If she was a guy, I'd junk punch her, for sure.

Thirty excruciating minutes of her trying to seduce him from across the room, I've f.u.c.king had enough.

I go to stand up and leave but Jake tightens his hold on me. "Just ignore her."

So he has noticed.

"You think it's okay for her to sit there, and look at you like that? It's making me uncomfortable, Jake." I whisper, so only he can hear.

"You think it's okay to talk to some guy I don't know about whatever the h.e.l.l you guys were talking about, the whole time he's gawking at you like he wants to eat you?" he says back quietly, anger laced in his voice.

"Jake, he was not-"

"I'm a guy Kayla, I know what he was thinking."

"Jake, who's your friend?" Trampt.i.ts asks, interrupting us.

I look over at her and narrow my eyes.

Jake sighs next to me. I look at him.

"Christy, I'm trying to have a conversation with my girl here," he says to her, shaking his head.

"I didn't know you had a girl," Trampt.i.ts coos at him.

He ignores her and looks back to me, trying to get back to our conversation.

"I just thanked him for being there today. He was the TA I told you about, and he told me about an apartment that was free in his building that-"

"What?!" Jake almost yells, then softens his tone. "You mean to tell me that a.s.shole just happened to be at your work today, and now he's telling you about apartments near him?"

I open my mouth to say something but Trampt.i.ts interrupts again. "Is something wrong Jake? Anything I can help with?" she coos innocently, batting her eyelashes at him.

Thats when the rage consumes me and something I never knew existed takes over. I stand up.

Everything around us goes quiet, waiting for what's about to happen.

Logan and Jake are on their feet ready. I stalk over to get in her face.

Lucy, who I didn't even know had arrived, is right next to me.

"Quit eye f.u.c.king him!" I spit out, finger in her face. "I'm right f.u.c.king here. Do you know how disrespectful that is?" I fume, pointing up and down my body.

"Yeah, you f.u.c.king s.l.u.t!" Lucy yells from next to me. Cam laughs and throws his arm around her.

"I'm so f.u.c.king sick of girls like you thinking it's okay to want what's not yours to have."

"f.u.c.king wh.o.r.e!" Lucy yells, she's drunk. I love drunk Lucy.

"Calm down, b.i.t.c.h." b.i.t.c.h?

"b.i.t.c.h?" Lucy and I repeat.

"Yeah," Trampt.i.ts says, standing up. "I'm not the only one that looks at him, so why do you care?"

"Because he's f.u.c.king mine!" I growl out. "And if I so much as see you look at him again, the next thing you'll be gawking at is my fist coming towards your face! Got it?"

"I swear to G.o.d, Micky," Lucy snarls at her, Cam's pretending to hold her back, amused by her drunk state. "I'll cut a b.i.t.c.h for you, just let me go, Cam. Let me go!" she yells, trying to fight his grip.

Trampt.i.ts walks away and we all burst into laughter. I don't know how it went from heated rage to hilarious, probably Lucy, and the fact that we're all drunk. Jake puts his arm around my shoulders. "I'm so f.u.c.king turned on right now," he says.

Jake surprises everyone by getting on the karaoke stage. Mic in hand, looking down, blush creeping to his cheeks. He clears his throat and then speaks into the Mic.

"This is umm... this is for my girlfr-" he cuts himself off when my eyes bug out, because I'm not. His girlfriend, I mean, not yet. And it's not fair to him. Because I'm not ready, but I'm also not ready for him to move on either. "Um, I mean my Kayla. Just my Kayla. Just um, mine," he has a little smile on his face and it's so fricken adorable.

And then the music starts...

And we all laugh...

Because it's One Direction.

He starts the song off and it's so s.e.xy because his accent is in full force and I want him. Really want him. With everything I have. And I hope one day, I can give him all of it.

When we get home I go straight to the bathroom and start getting ready for bed. He comes up behind me and kisses the bare skin on my shoulder, so lightly, for a second I think I imagined it.

