My heart was pounding in my chest. It felt like my whole body was on fire. He held his stare as he smiled back at me, holding me close. Part of me didn't even want to go back downstairs anymore. 

I had to pull myself away from him.

"I guess we'll see." I said, smirking back at him. I made my way towards the door. "Cause that's boyfriend territory." He didn't hesitate to follow me closely. I turned around, leaning against the door to face him again.

"What do I have to do, Jess?" He sighed, leaning his hands against the door on either side of me, smiling down. "Cause whatever you need me to do.. I'll do it." He stared back with those dazed eyes, making my heart beat faster. "What else do you need in order to be sure about me? Because being with me without.. being with me. It's.. killing me." He said softly, giving me a gentle smile. "I understand you want time to think but.. you and I both know that.. no matter what, we always end up together."

"Jake.." I sighed, reaching up, gently touching his cheek. He gave me a small smile. "We can talk about it tonight, okay?" He bit down on his lip, nodding.
"In here." He said, smirking back at me. My smile grew.
"In here." I agreed, giggling to myself. 
"With you.. out of that dress."
"Jake." I laughed. He flashed me a smile.

"Alright.." He sighed. "Come on, they're waiting for us downstairs, your dad is gonna hate me for keeping you up here so long." He giggled, taking my hand and leading me down the hall.

"I'd really love it if the two of you could talk and get to know each other." I said, swinging our hands as we made our way to the bar. He nodded.
"Me too." He said. "And I'm sure there's so much he can tell me about you growing up." I laughed, holding onto his arm, leaning my head on his shoulder.

As we got closer, I saw my mom standing next to Josh at the bar, ordering drinks. My stomach dropped.
"Did you see them earlier?" I said quietly. I felt Jake nod.
"I did.. but.. I didn't want to say anything." I kept my eyes locked on them.
"What is she doing.." I mumbled, my grip on Jake getting tighter.

"Don't worry about them tonight. It's okay."
"It's not okay." I muttered. "That's my mother. And he knows that. She knows what she's doing."
"I just.. I don't want you getting upset tonight." Jake said softly. "For all you know, he's doing this on purpose cause you've been with me." I sighed, peeking up at him. He was right. I hadn't really spent much time alone during my apparent "alone time." I'm sure Josh noticed.

"Don't let them ruin our night." He said, stopping and turning to face me. "Look, your dads over there by himself. We can sit and talk, just the three of us." I nodded, taking his hand again and following him into the bar.

"Hey Dad." I said, making my way over to his table.
"Well, don't you look great." He said, getting up to greet me again. "Now I feel underdressed."
"Don't worry, we all look underdressed compared to her." Jake laughed, gently placing his hand behind my back. I felt my heart jump as I sat down. He smiled at me, pulling his chair closer to mine.

"I just wanted to get her something nice for tonight." He said, holding his stare on me.
"Oh, so you're dressing up my daughter now?" My dad asked with a smirk. Jake's face dropped as he stared back wide-eyed.
"N-No, I just.. I-" Jake stammered. My dad laughed to himself, taking another sip of his drink.
"I'm kidding, Jake." He said plainly. "Though.. don't think we didn't see you guys down there after the show."

My stomach dropped. They had seen us? Had they all seen us?

"Seemed a little.. too friendly.. to just be friends." He said, giving us a look.
"That's what I said." Jake smirked, peeking over at me. "But for the record, she kissed me first." He giggled to himself. My whole body felt like it was on fire.

"I'm gonna go get a drink." I said, hopping out of my chair. I needed any excuse to get out of there. I'm sure Jake would tell my dad all about how much he didn't want to be just friends, and I couldn't be around to listen to it.

Not being as sober as I was.

Josh turned to me as I got to the bar, looking me up and down.
"Hey I just- wow.. look at you.." He said softly. I felt my cheeks burn. It was as if he had mentally planned a whole speech, but it went right out the window.

