The next morning, I rolled over, instantly checking my phone to see if Jake had sent anything else while I was asleep.

I couldn't contain my smile, rolling over, hiding my face in my pillow. Growing up, he was never like this, even as a kid, so getting to experience this side of him now just made him that much more.. irresistible. Watching him with his other girlfriends throughout the years, he was sweet, but he truly just never seemed.. into the cheesy, romantic type of relationships, and deep down that's all I ever wanted with him.

So getting to see it now made me feel that much better about the fact that, maybe this time, things really could be different for us. I had forgiven him, so now we could finally start over, the way we were always meant to.

Except for the fact that now, we had to sneak around in order to be together. Well, we didn't have to, but.. for Josh's sake. I still cared about him, I would always care about him, but.. I knew how it looked, and the last thing I wanted to do was rub it in his face like I didn't.

But for once in my life.. I had to put myself first, and what I wanted. And finally, I knew what I wanted.

Good morning

I wondered if he was still asleep. I've lost all track of time with him over the past few days, and treasured every minute of it. But couldn't help thinking about what he said last night. About me and Josh and.. what happened between us. I knew they were brothers, and they told each other everything but.. part of me wished that that one thing could have stayed between the two of us, at least until I was ready to tell Jake myself.

If anything was going to happen with us, that was bound to come up eventually. Now I had no say in the matter. But there was still plenty of time to talk about that. I didn't see anything like that happening between us any time soon.

My heart jumped as I felt my phone vibrate.

Good morning so did you, so why are YOU up?

you actually woke me up so.. thank you for that lol I was having a really good dream too

what was your dream about?

I'll tell you over breakfast if you'd like :)

I couldn't help but smile, excitedly kicking my feet under my blankets.

is this a date?

only if you want it to be.

do YOU want it to be?

do you want to get breakfast or not lol

yes meet me outside in 20

I quickly rushed out of bed and began getting dressed, flipping through my closet for something that was cute, but still casual enough to where he wouldn't suspect I spent too much time picking it out.

I remembered all the times Jake complained about how much his exes cared about how they looked and how they always put way too much effort into things like that when "there were so many other important things in life to spend your time on," and I agreed, but that didn't change the fact that I wanted him to think I looked pretty. I finally settled on a plain white sundress covered in pink and red flowers along with my comfy white sandals, just in case.. he wanted to take a walk together after.

I was the first one outside as I quietly stepped out my back door, waiting further out of sight from the upstairs windows of their house, remembering what we had talked about last night. I'm sure none of them would hesitate to question where I was going if they saw me standing outside alone.

I didn't have to wait long before their back door quickly opened, Jake making his way out and waving me over while already walking towards his car. I instantly followed, catching up to him as he reached his hand back, taking mine, pulling me closer to him. My heart jumped as he leaned down, gently kissing the top of my head as he brought me around to the passenger's side of his car, opening the door for me. I peeked up at him, flashing him a giddy smile as he smirked back at me, carefully shutting the door behind me.

I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he made his way around the car. He wore a dark blue button down, buttons undone showing most of his bare chest. I felt my heart beat faster as he hopped inside, glancing back over at me from over the top of this sunglasses. He looked me up and down, biting down on his lip, trying to contain his smile.

"You look.. beautiful." He said softly.

"Oh, t-thank you." I muttered, now having to look away, feeling my cheeks burn red.

"So, you hungry?" He asked, his smile growing. I nodded, peeking back up at him.

"Isn't that why we're going on this date?" I laughed.

"So it is a date."

"You tell me.." I said, my voice trailing off as I looked back out the window. He hesitated for a moment before finally reaching over for my hand, slowly intertwining our fingers. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I forced myself to look back up at him, feeling like I could melt right into the seat as he gently rubbed his thumb across my palm, turning around to back out of the driveway.

"Thank you so much." He said, flashing the waitress a smile as she placed our food down in front of us, plate of waffles for him, bowl of fruit for me. I picked at mine as he drenched his in syrup, topping it off with whipped cream.

"Well doesn't that look good." I laughed, taking another bite of mine. He smirked back at me.

"Want to try?" He asked. I felt my cheeks burn as he cut off the first piece, holding it up to me.

"That's okay."

"Come here." He said, motioning over to his side of the booth. I couldn't help but smile, getting up and going over, sitting down close to him. He held up the fork to me again, flashing me a wide grin. I took a bite, keeping my eyes locked on him as he stared back, his eyes now moving down to my lips.

"Oh, you got a little.. um.. here." He reached up, gently wiping off the corner of my mouth. I smiled back up at him, giggling to myself.

"Thank you."

We spent the rest of the morning filling the air with small talk, taking turns sharing our breakfasts with each other, alternating utensils as they grazed each other's lips, both of us searching for any excuse to get closer and closer until his arm was eventually wrapped around me, pulling me up against him, my leg now draped over his as his hand slowly glided its way up.

After the last piece, I licked my lips of what remained of the sweet syrup and cream. I saw his eyes move back down, staring at them intently until he finally reached over, tilting my chin up to face him. I gazed back into his eyes, those big, beautiful eyes that showed me everything I ever wanted and more as he stared back into mine like I was the only girl in the world.

"Jake.." I sighed, leaning my forehead against his. He leaned in closer, his smile growing as he reached up, now tenderly caressing my face.

"Yeah?" He whispered, gently rubbing his thumb against my cheek.

"Is this a date now?" He leaned in closer, kissing my cheek.

"I really hope so." He sighed.

"So.. this is our.. first date?" He bit down on his lip, shrugging.

"If you want it to be, it could be. So.. do you?" I nodded, unable to contain my smile anymore.

"Jaime, c-can I.. can I kiss you?"

"Yes." I whispered, backing away just before his lips met mine. "But-"

"But?"

"But.. not here."

"O-okay.. then where?" I moved away, motioning back outside. He held his stare on me until his lips curled into a heartfelt smile.

He knew where.

He then reached into his pocket, leaving money on the table before taking my hand and leading me out of the diner and back to his car.