Taking A Chance Read online

  “Bye.” I hung up the phone and did a little crazy dance in the sea, splashing the water everywhere.

  “What’s got you so happy?” Bonnie asked as she walked out of the sea.

  “Jacob just called and asked me out.”

  “Oh chick, that’s great… I knew you liked him.” We walked up to where we’d left all of our stuff and Bonnie dried herself off.

  “I had better get going, gotta have tea with the family before I meet him… Did you wanna come?”

  “No, my parents should be home by now. I had better check in with them.” Bonnie seemed quiet, I wasn’t sure if it was due to the conversation we’d had about Matt earlier. I’d feel bad if I’d made her uncomfortable or unhappy.

  “Bonnie, are you ok? I’m sorry if I upset…”

  “No, honestly I am fine… It’s probably just the lack of sleep.” She told me, as she was packing her things away. I grabbed my bag off the sand and we walked towards her car. As I was about to get in, a car pulled up behind us beeping their horn. I looked up and saw that it was my sister.

  “Are you going home?” She asked me. I nodded. “Great, me too…” I looked at Bonnie and Ameila carried on with; “We may as well ride together… Save Bonnie driving all the way there.”

  “Yeah I guess.” I threw my bag into Amelia’s car and walked around and gave Bonnie a hug. “Help.” Bonnie laughed at me and pushed me away.

  “You’ll be fine, it’s only for five minutes.” She climbed into her car and I said;

  “Will talk to you later. Thanks for last night.” Bonnie nodded, closed her door and drove off. I felt a little bit worried about her; she had been quiet for the last half an hour which was unlike her.

  Beep beep.

  “Come on Ro.” Amelia called out.

  “I don’t see why you insist on shortening my name even more. Rose is already a short name.” I complained to her as she drove off.

  “How was your night with Bonnie?” She asked, turning down the radio so she could hear me.

  “Yeah it was good… How was your night?” I asked her out of politeness. I didn’t really want to know if she succeeded in bedding the guy she was after.

  “It was ok… Though the guy I have wanted for ages was with some bitch.” She looked angry and it made me a little happy, she always got her own way and it was nice to see that some guy wasn’t falling all over her. “Yeah, he had her pressed up against a wall at the club… Some woman in a red dress.” I snapped my head around to look at her. “What?” She asked. I shook my head. A red dress? Against a wall? Shit, was that me? There must have been other girls in red dresses? I couldn’t have been the only one in a red dress, kissing a guy. What are the chances that we liked the same guy? It would just be typical that we are after the same guy. She would win hands down if he had to choose between us, she was tall, slim with long dark hair. She always had guys wanting to go out with her. Me? Not so much. I felt my stomach drop and I felt sick, I really liked Jacob and I felt like I was losing him already. Who was I kidding? This would never have come of anything, he was probably just trying to get into my panties.

  “What are you looking upset about?” Amelia asked me as she parked the car.

  “Nothing… I just don’t feel too well… I’m gonna go for a lie down.” I walked in through the front door and straight up to my bedroom.

  A few minutes later Mum was knocking on my door and walking in. “Rose? Honey are you ok?”

  “Uh… Yeah…” I needed to think of an excuse and quick. “I was probably out in the sun for too long, that’s all.”

  “Oh.” Mum placed her hand on my head. “You don’t feel too warm.”

  “Is it ok if I skip tea tonight?” I really didn’t feel like being around them all and it would be easier to avoid Jacob if I stayed at home.

  “Oh… Well, yeah I guess.” Mum said, disappointed. I hated to upset her and I knew she was looking forward to this meal.

  “You know what? I will probably feel better after a shower… I’ll be down in a minute… I don’t wanna make us late.” Mum’s mood improved instantly and I was glad to be the one to put a smile on her face.

  “Ok honey.” She left my room and I got up and went to the bathroom. I would put a brave face on for Mum and then skip the date with Jacob.