"Yeah, look at me." I mumbled, glaring over at my mom. "What are you doing with her?" I whispered. His cheeks burned red.
"She came onto me, Jess." He said, his eyes moving back down onto me. I felt my heart start to beat faster. "But you know where I'd much rather be." He reached down, gently touching my dress. I peeked back at him, feeling my face burn. He looked back at me with a forced sad smile. 

It hurt.

"But it seems like you've made your decision." He said softly, turning to look at Jake. "So.. what did you guys talk about once you left.. for him to be the one that gets to meet your dad?" My stomach dropped.

"I told him.. I needed time alone.. to make up my mind." I said, avoiding his eyes.
"And I can tell that didn't last very long." He said. "Knowing Jake.. you were probably back in his bed that same night." I glared at him, feeling my cheeks burn even more. He smirked, rolling his eyes.
"Figures." He sighed. I held my stare on him, feeling my heart beat faster. Looking over, I saw my mom put her hand on his arm, leaning in closer. I could feel the anger start to build.

But was it anger.. or jealousy?

"Josh, could you get me another drink?" She asked in her forced flirty voice, batting her oversized fake eyelashes at him. It made me sick.
"Sure." He said plainly. "No problem." I was glaring up at him, as he turned to me.
"And for you?" He asked, his face dropping. I hesitated for a minute.
"Whatever." I sighed. "As long as it's strong." He nodded and ordered for the three of us.

"You aren't planning on-"
"Of course not, Jess." He sighed, keeping his eyes forward. "I'm just being nice. She's your mom. She's not the one that I want." He peeked back over at me, his eyes moving down to the dress again. My heart started beating faster. He leaned in close.

"You really do look beautiful." He whispered into my ear. "Jake is really lucky. I just wish.. that I had at least gotten a fair shot." He moved away, sliding my drink over to me. "And don't worry.. I'll watch her. Go enjoy your night." My heart dropped as he turned to my mom, forcing a smile as he continued to entertain her drunken blabbering.

I looked over at our table and saw Jake and my dad, sitting closer, laughing amongst each other. I couldn't help but smile. I leaned against the bar and watched them for a moment before making my way back over.

"Hey." I said, sitting down again next to Jake, placing my hand on his leg. "What are you guys talking about?" I asked. He looked over at me, giving me a small smile, placing his hand on top of mine, gently squeezing it.

"Nothing." He said simply, his cheeks turning red but his eyes looking guilty. He looked down at my glass.
"Whatcha drinking?" He asked, reaching over, taking a sip. He winced, looking back at me with wide-eyes. "Oh.. that's dangerous." He giggled. "I'm gonna have to keep an eye on you." I smirked, shaking my head.

"You want another?" He asked, getting up and pointing at my dad's drink. Dad smiled, nodding back at Jake.
"Alright, two then." He said cheerily. I watched him walk over to the bar before I turned back around.

"So.. what do you think?" I asked. He smirked.
"I think you love him." He said simply. My cheeks burned red. I nodded.
"I do." I whispered, avoiding his eyes, peeking back at Jake standing alone at the bar.
"So then.. why aren't you with him?" I felt my heart start to beat faster. I shrugged.
"I don't know. It's.. complicated." I said, now looking over at Josh, who was doing his best to hold up my mom, avoiding her wandering hands.

"I really don't think it is, Jess." He said, his voice getting lower. His eyes moved to Jake, and then back to me. "He's a good boy. I hate to admit it.. but.. he is. And he loves you. There's no doubt about that. You should hear the way he talks about you." I felt a smile escape my lips.

"It's only complicated if you make it, Sweetheart. You love who you love, and the rest.. doesn't matter." He said, picking the label off his beer bottle. "And it doesn't need to be complicated with this boy. I know I don't know him like you do.. maybe he puts on a good show.. or maybe.. he's just genuinely a good guy."
"Yeah, he is." I sighed.
"Well.. you have my approval.. if that's what you were waiting for." He said with a smile. I smirked back at him.
"Thank you." I said softly. He nodded, his eyes moving back to Jake who walking up to the table with two more beers. He pulled his chair even closer to mine as he sat down. Dad shot me a look, smiling at me. I smirked, shaking my head.

