CHAPTER 7 - HEROES REALLY DO EXIST

I sat there for a moment trying to process his words. Asher tried to rape me, I kept repeating it over and over to myself. He must have noticed the shock on my face because he hesitated for a moment before he continued.

"When I got to you, he had you laying on the tailgate with your shirt practically off and your pants undone. I could hear him shouting at you to just relax. As soon as I got to you, pulled him off of you and beat the hell out of him," he explained.

My thoughts zoned in on the words, "Just Relax." They jogged my hazy memories, and I shivered recalling them. Jake saw the fear and confusion in me and his concern continued to grow. I tried to hold them back, but the tears fell. He reached down, pulling me to his chest, as my tears turned into sobs.

"It's okay baby, you're safe now, I stopped him," he tried to reassure me. I wrapped my arms tighter around him, holding on as if my life depended on it. I had soaked his bare chest in my tears by the time I pulled away.

"How did you know where I was?"

"That's not important Sky, what's important is your safe now," he tried to sidestep the question. I couldn't help but push further. How did he just show up out of nowhere?

"Jake, please tell me?" I begged him. I watched as he dropped his head, diverting his eyes before he answered.

"I had someone looking out for you. They texted me telling me they saw you getting sick and some guy putting you in his truck. I asked them to follow you and they did and let me know where he parked," he admitted.

Okay, so he was having me followed. That wasn't creepy at all. I should have been angry about it, but I was grateful because he saved my life. I reached up and grabbed him under his chin, pulling his face to meet mine. He looked relieved that I wasn't blasting him for assigning a personal stalker to me.

"Thank you," I whispered as I leaned in and gave him a kiss of gratitude. It was soft and slow and sweet. When I pulled away, he was staring at my lips wanting more. Suddenly, I was very aware that I was only wearing a t-shirt and panties, nothing else.

"Jake, why am I only wearing just a t-shirt?" I asked, shooting him a questioning look. He willingly filled in the rest of the story for me.

"When I got you back in the truck, I fixed your clothes but on the way home, you got sick again. Unfortunately, your clothes took the brunt of it, along with my truck. I carried you inside and got you out of them by slipping my t-shirt on over your bra. Then I took it off, so I was a perfect gentleman. Besides Sky, I've seen you in your bra and panties before, remember that night by the fire?"

He was right. He had seen me like that before and now he had again. Both times were under horrible circumstances. I must have seemed like an absolute wreck to him. I nodded my head, understanding that he handled it as tactfully as he could.

Laying back down on the bed, I let my thoughts trail off. Jake went around to the other side of the bed and climbed in. He snuggled up next to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. We just laid there silently for what seemed like an eternity. He knew I just needed a moment to compose myself and make sense of everything that had happened.

A million thoughts ran through my mind, but the feel of his warm skin next to mine was keeping me calm. I couldn't believe that jerk tried to rape me. Why did I have to be such a mess? Why didn't I see it coming? Why was I so stupid?

I replayed the parts of the night that I could recall, repeatedly. It wasn't much, I could only really remember when I first got to the party and meeting Asher. A feeling of disgust came over me when I put the puzzle pieces together.

"Jake, I think he put something in my coke. He brought me one and a few minutes later everything started spinning. That's when he carried me to the truck," I blurted out.

"Wait, so you weren't drinking at all last night?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head side to side as the realization sank in. That fueled his anger even further.

"That sick piece of shit, I should go find him right now and kick his ass again. He drugged you." We both sat in silence for a moment, trying to wrap our heads around that reality.

I broke the silence, quietly confessing, "Everything in my life always feels so out of control. Sometimes I want to do something wild and crazy, something only I am in control of." Jake thought on that for a moment, leaning on his elbow so he could look at me.

"If you could do anything you wanted to, right now no matter how insane, what would you do?" I pondered his question for a moment and remembered something that I had been thinking about for a while.

"I think I would get a tattoo."

A mischievous grin appeared on his face, "A tattoo ha?"

"Yep," I replied.

He continued to probe, "What would you get?"

I thought about that for a minute and found the perfect answer, "Birds flying."

A curious look appeared on his face as he smiled down at me, "Why birds?"

"Because they symbolize freedom. They would be a reminder that I can fly as high as I want to, no matter where I come from."

His smile widened at my response.

"Do you feel like getting up and getting out for some fresh air?"

With that question, I realized that a hot shower was just what I needed, something to wash the funk of Asher off of me. I got up and headed for the bathroom and then stopped in my tracks.

