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hangmans-darling · 2 years ago

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Live Forever [Part 7: FINAL] Jake Seresin

summary: Jake Seresin and Magnolia James have always been tied together, soon enough their ties become entangled over the years. This is their love story.

word count: 5.8k

warnings: a confession,

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Feedback is always welcome! Enjoy!🥰

The following week is busy because Johnny and Nola hosted two dinners at their house. The first one was on Monday night for their friends to celebrate Johnny’s promotion and Nola was excited for Layla to come by so she can try and talk to her about what happened with Jake. When it was an hour after the dinner party started, she called Layla asking where she was.

“I’m back home with Bodhi for his parent’s anniversary, remember?”

“But what about the party?”

“What party?”

“The party for Johnny’s promotion…didn’t he send you an invite?” Nola asks.

“No…he didn’t. You know I would be there if you��d asked, Nola, but me and Bodhi had no idea. Are you mad I’m not there? Because I really didn’t have–”

“No, no I’m not mad at all. I was just hoping to talk to you that’s all, but you have fun with Bodhi’s parents. Tell them I say hello and happy anniversary.”

“I will. We’ll meet up and talk when I’m back, okay? Love you!”

Nola went in a downward spiral after that. When she returned to the party in their backyard she looked around at all of their guests and it was all of Johnny’s friends from the Navy with their wives or girlfriends. None of her friends were here and that realization suddenly made her feel so alone.

She went to the bartender that Johnny hired for the evening and asked for a double amaretto sour. Nola sipped it down quickly and asked for another and another. The more she drank the more her mind became more muddled. Jake and Johnny were sweeping in and out of her head and then she stumbled into Johnny, her new drink sloshing over her arm.

“Ah, here’s my lady. How’re you–”

“Why didn’t you call Layla and Bodhi to come? Aren’t they your friends, too?” Nola stares up at him with blurry eyes and an indignant expression.

“What? How much have you had to drink, Lia?” he laughs nervously.

“A lot, but I needed it. It’s helping me think,” she sways a little and Johnny holds onto her shoulders. “I answered your question, you answer mine.”

“Lia, let's get you some coffee. Excuse us,” Johnny steers her towards the house.

“Maggie! There you are! I was wondering where you disappeared to–”

“My name is Nola, not Maggie,” Nola grumbles at Delilah who looks offended.

“Okay, let’s go inside,” Johnny rushes her in through the door.

Once inside, he drags her into the kitchen and shuts the swinging door.

“What the hell are you doing?” he hisses.

“Drinking,” she shrugs and goes to take another drink.

“No, you’re done drinking,” he takes her glass and sets it on the counter. More of the liquid sloshes onto the countertop. “I don’t want you to come back out until you’ve had some water or drank a whole pot of coffee. I can’t believe you’d embarrass me like that, especially this week.”

He leaves her in the kitchen and Nola can hear him making an excuse that she wasn’t feeling all that well and had to go to bed.

“I don’t want to party here anyway,” she mumbles and sucks down more of her drink. She pulls her phone out and presses the call button. It rings and rings and rings and then the other end finally picks up. “Hi. I want to have fun and Johnny won’t let me. Can you come get me?”

“Nola? Are you okay?” Jake asks and she hears noises in the background.

“See, you’re having fun and Johnny’s not. Come get me. I want to play pool and see Phoenix and Coyote.”

“We were actually going to head out soon, we have early training tomorrow.”

Nola groans. “Fine. I’ll just go to bed.”

“Don’t you have to work tomorrow?”

“Oh yeah,” Nola closes her eyes. “I should sleep. Don’t want to be hungover at work.”

“Nola…are you okay?” Jake asks and she hears how silent it is on his end now. He must have left the bar.

“I don’t know,” she sniffs and stares at her engagement ring. The kiss with Jake pops in her head again and she covers her eyes but the tears still fall. She tries to keep her sobs in but she ends up gasping for breath.

“Hey, hey, it’s all right. Take deep breaths, baby.”

That makes Nola cry harder at the pet name.

“I wish you were here,” she whispers into the phone.

“That’ll make for a fun party,” he snickers. “Do you want me to come? I bet we can smoke dear ole’ Johnny’s friends in beer pong.”

“We don’t have beer pong set up,” she giggles and peels off her heels. She leaves them slumped on the floor and she heads upstairs to her and Johnny’s bedroom. She flops on their bed and sighs in contentment. “My head is spinning.”

“You need a full bottle of water and two Tylenol, Nola,” Jake tells her.

“I don’t want to get up. My bed is comfy. You do it.”

“I would if I could sugar, but I don’t think Johnny would appreciate seeing me in your bedroom. I’m right here with you, so you can get it.”

“‘Kay,” she sighs then rolls over onto her back. Her head is still spinning but she makes it into the bathroom for the Tylenol. She pops the top and fills a cup of water then downs the pills. “I took them.”

“Good. Do you have water?”

“It’s all the way downstairs,” she pouts staring at her outfit in the mirror. “I still have my dress on.”

“Go downstairs, get your water and then you can take your dress off,” he tells her then swears.

“Why the swear?”

“Picturing you in a dress,” he sighs.

“You don’t even know what I’m wearing,” she laughs and stomps heavily down the stairs back to the kitchen.

