New Girl in Town Pt. 14

"Oh damn!" Tabitha exclaims loudly as she reaches Tonya and sees what is going on.

Jake quickly removes his hand from Jessica's shorts at the sound. It takes Jessica a second to recover and she's still in the process of stroking Jake when the rest arrive.

"Sorry. We didn't hear you coming." Jessica says her face flushed and her hand still firmly holding onto Jake's member.

"No, but we certainly heard you." Tonya giggles.

"Tonya!" Tabitha scolds.

"Well, we did." She argues.

"Um, Jess, you might want to... uh..." Caitlyn says nodding towards Jake's waist.

"Oh! Oh God!" Jessica stammers pulling her hand away quickly. "Sorry you guys. Sorry, Jake."

"Holy crap, you left that?" Amy states getting a good look at Jake's jean covered erection.

"Sorry, Jake, but you've got someone that wants to speak with you." Caitlyn says moving to the side revealing Jennifer standing behind her.

"Um, hey Jake." Jennifer says with a half smile.

"Jennifer? What in the hell are you doing here?" Jake asks annoyed at the intrusion.

"I wanted to uh... talk." She answers.

"Jennifer?" Jessica asks. "Jennifer as in your ex Jennifer?"

"The very same." Jake answers.

Jennifer's eyes drift towards Jake's crotch as he and Jessica come out from under the bleachers. She doesn't fail to notice that Jessica has her arm wrapped possessively around Jake's waist as they reach the group.

"Now? You want to talk now?" He asks angrily. "The time for us to talk was a long time ago, Jen. I don't have anything to say to you!"

"Maybe you don't but I have things to say to you, Jake." She argues.

"Guys, we should give them some privacy." Jessica suggests to the other girls.

Jake's hand reaches out and grabs Jessica's arm. He pulls her back to his side and holds her there.

"Anything she has to say to me, she can say to you." Jake tells her. "You and I have no secrets. Not anymore."

Jennifer briefly wonders what that statement means but from the way they found them and how Jake is caressing the back of Jessica's hand there is no trouble in their paradise.

"We'll be close by." Caitlyn states.

"Very close." Tonya adds making it sound very much like a threat.

"Will you stop it?" Tabitha asks her sister before pulling away from the group. Caitlyn falls in step with them as they walk to the nearby double doors.

"I think I should stay." Amy argues. "Jennifer is my friend and might need my support."

"Fine by me." Jake answers.

Jennifer nods at them both. "Thank you both. Especially you, Jake. I know how pissed off you must still be with me."

"I am pissed or at least I was pissed at you and for a long time." Jake admits. "You left me here to deal with all of the fallout of what you did at prom and you just got to walk away without any consequences. I was pissed at how unfair I felt that was."

"There were consequences, Jake. I lost you!" Jennifer tells him. "When we first started dating, I saw you as a stepping stone to what I thought I really wanted. Popularity. Then when I started really falling for you, Patrick dangled what I thought I wanted most, I made a mistake and fell for his crap."

Jessica sighs and shakes her head sadly. "Popularity is fickle thing, Jennifer. What you had or could have had with Jake? That was real. That was worth taking a risk on. All you got were two minutes of pitiful humping with Patrick Greene and it cost you a great guy."

"I know that now." Jennifer says. "Too little, too late, I guess but I am glad that he found you. You make him happy and he's earned that happiness. I'm just sorry that I wasn't the one that could give it to him."

"You could have, Jen." Jake answers.

Jennifer smiles and nods. "Yeah, I guess that I could have but I don't think I could ever make you as happy as Jessica here does. I can tell when I look at you that you two have something special."

"That's what everyone tells us." Jessica laughs. "Staci is adamant about it."

"What is the deal with that anyway?" Jennifer asks. "Staci Daniels kissed you, Jake. In front of your girlfriend, she kissed you!"

"Do you have two girlfriends here, stud?" Amy asks.

"Staci's just a friend." Jake answers.

"Staci Daniels is your friend? Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would never believe it." Jennifer comments.

"She's changed a lot this year." Jake informs her.

"She's dating Ray now. The two of them took it upon themselves to try and set us up together but we were already ahead of them." Jessica tells her.

"We just didn't know it at the time." Jake adds.

"We both had a bit of baggage that we needed to unload before we saw what was happening between us." Jessica shares. "Once we cleared the air everything just clicked for us."

Jessica leans into Jake and gives him a quick hug.

"I know that you don't owe me anything, Jessica, but can I ask you for a favor?" Jennifer asks.

"Can't have him back." Jessica jokes. "I've grown quite attached to him and my little sister would kill me if I did."

"I wouldn't dream of asking that. That ship has sailed and I can tell that he loves you." Jennifer says. "Just take care of him, all right? He deserves someone that loves him for him and from the looks of things, he's found that in you."

Jessica nods. "That I can do."

"That's all I can ask for then." Jennifer manages a smile. "I'd wish you both good luck or whatever but I somehow doubt that you need any sort of luck."

As they watch Jennifer and Amy leaving, Jessica turns to Jake and shakes her head.

"Well that was certainly strange." She tells him.

"I don't know what I was expecting from that but an apology was the last thing on my mind." Jake admits.

"It was nice of her to do that." Jessica states. "Any regrets about just letting her walk away?"

"Not a chance." He smiles as he pulls Jessica into his arms and kisses her quickly. "I am right where I am supposed to be."

Jessica grins and nods. "I'll take that answer but if you had said in a bed with you is where I belong, it would have been a more accurate statement."

****

"I'm telling your mom." Jake insists as he and Jessica walk in through her front door.

"For the hundredth time, it's fine." Jessica argues.

"What's fine for the hundredth time, Jessica?" Dr. Golden asks as she looks up from her book.

"Nothing." Jessica answers.