Turning to Jake I asked, "Where exactly are we?" He chuckled realizing how long it took me to ask that question and explained that we were at his parent's house. They were in Italy for business and wouldn't be back for a week.

He directed me to the bathroom and I could not help but gawk over the sheer luxury and vastness that was his home. I didn't know people lived like that. It was practically a mansion. I knew that he lived in a nice home, but that was more than I could have ever imagined.

Getting ready in his bathroom made me feel like a princess. The bathroom was nearly the size of my entire house. There was a stand-up shower, a huge bathtub, a double sink made of rich, dark wood and even a chandelier. I could not believe this boy had a chandelier in his freaking bathroom.

As I stepped into the stand-up shower and turned on the water I noticed there were several showerheads and they were all huge. They cascaded onto me all at once, making me feel like I was in a rainforest. I turned the hot water on as hot as I could stand it. I needed the feel of Asher's hot breath, his disgusting scent and the residue of vomit off of me.

After my shower, I felt so much better. It felt like I had purged the horror of the night before off of me. Once again Jake had left me some of his clothes on the bathroom counter. They were baggy but oh so comfortable. I did my hair and found some random makeup in my purse. As I came out of the bathroom Jake greeted me.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" I looked at him with a big question mark on my face.

"You'll see," he replied.

Before I knew it, we were off. Riding in the truck, Jake patted the seat for me to slide closer to him. I moved over to the middle, and he grabbed my hand. He gently rubbed it with his thumb and I felt so safe there with him. After we drove for about an hour, we pulled up in front of an old run-down shop and I could not help but see the writing all over the windows. It was obviously a tattoo shop.

"Jake, are you serious right now?" I asked nervously.

"Yes mam, today you are in control." I looked at him in shock. We were actually doing this. We headed in, and I selected my design from the drawings that covered the walls. I took my seat and asked Jake to sit next to me and hold my hand.

"So where exactly do we want this tattoo?" the artist inquired.

I thought for a second and replied, "On my side." It had to be in a place no-one would see it, mom would have lost it if she ever found out I had one.

He put me in position, and I braced myself. The outline hurt so bad that tears streamed down my face. He hit one area, and I literally screamed out in pain. Jake held my hand tighter, "Hey, look at me, baby."

I looked at him and tried to focus on his face and his face alone. He was so great and coached me through the entire process. After the outline, it was downhill from there. Before I knew it, we were all done. I stood up and looked in the mirror. It was amazing, and it is all my own. It was my idea, my choice, my everything.

"What will it be for you sir?" I heard the artist ask Jake. Shock spread across my face as I heard him, I didn't know Jake was getting a tattoo. Instantly, I wondered if he had planned that all along or if he had decided to last minute. I turned around, eager to hear his reply. It shocked me when I heard it.

"Same," he said very matter-of-factly. He flashed me a gorgeous smile and a wink as I looked at him trying to figure out what the heck was going on. I wondered why he chose the same one as me. We had discussed the meaning of it, so maybe he had thought about it on the way.

When he finished, he walked straight up to me, looked me in the eyes and said, "Now we can both be free." Not sure what he meant by that, I couldn't control the smile that formed on my face. He leaned down holding my face his hands and gave me a slow, sexy kiss that made the butterflies in my stomach do a drunken dance.

As we drove back home, I could not keep the smile off of my face. The night before was one of the worst nights of my life, but he had somehow brought a smile to my face less than twenty-four hours later.

"Sky, what do you want to do after high school?" he asked.

"I am applying to Georgia Southern, I want to be a Psychologist." I think it shocked him as he had a puzzled look. He seemed to have another question but appeared too embarrassed to ask. After a few moments, he finally worked up the nerve.

"Will you be able to with your situation at home?"

I knew what he really meant was, "How can you go to college when you are dirt poor?" Pushing that thought aside, I answered his question.

"Yes, my grades are great so I will get in-state tuition. State and federal grants will cover anything else."

"So you have a plan to get out of here?"

"Yes I do, I will get out of here, it's not even a question. There is no way I will allow myself to stay in this town, I will make something of myself," I said with an absoluteness in my voice.

We stopped for a quick bite and then headed back to his house. After we plopped down in front of the TV he tried to find a good movie on Netflix. He passed "The Kissing Booth" and I shot him my best puppy dog look. He had no interest in watching a "girl" movie.

"Please Jake," I pleaded.

"Under one condition," he bargained.

"Anything," I said, instantly regretting it.