“I have a great imagination. I’m guessing you have on a pretty little black dress.”

“Mm, you’re not wrong,” she sighs and opens the fridge. There’s tons of water bottles in there and she snatches one, the others fall down like bowling pins. “I have my water.”

“Good girl. Now go get into your comfy clothes.”

Nola turns her phone on speaker while she gets ready for bed. They don’t say anything but it’s comforting knowing he’s there. It’s tormenting Jake in the best yet worse possible way hearing the zipper of her dress and the soft sounds it makes as it falls to the floor.

“Will you be able to sleep with the party going on?” Jake asks while she dries her face off.

“Yeah, they’re all outside. We’re having another one of these on Thursday but that’s with his commanders and captains. Then it’s the big one Friday night.”

“You’ll be fine, Nola. You’ll win them over no problem.”

“I don’t think so,” she shakes her head and smacks off the bathroom light. She crawls into bed flicking off the bedside table lamp. Tears stain her pillow. “I really messed up tonight, Jake.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“Tonight was a party for our friends, and when Layla didn’t show up after an hour I called her and she was never invited. All the people here are Johnny’s friends so I started drinking because then I thought of you and the kiss and Johnny and I guess…I guess I embarrassed him by drinking too much.”

“Don’t believe that for a second. I’ve seen you drunk plenty of times and you’re adorable and funny.”

“Not this time,” she sniffs, “I yelled at him for not inviting Layla and Bodhi. Then Delilah called me Maggie and I snapped at her. He told me I embarrassed him.”

“I can come over and kick his ass, you’re never an embarrassment.”

“I don’t think I can do this,” she whispers.

“Do what?”

“Everything he wants me to do. I won’t make a good Lieutenant Commander’s wife.”

“Shh,Nola, stop that right now. That’s the alcohol talking and it’s all a lie. Sleep it off and I’m sure everything will be fine by tomorrow.”

“Can you stay on until I fall asleep?”

“Of course, darlin’.”

“Tell me about your training.”

Jake goes into detail about what they’ve all done so far, and that their teacher, Maverick, did something inverted. Nola was lulled to sleep by his soft voice.

***

Tension was high between Johnny and Nola. She apologized Tuesday evening for drinking too much, she honestly didn’t mean to and Johnny forgave her. She knew he was stressed about the next dinner party with his superiors and then the promotion party on Friday.

“What can I do to help?” she asks covering his hand on the dinner table Wednesday night.

“All I need is you. Honestly after you went to bed Monday, I was miserable. You weren’t an embarrassment at all, I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I’m sorry, Lia.” He lifts her hand and kisses the back of it. “I’m excited and nervous for Friday but knowing you’re going to be there beside me…helps more than you know.”

“I promise I won’t drink that much tomorrow night.”

“I was hoping we could do a shot before they all got here,” Johnny laughs.

“We can do that,” she smiles and they continue with their dinner.

Nola wants to tell Johnny about the kiss with Jake but she’s not sure how he’d react exactly. And now is definitely not the time to tell him when this week is so important for him. She also couldn’t get the kiss out of her mind or what Jake said about Johnny.

It’s true, she does feel like a different person with him but she doesn’t feel like she can be herself. It’s as if she has this mask on, as if it would cloak the heartache left over from Jake that never really left. Being with Johnny did mask that, sure, Jake still crossed her mind from time to time but now that he’s back in her life the mask is starting to peel away.

And the pain is starting to heal because of Jake being back in her life. It’s all very confusing.

The conversation with Phoenix while they were on the beach arises. She was one hundred percent honest when she said she’d be with Jake in a heartbeat if he said he wanted to be with her.

What if he broke her heart again?

“Are you okay?” Johnny asks as she rubs at her temple.

“Just a small headache.”

The second dinner party went by without a catch. Nola stayed by Johnny’s side the whole night and he told her she charmed everyone in attendance. Jake texted her asking how the night went and she said everything was fine. He replied with a snarky ‘I told you so.’

Nola left work early on Friday so she could get ready for the promotion dinner. She had on a dark blue dress with sequins along the bodice but she just couldn’t get the zipper all the way up.

“Baby, are you almost ready?” Johnny knocks on their bedroom door.

“Just about. I can’t get the zipper up all the way…”

Johnny opens the door and finds her with her arms twisted behind her back. He smiles because she looks like a human pretzel.

“Let me,” he says brushing her hands to the side. He pulls the zipper up the rest of the way then places his hands on her waist. He ducks his head into her neck and shoulder, staring at their reflection in the mirror. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she smiles. “You clean up well, Lieutenant Commander Fischer.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that, I’m glad it was from you,” he kisses her neck. “Are you ready to go?”

“Mhm,” she nods.

Nola stares in amazement at the venue for the promotion dinner. There are hundreds of tables draped with the whitest linen and so many people. There’s a stage with chairs and the flags placed behind them.

She stays on Johnny’s arm as they pass from person to person to introduce themselves. Nola repeats how proud she is of Johnny.

“I’ll be right back, I have to do a final run through with Commander Clark,” Johnny kisses her cheek. “Will you be all right?”

“Oh, we’ve got her under our wing, John,” the Commander’s wife Beverly winks. “You go on ahead.”

