Ugh, Jake

Poppy

“Mom? Why are you here?” I questioned as I opened the door for her to come inside. She smiled at me as she came in.

“Afternoon Jess!” she waved at her as she went to take a seat at my counter.

“Oh, my cable and internet are down. Just wanted to check with you two if you have service over here before I call the handyman.” She pulled her phone out, holding it up to check her bars.

“We have cell service but hold on…” I whipped my phone out, opening up the Internet options and found my mom’s line. It was labeled ‘lilspcymomma’. I giggled at the name; she must have recently changed it. I clicked it and tried to connect to it.

“Nope, our internet is down apparently.” I sighed. I wanted a day of rest after what I experienced last night. Guess I won’t.

“Well, I’ll call and set up for Mr. Locke to come out and see what’s up.” She scooted out of the chair, turning to me.

“You’ll like him, he’s very … how do you kids say these days? Hot?” She giggled as she walked by me. I looked at her, flabbergasted.

“Hey, your mom’s got a date herself tonight,” she winked and popped a hip out as she exited the guest house, chuckling.

“Your mom’s not wrong, in order to get over a dude ya gotta get under another,” Jess winked at me as I covered my face, embarrassed

I plopped down next to her as we pulled up a true crime documentary to watch on our phones as we waited for our food to arrive. My phone buzzed, causing me to pull it out as the narrator discussed red flags in men.

“I’m heading over, you refuse to answer me and WE need to talk.”- Jake

Ugh! I flopped my arms down as I sighed in frustration. Jess raised a brow at me.

“Jake is heading over. And you know he’s going to want to spend the night since it’s such a far drive!” I rolled my eyes as I air quoted those words.

“Don’t worry, I’m here,” Jess grinned, elbowing me. This was Jake’s mo. He’d ghost me, treat me like trash, say we needed to talk, then show up. He’d then proceed to make promises to be a better a man, and I of course fall for it.

A knock came at our door as a ‘ping’ from Jesse’s phone went off. It was our food delivery. We sat there continuing our show as we munched on our rice bowls.

“Stalkers usually do these kinds of behaviors to assert a type of s****l gratification. The rise of these behaviors has skyrocketed, resulting in around 3.4 million Americans over the age of 18 becoming a victim to this violent crime.”

I sighed, sucking on my fork as Jess shut the video down.

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking about your situation when I played that.” She apologetically looked over at me.

“Well, I complained about a drab life. Now I’m a statistic,” I giggled as Jess pushed into me. I collected our trash, heading to the kitchen sink to wash my hands. My phone ‘Pinged’ as Jess glanced at it.

“It’s your mom,” she said as she took in a breath. “Mr. Locke is going to be here in an hour to check out the situation and to please let him in. She needs to head to the bookstore before she heads off on her date.” Jess read a message for me.

I didn’t want to deal with this Mr. Locke guy. My mom’s been trying to set me up with someone since Jake left me, but I haven’t been interested at all. A part of me wanted to take Jake back. After all, he’s all I know. Another ‘Ping’ popped up as Jess glanced down. Her face turned pale.

“Um... Pops, you gotta look at this.” Jess stood up, grabbing my phone and bringing it to me. I rolled my eyes, stretching my hand out as she placed it in my palm. I flipped it over, opening it and was immediately met with a picture of a dead cop.

“Still wanna go to the police?”- Unknown

I dropped my phone on the counter, backing away from it as my body erupted in goosebumps. Jess ran over to me, grabbing me into a hug as my knees buckled.

“Maybe Jake staying will help... ya know, get this dude off your back?” Jess rubbed my shoulders as her voice shook. We sat on the floor together as I sobbed, and she shushed me.

“I can’t even get Jake involved! He threatened to kill him too!” I choked out as Jess sighed. She stood up, grabbing her keys.

“Come on, we’re going to get some cameras. It doesn’t matter what kind, just as long as we can capture video of this creep.” Jess extended her hand to me, helping me up. I looked down at my attire. I needed pants first.

After throwing on a pair of sweats and some shoes, I hobbled my way out to the car, my knee still causing me trouble. Our heads turned when we heard a car pull up. The brand-new Ford Mustang rolled up, inching its way to its dreaded stop. The door flew open as Jake stepped out.

My breath hitched in my throat as his perfectly cut honey brown hair shifted in the wind. He landed his light green eyes on me as he ran his hands through his hair. My eyes took in his body, perfect gym body. I bite my lip as I noticed he had his first button undone to his shirt.

“Hello... Poppy.” He popped the P to my name as he raised his brows at me.

“No Jake, get your ass back in your car and go home.” Jess stepped forward, squaring up with him. She looked hilarious compared to him; he was a solid six-foot five inches. He was the captain of the football team and is riding on a full scholarship to the University of Washington.

“No one asked for your opinion.” He kept his eyes locked on mine. He traced my body with his eyes as he sucked his teeth.

“Jake...” I sighed as I grabbed Jess’s shoulder. “We were just about to run an errand. I’m very busy and it’s...” I glanced at my phone. “2:00 pm already. I have our handy man coming over and I need to get some... stuff from the store.”

“Well, little red, why don’t I go with you to the store and Jess stay here?” He folded his arms as he kept his eyes on me. I knew what he was doing, and my god it was working. He knows I’m a sucker for being told what to do. I get weak in the knees and buckled, especially if it’s from a handsome man like him.

“No-” Jess was about to speak when I shushed her.

“He’s right Jess, I might as well get this over with.” I sighed, hobbling over to Jake.

“POPPY!” she yelled at me as she stomped her foot.

“I promise... I got this.” I smiled at her as I shrugged. I do, in fact, do not have this whatsoever. He sucks as a person, but he’s amazing in bed and he’s the only one I’ve been with. Since he’s dumped me, I felt deprived, and my body ached to be touched again. Flashes of how Darren was touching me caused me to wrap my arms around myself as my body shivered.

Jake got into the driver’s seat, not opening my door for me. ‘Such a gentleman’, I thought to myself as I climbed into his car. I was immediately hit by his cologne, which was overpowering. He placed his arm behind my seat, as he turned to look out the rear window as he backed up.