Chapter Six: Beauty

I felt my whole gut sink down. My insides grew cold. My head went light.

Jacob frowned. "Isn't that the guy that always shits on you?"

I nodded absent-mindedly, but I barely even heard Jake's words. "Yeah..."

He looked into my eyes as concern clouded over his own. "Do you want to go?"

If there was one thing I could control, it was not letting this douchebag control whether or not I would stay at a fucking hockey game. Regardless if he was playing or not. I just shook my head. "No, it's okay. I'll be fine."

He offered a half smile and nodded, facing forward. "So, are those other two guys from our school? Owen and Marcus?"

I nodded. "Yeah. They're close friends of Zach's."

Jake hummed in acknowledgment. "They going on the trip tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

He shook his head. "I wish you didn't have to go through the shit they put you through. I don't know why they do it."

I tried not to wince. I hoped he never would find out why they did this to me. "Well," I hesitated. "Marcus and Owen don't really do anything. They just sit and watch."

"Well, still," Jake frowned.

I smiled softly. "I love that you're concerned about me. But you don't need to worry." I looked back to the game just as Owen blocked a goal.

Jake smiled at me. "I know. But I just wish I could do something about it. Legally."

"Trust me," I giggled and put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to do anything."

And with that, we both sat and watched the game. So far, the Panthers were winning 3-1, partially because of Owen's amazing goalie skills.

The first quarter ended, and the players skated into the bench boxes. A few people were shown on the large screen, who waved and smiled at the camera. In that moment, Jake and I were shown on the screen. He nudged me to let me know that we were on the camera, and a grin spread across my face.

He smiled, gently took my chin, and guided my face towards his. I followed willingly as he pulled me in for a kiss and smiled as I kissed him back. Light cheers could be heard as the crowd saw us kiss on the screen. We pulled away and Jake held my hand, interlacing our fingers together.

A few more people were shown on screen, another couple kissing and bringing more light cheers to the stadium.

Jake leaned towards me. "I'm going to go get a small bite. Do you want anything?"

I thought for a moment. "A hotdog and a root beer would be amazing."

I leaned forward and went to grab my shoulder purse, but Jake covered it with his hand. "Don't touch your money. I've got mine."

I felt the butterflies swarm my stomach and smiled. "Okay. Are you sure?"

He nodded and grinned that sweet smile. "Of course. Stay here, I'll be right back." He gave me a quick peck on the cheek before he dashed off into the lobby where the food was. I sat back, grinning like a fool. I had hit the lottery.

I looked down at the Panthers in their bench box. It looked like their coach was talking about their next play and strategies, turning to each player to give them their individual tips and plays. I caught a small glimpse of Zach, who must've caught a glimpse of me, because he was staring right in my direction.

He was too far away for me to be able to see his expression, but I had a feeling that he was plotting something to ruin my time here.

I saw him nudge Marcus and Owen and point at me when they looked over as well. I shrank back in my seat, as if that's going to hide me from their sight. Geez, could Jake hurry? I was dying over here.

Around five minutes later, Jake sat down in the seat next to me, two hotdogs and drinks in his hands. He handed me my hotdog, mustard squirted underneath the meat and on the insides of the bun.

I smiled and took the snack, loving how he knows how I liked my hotdogs. Jake put our drinks in the two cup holders attached to our seats and took a bite out of his hotdog just as the game started back up again. I took a bite out of my own, sipped my root beer, and watched as Marcus scored a goal, bumping the score up to 4-2.

I cheered along with the rest of the team supporters and smiled, looking at Jake. A small bit of ketchup was on the corner of his mouth, and he was still watching the game, completely unaware of the condiment that was on his face.

I giggled and wiped the corner of his mouth with my thumb. I cupped his cheek with my hand during the gesture. He looked at me and smiled, leaning in to give me a kiss. I leaned in, and his lips brushed against mine. The butterflies overwhelmed my stomach at the feeling.

We pulled away but stayed close to each other. His hazel eyes gazed into my blues, and he smiled that gorgeous smile.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" He whispered.

I felt my cheeks flush. "Once or twice," I whispered, and matched his soft tone as I smiled back.

He kissed my cheek. "I don't think I'll ever be able to tell you enough."

A deafening thud echoed throughout the stadium, followed by a gasp from the crowd.

Jake and I whipped our heads around to see what happened, and we saw a player lying down on the ice and paramedics rushing out. I tried to see what had happened, and saw the player being lifted up by the arms. It was Zach.

On the screen, I could see him saying something to the parameds and refs.

"Well," the announcer started speaking after a couple of minutes had passed. "Turploy says he's okay and that he's only taken a large face plant to the glass."

I watched the replay, which showed Zach, distracted by something in the crowd, I thought, skating a little too fast before smacking right into the glass and falling down. Laughter rang out from the crowd as they re-watched what had happened, when they knew he was okay, and I couldn't help but laugh along with Jake.