“I’ll see you at the table,” Johnny nods to Nola then heads towards Commander Clark.

“Well, are you ready for your promotion as well, Lia?” Beverly asks.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to be not only a new wife but a Lieutenant Commander’s wife. That comes with a whole new list of responsibilities, you’ll be hosting dinners, fundraisers, helping out with the balls. Also while keeping house and taking care of the children once you have them. You need to keep home in tip top ship shape,” Beverly explains.

“Oh, I didn’t realize I’d have all of that to do,” Nola says. She starts to twist her ring in nerves. Hosting dinner parties and fundraisers?

“Oh yes, it’s not just him, dear. But don’t worry, you’ve got all of us to help and guide you,” Beverly smiles.

Nola turns her gaze to Johnny who is having a grand time speaking with Commander Clark. Did Johnny know she’d be doing all of this as well? Will their marriage even be a marriage or just a romanticized partnership? Will there be time for just them? Does she want this?

“Are you all right, dear? You’ve paled,” Beverly touches her shoulder gently and Nola flinches.

“I’m sorry. I need some water, excuse me.”

She rushes from the room and Johnny notices her quick exit. He excuses himself and follows her down the hall. He finds her pacing and taking deep breaths.

“Nola? What’s the matter, did someone say something–”

“Jake kissed me.”

He stares at her.

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” she covers her mouth, surprised that she blurted it out like that. Where did that even come from? “I–it happened over the weekend. At The Hard Deck. He kissed me and he’ll take full responsibility but I kissed him back. I didn’t want to at first but then I did and then I thought of you and I–I’m so sorry Johnny. Now I was told I’m going to be hosting dinner parties and fundraisers and helping out with other balls and things which doesn’t sound that bad but it just–it hit me and I’m freaking out a little–”

“You and Jake kissed?” Johnny asks softly.

Nola takes a deep breath after her long rant.

“Yes.”

“And…and you decide to tell me this on one of the biggest nights of my life?”

“I’ve been wanting to tell you all week but I didn’t want to ruin this week for you.”

“Yeah, good job,” he nods and he starts to pace. He rubs at his chin while his other hand is clenching and unclenching at his side. “Did you feel anything?”

“W-what?”

“When you kissed him, did you feel anything?”

“I…” she stares at him trying to gauge where his mind is at. She has no idea. “Yes, I did. I’m so sorry Johnny I didn’t–”

He holds up his hands stopping her from coming close to him.

“This is what we’re going to do. We’re going to go in there and pretend everything is fine. We’ll get through the ceremony and the rest of the evening and we’ll continue this later at home.”

“Johnny–”

“Lia, please,” he closes his eyes. “Please do this for me. I want to pretend I have no idea my fiance kissed an old lover. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” she nods slowly.

“All right then. Let’s go, it’s about to start.”

Nola somehow keeps her composure for the rest of the evening. She smiles and claps at the appropriate times and gives Johnny a kiss when he’s announced for his promotion. Seeing him up onstage really sets in what her future will look like.

She sees more dinners like this, she sees them flying across the country or the world depending on where he’s stationed. She sees a family but instead of a nice home with lots of land, there’s a nanny that helps because she has to attend every ball and promotion with Johnny.

She sees their whole future and when he sits back down next to her, squeezes her knee and then places his hand over her left, covering her ring, she’s not entirely sure that’s the future she wants.

***

“So, what do we do?” Johnny asks when they’re back home. They’re still in their dinner clothes, Nola’s feet and head hurt.

“I don’t know.”

“I know what I want to do. I want to go and find Jake and punch the daylights out of him for kissing you.”

“Johnny,” Nola shakes her head.

“But I won’t do that. I had a feeling when you first told me you ran into him that something could happen. But I trust you, Nola, and I knew you’d tell me. At least, I thought you would.”

“That’s the only time something happened, I promise. I’m not…I would never cheat on you and I know that I did now because I kissed him. I’m so confused,” she holds her head in anguish. “I need to think but there’s too many things going on.”

“Okay, then let’s think,” Johnny folds his arms over his chest. “I still want to marry you, Lia but I also know how deep a history you and Jake have.”

“Are you mad?” she asks quietly.

“I am, but I’m more terrified of losing you forever. I’m going to bed.”

“Johnny, wait–”

He walks upstairs ignoring her and their bedroom door shuts with a hard snap.

***

Nola is sitting at the bar of The Hard Deck waiting for him to arrive. She has an ice cold glass of water and her fingers are playing with the perspiration along the edge. She’s still in her evening dress because she didn’t want to go into her bedroom and be ignored by Johnny. He has every right to ignore her but she had to get out of that house.

“Where’d you come from dressed all fancy?” Javy asks behind her.

She spins around in the stool to look at him. His wide smile falters when he sees the look on her face.

“What’s going on?” he asks taking the seat next to her.

“Jake and I kissed–”

“I know.”

“And he told me he’d take the blame for it if I told Johnny but I kissed him back and then at the dinner tonight–wait. You know?”

“He told me the night it happened,” Javy nods.

“Oh. Um. What else did he say?”

Javy stares at her then sighs.

“He said it’d be worth it if Johnny kicks his ass for kissing you.”

“Oh.”

“So, you told Johnny…then what happened?”