  Chapter 4

  We had finished eating and Dad was waiting for the bill to arrive. Jacob had text me;

  Can’t wait to see you x

  I replied back;

  I can’t make it. Sorry

  The bill arrived and we all busied ourselves putting our jackets on while Dad pulled out some notes from his wallet and put them on the table. My bag was caught on my chair so I took a few minutes to get myself sorted. I looked around expecting to see my whole family standing waiting for me, what I didn’t expect to see was Jacob standing in front of our table.

  “Hi J.” Amelia purred as she looked at him. He smiled at her and then looked at me. I looked away as soon as our eyes met. I couldn’t deny that something in me came alive when he was near me, but I didn’t want to show the hurt that was sure to radiate from my face when he chose to be with Amelia instead.

  “Can I help you son?” Daddy asked.

  “Yes sir… I would like to take your daughter out… Just to a movie, she won’t be home late.” Amelia sat up straighter in her chair and I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to see the pair of them walking off together. I looked down at my feet.

  “Oh well, I guess that’s ok. If Amelia wants to go?” Daddy said looking at my sister. She was smiling.

  “Oh sorry, I was talking about Rose.” Jacob corrected my Dad. I looked at him in shock and Amelia glared at me.

  “Her?” She sneered. I was still in shock and probably had my mouth open like a fish. He winked at me and my tummy fluttered. I smiled at him and Mum said;

  “Rose? How do you know this boy?” What was I going to tell her? I couldn’t tell her that I’d met him at The Archer and that I’d gone back to his home and that Bonnie had slept with his best friend. Before I had chance to speak, Jacob saved me by saying;

  “College… I noticed her coming out of her photography class… I’m doing media studies.” That was interesting and brand new information to me and had me wondering if that was true.

  “Can I go Daddy?” I asked, placing my hand on top of his.

  “Sure honey, if you want to?” I nodded and he smiled at me. “Don’t be home late.”

  “I won’t be.” I glanced at Amelia and she was red, I guessed with anger. She wanted Jacob and he wanted to take me out. I couldn’t say I wasn’t surprised because I was. I’d been so sure he was there for her.

  “Have fun.” Mum said. I kissed Dad and Mum goodbye on the cheek and as I kissed Mum she whispered in my ear; “He’s cute.”

  Jacob held hold of my hand as we walked out of the restaurant. When we got outside, he stopped and pulled me closer to him.

  “Now are you going to tell me what that message was earlier? The brush off?” I didn’t answer him and looked down at my feet. “Rose?”

  “Amelia told me she saw you kissing me last night and that she wanted you and was trying to bed you for ages… Obviously she didn’t know it was me… She said some bitch in a red dress… I didn’t think I stood a chance against her… So I... I decided to not go out with you so it would be easier on me later.”

  “I didn’t even know she was your sister… Besides, I’d choose you any day.” He smiled at me and I smiled back. I stood on my tip toes and he gave me a quick kiss. “Let’s get to the cinema.” I nodded and we walked hand in hand down the road towards the cinema.

  ***

  “Well that film was…” I began saying as Jacob finished my sentence with;

  “Awful?” He looked at me and I giggled, nodding.

  “Yeah, it was awful.”

  “Good job we managed to find things to occupy us then.” He winked at me and I felt a blush rising on my cheeks. It was true, we had spent most of the ho
ur and a half kissing and fooling around. Jacob made me feel things I hadn’t before. He made me feel special, sexy and my body was re-acting in a way it had never done before. I was trying not to read too much into ‘us’. I didn’t even know if there was an ‘us’ and I wasn’t going to ask, I just wanted to enjoy our time together without worrying about the future. We were both young and single, why not have some fun?

  “I had better get you home… I don’t want to upset your Dad.” Jacob told me as we began walking around the corner. After a few minutes of walking, he stopped in front of a motorbike.

  “Is this yours?” He smirked and me and nodded.

  “Have you been on the back of a bike before?”

  “No… Aren’t they dangerous?” I had backed away from him and the bike slightly.

