SEATTLE
Alyssa felt slightly funny as she sat on her bed in the hotel room. She had expected to be paired with Bree. However, it had turned out that there was on odd number of girls and an odd number of guys so the Mikes had to put a guy and a girl together. Much to his horror, they had chosen to put Jacob with Alyssa to see if it would teach him to get along with her. Alyssa wasn’t horrified, she just felt weird because she had never shared a room with a guy before. Jacob, on the other hand, was infuriated, even though it would only be for two nights.
So here she sat, on the bed closest to the door. Jacob was taking a shower; he had wanted the bed by the window so he could get some fresh air. Alyssa watched the bathroom door and sighed. Jacob had said only one positive thing on the whole situation: he was glad it was Alyssa and not Sukari he had to share a room with. Alyssa knew that those words had hurt Sukari’s feelings but secretly she was a bit happy about it. Besides, she thought Sukari should go for Erik, they would make a cute couple. However, it wasn’t her business so she didn’t care, as long as Sukari stayed away from Jacob, and now, Trevor as well.
The bathroom door opened and Jacob walked out with nothing but a towel around his waist. Alyssa quickly turned her head and looked at the wall.
“Sorry,” Jacob said flatly. “I’m not used to sharing a room with a girl.” Alyssa only nodded. She kept her head facing the wall while he dressed. “Okay, you can look now.” Alyssa turned to look at him and her eyes widened. He hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt. Although his chest was skinny, it was well toned and had a nice tan from the Florida sun. “What?” he asked, plopping down on his bed.
“Aren’t you going to put a shirt on?” Jacob shook his head.
“No, I never sleep with a shirt on.”
“But what about m…”
“Just because you’re in the room and you’re a female, doesn’t mean I’m going to put on a shirt,” he said, cutting her off. “It’s not like I have anything up top I need to cover up. That’s you honey; don’t forget, I’m not one of your giggling girlfriends. I’m Jacob Underwood, member of O-town and one hundred percent male.” He leaned over the side of the bed and picked up his guitar.
Alyssa took this as a sign that he didn’t want to talk anymore. She picked up her bag from the floor and dug out her laptop. She switched it on and started a game of freecell. She was well on her way to her third win, when the sound of Jacob’s voice made her jump.
“What are you doing over there? You’re so quiet.” Alyssa smiled weakly at him.
“I didn’t want to disturb you while you were writing so I’ve been playing freecell on my laptop.’
“You mean that solitaire card game where all the cards are lying face up in rows?” Alyssa nodded. “Are you good at it? Because, I suck. I almost never win. I get too frustrated.” Alyssa laughed and he smiled.
“Would you like me to help you?” He thought about it for a moment.
“Nah, the only thing keeping me from being a good player is my lack of patience for the game.” Alyssa laughed again and this time, he joined her.
“That bad huh?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Maybe I should just stick to regular solitaire.”
“That’s up to you. You know what card game really irritates me?” Jacob shook his head.
“No, what?”
“Pyramids.” Jacob nodded.
“I hear you there. I hate that game too. It always takes forever just to win round one. I rather quit while I’m ahead.”
“I agree. I do the same thing, get so fed up with not passing round one, I give up altogether. It really isn’t worth the struggle.”
“No, it isn’t,” he agreed. He turned his head and stared out the window. Alyssa took it as a sign that he didn’t want to talk anymore. She went back to her freecell game.
A moment later, she felt the mattress sink a bit as he sat down on her bed. She turned to look at him. He was smiling but he didn’t say anything. He looked at the computer screen and Alyssa understood that he had come over to watch her play. She returned her attention to the game, concentrating on trying to get her train of thought back. Jacob just sat there watching her, not saying a word as she played. When she won, he applauded lightly as if congratulating her on winning the game. She smiled at him and started a new one.
“Wow, you’re really good,” he finally said after she had won a few more games. “I wish I was that good at freecell.”
“Thanks, I’ve been playing it in my spare time for as long as I can remember. It takes practice you know. I’m guessing you don’t get that much time to practice?” He shook his head. “Well, let me help you.” She moved her laptop so that it was sitting in front of him. Then she scooted over to sit beside him. She started a new game. “Okay, it’s all you,” she said, pulling away from the screen. Jacob placed his hands on the little ball that controlled the mouse and with Alyssa coaching him, he started to play.