“I told him at his dinner tonight. It just blurted out of me and then we pretended for the rest of the evening and when we got home he said he still wants to marry me but that I should take time to think.”

“I see,” Javy nods then leans towards her, “do you want to know what I think?”

“Please.”

“I don’t think you should marry Johnny either. Because Jake never stopped loving you, Nola. I know what happened in Germany was bad, but he was a complete mess after that. That’s when he started being selfish and only worrying about himself. That’s how he became Hangman. He would sleep around with women and became more of an asshole. I think he did it to try and get over you, but he never did.”

“Oh,” Nola stares at her glass again.

“He only worries for himself because he made a promise to you that he’d stay alive.”

“What do you think I should do?”

“That’s not up to me. I think you’ve known what you need to do, you just have to put it in motion. Can I give you a drive home? I’m sorry to cut this short but we’re going on the mission tomorrow and I don’t want to be too late.”

“No, I’ll be fine. You go get some sleep. Thanks for meeting with me, Javy.”

“Anytime,” he smiles and gives her a hug.

“Is Jake going to be flying on the mission?” she asks before he leaves.

“I don’t know. We’ll all find out tomorrow who’s doing it.”

Nola had a few more drinks but she doesn’t want to go home yet so she calls Layla to come pick her up. Layla agrees instantly and is at the bar in twenty minutes.

“What’s up?” Layla asks touching her shoulder.

“Everything is so messed up,” Nola whispers then throws herself into her best friend’s arms. Layla hugs her tightly as she cries.

“I know this won’t help, but you look beautiful in this dress,” Layla comments and it makes Nola choke out a laugh.

“Thanks,” she sniffs and wipes under her eyes.

“Your makeup is running, c’mere,” Layla grabs some napkins and dabs at Nola’s face. “Is it Johnny?”

“And Jake.”

“And Jake?”

“Jake and I kissed last weekend and I told Johnny tonight right before his big dinner. He still wants to marry me but says we both need time to think and I don’t want to go home. I talked with Javy and…I don’t know, Layla.”

“Come stay with me for the night,” Layla rubs at Nola’s arm. “Or the weekend. You can stay in the guest room and I have clothes you can borrow. We’ll figure it out.”

After taking a hot shower and putting on sweats and a t-shirt, Nola and Layla discussed everything about Johnny and Jake. Layla gave the exact same advice as Javy that she doesn’t think she should marry Johnny.

“I thought he was good for you at first,” Layla says, “You seemed so much better since Jake when you were with him. But ever since you got engaged…something changed. I always thought you and Jake would end up together.”

“He’s never said he wants to be with me, though.”

“From what you’ve told me, he does. He kissed you, Nola! He said he’d take the full blame if you told Johnny and decided to stay with him. You need to talk to Jake.”

“I need to talk to Johnny first. But I need to sleep and think some more, my head hurts.”

On Sunday morning Nola went into the kitchen where she smelled coffee brewing. Layla handed her a cup and leaned forward on the counter.

“What are you going to do?” Layla asks.

“I need to go to Johnny and return this,” Nola removes her ring from her finger and places it onto the countertop. Having it off of her finger lifted so much weight.

“Good luck,” Layla gives her a soft smile.

***

When Nola arrives home, she finds Johnny sitting at the counter where two plates sit full of breakfast food. Her favorite coffee mug is steaming but when Johnny’s eyes meet hers there’s a knowing in them. His eyes flicker to her barren finger and he stands up from the stool, he walks slowly around it so he’s standing in front of her.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi.”

“I take it you were with him while you were thinking?”

“No, I stayed at Layla’s. Johnny, I–”

“You don’t have to say it, Lia,” he holds up his hand but she steps closer to him.

“No, I need to say this. Please look at me,” she says and grabs his cheek as he turns away. She held it softly so he was still looking at her, his brown eyes looked so sad. “You are such a great man, Johnny. You’re ambitious, strong, and wonderful. You came into my life unexpectedly and I placed the responsibility of healing my broken heart when it wasn’t.”

“Lia–”

“I haven’t been fair to you, Johnny. I do love you but…not in the way you want me to. You deserve someone who wants to host Navy parties with you and mingle with your superiors. I’m just not her.”

“But you are! I’ve never felt this way about anyone else, Lia,” he cups her cheek, his eyes firm with his words.

“I can’t be with you when I’m in love with someone else,” she whispers. Her lower lip trembles and she starts to cry. “That’s not fair to you.”

He sighs deeply and rests his forehead against hers.

“What if I said I’d be okay with it?” he asks and Nola chuckles.

“We both know you’d be lying. Please, take this ring and save it for someone else who truly deserves it,” she removes his hand from her cheek and places the ring in his palm. She closes his fingers over it.

“Lia,” he says but she keeps her eyes focused on their fingers. “Can you look at me?”

She bites her lip shifting her eyes from their hands to his face. There are tears in his own eyes, one escapes and she catches it with her thumb that is still pressed to his cheek.

“You’ve shown me what it’s like to be loved by someone and I’ll never forget that. I hope I can love someone as well as you love him.”

“I’m so sorry, Johnny,” she cries, throwing her head into his chest. His arms wrap around her tightly and they hug for a long time. She breathes in the scent of his shirt, a part of her heart is breaking.