  “Not if they are handled right… Rose, do you trust me?” I nodded and he smiled, kissed me lightly and placed a helmet over my head. He climbed on the bike and held his hand out to help me on. I got on and placed my hands on his hips. He placed his hands on my thighs and pulled me so that I was up close to him so there was no gap between us. He wrapped my hands around his stomach and told me to hold on tight. The next thing I knew we were off and flying down the road. I squeezed my eyes shut and lay my head against his back. I couldn’t watch and I was sure that when we turned corners I squealed a little bit. Jacob must have found it funny as I felt it through my hands as he laughed. I was held on so tight that I was sure he would have nail marks on his skin. When the bike slowed down and came to a stop I finally opened my eyes and I was surprised to see that we were at my house. Jacob climbed off of the bike; he then placed his hands on my hips and lifted me off too, like I didn’t weigh hardly anything at all. He unclipped my helmet and pulled it off. I frantically began patting my hair down; I probably looked awful. He leant against his bike and smiled at me;

  “So? Was that fun?”

  “I had my eyes closed the whole time… How did you know where I live?”

  “Matt and I dropped Amelia off once.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. Why were they dropping her off? This had me thinking about them, together? I felt sick at the thought. But I needed to know.

  “Have you… Um… Have you and her?...” I was stumbling with my words; I didn’t want to actually ask.

  “What? No… No, Matt and Amelia had a brief encounter… But never me.” He pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m only interested in one Baker… Rose Baker.” As I processed what he’d said, I imagined us twenty years down the road, married, a small house, kids and a dog. He kissed my neck and it snapped me out of my daydream. I was getting way ahead of myself, I barely knew this guy. I pulled back and smiled at him.

  “Thanks for a lovely evening… I’d better get inside.” I looked over my shoulder and was surprised to see there were lights on in the living room. “I think my parents are still up.”

  “I’ll walk you to the door.” He told me as he stood up straight.

  “No, stay here. You don’t have to.” I said, as I placed my hand on his chest. He took my hand away and began leading me to the door. Once we reached the door he stood on the bottom step so we were the same height and turned me around to face him.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow.” He told me as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer so we were chest to chest. My heart was racing and the butterflies had taken off in my tummy. I placed my hands on his shoulders to steady myself and he kissed me. It started off slowly and as our tongues collided I felt myself moving closer towards him. He pulled back a few seconds later and I looked at him confused.

  “You had best go in… Speak to you later?” I nodded and he squeezed my hand and then walked back to his bike. I noticed he had to re-arrange his jeans before he could climb back onto his bike and I swallowed back a giggle. I loved the fact that I could get him as worked up as he had made me. Once he drove away, I turned around and walked into the house. Mum and Dad were curled up together on the sofa watching a film.

  “Hi honey.” Mum called out. “Have a nice night?”

  “Yes. I’m going to bed… Goodnight.” I called out as I started walking up the stairs.

  “Goodnight.” They both called out together. I walked into my bedroom and had the fright of my life when I found my sister sitting on my bed.

  “What the hell are you doing in here?” I asked, calmly. More calmly than I felt.

  “What the hell do you think you are doing? Agreeing to go out with J? How long have you known him?” She was practically shouting at me.

  “I haven’t known him long… What’s your problem?” I took my shoes off and waited for her answer.

  “I… He… He was with someone else last night at the club… He will be with someone else tomorrow.” I didn’t tell her that he was actually with me the night before. I didn’t know how to handle this as she clearly liked him and he had asked me out.

  “Amelia… I’m sorry, I didn’t know you liked him…” I started but she cut me off.

  “Like him? No, I just wanted to sleep with him… Everyone says how great he is… So is he?”

  “What? I haven’t slept with him.” I was shocked that she had even asked me that. “Please, get out.” I tried to stay calm.

  “He’ll be with someone else if you don’t give it up soon… It’s just sex.” She said to me as she walked out of my bedroom. I shut the door and as I did, her words started to sink in and what she said got to me. I didn’t really know him; would he get bored with me if I made him wait? He didn’t seem pushy and a couple of times tonight he’d pushed himself away from me. I was confused and I worried that maybe I didn’t know him well at all.