"Her ankle." Jake corrects. "She got stepped on during the first game."

"Sit." Dr. Golden orders Jessica.

"Mom, it's fine. Really." she says but acquiesces when her mother snaps her fingers and points towards the couch.

"I only had to sit out the rest of the first game. I played the whole second game." Jessica tells her mom as Jake pulls her shoes off.

"Played is putting it lightly." Jake comments as he steps back allowing Dr. Golden to examine her daughter. "She torched the other team and won the set with an ace serve."

"Nice job, honey." Mr. Golden says as he and Sarah enter the living room.

"What did you do?" Sarah asks as she hops onto the couch beside Jessica.

"I got landed on. It's fine." Jessica tells her.

"Jake, is she fine?" Sarah asks him.

"She looked great in the next game but your mom will be the ultimate judge of that." He answers.

"Is any of this hurting you, Jess?" Dr. Golden asks as she prods Jessica's foot and ankle.

"It's tender there." Jessica answers when she flinches from a poke to the top of her ankle.

Dr. Golden examines the area carefully then nods her head.

"It looks like that's where the other girl landed on you. I can see the beginnings of a bruise forming but everything else seems fine." She states sitting back and looking over at Jake. "You say that she played fine on it in the second game?"

"She killed it in the second game." Jake answers. "Coach Morrison checked her out after it happened and had her jog and jump a bit before allowing her into the second game."

"We iced it for a few minutes then Jake gave me a rub down that really helped." Jessica shares.

"Are you sure that you want Jake to pursue a career in architecture, Tim, what with all the healing power in his hands?" Dr. Golden jokes.

"He can be the world's first massaging architect." Mr. Golden counters with a chuckle.

"That's going to make a funny looking business card." Jake jokes.

Jessica bounces her feet on the couch and nods towards Jake.

"Healing hands now please." She tells him.

Jake smiles, takes a seat and pulls her feet into his lap.

"How did the parent teacher thing go with Sar-bear?" Jessica asks.

"Good." Mr. Golden answers. "They want to move her up a grade next year because she seems bored in class half of the time."

"I don't like being bored but I don't want to lose my friends either." Sarah comments.

Jessica turns and pulls her into her lap for snuggles. "You don't have to move up if you don't want to, Sarah. My elementary teachers wanted to move me up too but I decided to stay with my friends and it turned out fine for me. I had a lot of help though but you will too."

"You and Jake will help me?" Sarah asks.

"Me and Jake, mom and dad and your aunt Sylvia will help out too." Jessica assures her. "She helped me a lot by sending me all sorts of books that she had."

"Those ones in your closest that you read to me sometimes?" Sarah asks.

"Those very ones." Jessica answers.

"Cool!" Sarah exclaims then hugs Jessica. "I love you, sissy."

"Love you too, my little Sar-bear."

****

Tuesday, November 21st

"You're leaving right after school, correct?" Jake's mom asks as Jake continues to add clothes to his suitcase.

"Correct. Jessica's parents are picking me up after they get Sarah and then we're driving down to Charlotte." Jake answers.

"With any luck you'll beat the traffic and get there before Jessica's match starts." Jake's dad says as he looks over his wife's shoulder into Jake's room.

"That's the plan." Jake comments.

"You packed your toothbrush, right?" his mom asks.

"Yes, mom."

"Enough socks?"

"Yes, mom."

"Clean underwear?"

"MOM!" Jake exclaims.

"I'm just making sure." She tells him.

"I've got everything packed, mom." He assures her. "I've got all the clothes and personal items I need. I've got my laptop and the script of the play so I can run through the light set ups when I've got some down time."

"And Jessica is riding down with you or the team?" his dad asks.

"Jess is going on the team bus. They are leaving school early so they can get some court time before the playoff's start. Their game isn't until six or thereabouts so we should make it with no problems."

"I wish we could come down and support her at the first game but I can't get off work in time to make it down." she says.

"Mom, Jess understands completely. Did she not make that clear when she was over on Sunday?" Jake asks.

"She did and she knows that we'll be there in spirit." She states.

"And when she makes the championship game, we will definitely make it down for that." his dad assures him.

"Jess will appreciate that and so will her grandmother if she ends up not wanting me there." Jake states.

"I thought you were sure that her grandmother is okay with you tagging along?" his mom asks.

"Jess's mom confirmed it with me three times and told me to stop asking but have you ever felt like you were being over assured on something?" Jake asks.

"Over promised? At times." his dad nods.

"Yeah, that's what I'm feeling but I could be dead wrong and everything will turn out to be fine." Jake says as he closes his suitcase and hefts it to check the weight.

"Just in time it sounds like." He comments as he sees Bobby's truck pull up out front.

"Be on your best behavior with Jessica's family." Mrs. Gibson instructs him. "And call us when you get down there."

"I will." Jake promises as he heads for the door.

"And text me with game updates from her first game." Mr. Gibson tells him.

"I'll do my best to keep you updated." Jake promises.

"And they'll have you back in time for your playoff game on Friday night?" Mr. Gibson asks.

"Jess assured Coach Pennington that they will have me back by game time." Jake answers. "If Jess and her folks decide to stay longer, I can catch a ride back with you after Jessica's championship game or Coach Morrison said I could hop a ride on the team bus back if I needed to."

"I guess with all that taken care of, you really are good to go then." Mr. Gibson tells him. "Have a safe trip and I have a feeling that we'll be seeing you tomorrow night."

"With the way Jess and the rest of the team has been playing I can almost guarantee that you will." Jake laughs.

He gets a hug from his mom before he heads towards Bobby's waiting truck.

****

We are almost at the end of this tale, folks. I think I can crank out one last chapter to this story before we say a maybe brief goodbye to Jake, Jess and company.

Thanks so much for reading, commenting and voting!