“It’s okay, Lia. I’ll be fine. You go and find Jake.”

“What about the house?”

“I’ll get movers to come by and take my things to a house closer to the ship. I got a Lieutenant Commander’s house with the promotion. You can stay as long as you’d like.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” he kisses the side of her head. “I actually need to get going, so you can freshen up before you go to Jake.”

“Thank you,” she tells him and pulls away so she can look at him one last time. He nods then disentangles her arms from him. She notices he’s in his uniform and then he’s out the door.

Nola lets a few more tears fall before she runs upstairs to take a shower. As she’s washing her hair and trying to find a nice outfit to wear, she has a giddy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She feels completely untethered and is excited to find Jake.

She’s met with a barricade when she arrives at Top Gun. She’s not allowed through without clearance and as much as she begged to get Jake Seresin they wouldn’t let her in.

“Is he even inside? Can’t you call him?”

“No ma’am, he and the other pilots left early this morning to carry out their duties,” one armed guard says.

“When will they be back?”

“We’re not sure.”

“Could you please give this to him for me when he returns?” Nola holds out an envelope. She wrote a letter while she was at Layla’s house just in case this would happen and she’s glad she did. “Please?”

“All right,” he takes the envelope. “You need to head home, now ma’am.”

***

The next forty-eight hours were torturous for Nola. She went through her school day in a blur and she had to deal with the movers taking Johnny’s things while he was also there delegating what was his. It was hard and awkward. It wasn’t until Wednesday that he texted her he was all moved out.

Jake never left her mind. She worried if he was hurt or if he was coming back at all. What if the guard didn’t give him her letter? What if he got the letter and ripped it up because she was too late?

***

Jake was still running on adrenaline from his second kill in the sky and knowing that Maverick and Rooster were alive and well when they landed back at Top Gun. He felt like he could take on anything right now, hell, he could climb Mount Everest.

“Lieutenant Seresin,” one of the guards from the front gate struts his way over to Jake. “A woman left this for you on Sunday.”

Jake looks down at the envelope recognizing Nola’s hand. He snatches the envelope so fast he feels the paper slice his skin but he doesn’t care. He rips it open and turns away from his friends.

Jake,

I’m sorry it took me so long but I’m giving Johnny his ring back. It was never really mine anyway because I’ve always been yours. Even though it’s been nine years since we saw each other, I’ve always known I was yours and you were mine. Seeing you and being with you again solidified that but I was stuck.

I was stuck in still trying to heal my heart after Germany and trying to fill the role of who I thought Johnny wanted me to be.

I was hoping to get to you before you left, so I hope you get this letter. It’s always been you Jake.

And I’ve always been yours,

Your Nola

“What’s that?” Phoenix asks trying to peer at the letter.

“I have to go find Nola. Where are my keys?”

“In your locker where you always put them,” Phoenix deadpans then crosses her arms. “What’s going on? Is Nola hurt?”

“No,” Jake grins folding the letter and placing it in his pants pocket. “I have to go get my girl.”

After some sweet talking with the ladies in the school office, Jake runs as fast as he can down the hall towards Nola’s room. The day is almost over but he couldn’t wait until the bell rang, he had to see her now. He busts through her door and she jumps at the sound then gasps when she sees it’s him.

“Uncle Jake!” Charlie rushes towards him and hugs his legs.

Jake is still trying to catch his breath but he hugs his niece. “Hi munchkin.”

“Is my daddy home too?”

“Yeah he is, he’s going to pick you up with your mama.”

“Yay!”

“I need to talk to Miss James quick, okay?” he tells her then glances up at Nola.

“Charlie, go back to your table please. The school day is almost over,” Nola instructs and Charlie runs back to her chair. “Jake, what–”

“I know you can’t sleep with your window open,” he begins.

“What?”

“You hit snooze on your alarm about three times until you force yourself out of bed,” he pants moving closer to her.

“Jake, class is almost over, can’t this wait?” She looks at her children smiling softly.

“No, I need to get this out,” he shakes his head. “I wasn’t picked to do this mission, I was on standby in case things went awry and they did. I could have died and the whole time I kept thinking of you. But I always think of you. I’ve thought about you everyday since I saw you painting in the art room our freshman year.”

“You have?” her features soften, Jake nods.

“I know you love hot chocolate before bed when it’s wintertime and that when someone tells you a fact you already knew, you pretend you didn’t because you don’t want to hurt their feelings. You’re bold and generous and kind and since that day freshman year…I’ve been a goner,” he confesses as he crosses her room to get to her.

“You’re my dream girl, you always have been and you always will be. The reason I kept coming back to you all those times when we weren’t together? It was because you were my first time, too. There was never anyone before you Nola. it’s always been you. I’ve been in love with you all these years and there’s no way in hell I’m going to make the same mistake of letting you go a third time.”

“Jake, I–”

“I roll through life like a rolling fire and you bring the rain like a thunderstorm. My world hasn’t been the same since we got together.”

“Even though it’s been nine years since we were?” she asks.

“You said so in your letter,” he pulls it from his pocket. “All this time, you’ve never left my mind once. I still keep a picture of you in my cockpit of you wearing my cowboy hat because you bring me luck. I’m in love with you, Nola and I promise to never let go of you again.”

