Page 29 of One Drink
Chapter 12
Stephanie
The closer it got toseven, the more my competing emotions fought against each other. I wanted this evening to go well with Jake, but I feared my father’s presence would taint the evening. I had no control of my emotions and anger when Dad started on one of his rants about how I was ruining my life, and I didn’t want to lose it in front of Jake and his parents.
I sat in front of the vanity mirror in my bathroom, putting the final touches to my make-up while Zoe pinned up my hair. My nerves may have been shot, but I did my best to hide them behind make-up, a pretty dress, and a smile.
“Are you going to answer the question, or leave us hanging?” Kate leaned against the sink next to me and handed me a glass of wine.
“And which question is that?” I smirked behind my glass, grateful for their playful nature. It made for a great distraction from all the worry swirling around in my head. “You’ve asked me so many since you arrived, I’ve lost track of which ones I answered.”
“Don’t be coy with us.” Zoe tugged at a strand of my hair and made me yelp. “Are you or are you not officially dating Jake?”
“Just give us a straight answer,” Kate begged. “You dragged us over here to help you get ready, and I can’t imagine you doing all this unless you decided to take our advice.”
“We talked.” I forced my lips into a straight line and fixed my lipstick. I chose a deep red that matched the red dress I chose for the evening.
“Girl, don’t make me mess up this hair.” Zoe held her hands over my head like she’d pull out all the pins she strategically placed to hold my soft curls up, but the look on her face told me she was teasing.
I stood and turned to face them with a smile on my face. “Who’s going to help me get this dress on? Because my boyfriend will be here in fifteen minutes.”
The squeals that filled my small bathroom were deafening. Their reaction was just as I expected—overjoyed. Moments like this pushed the lies my father told me about relationships out of my mind, and reminded me I was allowed to feel something more for Jake.
“Yes, let’s get you in that red dress. Jake’s going to love it.” Kate ran out of the room with Zoe on her heels. Seeing my closest friends this excited for me made me happy.
I ran my finger over the satin bodice of the mermaid style dress I bought. Red was my favorite color and I loved the smooth, silky feel of satin against my skin. “I hope he likes it. As soon as I saw this dress, I had to have it.”
“Trust me, he’ll love it.” Kate chuckled. “Red’s his favorite color on you.”
I smiled and untied my robe before I froze. “Wait. What did you say?”
“Red’s his favorite color on you.” Kate looked at me with raised eyebrows.
“How do you know that?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Zoe fell back on the bed laughing. “Maybe because we’ve heard him say it like a hundred times.”
“Really?” Hearing them talk so openly about the things they knew about Jake made me wonder what else I hadn’t noticed about him. It made me wonder just how deep his feelings for me went. When we slept together on Wednesday, that hadn’t been just sex. There was so much more behind the way he touched me and kissed me. He left me feeling worshiped and loved. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Hit us.” Zoe propped up on her elbows and smiled.
I hesitated, sucking my bottom lip between my teeth, and darted my eyes from one to the other. I wanted to know what they really thought about Jake, but I was terrified of the answer they may give me. “Do you think it’s possible that Jake loves me?”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he loves you.” Kate held the dress at my feet and helped me step into it. My leg shook as I lifted it off the ground, and I had to brace myself with my hand on her shoulder.
“He definitely loves you.” Zoe piped in.
Their quick and definitive responses caused every nerve ending in my body to tingle. “How do you know this? Did he tell you?”
“Sweetie.” Kate finished zipping up my dress and turned me around to face her. “Jake never had to say anything. All anyone had to do was watch how he acts when he’s around you. The way he looks at you and the little things he says when you’re out of earshot—like how good you look in red—were enough to let anyone who paid attention know that he loves you.”
I’d hoped their answers to my question would make me feel better, but it didn’t. I felt like shit for not noticing that he cared that deeply. “What does that say about me that I never noticed any of that?”
“Nothing,” Zoe said. “Don’t do that to yourself. You’ve been focused on your career, and you should never feel bad about that. Ever.”
Kate smiled and handed me my shoes. “Agreed. And you have to trust me when I say, Jake has never held that against you. The question is, do you love him?”
“I don’t know.” The problem was, I didn’t know what love really looked like. The only example I had was my parents, and if that was love, I didn’t want it. “I’ve never been in love. How do I know?”