Hey Guys-
Wow. Thanks for all the reviews. I've officially past the review marker for my last story which I feel is a fairly good accomplishment since I was pretty proud of that one. Anyway we're close to the 150 review mark!!!! So keep it up and I'll keep this story coming to you as quickly as I can. I hope you like this one…I really enjoyed writing it.
The next morning Miley awoke in the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in. She didn't immediately recognize the room. As she looked down to see Jake's clothes on her the events of yesterday came back to her… Mark and his stupid decisions... her getting angry and nearly killing a pillow….and Jake. Jake had taken her from furious to calm to feeling warm and safe and herself once again.
She smiled to herself. She knew that she had been on the couch when she had fallen asleep. Jake must have carried her up to his bedroom.
Miley got out of bed and brushed her teeth. Then looking at the clock she realized it was still very early. She tiptoed down the stairs to keep from waking Jake.
She came around the corner into the living room and found a very adorable looking Jake half falling off the large brown leather couch. The blanket that he had been using was mostly on the floor leaving him clinging to a small corner.
God had she missed him. She couldn't believe that they had been at odds for 5 whole months. It had been torture. He was always around but completely off limits. And then when she had needed him he had come through for her knowing exactly what to do to make her feel good about herself once again. He hadn't tried to fix Mark. Instead he had helped fix her. She had felt so powerless and scared when she had come to see him feeling like she had no control over where her life was taking her and he had shown her that it was still her life to lead.
Her life to lead. She was ashamed of how little of her life she had been leading recently. She had let Mark dictate everything about their relationship. They had stayed in and focused on work not because he had wanted it but because she had let it happen. And she had let it happen because it was safe.
Miley was reminded of her first conversation with Lilly in Paris. She had told her not to be afraid of love. At that time Miley thought that Lilly was talking about both Mark and Jake. But she hadn't. She knew that the only person that Miley could ever really love had always been Jake.
Somewhere in the back of her mind Miley had always known that if she lost Mark she wouldn't lose herself in the process. But with Jake that was never true. Being with him would be an all or nothing endeavor. And if she loved him the way she knew she could she would never be the same again without him.
That was what scared her most of all. She wasn't completely sure she was ready to jump off the deep end and let everything go to be with Jake but she was ready to take back her life. She wouldn't be spending anymore time with someone who didn't want to share the big decisions in life with her. She was done with Mark.
She suddenly felt relived. She felt like a part of her had been missing the last 5 months was finally found again. And now she felt…tired. Emotional decisions don't come easily she thought to herself.
She looked back at Jake. He still looked adorable sprawled out on the couch. He also looked ridiculously comfy.
She breathed in deeply making a decision. She was not going to be afraid of love anymore. She would give herself every opportunity to be happy.
Miley smiled to herself. She tiptoed next to the couch and carefully lifted the blanket and slowly laid herself down next to him taking pains not to wake him. She put her arms around his waist making sure she didn't fall off the couch. She loved the feeling of just being close to him. She felt herself relax considerably and she was soon fast asleep again in Jake's arms.
Jake awoke a few hours later among a cloud of brown curls. He smiled to himself. He knew this was not where he had put her last night. He had been tipsy but he had not been THAT tipsy. He couldn't help but notice how well she fit up against him and how good it felt to wake up with her head resting on his chest.
It was then that he realized that his right arm was very much asleep. He tried to lift it out from underneath the sleeping beauty next to him but was unsuccessful. He grazed the top of her head as he lifted his arm causing her to stir.
She drew in a heavy breath and turned slowly opening her eyes. When she saw him she smiled. Jake smiled back at her.
"Hey." She said still smiling.
"Hey." He replied. He chuckled to himself. "You must be one hell of a sleepwalker."
Miley yawned and blushed a little. "I woke up too early and came down…and then you looked pretty comfortable so I thought I'd join you." She said slyly rubbing her hand on his chest.
Jake couldn't help but hold onto her blue eyes. "I don't think I was complaining."
Miley propped herself up on her left arm so that she was still facing Jake. Still looking at him flirtatiously she finished. "Good."
Jake caught a flash of those blue eyes and knew that something about her had changed since yesterday. This wasn't the same girl who had come to his house nearly in tears. This was the strong confident Miley that he had known most of his life. Sitting there in his pajamas with her newfound confidence Jake didn't think she had ever looked so beautiful.
Miley slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Come on. You get up and take a shower and I'll make breakfast for you…you know…as a thank you." She said eyes sparkling.
Jake sat up placing both of his feet on the floor and rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the palms of his hands.
Miley took his hand and helped him off the couch.
Holding his hand and leading him into the kitchen Miley stopped to take in the house she was in. She had been so mad the night before that she hadn't registered how unbelievably beautiful it actually was.
Jake was confused for their stop and looked down at her. "What is it?"
Miley was near speechless. The house was perfect. The small polished terracotta tiles felt wonderful beneath her feet. The subdued colors made everything about the house feel warm and inviting. The Spanish tiles in the kitchen were beautiful and yet more homey than she could ever remember a kitchen being. There were windows everywhere bringing in fresh daylight and spring air. And the furnishings were a mixture of old and new, no two pieces matching and yet everything seemed to go together. Compared to her beautiful apartment that was chic and modern this place felt like a real home. "I guess I didn't quite realize how beautiful your place was until now." She said looking up at Jake.
