Book 2: Chapter 27

***Chapter 27***

Jay didn't specify what we were going to be doing tonight. Though he did tell me I didn't have to dress up. It was a pleasant surprise as Cyrus always had me dress up for dates. Jay wasn't like Cyrus though. He was more laid back and less worried about appearances. Jay wanted to just have fun and I was completely here for it.

We drove for some minutes before we pulled up to a small building. There were quite a few cars out and it didn't shock me once I found out what we were doing. Jay had the bright idea to take me axe throwing as a first stop. I've personally never been and was excited to get to do this with one of my favorite people. I can tell he put some thought into the things were going to get into tonight. The only thing I couldn't figure out was why?

Laughing, we got out of the car and walked toward the building. "No wonder you told me not to get dressed up," I say as we got inside.

"And I'm surprised you followed directions." He looked at me up and down. "I can't remember ever seeing you wear jeans."

"Because I was in a stupid competition that required me to be dressed up at all times." Then I looked at him nervously. "Does it look bad?"

Jay shook his head reassuring me. "I think you look great in everything you wear, gorgeous. Now prepared to get your ass beat!"

I laughed making our way over to where we would be participating in this game of axe throwing. The only reason he would beat me was that I'd never done this before. He had an unfair advantage, but that didn't stop me from trying. I couldn't hand him the win that would be preposterous! Of course, he had to teach me how to exactly throw the axe in the first place. The thing was kind of heavy though Jay made it look super easy.

"You don't want to throw like you're throwing a ball. It's more like a flick of the wrist." He tried explaining. It all sounded like gibberish to me.

I pout not understanding what he meant. "Okay, I'm still confused. If I flick my wrist, it won't go very far."

He facepalmed himself now getting behind me to help demonstrate. "Put your hand here, now cock it back, and once you get to the point of wanting to let it go flick your wrist."

I tried what he said and managed to throw it, but it sadly did not stick how it was supposed to. When he did it, he managed to get a freaking bullseye. It was safe to assume this game wasn't going to go how I wanted it to. I wouldn't be mad about it either as it was fun. Who knew doing something so simple would make you never want to leave?

Jay won by a landslide with no surprise to myself. The next thing we were off to do was get something to eat. Only this time we would be making our dinner ourselves. Jay found this pizza place where the guests are allowed to make their personalized pizza pies. I thought that was cool but super messy. The ingredients were fresh, and they had everything known to man. It was a pizza heaven!

For mine, I decided to put pepperoni and spinach because I thought that would be a healthy balance. Plus, spinach and pepperoni is a top-tier combo. Jay went in a completely different direction, essentially making a white pizza. He used white sauce, mozzarella, garlic, and some spinach as well. His pizza was healthier than mine and looked oh so good.

We were instructed to let them cook for the allotted time. While we waited, we divulged in some wine making conversation with one another. So far, this was the most fun relaxed date I've ever been on. Jay knew exactly what I liked and never strayed away from that. It was special.

"How long has this place been here? And why did it take you so long to bring me!" I asked him, enjoying every minute. I got to make my own pizza!

He shrugged sipping his wine. "Honestly, I have no clue," he said earnestly. "I was surprised it existed this is my first time here. Well, first sitting down."

I raised a brow. "So, you've come here before without me?" I was only teasing.

"Not to eat just to get a feel for what they offer. I'm sorry it's not a fancy restaurant like Cyrus would probably take you to. I wanted to be different."

Smiling, I grab his hand gently squeezing it. "Jay, it's amazing! We can go somewhere fancy any time. This was the last thing I thought we'd be doing. It's lovely."

That made him smile, feeling comfortable again. He kissed my knuckles sending a slight chill down my spine. He's done that before to show his affection, but it never gets old. Any little intimate thing he does makes me feel giddy inside. Like I just won the lottery or something. It did help that technically this night was our first official date. We went on one before this, but with friends to accompany us. This time around it was only us two making the atmosphere perfect!

"What exactly did you do with Cyrus anyway?" He was curious.

I chuckled to myself happy to know I'm not the only one who gets jealous. "Do you really want to know?"

He shrugged. "Probably not, but I can't help but ask."

"Well, we didn't do much apart from him showing me their fountain and then spending the rest of the night in his room." I explain nonchalantly.

His eyes widened. "I don't think I want to know the rest."

I laughed shaking my head in the process. "Nothing happened you idiot! We only laid in bed and talked."

