asked
"Yeah but the pic was worth it, wasn't it" She said
"How do you know about the pic?" He asked
"You're not the only one Jake. Remember that. She was mine long before she was yours" Sophia said
"Yeah, but she's been mine 13 years" Jake said
"13? Fuck! Really?" Sophia asked "Rosa said that she'd just been at the Nine-Nine for 6 years" She said
"She did. But we met back at the Academy in 2001" Jake said
"Wow. Ok, did not know that. Puts my 2 year fling with her to shame" She said
"Why did you want me to come up?" He asked
"What's our plan. You went off to speak to Amy and I hadn't seen you since. Then you explain their situation, so... What's the plan" She asked
"I don't know just... Try not to leave them alone I guess. We leave early tomorrow, like we need to be on the road at 6am, so we just have to keep them company until tonight, when they can go to bed" Jake said
"So... What, we play couple's councillors?" She asked
"I honestly don't know" Jake said
"Well. We'll play it by ear, and see" Sophia said.
Jake and Sophia sat at the table, and awkwardly watched as Amy broke up with Teddy before him.
"The main reason you want to break up with me, is the Pilsners? I-I like other drinks" He said awkwardly sipping Amy's wine
"It's not just the pilsners. There are so many reasons I want to break up" Amy said before digging herself further into that hole. Sophia had to interject and tell her to shut up, and then he said words that shocked Jake to his core.
"No. Actually I think you should stay. So, we can all talk about the real reason that there's a problem in my relationship with Amy. Which is you, Jake" Teddy said
"Buh- What now? Huh?" Jake asked
"About how you told her that you liked her before you went undercover" Teddy said
"You like Amy?" Sophia asked
"Um. I did, but that was many moons ago" Jake said
"Was it?" Teddy asked "Because I know for a fact you also told her when you got back. And every time you would, she would get "confused" and then our relationship would get "Out of sync" And if you ask me, I think it's because Amy likes you back"
"Amy likes you back"
"Amy likes you back"
"Amy likes you back"
No way! No fucking way! How long?
Jake's mind was zooming. His words shot straight to his core. Somewhere deep inside him which suddenly grew warm, before a cold sweat of dread filled him. This was Teddy's speculation. Where was the truth!
"Did you?" Jake asked her
"Maybe. Yes." She admitted. Jake froze. That warmth returned, and was so much bigger. It filled him. Amy liked him. Did he still like her? There was more than a spark with her.
"A little" She added, bringing him back into the restaurant. He felt numb, his brain not able to come up with words. Luckily, she kept talking. "I mean, I was confused" She said, before once more she started demanding for her laptop.
Sophia knew about Jake and Rosa. Or knew as much as they would tell her. She was still learning bits. She realised that this was water that if Rosa knew about, she would not be happy. She got up, and walked away, as the rest of the table left. She noticed that Jake and Amy stayed at the table, for a few minutes before excusing themselves.
Jake sighed, walking up to their room.
"Hey. It's me. Please open the door" he said "Come on. Let's talk. I'm sorry!" Jake said as the door opened, and an old man replied
"Hey. Jake. Over here man" Sophia called. Jake apologised to the man, and walked over to Sophia
"Look. I know what that sounded like at dinner, but I promise you. I am not into Amy" Jake said
"It's not what I heard Jake. It's what I saw" She said "You should have seen the look on your face when you found out Amy liked you" She said before going on about how it sounded like high-school problems
"The point is, I like you" Jake said, they both knew that 'you' meant Rosa. Jake was surprised that this woman that Rosa hadn't mentioned before was such a good friend of hers that she was worried about her.
"And you're sure you're over Amy?" Sophia asked
"Yes!" Jake promised "I mean I didn't knock on Amy's door, I knocked on yours" He said, before Sophia interjected, and let him in
They slept soon after, and Jake awoke early the next morning. He bid goodbye to Sophia and met Amy in the lobby, before they drove and got the perp. They drove in silence. Jake opting to drive, as he much preferred to drive than to bedriven.
"You ok?" He asked Amy "Want some blue?" He offered
"Sure" Amy replied
"Wow. Last night really broke you, huh?" He asked as he watched her drink
"Actually, I think it was probably for the best. I'm glad I got it over with" She said
"Totally. Sometimes you got to just rip off the band aid and let the scab bleed all over the place" Jake said
"That's not the expression at all" She said
"I'm 100% that it is" He said as she laughed
"So, how'd it go with Sophia?" She asked
"Good. We made up. We're still together" Jake said "I told her, you know Everything with me and you is in the past, and we're just friends so..." he added as silence filled the car. "Although don't get me wrong. I am thrilled to know that you used to like me" Jake said. Making sure to use it in the past tense. So, she knew that nothing would happen He started taking the mick out of it. Hoping that she knew that they were still cool.
Jake walked back into their apartment and met Rosa, who was riddled with disease
"You were right" she groaned
"About what?" Jake asked
"I'm sick" She said Jake sighed and sat on the couch opposite her
"Rosa, we have to talk" He said. Rosa sat up, and looked at him
"What's wrong?" She asked. Jake sighed. He knew this was going to be a rough conversation.
"Amy likes me" He said.
"Oh" Rosa replied taken aback. She didn't know what she was thinking he would say, but that was not it. "Like you, or like-like you?" She asked
"Like-like" Jake replied "She broke up with Teddy last night, because of me" Jake said
"Right" Rosa replied.
"I'm not leaving you" He said. Rosa looked up at him
"What?" She asked
"I'm not leaving you. Me and Sophia are still 'dating'. No one has any idea that it's a fake, but I meant it. Rosa, I'm not leaving you" He said walking over and sitting beside her, she moved away
"I'm not moving away because I'm pissed. I'm moving so you don't catch this" She said
"Rosa. Are we cool?" He asked
"Why wouldn't we be cool?" She asked
"Just checking" He said, as he smiled at her