I pushed him away as I was instantly met with the bitter taste of his liquor stained lips, suffocating me with the lingering aroma of the smoke on his breath. Something I had once craved so deeply, now made me sick to my stomach.

"No!" I shouted, swiftly striking him across the face. "You don't get to touch me like that. Not anymore. He is the only one who can touch me anymore!" His eyes got wide, groaning as he quickly blinked away the sudden tears, holding his cheek where my dark pink hand print slowly started becoming more defined.
"Shit, Jess! What the f-"

"You don't get to decide that it should've been you. I am so sick and tired of everyone thinking they can decide what's best for me! And you know what.. I.. I don't care that he forgot Valentine's Day. I don't! Because I know he will always make it up to me. I don't care that he fucks up because.. I'm always going to forgive him. Because he always forgave me, and he always will. You were there to comfort me when I needed it and I appreciated that and.. you're right. I shouldn't have run to you knowing I would always go back to him.. but I did. And I'm so sorry, Sam. But.. it's him. It's always been him and it's always going to be him." 

He kept his hand over his face, holding his resentful stare on me.
"Sam, we.. we can't be friends anymore. I can't keep doing this. We can try to be civil because.. you're his brother, but.. I won't do this to him anymore. He is my family now, and.. I guess that kind of makes you my family too, but.. HE is my family."
"Jess.." He exhaled, reaching out for me again, tightly grabbing onto my arm. My heart dropped as I tried pulling away, but he only held on tighter.
"Sam, let go!"
"Jess, please just listen to me!" I shook my head, trying harder to pull away, but his grip got tighter.
"Let me go!" I shouted.
"Jess-"

I then swung my other arm, my fist painfully striking his nose, finally freeing me from his strong grip as he brought both of his hands to his face, wincing back in pain.
"Don't touch me.. or him, ever again." I muttered, finally opening the van door, forcefully slamming it behind me.

I quickly reached out, leaning my hand up against the van for balance as my head started to spin again. I frantically looked around until I finally saw Jake sitting on the pavement with his head tilted back, my shirt still pressed against his face.
"Jake.." I sighed. His head perked up when he heard me, pushing himself up from the ground, hastily making his way over to me.

"Jess, I-" I pulled him into a tight hug, securely wrapping my arms around his neck, hiding my face in his chest, just needing him as close as possible. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around my waist, pulling me up against him. He stayed quiet, his hand moving up behind my head, gently combing his fingers through my hair.

"Are you okay?" I finally managed, peeking up at him. He sighed, his lips curling into a gentle smile.
"I'll be fine, Jess." I nodded, hiding my face in his neck as I felt tears come to my eyes.
"Y-you're probably freezing." I laughed, staring back up at him. He shrugged, giggling to himself.
"Well, I don't feel great." He smirked.
"Here.." I sighed, starting to unbutton his shirt. "Take this back, I'm-" He reached out, stopping my hands.
"Absolutely not." He laughed. "Please keep that on." I smirked back up at him, feeling my cheeks burn.

"Did.. you hear any of that?" I finally asked, my heart beating faster. He bit down on his lip, nodding.
"Unfortunately." He sighed, gently tucking my hair behind my ear, staring back at me with dazed eyes. "But.. I liked what you had to say." A smile escaped my lips as I wrapped my arms back around his neck, pulling him in closer.

"Jake, I.. I said yes to you. I only have eyes for you, and I never want you to worry about him or.. anyone else, ever again. There's no one else I want-" My heart jumped as he cut me off, pulling me into a passionate kiss, holding my face in his hands.
"Thank you." He said softly, leaning his forehead against mine.
"Is it.. too late to still go to the hotel?" I asked, gently running my hands up his chest. He shook his head, his smile growing.
"Well, we sure as hell aren't staying here tonight." He laughed. "Not after that." I couldn't help but smile, my heart beating faster as I pulled him into another long kiss. 

Peeking back into the van, I saw that Sam had finally gone back to the bus.
"Do you need-"
"Oh, no. I packed bags for us." He winked, taking my hand and leading me to the passenger seat. He opened the door for me, helping me in, giving me a gentle smile before shutting it behind me. I kept my eyes glued to him as he made his way around into the backseat, digging through one of the bags, pulling out a clean shirt, quickly putting it on and hopping into the driver's seat.
"What'd you pack for me?" I asked. His lips curled into a smile as he kept his eyes forward.
"I guess you'll have to wait and see." 

I reached over for his hand, tightly intertwining my fingers in his.
"You know.." He said, peeking over at me. "If.. we could forget about all of that.. I'd say that this was probably the best Valentine's Day I've ever had." My cheeks burned as I looked over at him, bringing our hands up to my lips, kissing the top of his.
"Me too." I sighed.
"But.." He said playfully, his smile growing. "It's not over yet."

When we got to the hotel, he went into the back, grabbing our bags and tossing them over his shoulder. I reached out for his hand again, pulling him closer, lying my head on his shoulder.
"Thank you for doing this." I said softly as we made our way inside. He leaned down, kissing the top of my head.
"Anything for you." He sighed, getting our room keys from the counter and leading me down the hall.