She opens her mouth to say something but Jake can’t wait so he pulls her into his arms and kisses her. Charlie cheers in the background and some of the boys yell out in disgust but Nola kisses him back with all she’s got until the bell rings loudly. Nola pulls away but Jake keeps his arms around her waist when she acknowledges her class.

“Um, have a good night, class. Tomorrow we’ll paint our clay figurines,” she says and they scramble from their seats.

“Bye Uncle Jake!” Charlie waves and darts from the room.

When the last student exits, Jake kisses her again.

“Wait, wait, let me shut the door,” she gasps and escapes his hold. She closes the door and pulls down the blind over the window. When she turns around, Jake is in her space lifting her into his arms. “Oh!”

“Did you really give back the ring?” he asks.

“I did,” she nods touching his face. She sees how red his cheeks are. “Did you run here?”

“Pretty much,” he laughs. “We just got back from the mission when I got your letter and I had to get to you.”

“I’m happy you’re safe,” she smiles. “And that you got my letter.”

“Thanks for leaving me one.”

“Was I really your first, too?” She turns her head to the side and he nods. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I knew you were nervous and I wanted you to think I knew what I was doing to try and take the pressure off. I was nervous as hell,” he chuckles.

“Really? Why?” she giggles rubbing at his sideburns. His thumbs are rubbing circles onto her waist and she realizes her feet are still off the ground.

“Because I couldn’t believe you were actually going to be my first. I wanted it to be perfect.”

“It was.”

“Yeah?” He cocks an eyebrow.

“Mhm,” she nods inching closer until their lips touch once more. Before he can slip his tongue into her mouth, she breaks the kiss. “So this whole time you had me thinking you were with all these girls? You were such a flirt!”

“Sorry, baby,” he grins.

“I hate you,” she laughs.

“I know you don’t,” he shakes his head, capturing her lower lip.

“Yes, I do,” she laughs teasing him by tilting her head away from his kiss. “You’re stupid.”

“I know,” he kisses her cheek instead.

“Idiotic.”

“I know,” he finally captures her lips in another kiss. This one lasts longer, his tongue swiping over her lower lip and her fingers curl into his hair.

“I’m in love with you,” she whispers.

“I know that too.”

#jake seresin fluff #jake seresin smut #jake 'hangman' seresin writing #hangman x OC #jake seresin x oc #jake seresin writing #hangman smut #hangman fluff #hangman angst #top gun maverick fanfic #top gun fanfic

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hangmans-darling · 2 years ago

Text

Live Forever [Part 6] Jake Seresin

summary: Jake Seresin and Magnolia James have always been tied together, soon enough their ties become entangled over the years. This is their love story.

word count: 3.4k

warnings: Jake and Johnny finally meet, awkward dinner, a forbidden kiss

masterlist

live forever masterlist

Feedback is always welcome! Enjoy!🥰

There were no messages from Johnny wondering where she was or if she was safe. Nola sighs and takes her car out of park so she can go home, her ring flashes at her from the streetlights and she tries so hard to ignore it and to ignore the tingle on her lips from Jake’s kiss.

Monday morning came and Nola was still thinking about the events that transpired over the weekend. She loved hanging out with Jake again but then that moment on the deck keeps replaying in her mind. It thrilled her to be touched by him again but also worried her that it did thrill her. She’s filled with guilt from it and from picturing Jake while she slept with Johnny.

She had her students create something with clay, anything they wanted and as she was walking around looking at the projects, she stopped at Charlie’s table. She had made a plane.

“Is that your dad’s plane?” Nola asks bending down, so she was at eye level with Charlie.

“Yeah,” Charlie smiles.

“Miss James, I have a delivery for you,” Nola’s coworker Sadie says in the doorway.

“Delivery?” Nola stands up straight and walks towards the door. “What delivery?”

“A very handsome pilot with a bouquet of beautiful flowers,” Sadie whispers then pulls Nola into the hall.

She stumbles from the doorway and is staring at Jake who has his arms behind his back.

“I’ll watch your room,” Sadie says then closes the door behind her.

“What are you doing here?” Nola asks crossing her arms.

“I want to apologize for the way I acted on Friday. I shouldn’t have…done what I did because you’re engaged, and I guess I…I got caught up in an old memory. These are for you,” he says and pulls his arms from behind his back.

Nola stares at a beautiful flower arrangement filled with peach-colored roses and white magnolias. She can’t help but smile.

“Magnolia’s?” she takes the flowers and smells them.

“Prettiest flower I’ve ever seen. Will you forgive me?”

“Of course, I do, Jake. I got caught up in memories too, especially with the beer pong. It was a little…eerie but it felt good, too.”

“Yeah, it did. Can I make it up to you and finally take you and Lieutenant Fischer out for dinner?”

“You don’t have to call him that–”

“Until I officially meet him, I have to use his title,” Jake shakes his head and Nola can tell how serious he is.

“All right, he’s actually off duty today. I’ll give him a call at lunch.”

“Great. Meet me at Champ’s around six? Is that enough time for when you’re off work?”

“Plenty of time. Thanks for the flowers, and the apology.”

“Anytime,” he smiles. “I’d rather have you in my life like this rather than not at all.”

