Jake stared up at me, clutching me tighter as I scrambled to reach whatever piece of clothing I could find. It felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest as I finally grabbed his shirt, throwing it on, quickly buttoning it up.

"Jess!!" Sam yelled again, banging his fist against the window. "I'm sick of this, we have to talk.. now!" Jake held his stare on me, the color draining from his face.
"Jake, where are my pants!" I loudly whispered. He snapped out of it, holding me close as he leaned over, grabbing them from the front seat.
"S-sorry, here." He said quietly, handing them over. I quickly slid them on, reaching for the door. Jake then grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

"Jess.." He whispered, staring up at me with sad eyes. "I just.. I'll talk to him. Please don't.." I stopped, holding my stare on him.
"Jake, he knows I'm in here."
"Jess.. you've been drinking, he's been drinking.. I just.. I'll talk to him, okay? Just.." He leaned over, pulling me into a long kiss before opening the door. "Stay here."

As he pulled the door open, I could see Sam standing outside, his cheeks flushed, his eyes bloodshot, one hand propped up against the side of the van, glaring back at me.
"Jess!" He yelled again, reaching for the door, but Jake quickly pushed him away, shutting the door behind him.

"Where the fuck is your shirt?" Sam yelled, eventually shaking his head. "Whatever. I need to talk to her." My heart jumped as he reached out for the van door, but Jake quickly pushed him away.
"No!" He snapped. "Leave her alone! You can't keep doing this. Please.. Sam, I'm.. I'm so happy. Why can't you just.. let me be happy?" He stopped, holding his stare on him. Sam glared back at him, gently rocking back and forth.

"Jake, I.. I don't know what she's told you but.. it was real for us. I know it was. And I need to talk to her. I.. I can't just.. sit back and see you two together and.. keep acting like it wasn't." He sighed, going for the door again. I could see Jake tense up, shoving him away.
"If it was real for you, then why is she engaged to me." He said sharply. Sam stopped, glaring back at Jake for a second before swinging his fist. My heart sunk as I instantly jumped back, hearing a loud thud hit the van door, Jake now holding his hand up to his face.

Finally, I swiftly opened the door, slamming it behind me.
"Don't you fucking touch him!" I screamed, shoving Sam away. He stumbled backward, glaring over at me.
"Jess.." He sighed. I shook my head, going over to Jake who now had his head tilted back to keep his nose from bleeding.

"Are you okay?" I asked. He sighed, nodding, keeping his eyes closed.
"I'm fine, Jess." He said softly. "Get back in the van."
"No, not if you're hurt, I don't-"
"Jess, I'm fine." He said simply.
"Jake, I-"
"Jess, get back in the van."

"Oh my god!" Sam yelled, shoving Jake again. "Let her fucking speak! See, this is what I'm talking about. You don't give a shit about her, she's here trying to help you because I punched you in the face and all you're worried about is getting her away from me!" He rolled his eyes, laughing to himself.
"Sounds real secure to me, Jakey. If I was engaged to someone, I wouldn't care who they were around because I knew that when she said yes to me, that meant she only had eyes.. for me. So.. the fact that you're so worried about her being around me.. tells me everything I need to know."

My heart jumped, my cheeks burning red as he turned to me, staring back with lustful eyes that instantly brought me back to that night in his bunk, glowing in the warm light of the early morning sun. I remembered every second of that night so vividly; every soft and tender kiss, every gentle touch, intertwining limbs until we became one.

I leaned back against the van, feeling my head start to spin.
I blamed it on the wine.

Finally snapping out of it, I peeked over at Jake who was already staring back at me, his face dropping. I could see his nose starting to bleed again, but he left it. Going back into the van, I rummaged around until I finally found my shirt, holding it up to his face.
"Keep it there." I whispered. He stared back at me with dazed eyes, a gentle smile on his lips.

"Oh, poor baby." Sam groaned, rolling his eyes. "There you go, making her feel bad for you, just like always." He turned to me, his face angry.
"That's what your whole life is gonna be, you realize that, right? Is you taking care of him. He forgot you on Valentine's Day and what did you do? You comforted him."

My stomach dropped.
He was right.

"But.. how did you-"
"I don't understand how someone could ever forget their own fiancé on Valentine's Day. I would never forget you Jess.. and.. last I checked, I didn't. As a matter of fact, I don't think Josh did either. Everyone but your own fiancé remembered you. And I can tell you, you would've had a great night with me. All you had to do was ask and.. I would've been yours." He muttered. I bit down on my lip, feeling my face get hot, tears start to come to my eyes.

"He doesn't know what you've been through, Jess. But.. I do. I could take care of you. Shit, I do take care of you, better than anyone, every fucking time he screws up. And you know it. You know I will always be there for you and.. it's not fair, I.." He stopped, shaking his head, grabbing my arm and pulling me back towards the van.

"Sam!" I yelled, trying to pull away. "Stop! What are you doing!"
"We need to talk. Alone. You owe me that much." Jake shot up, grabbing Sam by the shirt, yanking him away.
"Don't touch her!" He threatened. Sam shook his head, pulling away from Jake, yanking me into the van, shutting and locking the door behind him. I slid across the seat, moving away from him, leaning back against the opposite door.

My head continued to spin as he stared back at me, his face still flushed. I felt frozen in place as I heard Jake's fists pounding on the door.
"Jess!" He yelled, pulling on the door handle. "Jess!"

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as Sam held his stare on me, his eyes getting sad, eventually filling with tears. I don't think I had ever seen him cry. I felt my chest get tight, my face burning red as he moved closer to me.

"Jess.." He said softly, reaching up, gently touching my cheek. I backed away, avoiding his eyes.
"Sam.." I sighed. "You.. you can't.. I.."
"Why did you do it?" He finally asked. My heart sunk.
"D-do what?"

"You.. you said I wasn't just the next best thing. You lead me on just to.. rip the rug right out from underneath me.. you.. and we.." He sighed, wiping his eyes. "You knew, you.. you knew I had never wanted to be with anyone.. before you." He stopped, taking a deep breath and reaching up, holding my face in his hand. I backed away as much as I could, but I was now backed against the door.

"Jess, you didn't want a fling and.. I was willing to do that. I was more than willing to do that.. for you. And I.. I told you that, I confided in you and.. you made me fall for you without any intention of catching me and.. you know it! You told me how you had.. only ever been with Jake and.. you and I, we could've.. talked about it. If we ever wanted to.. well, I mean.. it.. it kinda felt like you wanted to.." I shook my head, feeling tears come to my eyes.

"Sam, I.. I didn't make you do anyth-"

"How the hell can you say that, Jess! You can honestly look me in the eye and tell me that you didn't know what you were doing? You can't just.. be like that with someone and not feel anything. You can't.. do what we did and not.. feel anything." He sighed. "You want me just as much as I want you and you know it. That night in my bunk.. I know you felt what I felt it. You fell just as hard for me as I fell for you, and.. unlike with him, we did it right. You're my best friend, and.. if I knew this is what would happen to us, maybe.. maybe I would have never said anything, but I did, and.. we can't go back no. I know there's no going back to how we were, but.. we are too good to just be friends, Jess."

He moved in closer, gently taking one of my hands, intertwining our fingers. My eyes shot down to our hands, my skin burning where his gently glided across mine.

"Look, you're engaged.. I know that.." He said softly. I sighed, shaking my head.
"Sure doesn't seem like you know that." I said, gently pulling my hand away. He kept his eyes down.

"Jess, I.. I love you.. so much. And.. it should've been me." He said softly, reaching up, caressing my neck and pulling me into a passionate kiss.