  Ping. My phone interrupted my thoughts;

  Had a great time tonight, shall we meet up tom? x

  I didn’t reply straight away as Amelia’s words had me doubting him. I would talk to Bonnie in the morning and ask her for advice. It wasn’t as if I was looking to start a relationship, maybe I should have been thinking more like Bonnie. It was all just fun, we were just having fun.

  Meeting Bonnie tom x

  Great, we can all meet up. How about the beach at 10? x

  Maybe, will talk to her x

  Goodnight Rose x

  No matter how much I tried to deny it, he was making me feel things I hadn’t before. My heart would race, my tummy would feel funny and I smiled when I thought of him and I did want to spend time with him to get to know him. Maybe he would be different with me, maybe he wasn’t the guy Amelia had described, I climbed into bed and fell asleep thinking of the Jacob I hoped I knew.

  Chapter 5

  Fancy meeting the guys at the beach today? x

  Before I’d even got out of bed I’d sent a text to Bonnie. I wanted to see Jacob and he was only going to notice me and no-one else. I got out of bed and went in search of my red bikini, red always made me look a little bit more tanned than I actually was. I heard my phone text alert;

  Sure, what time? x

  Can you come get me at 10? x

  See you soon x

  I had decided to make Jacob wait a bit longer before I put him out of his misery. I had a shower and put on my red bikini under my short jean shorts and a t-shirt. I slipped on my sandals, grabbed my bag and made my way to the kitchen.

  “Morning Mum… Are you cooking? I’m starving.” I told her as I sat at the table.

  “Morning to you too and yes I’m doing bacon eggs and hash browns… Are you going out?”

  “Mmm, meeting Bonnie she will be here for me in a minute.” I said as I placed my glass of orange juice down.

  “Here you go then… Don’t tell your Dad, this was his.” She winked at me and pushed a plate of food towards me. I laughed at her and got stuck in. Mum was an amazing cook and I loved that we never had frozen meals; she always made the time and effort to cook something good for us.

  Beep Beep Beep. I heard Bonnie pull up outside and start sounding the horn.

  “Oh, that’s Bonnie.” I
mumbled as I shoved the last of the food into my mouth. “Thanks Mum.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek and ran out of the front door. I jumped into the car and before she had time to make conversation I filled her in on everything that Amelia had said the night before and asked her what she thought.

  “I don’t really know the guy, so…”

  “So you think I should get to know him and make my own mind up?” I cut her off, as she drove us towards the beach.

  “Yeah… By everything you’ve said, he doesn’t seem that way at all and you know what Amelia is like… She probably just wants him for herself.” I nodded in agreement and had made my mind up that I was going to enjoy our day and not let it bother me. As we parked up I saw Jacob and Matt standing by the steps leading down to the beach. They were both topless and I quickly found myself in a daydream about my hands wandering all over Jacob’s body.

  “Rose? Rose?” Bonnie nudged me and I snapped out of my daydream.

  “Oh, sorry.” I grinned at her and climbed out of the car. We walked over towards the guys. “Hey.” I said as we approached them. I never did text Jacob back to let him know if we were coming or not. I thought it was sweet that he was still waiting for us.

  “Hi, I didn’t know if you were coming.” He told me as he kissed me lightly on the cheek and placed his arm around my back.

  “I hadn’t made my mind up until this morning.” I told him, shrugging my shoulders.

  “Hi Bonnie.” I heard Matt say as he stepped closer to her. She took a step back and gave him a cold smile. I could tell that she didn’t want to lead him on, they’d had sex and as far as she was concerned that was all it was going to be.

  Ping. I pulled out my phone and I’d had a text.

  I’m in town for a couple days if you wanna grab a coffee? Stuart x

  “Who’s that?” Bonnie asked as we walked down the steps to the beach.

  “Oh…” I didn’t know if I wanted to mention who it was in front of Jacob. It wasn’t as if we were a couple and it was only a text. I had nothing to hide. “Just Stuart.” I told her. I noticed that Jacob and Matt looked at each other frowning.