“Me too. And Jake, I’m sorry too.”

***

Nola was twisting the ring on her finger from nerves the whole drive over to the restaurant. Johnny didn’t seem to notice her inner turmoil at all. He took her hand as soon as she was out of the car and opened the door for her first.

Nola spotted Jake right away sitting at a table near the window, he was gazing out of it at the water and Nola couldn’t help but admire how nice he looked in the golden glow from the setting sun.

“Do you see him, babe?” Johnny asks.

“Um…” she pretends to search for him and then points. “There, by the window.”

Johnny leads them through the tables with finesse.

“Jake? I’m John Fischer,” Johnny announces himself with his hand out. Jake turns at the sound of his name, but his eyes meet Nola’s first before he rises from his seat and looks at Johnny. “It’s so good to finally meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Jake smiles shaking his hand. “I’m glad you were both able to make it.”

“Oh yeah, sorry about the last couple of times. But you know how the Navy is, they call, and you answer,” Johnny smiles.

“Even if they call at the worst times. Hey Nola,” Jake smiles at her.

“Hi Jake,” she returns the smile and Johnny releases her hand to pull out her chair for her. Jake’s eyebrows lift and he gives her a slight nod of approval at that.

The waitress comes by promptly to take their drink order. Johnny orders for himself and Nola and Jake glances at Nola to see if she’d interject but she doesn’t.

“So, Lia tells me you’re here for Top Gun?”

“Lia?” Jake asks quizzically.

“Johnny’s nickname for me,” Nola explains sipping at her wine.

She shivers at the sharp taste of the alcohol, it’s a rosé but it makes her nose tickle and Jake knows she only likes Moscato’s.

“How’d that come about?” Jake inquires.

“It was our first couple of dates and whenever I’m with her I feel calm. Everyone calls her Nola and I wanted to call her something special,” Johnny smiles at her then kisses her lips quickly.

Nola is slightly taken aback from the kiss and sees Jake is staring with a straight face.

“Just as long as you don’t call her Maggie or Mags, right?” Jake smirks.

“Right. So, Top Gun. You’re working with Captain Mitchell, right?”

“I am.”

“Crazy bastard,” Johnny shakes his head. “His Call Sign fits him perfectly; he’s always doing what he wants.”

“Maybe so, but he’s a damn good pilot. He does things that are out of this world.”

“I’ve seen his file, it’s very big of his mishaps.”

“Mishaps that have saved plenty of lives,” Jake defends.

“Right, of course, but it’s all been against protocol. The Navy is built on structure and codes and he–”

“Can we not talk about work?” Nola pipes in because she saw Jake’s jaw ticking which is a clear sign he’s about to snap soon.

“You’re right, sorry baby,” Johnny smiles at her.

There’s an awkward silence and Nola takes a large gulp of her wine, swallowing down the bitter taste it leaves in her mouth. They order their food and Johnny takes over for Nola, but he orders her favorite. Jake’s eyes keep flickering to Johnny’s arm around Nola’s shoulders and sighed when Johnny ordered for her.

When the soup and salad came, Johnny offered her a bite of his salad.

“You have bleu cheese in it,” Nola scrunches her nose then proceeds to spoon her potato soup in her mouth.

“So?”

“I don’t like bleu cheese. It tastes like feet,” she says.

“You don’t know what you’re missing, Lia.”

“It tastes like what I imagine an athlete's foot would taste like,” Jake comments quietly plucking up a piece of bread from the basket. He grins at Nola and breaks off a piece of his bread to share with her.

Johnny didn’t order the bread but at Nola’s obvious slump of her shoulders, Jake quickly ordered some for himself. He knows how much she loves bread, especially if it has cinnamon butter with it.

Jake asks how they met when their meals arrive, and Johnny explains how he was a speaker at her school back east.

“I saw her in the crowd, and I just had to get to know her,” Johnny smiles at her. “She made me work for it though, it wasn’t until the third try of asking for coffee that she finally said yes.”

“Sounds like Nola,” Jake agrees. “Do you have a date set for the wedding at all?”

Nola stares at him in shock. He wants to talk about wedding details? Her stomach flips and she starts to play with her ring again atop the table and Johnny answers for her.

“Not yet. Once things are settled at work, I think we can start planning. I would like a summer wedding, maybe on the beach.”

“Really? You do?” Nola turns her face to look at him. This is the first time he’s ever given an opinion on their wedding.

“Yeah. Or I could even try and pull some strings to get us married on one of the ships.”

“And what, have our reception in the mess hall?”

“It was just a thought. We won’t be completely out to sea; it could be docked.”

Nola purses her lips and downs the rest of her wine and her whole body shivers. Jake immediately pours her some more water in her glass.

“Are we all set for the bill?” the waitress asks once their plates are cleared.

“I think so,” Johnny says.

“Perfect,” she smiles and sets the paper down. “Take your time–”

“No need, you can take it,” Jake says slapping down his credit card.

“I can chip in–” Johnny begins.

“No, no, this is my treat. It’s a ‘congratulations on your engagement’ dinner.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Thank you, Jake.”

The waitress skips back and angles her body so she’s blocking Nola as she slides Jake’s card back to him.