Moments went by and Jacob found that he was actually winning. He had to hand it to her, Alyssa did help make his playing a whole lot better. It wasn’t long before he had won the game. “I did it!” he cried. He threw his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.
“Yes you did,” she responded, quite surprised by his actions but returning the hug anyway. Then she did something she couldn’t explain. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her hands up into his dreads. Pulling his head to her, she pressed their lips together. She shivered as his arms moved down to wrap around her waist. The feel of his arms on her small mid-rift that was between her pajama bottoms and spaghetti strap shirt, made her moan slightly.
Although completely caught off guard by the sudden kiss, Jacob had surprised himself when he had returned it instead of pulling away quickly. He didn’t know why but for some reason, kissing Alyssa felt right. He didn’t want to admit it, but it scared him. It scared him because he knew he wasn’t over Janie yet. All the same, here he was, still kissing Alyssa, not wanting to break away. He moaned softly as her hands slid out of his dreads and down to his bare back where they caressed him. His hands came up until he held her face, cupped in them.
A sudden knock at the door snapped them both back into reality and they pulled away from each other. “Just a minute!” Jacob called, scrambling off Alyssa’s bed and heading for the door. The person knocked again and Jacob rolled his eyes. “I said just a minute!” he called, tripping over a shirt that had been left on the floor.
“Jacob, this can’t wait!” said a female’s voice from the other side of the door. Jacob stopped dead in his tracks. He recognized that voice, he knew it anywhere. It was Janie, but what on earth she was doing in Seattle, Jacob had no idea. There was another loud knock and Jacob finally got the strength to reach the door and open it.
“What are you doing here?” he asked quietly.
“We need to talk,” she said. “Are you alone?” Jacob shook his head.
“No, my roommate’s here.”
“Well, kick him out of the room so we can talk.” Jacob turned and glanced at Alyssa who looked how he felt. He returned his attention to Janie and stepped out of the room. He shut the door behind him.
“We can talk in the hallway. It’s not right for me to kick my roommate out just so you can get privacy in the room when we can just talk out here.” Janie rolled her eyes.
“Fine, but this is private and I really don’t want anyone to overhear us. No one is to know unless they have the full story.”
“Okay, I get it, now just tell me what you’re doing here,” he said impatiently. She folded her arms across her chest and looked down at the floor.
“Jacob, I’m pregnant.” Jacob lost his balance and stumbled backwards into the door, creating a loud thud.
“What?!” he cried. “What do you mean you’re pregnant?!”
“Shhhh,” she said, putting a finger to her lips. “Not so loud, walls have ears you know.”
“Fuck being quiet, you’re pregnant! Like hell I’m gonna be quiet!” He turned and faced the door. Neither one of them said anything for several minutes. “Is it mine?” he said calmly, after the long uncomfortable silence.
“Yes,” she said quietly. He turned around to face her. “That’s why I came here to tell you.” Jacob sighed and scratched the back of his head. “What are we going to do? I don’t want to get an abortion.” Jacob shook his head.
“I don’t know Janie, this really isn’t a good time for me to be having a kid.”
“I could always put it up for adoption,” she said. Jacob shook his head so violently she thought it might pop off. “Why not? You really shouldn’t be having a kid now and neither one of us want an abortion.”
“Because I don’t like the idea of some strange family raising my kid.” He thought for a moment. “Have the baby. Take care of him or her yourself. Make sure they know who I am and as much about me as they can. I’ll try to visit as much as I can. That’s the only thing we can do.” Janie nodded and hugged him lightly. She turned to leave. “Call me and keep me posted. Let me know the sex, I want to name it. Most importantly, call me when it’s born.” Janie nodded again and hurried off down the hall. Jacob sighed, turned, and re-entered the room.
Alyssa saw the look on his face and decided it was best to just leave him alone. She took over playing freecell again. Jacob just went over to his bed and plopped down on it so that his face was in the pillow. Alyssa figured he must’ve fallen asleep like that because he didn’t budge the rest of the night.