"I guess you must be as big a movie star as they say if Kevin's going to spring for a house like this for you to stay in." Miley asked still letting her gaze fall upon each and every token and trinket in the house.
Jake let out a small breath and ruffled his hair. "Actually….this is mine." He said bashfully.
Miley's eyes got wide. "You OWN this place?" Miley said not quite believing it.
Jake smiled. "Yeah. I came over here intending to buy something as an investment you know. Fit it up, keep it for a few years and then sell it." He said motioning down the hallway.
"So I came here a few weeks early and started looking around at a bunch of apartments. And then one day I was driving down this street and noticed the For Sale sign out front. And I don't know… I just had to see inside the place. The second I walked in I knew I wanted to live here. I don't know it was just…"
"perfect." Miley said softly completing Jake's thought.
Jake walked up to a black and white picture of him and his parents when he was little. "I just somehow thought this would be a great place to bring a family too someday."
Miley looked at him honestly. "It will be."
The look in Miley's eyes when she said those words nearly caused Jake's heart to stop. There was something of a….promise in the way that she said it that made Jake's knees go weak. It was far too much to hope for.
Jake smiled at her regaining his composure. "Um….You haven't even seen the best part yet." He said taking her by the hand and leading her towards the door in the kitchen. He opened it up revealing a beautiful patio with a large wood table for lots of guests and family that was under cover of a large overhang of the house. There were beautiful potted plants and trees lining the backyard and a smell of lilac in the air. It was incredible.
Miley smiled even brighter at him. "It's settled. We'll eat out here this morning. Now….go take that shower!" She said with tone of mock authority.
Jake smirked to himself. If she were going to stay here in those clothes he would do just about anything she asked of him. When he came back down drying his hair with a towel he found that Miley had changed. She was wearing a pair of light grey sweatpants that had a drawstring to hold them up, a white tank top and one of his light blue button down shirts with the sleeves rolled up. She had set the table outside for the two of them sitting next to each other at the corner of the table. She had even picked some of the flowers and greenery from the garden and placed them on the table next to their plates. She was already seated in her chair hugging one leg with her left arm and letting the other dangle beneath her. The paper was opened in front of her and she was skimming for something interesting. He couldn't believe how beautiful she made the house feel with her in it.
That's when the feelings he had been feeling overwhelmed him. Love. It had always been love. But now….there was something else, something almost frightening. He had been in love with her memory for nearly a decade and it had kept him warm at night but it was different now. He used to think about how they had held hands in between classes, how they had stolen kisses from each other when her dad couldn't see, and how they had first told each other that they loved each other. But now what he felt for those memories paled in comparison for what he felt for her now.
He had of course loved her since they were kids but he had never really appreciated what they had when they were together. And the reason for it was simple. At the time that they had broken up he had never lost anything important to him. But then he had lost something. He had lost everything because…. he had lost her.
And now he had fallen in love again. And he had fallen harder than he had ever considered possible and if he was honest it happened the second he saw those blue eyes again. Even when they hadn't been talking she was the first and only thing his eyes sought. He couldn't help himself near her and so he had tried to stay away. He had tried to hide his feelings, he had tried to ignore them but it was useless. Every moment of the last 5 months that he had been away from her he had spent thinking about and wishing he was with her. And it terrified him. He had never in his life been as vulnerable as he was with Miley and now watching her eating breakfast and looking so comfortable in his house he knew he had lost his heart to her for good. He only hoped that she would be gentle with it.
Jake approached and smelled something wonderful. He joined Miley and found himself face to face with a plate full of chocolate chip pancakes and freshly cut peaches. "God those look good."
Miley smirked. "Of course they're good. It's not everyday that you get a popstar actress making you breakfast." Then turning serious she looked at him. "Is it?"
Jake tried to laugh with the pancakes in his mouth. He swallowed. "NO. That is definitely a first for this house."
The phone rang and Jake went in to get it bringing it back out onto the porch.
"Hey Kevin." Miley heard Jake saying.
"What happened?" Jake asked in a voice devoid of the friendly chatting that he had answered the phone. Miley watching him carefully feeling that this was not a good phone call.
"Is…is she going to be ok?" Jake got out with difficulty. His face had turned pale but he was trying to remain strong. Miley instinctually grabbed onto his hand feeling the fear in his voice.
"We'll be right there." He said and he hung up. Just hearing one side of the conversation Miley was near tears. She had never seen Jake look so serious and it scared her more than she wanted to admit.
He looked her straight in the eye holding both of her hands in his. "Jenna… was having early contractions this morning and they took her to the hospital. They were trying to stop her from going into labor since she's still early. But something is wrong with the baby's heartbeat." Jake said getting choked up.
"They're getting Jenna ready for surgery." A tear started rolling down Miley's cheek. Jake brushed it off with his thumb.
He held Miley's face in his hands. "Hey. Look at me. They both have amazing doctors. Everything will be ok."
Then looking into Jake's eyes she found herself believing it.
Jake stood up. "I'm going to go over there. Kevin is a wreck. Do you want to come?" He said with concern heavy in his voice.
She was still holding his hand. "You're not going anywhere without me." She said strongly.
Jake looked at her fondly noting once again all the changes in her since yesterday. But he had changed too. For the first time in ages he hoped that maybe she really meant it.
SOooooooooo????? What do you think? BE HONEST AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!