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Saturday, August 25—Chicago Area
After dinner, I’m unpacking in my bedroom when a familiar tap-tap-tap noise drives me to the window. I open it and lean forward on the bottom rail. Jake’s standing in the shadows of my backyard, throwing pebbles at my window as he used to when we were teenagers and he wanted me to come out after-hours. Unnecessary, but utterly romantic. For a second I’m tempted to use my childhood escape route and climb out the window and down the flower trellis, but I don’t want to break a leg—good luck notwithstanding—a week before the wedding. Instead, I blow Jake a kiss and ask him to wait for me on the front porch. He gives me a military salute and walks around the house.
Downstairs, I find my parents watching the news in the living room.
“I’m going out for a walk with Jake,” I tell them.
“Not too keen on climbing out the window anymore?” my dad asks with a smirk.
I stop dead in my tracks. “You knew about that?”
“And many other things. You’d be surprised, sweetie pie.”
“I don’t want to know,” I say truthfully.
“Have fun, pie.”
I wave goodbye and join Jake on the porch. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me down to the grass while I kiss him.
“To the river?” he whispers in my neck.
“To the river.”
As if no time has passed at all, we stroll toward our favorite secret spot. Even if now I’m not so sure whether it was that big a secret.
“You know how all these years we thought we were being so smart?” I ask.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Well, it appears we were so busted instead.”
I tell Jake about my dad. He laughs heartedly.
“Do you think it’s the same with your parents?”
“Maybe—probably.”
I blush. “I hope at least they don’t know about the lake cabin. That’d be so embarrassing.”
We reach our favorite bend in the river and Jake spreads a blanket on the grass in a spot where we’re sheltered from the road by the trees but can gaze up at the stars. We lie down next to each other and stare up at the night sky.
“Remember the first time we came here?” Jake asks, rolling over to face me.
“You mean the night you didn’t kiss me for the first time? Hard to forget—I cried about it for a week. I thought you didn’t like me enough to kiss me.”
“I liked you too much to kiss you.” He kisses the tip of my nose and electric currents shoot from where his lips touched my skin to my cheeks, making them burn red. After all these years, he can still make me blush. “I’d never kissed anyone, and I was scared you’d think I was a bad kisser.”
“I hadn’t kissed anyone either, so I wouldn’t have been able to tell.”
“Well, I didn’t know that at the time. It took me a while to work out the courage to finally kiss you.”
“Jake Wilder,” I pull him closer by the neck of his shirt, “I’m so glad you did.”
We kiss for a long time until Jake pulls back. “Did you find the dress?”
“Yes.” I beam. “And it’s wonderful, it’s…”
He places a finger on my lips. “Shhh. Don’t tell me anything, I want it to be a surprise.”
“Of course I’m not telling you anything. What about you? Did you sleep all day?”
“Not all day.” He pinches my nose affectionately. “When you and my mom came back, she made me drive her around town all afternoon. I didn’t know a wedding required so much work.”
“Oh Jake, your mom has been awesome. We couldn’t have done it without her. We should do something for her.”
“She just wants grandkids.”
“And what do you say about that?”
“That I can’t wait to start working on it.” He bites my earlobe, knowing it makes me lose my mind.
I push him back. “Mr. Wilder, I’m sorry, but we’re old-fashioned here. You’re not getting lucky until the honeymoon. Can you believe we’re finally going to Hawaii?”
“I can’t wait to be on a white sand beach with you. But for old times’ sake, we should take a trip to the cabin.” He bites me again. “To oversee the final details, obviously.”
“We’re not going near that cabin before our wedding day.” I stifle a yawn. “Besides, the place’s under disinfestation.”
“You’re falling asleep on me.” He gets up and offers me his hands to pull me up. “I’m taking you home.”
We walk back to the street. “Tomorrow I want to sleep all day,” I say.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.”
“Why?”
“Our friends have organized our bachelor and bachelorette parties tomorrow.”
“Oh, where are they taking you?”
“No idea.”
“Where are they taking me?”
“I know nothing.”
We stop outside my house. “Promise me you won’t wake up on a hotel roof in Vegas, not remembering anything that happened to you.”
Jake laughs. “That’s an easy promise to make. Honestly, it’s just going to be a fishing trip with beers and burgers afterward.”
“Aw, you think the girls will get me burgers too?” I lift my arms in front of my face, holding an invisible burger in my hands. “I want real, fat American burgers.”
“I’m positive they’ll have some burgers for you at some point.”
“This is good night then.” I’m leaning in to kiss him when the porch lights flash on.
“Did your dad just turn on the lights on purpose?”
“Old habits die hard, I guess.” I give Jake a quick peck on the lips and run inside the house.