"You come over here and give me a kiss." That was his one condition? I would have done that for free, all day long. Moving toward him on the couch, I sat on my knees and leaned forward. Wrapping one hand around his shoulder and gently caressing his face with the other, I pressed my lips to his.

At first, it was soft, but then I gave him another one, full of passion. The next kiss landed on the curve of his jaw and then his neck. I could feel his body tense and his chest rise and fall as his breathing increased. When I was sure he was all hot and bothered, I whispered in his ear. "I held up my end of the deal, now turn it back."

I giggled as I pulled away, but he shot me a look that screamed, "That was just cruel." He changed it back, and I leaned against his chest. We sat for a few moments watching the adorable Lee and Elle. As Elle watched Noah walking away admiring how cute his ass was in football pants I heard Jake mumble, "He has got nothing on me."

I chuckled and turned around, "Oh really, you think so?"

"Oh I know so," he shot back.

"I think you will need to show me so I can make an educated decision," I teased. He got up and gave me his best walk, making sure I had a clear view of his sexy little butt.

"I don't know what to tell you Jake but I think Noah has you beat, probably a better kisser too." I couldn't help but laugh as the words left my lips.

He shot me a playful look, "Oh really? We'll just have to see about that." Walking over to me, he picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Come here girl," he whispered as he pulled me to him. He planted one soft kiss on my lips, making my heart pound. I felt his face nuzzle into my neck. That wasn't fair, he was going for my weak spot.

He kissed my neck ever so gently at first. The kisses kept coming with the pressure increasing with each one. My entire body was tingling, I couldn't get enough of him. His smell, his touch, his kiss, everything about him was intoxicating. I leaned my head back, fully exposing my neck to him.

A smile spread across his face as I heard him let out a low moan. He had an eagerness that seemed uncontrollable. We made our way back to the sofa, and he gently laid me down. His body found its way to mine, and I wrapped my legs around him, allowing him to settle in. The heat between us was almost maddening.

He began unbuttoning my shirt, and I rushed to help him. Next, I felt him unbuttoning his pants, and I reached for mine. The kisses he was peppering my neck with never stopped during this entire time.

When he noticed me undoing my pants, he suddenly froze, looking into my eyes with a look of hesitation. He jumped up, buttoning his and began pacing, running his hands through his hair.

In shock and unsure of what had just happened, I tried to slow my breathing. I stood up and walked over to him, finding his back first. Planting soft kisses there I asked, "What's wrong Jake?"

He turned to face me."Sky, I have had sex with a lot of girls, but what we have is so different from what I have had with anyone else."

Confused I responded, "Well that's a good thing right?" He gave me a look, and I knew I was not understanding his intentions.

"You are a virgin, someone almost raped you last night, don't you understand?" He tried to explain. So I was just damaged goods? Is that what he was trying to say?

"No, Jake, I don't," I flatly replied. He was searching, I could see that he was trying to find the right words.

"Sky, when this happens between us, it cannot be just sex, it has to be perfect. I don't want to screw you, I want to make love to you." I took a moment to think about what he is saying. He was trying to make it sound so sweet, all tied up with a nice pretty bow, but I knew what was happening. He didn't want me like that. I mean really, what guy turns down sex, EVER? It was frustrating and humiliating and I didn't know what to say or how to feel. At that moment, I just wanted to run away, so I didn't have to look him in the eyes.

"Okay Jake, can you just take me home, please?" He looked at me with an expression of bewilderment.

"Sky, please don't do this, try to understand where I am coming from, I am trying to do the right thing here."

I held my hands up in protest, "I have dealt with rejection my entire life. This is nothing new. Now please take me home."

He reluctantly agreed and as we pulled up in my yard, the tension was still thick between us. He still had a look on his face as if someone had just sucker-punched him. I had nothing else to say and was trying to get out of the truck when he grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

"Sky, please don't leave it like this," he pleaded. I paused before I turned around to face him.

"You are one of the kindest people I have ever known and what you did for me last night was nothing short of heroic, but I am still your secret. Apparently, I am not even attractive enough for you to screw," I said with hurt hanging on every word. There were so many emotions I was trying to sort out, I was not sure if they were anger, hurt or frustration.

I finished my speech and jumped out of the truck. As the door shut behind me, I could hear him shouting, "Sky, don't ..."

******

A/N

So what do you guys think so far? I am really enjoying writing this story. The characters are practically consuming my brain. I really appreciate you continuing to follow their journey.