"You guys talking about me?" Jake laughed, looking over at me. My cheeks burned.
"Mhm.." I said, taking a big sip. He giggled to himself, turning to my dad.
"Ah, I could tell. She's not very good at talking about me." I shot him a look, containing my smile. His smile grew as he reached over, gently touching my leg. My heart started beating faster.

"I'm.. I'm gonna run to the bathroom. I'll be right back." I said. As I stood up, I felt the room start to spin. I quickly caught myself on the back of my chair. Jake noticed immediately.
"You okay?" He said softly, reaching out for me. I nodded.
"I'm fine." I said, doing my best to make it through the bar. When I stepped out into the lobby, I saw Travis just outside the front doors, smoking a cigarette. He turned, his eyes locking with mine and he flashed me a smile, quickly stomping out what was left of it.

"There you are." He said, smirking at me. I stepped back, leaning against the wall to catch my balance. His eyes were already bloodshot, his cheeks flushed. "I didn't think I'd ever get you away from that kid. He's been attached to your hip all night." He reached out, gently touching my dress, pulling me closer. My heart started beating faster.

"So when are you gonna quit fucking around and come back home?" He asked. "You can't just run off and move on with some other guy.. just like that, after three years together. Whatever the hell this is, okay, you got it out of your system, you can come back now." My stomach dropped and my head started to spin.

"He's not something to get out of my system." I said softly, pushing his hand away. He smirked at me, getting closer.
"Come on, Jess. This is what you do. I know this, and I'm sure he's figured this out by now. So when are you gonna dip out this time?" I shook my head.
"It's.. not like that with him." I mumbled, looking down at my feet. He sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You can honestly say that you don't miss me at all?" He asked, a sly grin spread across his lips. My cheeks burned as I avoided his eyes, shaking my head.
"I love him." I said softly. I heard him laugh as he moved closer, leaning his hand against the wall, staring down at me.
"You don't know what love is." He said sternly. "He's just new. Once he's old news you'll move on to the next guy, you're no different than your m-"

"Stop." I snapped, shoving him away. He stared back at me wide-eyed, smirking.
"Oh, I struck a nerve. Okay. Well, she seems to be getting pretty friendly with that other one. Don't be surprised if you see her taking him back to-"
"Shut up!" I snapped. He stared back at me with the same sly grin.
"Oh, what, you have something going on with this one too?" He laughed. My cheeks burned and he stared back wide-eyed.
"Do you??" He snapped, his voice getting louder.

"N-no." I said, looking away. He stared back, skeptical.
"Just leave me alone." I snapped, heading towards the bathroom. He quickly reached out, grabbing me by the wrist, turning me back around to face him.

"Look, I don't know what's gotten into you. I don't know what I did wrong for you to up and leave, but you were happy with me for years, we've basically been together our whole lives. I proposed to you, Jess. And.. you just take off? What happened?" I bit down on my lip.

"Nothing happened." I said softly. "It just.. it wasn't it. I.. I wasn't done." He scoffed, staring back at me confused.
"And it took you that long to figure that out about me, but you're sure about him in a matter of months?" I bit down on my lip, nodding.
"You're.. you're just not him." I said quietly. His face dropped. He leaned in closer, gently touching my face. My heart started beating faster.

"Just come home." He whispered. "I'm sure he'll find someone new tomorrow if you left. He'll be fine." I turned away, avoiding his eyes.
"That's not true." I said softly. He moved his finger down to my chin, turning my head to face him again.
"Just come home." He said again, leaning in. I quickly shoved him away.
"Travis, stop!" I yelled out, running into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

The room was spinning even more than before. I carefully made my way over to the sink to hold myself up. This isn't at all how I wanted the night to go. I splashed my face with water, staring back in the mirror.

Just come home. 

But I wasn't really sure where home was anymore. All I knew is no matter where I wound up, I didn't want to be anywhere without Jake anymore. 

No matter where we wound up, he was home.