"Alright.." He said. I could hear the smile in his voice. "Now.. you have to close your eyes." My heart jumped, a smile escaping from my lips as I peeked up at him.
"Why?" I giggled, holding on tighter to his arm. He shook his head, gently touching my nose.
"Just do it." He laughed. I sighed, closing my eyes, playing along.
"Alright, alright, they're closed." I said, squeezing his hand tighter as he lead us into the elevator. I could hear him press one of the buttons, and counted the rings of each floor on our way up.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

As the doors opened, he guided me through, walking us down another long hallway until we finally stopped, and I heard the door unlock.
"Can I look now?" I asked. My heart jumped when I felt him kiss my cheek, wrapping his arm around me.
"Okay.. open your eyes." He whispered into my ear.

My jaw dropped as he lead me into the room, rose petals lining the hall leading to the king size bed, surrounded by the same bouquets of roses and daisies that filled the back bedroom this morning. Floor length windows overlooking the water out behind the hotel, the lights of the city twinkling in the rippling waves. 

It looked just like the view from the night we jumped into the water together.

"You.. you already had it decorated." I whispered. He bit down on his lip, nodding with a satisfied smile.
"You really are amazing." I sighed, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him into a passionate kiss. His hands moved to my waist, kissing me back harder, gently pushing me further into the room.
"But how did you-"
"Don't you worry about that." He giggled to himself, pulling me into another kiss. "The point is that I did. And I'm gonna do it again next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. Because I never get tired of celebrating us. And I can't wait to do it for the rest of my life." He reached down, slowly unbuttoning my shirt, sliding it onto the floor.

I couldn't help but smile, kissing him again as I pulled him towards the bed. He reached his hand into my hair, kissing me back harder as well fell back, rose petals scattering all around us.
"You really went heavy on the petals here, huh?" I laughed, looking around. His lips traveled down to my neck, his kisses getting harder.
"Mhm.." He giggled, his hands slowly gliding up my arms, intertwining his fingers in mine.
"I've been waiting to get you alone all day." I whispered. I felt his lips curl into a smile.
"Oh, trust me, I know." He laughed, propping his hands up on either side of me, staring back with his same dazed eyes. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest the longer he stared at me.

"Jess.." He sighed. "W-what Sam said.. about you two-"
"What about it?"
"Do you love him?" He asked. My heart dropped. I sat up, reaching over for him, gently holding his face in my hands.

"Jake, honestly.. I thought I did. But then I realized that.. when you truly love someone, it never fully goes away. So.. no. I don't. But.. even when I thought we were over, I have never stopped loving you. And I know that I never will. I'm yours forever, no matter what." His smile grew as he pulled me into a gentle kiss, his hands gently caressing my neck, pulling me in closer.
"Good." He finally sighed, reaching for my hand, holding it up to his face. "Cause that's what you're wearing." My smile grew into a wide grin, my cheeks burning.

"Yeah.." I said softly, looking back down at my ring. It was so beautiful. Never in my life did I ever think I'd be wearing anyone's ring, and now here I was.. with the only one I'd ever want to spend forever with.

"Jake, if.. if we're gonna get married.." I started. He smirked back at me.
"If?" He laughed. I bit down on my lip, shaking my head, holding in my smile.
"Okay.. since we're getting married." I said softly. "But.. shh.. this is serious." He nodded, his face dropping a bit.
"Okay.. what is it?" He said simply, staring back at me.
"Since we're getting married I just.. I feel like.. you should know what happened." He stared back at me, his eyes concerned.
"W-what do you mean.. what happened?" He said. I shook my head.
"I mean.. you kind of already know but.." I bit down on my lip, avoiding his eyes, nervously picking at my nails.

"So, before I got clean, I.. I had overdosed." I said softly. His face dropped, his eyes getting wide, but he stayed quiet, listening attentively.
"And when I finally.. woke up.. they um.. they told me that because of the extent of it, and.. because of how long.. well.. they said that I may have trouble having kids one day. And of course back then, I didn't think anything of it, that was never anything I wanted anyway, that was the least of my concerns but.." I stopped, feeling tears come to my eyes. "But that's why I've been nervous. It's not just.. out of nowhere, they told me this would happen. They didn't say it was impossible but.. they said it would be unlikely." I wiped my eyes, peeking back up at him. He held his stare on me, staying quiet. Finally, I crawled into his lap, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"I.. I didn't want to make this a sad night, I just.. I don't want to keep anything from you anymore. It's not fair to you, because.. if you really wanted-" He stopped me, pulling me into a gentle kiss.
"Jess, I told you, if it's not with you, I don't want it. You're.. you're okay now though, right?" He asked, giving me a gentle smile. I nodded, staring back up at him.
"Then that's all that matters." I bit down on my lip, my smile growing.
"I love you, Jake." I sighed.
"And I love you, Jess."

He leaned in, gently kissing me again, his hands slowly moving up into my hair, pulling me in closer. I moved my hands up his chest, kissing him back harder, feeling my heart beat faster as his lips curled into a smile.

"You know.. it is stillour Valentine Day's day." He giggled, his kisses moving up my neck. I felt my heart beat faster, my smile growing.
"Oh, trust me, I know. I was still counting on it." I sighed, leaning my forehead against his.
"Alright, so.. why don't you head into the bathroom and open your last gift." My heart jumped, my body feeling hot.
"Why is it in the bathroom?" I laughed. He smirked back at me.
"Because.. you're gonna have to change into it."