"Kayla?" he's looking at me through the mirror.

I close my eyes. "Mmm?"

He turns my body around and kisses my forehead.

His hands go to my waist, as they lift me onto the counter, his chin leaning on my shoulder.

He spreads my legs and stands between them, but doesn't make a move to do anything else.

He's looking at me now, like, he sees me for the first time and tears begin to pool in his eyes. I have no idea what he's thinking or feeling so I spin his cap backwards and take his face in my hands.

"Whats going on, Jake?"

He clears his throat and looks away from me.

"Jake?" I ask again.

He speaks so softly I almost don't hear him. "Are you, I mean I know we haven't spoken about it, and things changed, I mean, that night at the bonfire... things haven't been the same with us," he clears his throat again. "Are you still mine? Are you still my Kayla?"

I don't know what to say to him.

I don't know if I am.

But I know I don't want to be anyone else's.

"If you still want me," I whisper.

He huffs out a relieved breath.

"I more than a lot want you, so much more than a lot."

*Jake*

"Sleep with me tonight?" I ask her.

"What?" her eyes are huge.

I chuckle. "Not like that, just sleep. I miss you in my arms. I miss it so f.u.c.king much, Kayla. I just want you near me."

"Okay," she says smiling at me.

She sits on the edge of the bed next to me.

We're both a little quiet now, thinking I guess.

It will be the first time since the bonfire that we'll be sleeping together.

"Kayla... I uh," I clear my throat. "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything," She whispers.

"I know that you said you wanted to move out, and you have your reasons and I respect that." I pause and take a few breaths, because I don't want to sound angry or p.i.s.sed off when I say the next part. "I just... please... don't move near that guy. I just... I don't trust him, and he wants you-"

"Jake-"

"No Kayla, I know your naive when it comes to these things but he does, and I... I mean, you're-"

"Jake, stop. I'm not going to. I wouldn't. I know how you feel and I wouldn't do that to you. I respect your feelings and I would never do anything that would make you question mine."

I take her hand in mine and kiss her palm.

How some j.e.r.k.-.o.f.f. had her, and treated her like s.h.i.t, I'll never understand. I'm going to be the luckiest a.s.shole in the world when she finally lets me love her.

Chapter 42.

*Jake*

I open the front door and she's sitting at the dining table, shoe box and a bazillion magazines and craft stuff in front of her.

"What are you doing? Decoupage?"

She eyes me curiously and starts to laugh.

"What?" I say. "Mom went through a craft phase when she was pregnant with Ju-ju. Seriously though, what are you doing?"

I drop my gear bag near the front door and walk over to her.

She has a bunch of teeny bopper magazines in front of her. She's cutting pictures out of them, Justin Bieber and One Direction, some dudes form those Vampire movies and the ones where kids kill each other.

I look at her for a long moment. She just stares back.

"You're not going on a stalker road trip with Heidi are you?" I ask seriously.

She laughs.

I walk to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water and walk back to her.

I sit on the chair next to her and she gets up and sits on me.

We haven't spoken about what happened the night of Logan's frat party. We haven't made anything official and we still haven't kissed. That kissing part, is quickly driving me crazy. Everything else, I don't mind. We sleep in my bed every night and we more than a lot like each other, that's enough for me for now, but not forever. Soon, we're going to have to talk about it.

I put my hand on her waist and she puts her arms around my neck. I kiss her temple.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" she whispers.

"Spending the day with you?"

She smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes.

"Whats going on, Kayla? Did something happen?"

She removes herself from me and sits back down on her chair. She picks up the scissors and starts cutting the magazines again. She's quiet, and I let her be.

Because I know this side of her. She's working up the courage to speak. So I wait.

"It's Emily's Birthday tomorrow." She says quietly, putting down the scissors then looking up at me, tears filling her eyes.

s.h.i.t.

I pull her chair closer to me, then lift her and cradle her like I used to.