Slide

Jake made a mistake.

No no no no.

Jake paced back and forth in his room, occasionally groaning, leaning his head against the wall, or clenching and unclenching his fists.

Gah, so stupid! How could he let that happen? He saw the worst path towards the worst possible outcome and sprinted down it. Mowed over every single living thing on his rush to gratifying his emotions and -

Okay, stop. Maybe he was being a little dramatic. Maybe when he verbalized his angry emotions into the words, “break up,” she didn’t actually take them to mean that he wanted the two of them to…stop…dating…

…Stupid.

Why did he do that?? Why did he tell Becky that he wanted to break up?? All that happened was that he was frustrated with her, she responded appropriately, and he just went off on her and blurted out stuff he didn’t even mean about her character and how he couldn’t take it anymore.

Take what? Her kindness? Her generosity? Her time? Her honesty? Her amazing sense of humor, her impressive work ethic, her unwavering faith, her brilliant smile that made her eyes crinkle adorably and her cheeks dimple in a way that no one would notice unless they were really looking at her…

Jake stopped pacing at his sudden realization. He was afraid. He was scared to get too serious with her so quickly and he had been falling hard and wanted a way out, and he really didn’t mean those things he said to her in his moment of anger, he was just…

Jake was in love with her.

As if that flipped a switch in his head, Jake quickly grabbed his wallet, phone, and keys, and rushed out his apartment to find Becky. Turns out, he didn’t need to go far, because as he stepped out of his apartment complex, he found her, as he had left her, in front of his apartment. She was still sitting on the bench a little ways from the front gate, her posture dejected and slightly hunched over. Jake’s heart ached as he quietly stepped up to her, a nervousness growing in his gut more intense than the first time he had asked her out. She heard his footsteps and lifted her head to look at him, the surprise clear in her face.

“Becky, I…” Jake sighed, stepping towards her. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean those things I said to you…I was just scared because I really like you and I felt like things were moving so fast and my brain couldn’t keep up and you know guys, they just want to run away from everything - not that I’m trying to justify it, but - "

“Jake?” she interjected. “What are you trying to say?”

He ran a hand through his hair and, with his head down, slowly looked upwards towards her. “I’m trying to say that…I love you and that I don’t want to break up.”

His heart beat wildly with anxiety as she stood up and stared at him, her face unreadable. Then, all of a sudden, her face blossomed into that smile he loved so much and she threw her arms around him and pulled him into an embrace.

“Took you long enough,” she said in a slightly quivering voice.

He tightened his grip on her and mumbled, “So does that mean you’ll forgive me and take this sad sack of potatoes back?”

She pulled back a bit to look him in the eyes. “Are you implying that I’m in love with a bag of spuds?”

“Yes.”

She huffed, slightly amused. “Then I guess I’ll let it slide this time.”

He grinned and firmly pressed a kiss to her forehead, allowing his nervousness to dissipate into a sort of giddy happiness.

He was stupid, but he was her stupid.

Author's Note

Another one-word prompted story!

Please comment/review and let me know what you think! :)

Reviews

[astronaut]

love love. I only wish my ex and I would go in this situation lol

[kristollini]

Thank you!! Aww I'm sorry!! If only real life turned out like fiction sometimes, huh? :/