It wasn't something I expected him to be concerned about. He did say it was fine for me to go with him. At the same time, he threw in that he was going to hang with Kameron right before I left. I'm assuming to make me jealous as it did work out in his favor. Still, if he weren't okay with it, I needed him to be honest and tell me.

Before we could speak about it, we had to take our pizzas out of the oven. We let them cool off before eating it. They both turned out so good and smelled delicious! My favorite part was that he let me try some of his feeding it to me to be romantic, however it just got messy. Sauce dripped on my pants, the cheese was so cheesy that it didn't seem like it'll ever break. The attempt was great but failed.

Nonetheless, we finished our food and wine. Jay paid for everything even though I offered to go half. He wouldn't let me of course then we found ourselves back in his car. We drove to one last place, that being the broad walk of Sunbury. It was lively as ever with lights and food trucks everywhere. People were casually walking along with the river right next to us. The moonlight was gorgeous, and the cool air also helped.

We walked a little further down before stopping to look over the ledge. The water was still looking beautiful as the moon reflected off it. This wasn't the time to get sentimental, but it was perfect for what I wanted to bring up to him. Honesty was the best policy and we weren't going to start our relationship with deceiving one another.

Taking in the scenery, I pursed my lips getting ready to talk about serious stuff with him. "Jason, be honest okay. Are you really fine with me seeing Cyrus?"

It took a minute for him to answer, but eventually he did not looking at me. "Honest answer is I don't know. On one hand I can't be mad, on the other my mind goes into overdrive thinking about it."

"You don't have to agree to this just because of the circumstances you know." I told him.

"What am I supposed to do? You can't help who you have feelings for Autumn. I'm not going to keep you from exploring those options just because I feel some type of way." He looked at me this time.

I frowned, not liking that answer. "If you feel some type of way you shouldn't agree to things like that," I say. "It's not fair to you."

"The whole situation isn't fair to Cyrus either yet here we are."

He was right of course making me shut my mouth. I couldn't change his mind about it but at least I knew how he felt on the matter. It didn't make this any easier. What am I supposed to do now? Tell Cyrus that I can't see him anymore? He'll start questioning why and I'm not sure I'll be able to keep lying about seeing Jay. Everything continues to be so confusing and never ending.

Staying silent, Jay came up behind me wrapping his arms over my body. It felt nice to feel the warmth radiated from him. The smile on my face sincere in every possible way. Dropping the last subject, he decided he would ask me more questions of his own. Leaving me stunned in the process of it all.

"Autumn, did you really have a good time?" He leaned down toward my ear.

I nod my head resting into his chest. "It's a night I won't forget," I say.

His hands traveled down to my waist turning me so that I was facing him. His eyes looked bright and filled with glee as he was getting ready to ask me something else very important. Something that would change the course of our relationship. There was no denying our feelings for each other anymore. He's waited a year; I've waited a year. It was only right that this happened. The only problem is, it has to stay a secret for now.

Smiling, I can tell how nervous he was but continued anyway. "This may seem random, but I don't think I can contain my feelings any further than I had," he said.

I looked at him confused. "What do you mean, Jay?"

"That I love you and never felt this way about anyone before." He sighed, the nerves completely taking over. "It'll have to be kept private for now, but Autumn Monet will you be my girlfriend?"

My heart skipped a beat hearing him say that. Was Jay asking me out? Was he officially asking me to be his girlfriend? We were going to be dating in secret but dating, nonetheless. This night kept getting better and better by the minute. He planned everything so perfectly that words couldn't describe the feeling that overwhelmed me.

"You-you mean it?" I stuttered a bit still in shock.

"No, I was joking. Of course, I mean it you dope!" He teased. "What do you say? Your silence is diminishing the little hope I had that you'd say yes."

I laughed, raising my hands up to his cheeks. "I would love to be your girlfriend, Jason."

Before I knew it, Jay lifted me up with the brightest smile on his face. Giggling, he looked up at me still holding me close. This was a big moment for us, and nothing would ever be able to top it.

"You just made me the happiest man alive." He cooed.

I ran my fingers through his hair rolling my eyes at his silliness. "Shut up and kiss me fool. I've been waiting all night."

That made him chuckle kissing me ever so passionately. This was our first kiss as an official couple, it felt exactly right. The hard part is going to be staying away from each other around everyone else, but knowing what I have in private makes that irrelevant. Jay was mine and mine alone