THE NEXT NIGHT
Mike C. was in the dressing room when the guys entered after the show. When he saw Jacob he shook his head. Jacob knew he had been a big off that night because he couldn’t get his mind off of what Janie had told him the night before. He didn’t care though. There were more important things than perfection. Also, his back was hurting him just a bit so he thought he’d try to take it easy.
Mike M. looked up from his laptop, as he too was in the dressing room. He snapped it shut and raised his eyes to Jacob. “You have something you want to share with the whole class Jacob?” Jacob shook his head.
“It’s nothing Mike, my back was just hurting, that’s all.” Mike M. looked unconvinced but he didn’t question Jacob any further. Jacob was relieved when he didn’t.
Back at the hotel, Jacob found himself alone in the hotel room. Alyssa had gone with Bree to check out the hotel’s spa. He didn’t mind though, he was sure he really wanted Alyssa’s company right now anyway. So he sat cross legged on his bed tuning his guitar as usual. Writing always kept his mind off thing. He jumped when there was a sudden knock at the door.
He got up and went to answer the door. Erik was standing there with a concerned expression on his face. Jacob didn’t say anything; he just stepped aside to let Erik into the room. He sighed closing the door behind him. Although people had labeled Dan as the big brother, Jacob had always thought of Erik as his. Jacob went back to his bed and sat down. Erik took a seat beside him.
“Hey Jake.”
“Hey,” Jacob replied, picking his guitar up again. Erik reached over and gently took the guitar from him. He set it down on the floor by the bed. Jacob did not protest, he had known this was coming.
“Look man, we need to talk.” Jacob looked down at the comforter, his legs crossed and his palms pressed together. “Jake, what is up with you? I’ve never seen you so out of it before. Why were you off tonight? And don’t tell me it was your back because I know it’s more than that.” Jacob sighed and looked back up at Erik.
“It’s Janie,” he said.
“What about her?” Erik asked gently.
“She showed up last night.” Erik’s eyes widened.
“She did?” Jacob nodded. “What did she want?”
“I don’t know if I can tell you that Erik.” Erik looked confused.
“Jake man, you know you can trust me. You can tell me anything.” Jacob smiled.
“I know that Erik, it’s not like that.”
“Than what is it?” Jacob sighed again.
“It’s just that, well, I don’t know how to tell you. It’s not exactly easy. This is something that is going to change my life forever.” Erik’s eyes widened again.
“She’s not getting married is she?” Jacob laughed.
“Oh no, are you kidding? If Janie was getting married this soon after our breakup, I’d be in the hospital right now.” He sighed a third time. “If I tell you, you have to promise not to say anything to anyone, especially the Mikes. This is something I don’t think is a good thing to be telling them. I’ll tell them when the time comes. As for the other guys, I’ll tell them myself, I just don’t know when.” He looked Erik directly in the eyes. “Do you promise?” Erik nodded. “Say it.”
“I promise I won’t say anything to anyone. You have my word Jake.” Jacob knew that he was telling the truth and so he turned his body so that it was facing Erik.
“Janie’s pregnant Erik.” Erik’s mouth dropped open.
“She’s pregnant?” Erik asked. Jacob nodded.
“The baby’s mine Erik,” Jacob continued. Erik’s mouth opened even more. “You can see the situation this puts me in.” Erik nodded.
“Geez Jake, that’s tough. I’ll help you out if you need it when it comes to telling the rest of the guys.”
“Thanks man,” Jacob replied, giving Erik a hug. Erik hugged him back.
“No problem, what are friends for?” Jacob smiled ads he pulled away. Erik smiled back. “Do you want me to leave?” Jacob shook his head.
“No, you can stay a while. I don’t feel much like being alone anymore.” Erik smiled.
Neither of them said anything the rest of the night. Erik sat there listening to Jacob play and giving a bit of his opinion every now and then but that was it. Jacob rather enjoyed their time together. Erik was the only one who seemed to understand that you could have fun without saying much of anything. That’s how it was a lot with Erik and himself. They seemed to spend a lot of time together without talking. It was always time that would stick in Jacob’s mind forever. He enjoyed these quiet times he and Erik spent together. Although it often left him with his thoughts, it gave him a sense of peace and comfort to know that Erik was there. That was why he looked at Erik as an older brother. Jacob smiled to himself as he continued playing, Erik softly bobbing his head to the music as he played.
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