Erin groaned as she came into the house and out of the pouring rain, plopping her purse on the floor and kicking her shoes off. She'd just finished a rather busy shift at the restaurant and was ready for a quiet evening at home with her boyfriend and brother, who had been getting a bit better with teething. She was almost dreading the school year starting back up when summer ended, having to balance work, her brother, and classes again.
Erin suddenly paused, realizing the house was dark and quiet. The lights were off, but she could've sworn she saw Jake's car in the driveway.
"Jake?" she called hesitantly.
"One minute!" Jake's voice called from the kitchen. Erin hesitantly started walking toward the kitchen, only for Jake to walk out. He smiled widely at her, pulled her into a tight hug and gave her a short kiss. "I'm putting the finishing touches on dinner, so if you could go into our room to wait, we're eating in there. And you can change into something more comfortable if you want, too."
"Wait, what? What about Nick and Billy?" Erin asked, completely confused.
"Dad's fishing with Charlie this weekend, and Nick's staying at Emily's tonight." Jake answered easily.
Erin's eyes widened. "He is? But-"
"Erin, don't worry about Nick or Emily. Nick's been sleeping through the night for nearly a month, and he knows Emily, he's over there nearly everyday. You deserve a break before we go back to school in a couple weeks. So, I asked Emily and Sam to take Nick for the night while I set up a romantic date night for the two of us."
Erin's lips slowly turned up into a smile. "Jake…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm amazing." Jake boasted playfully, kissing her cheek. "Now, go into our room." He lightly smacked her butt, making her shoot him a playful glare over her shoulder as she headed for their shared bedroom.
When she opened the door, she laughed in disbelief. A white sheet was stretched out over their bed, bedside table, and the desk, creating a fort in the middle just big enough for the two of them.
Shaking her head, Erin moved to pull a pair of sweatpants and one of Jake's shirts from the drawer. She hurried over to the bathroom to do her business and then change, tossing her work clothes into the hamper.
She returned to their bedroom a minute before Jake did, carrying a picnic basket.
He gestured for her to get under the fort, so Erin crawled under the sheet and sat near the side of the bed. The floor was covered in a thick quilt so they didn't have to lay on the hard wood floor. Jake placed the basket next to her and crawled in after, his head skimming the sheet above.
"So, I worked my ass off to make you a romantic dinner of…" he dramatically flipped the lid off the basket to reveal, "peanut butter sandwiches, potato chips, soda, and…chocolate covered strawberries."
Erin laughed. "Well, I do love chocolate covered strawberries."
Jake smirked at her, plucking a strawberry from the plate inside and holding it in front of her. Erin smiled coyly at him, leaning forward and taking a bite of the juicy, chocolaty fruit. She pulled away, licking her lips and chewing before she swallowed. Jake smiled softly at her before leaning forward and kissing her lips slowly and sweetly.
When he eventually pulled away, he only moved his face about half an inch away from hers, his hot breath fanning over her lips and cheeks. "You taste delicious."
Erin laughed, shoving against his shoulder while he laughed, too. Then, Jake pulled out a plate piled high with about a dozen peanut butter sandwiches, two cans of their favorite soda, and a party-sized bag of chips.
They lounged under their blanket fort, eating their food and talking about anything that didn't involve work and school. And Erin realized this was the first night in a long time that she wasn't worrying, or at least thinking about, Nick. She knew he was safe, and probably enjoying himself, at Sam and Emily's. He loved Emily, and loved all the attention he got over there when other pack members came around. That little boy couldn't ask for a better family. Erin didn't know what he'd do when Emily eventually got pregnant. He'd probably still go over there to be babysat, but probably not as often.
When Erin and Jake were done eating their main course and pulled out the plate of strawberries, Jake also pulled something from under his bed. It looked like a flashlight with a tin can over the end with the bulb.
"What's that?" Erin asked with a laugh.
Jake smirked at her. "You'll see." He grabbed a pillow and propped the flashlight up against it so the light would shine towards the top against the sheets above them. Then, he flicked the light on.
There had been little holes poked into the end of the can, resulting in a sprinkling of little dots that looked like stars.
Erin stared in awe as Jake laid down on his back. Erin carefully lowered herself down next to him, laying her head on his chest so she could still see the pretend stars.
"My mom used to do this with me and my sisters when we were little." Jake whispered, his arm wrapped around under Erin's back. "If we wanted to go camping and it was either too cold or rainy outside. Or it was too cloudy to see the stars, which it usually is around here."
"This is amazing, Jake. I really appreciate this." Erin whispered, turning to press a kiss to his bare chest.
"I'm glad. We'll have to do this again sometime, huh?" Jake smiled into her hair.
"Absolutely." Erin agreed with a nod.
They laid there for a good half an hour, just having soft-spoken conversation and snacking on their chocolate covered strawberries until they were all gone. Eventually, Jake's fingers, which had been gently trailing over Erin's shirt-covered back, casually slipped under her shirt. A shiver ran down Erin's back when his fingers touched her bare skin.
"You know, this is probably the first night we've had the house completely to ourselves in a long time." Jake whispered casually, "And who knows when we'll get another opportunity like this."
Erin fought a smile. "Hm. Just what are you suggesting, Mr. Black?"
"I think you know." Jake growled in her ear, his fingers slipping under the waistband of her sweatpants.
Erin peaked up at him with a smirk before slowly pulling away and sitting up. Jake watched her closely, like a predator stalking his prey, as she swung one leg over his waist and straddled his lower stomach. She braced her hands on his chest while his instantly took hold of her waist, and she slowly dragged her nails down his toned stomach. Jake groaned, his head falling back.
"I suppose we should take advantage of this opportunity, then, shouldn't we?" she whispered coyly.
Jake growled, reaching up to grab the back of her neck and pull her down into a kiss. When they eventually pulled away for a breath, Jake breathed heatedly against her lips, "I love you." before rolling them over.