"Well, now we can officially say Zach's had his first kiss," Jake cackled.

I laughed harder at his comment and doubled over, clutching my stomach.

Once everything settled down and it was confirmed that Zach was okay, the game resumed.

A couple hours and too many junk food raids later, the game ended with a score of 15-8, putting our team on the map. Jake stood up and stretched, then held his hand out to me. I smiled and took his hand, and he helps me out of my seat.

We walked out of the rink and into the main terminal to throw our trash away before we made our way to the exit. As we were walking, we passed by the players as they talked to a bunch of fangirls, who were clearly there for mostly Zach. As we passed the team, Zach's eyes locked onto mine.

His sweat drenched hair covers parts of his cold eyes, making his stare seem... darker. If it hadn't been for the girls practically jumping on top of him, it seemed as if he would've held my stare the entire time I walked out.

Jake noticed my tension and followed my gaze. His warm hazel eyes turned ice-cold as he glared at Zach before he led me out of the stadium.

I took a breath of the fresh, crisp air as soon we pushed through the double-doors, and relished the cool, refreshing feeling that hit right after being in a stadium packed with people.

Jake took my hand in his and led me to his car, opened the passenger door, and guided me in my seat. His hand stayed on mine the entire time and let go only when I needed to buckle my seatbelt.

He slid into the driver's side and slid the key in the ignition, glancing at me as he did so.

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't fight back my smile.

He smiled back and turned the key. He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. "Am I dropping you off at your place?"

"Oh, no," I said teasingly. "I'm just going to leave my car there to intentionally take up space in their driveway."

Jake rolled his eyes, but still grinned. "Alright, I got the drift."

We stayed quiet after that, the only sound of the hum of the engine as we cruised down the quiet road.

"So," I start after a couple minutes.

Jake glanced at me, showing that his attention was on me.

"Timmy and my parents aren't home."

I looked over at him, only to see him staring ahead, a smirk dancing across his lips.

"Oh, is that so?" He asked playfully.

I giggled and nodded. "Oh, yes."

Jake pretended to think for a moment. "Well, I guess I could stay for a minute or two." He looked over at me, a mischievous grin playing on his lips. He placed a hand on my upper thigh, still facing forward.

I felt heat already rising in my core, just from his touch, and looked out the window to hide my red face.

Eventually, he pulled into my driveway and jumped out of his seat, opening my door for me.

I stepped out and he greeted me with a kiss.

"Do we want to go inside?" He whispered into my mouth.

I grinned. "I think we do."

He smiled and picked me up bridal style, causing me to yelp and giggle as he carried me up to the front door. He set me down to grab the spare key that hid in the flower pot, and unlocked the door, putting the key back before picking me up again.

Once Jake walked us inside, he kicked the door shut behind us and carried me up into my room, closing the door behind him. He set me down, grabbed my waist, pulled me closer to him, and kissed me on the lips.

I grinned and kissed him back, and our tongues found a rhythm that matched each other perfectly.

Jake pulled me closer and deepened the kiss, bringing more passion and sensuality. He backed me into the wall, kissing my cheek, then my jaw, all the way down to my neck.

I gasped quietly, and soft moans escaped my lips as his kisses left their marks on my skin.

Jake groaned softly in response as he brought his lips to my collar bone.

My head rested against the wall as he left his trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses along my neck, down to my collarbone. More moans left my lips from the feeling of his on my skin.

He brought them back to mine, kissing me deeply and passionately. He paused only to lift my sweater over my head, revealing my lavender laced bra, and threw it to the side before crashing his lips back onto mine.

I wrapped my arms around his head as his mouth devoured mine, my fingers entangling in his now unkempt hair as he left no part of my mouth untouched.

Jake's hands wandered up and down my body, exploring my curves before he picked me up and carried me to my bed. He gently lay me down before climbing on top of me before leaning down and placing his lips back onto mine.

I slid his shirt off, revealing his toned chest and abs, amd let my hands wandered all over his chest as he explored my mouth with his own.

Just then, the sound of a slamming car door filled our ears.

My stomach sank. "Oh, shit!" I scrambled up and grabbed my shirt, Jake doing the same.

We dashed downstairs and into the living room. I threw myself onto the couch, and Jake plopped into the recliner just as the door opened.

An excited Timmy ran down the hall and into the living room. "Jake!" He shouted excitedly.

Jake grinned. "Hey, little Tim!" He gave Timmy a fistbump, both pulling their arm back and mimicking an explosion sound, giving me a relieved look in the process.

After about an hour of talking with my parents, Jake stood up and stretched. "Well, I'd better get going," he yawned. "I've gotta pack for tomorrow."

I smiled as he gave me a quick kiss.

"Goodnight, Leia," he smiled.

"Goodnight, Jacob."

He smiled at me with those gorgeous hazel eyes before he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

Tomorrow. Yay