“I hope you come back again,” she says and taps on the bill before walking away.

Nola looked where her finger was and saw a number scribbled at the bottom. Jake’s eyes also looked at the number, but he quickly signed and pushed the receipt away.

“Did she write her number on the bill?” Johnny asks impressed.

“Looks like it,” Jake says grimly and pockets his card back in his wallet.

“Wow, are you going to call her?”

“She’s not my type,” Jake shakes his head.

“Not even for a one-night type?”

“Johnny!” Nola scolds.

“I’m sorry! I’ve heard of Jake’s exploits through word of mouth. Guess I was wrong,” Johnny shrugs.

“That’s why they call it word of mouth, because it usually is wrong,” Jake says tersely.

Johnny and Jake share an intense stare down and Nola looks between them waiting for someone to explode or something. When it doesn’t, she pushes away from the table.

“It’s getting late,” she says.

Their attention is set on her, and they both push away from the table, their glasses rattle the ice cubes together.

“Let’s get home,” Johnny agrees and holds out his hand for Jake. His brown eyes are hard set on Jake’s green ones. “Thank you for dinner, I’m glad we got to finally meet.”

“Likewise, Johnny,” Jake gives him a smirk.

“See you later, Jake. Thank you for dinner,” Nola says.

“You’re welcome, have a good night, Nola,” Jake tells her. When he looks at her, his eyes soften and he’s back to the Jake she knows.

When she and Johnny are in the car, he’s shaking his head as he fastens his seatbelt.

“That guy needs an ego check.”

Nola ignores him and closes her eyes. She has a headache from the wine and the tension between Johnny and Jake but what else did she expect from sharing a dinner with her fiancé and ex-boyfriend?

***

Natasha found Nola on social media and invited her out to the bar saying how the rest of the crew needed a few beers after the day they had. She extended the invite to Johnny but when he heard it was at The Hard Deck, he scoffed at how it’s just a pilot’s bar filled with desperate women wanting to get in the cockpit with one of them.

Nola arrived alone but didn’t see Jake present. Her heart fell, she was hoping he’d be there because she wanted to apologize for how Johnny spoke with him the other night. She ordered an amaretto sour and had half of it gone when Jake finally showed up with Javy.

He looked exhausted and pissed off but when he spotted her, he had the biggest smile.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” he says once he’s standing in front of her by the pool table.

“Natasha invited me, I hope that was okay?”

“Of course, it is. Do you need another drink?” he nods to her half empty glass.

“Sure. It’s an–”

“Amaretto sour, I know,” he winks then heads towards the bar.

“So, Johnny and Jake finally met, huh?” Natasha sidles up next to Nola.

“How do you know?”

“Hangman flew like shit today, that’s why,” she responds. “It didn’t go well?”

“On the surface it did, but underneath it…you could cut the tension with a feather.”

“Yikes.”

“Here ya go, darlin’,” Jake appears again with Nola’s new drink.

As the night goes on, Jake drinks a bit more than usual. He sways a little when he stands waiting for his turn while playing pool. He complains it’s too hot in the bar and says he’s going to go outside; Javy and Natasha look at Nola who’s already following him.

“I’ve got Hangman babysitting duty,” she tells them with a smile.

“I’m Jake to you!” Jake points at her with a slight pout and it makes her laugh.

“Okay,” she nods, trying not to smile and keeps the door propped open so they have some light on the deck. “Do you want some water?”

“No, I’m fine,” he sighs and stares at her. “You know what I hate, Nola?”

“What?”

“How unhappy you are.”

“Excuse me?” she’s taken aback by that.

“You’re not happy with Johnny.”

“How do you know? You just met him yesterday.”

“Exactly. I’ve been here a little over a month and from the first time meeting him I can tell. I hate the way he talks to you. He brushes you aside constantly and is always letting you down by leaving–”

“It’s his job!”

“No way he’s busy that late at night every night.”

“He’s doing paperwork because he’s being promoted to Lieutenant Commander this upcoming week!”

“Great, another congratulations is in order,” Jake rolls his eyes. “And what the hell is this ‘Lia’ shit? You’ve never been called that your entire life. He breaks his promises every time.”

“Yeah, well, I’m used to that aren’t I and it’s all thanks to you,” she snaps.

There’s silence and it’s deafening.

“I deserve that,” Jake agrees. “But even when we broke up, it was you who I was putting first. To him it’s his job and then you. And this ring?” he lifts her left hand up, so her ring sparkles in the bar light. “This isn’t you either! Does he even know you at all?”

“Of course, he does!” she rips her hand from his.

“Then how come he didn’t know you hate bleu cheese or how much you love bread and butter for dinner?”

“Oh, because he forgot a food preference that means he doesn’t love me?”

“He should know everything about you, Nola. I’ll never ever tell you what to do but think long and hard about marrying him. I would be better–I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“You don’t want to see me hurt? That’s rich coming from you,” she snorts and starts to pace, her hands are on her hips. “Johnny has never left me behind.”

“Then Lia, answer me this,” Jake stands in front of her, so she stops pacing. They’re toe to toe. “Why didn’t you smile once while we were at dinner? You don’t smile when you talk about him, the only time I’ve seen that beautiful smile of yours is while you were with me.”

She stares at him, her mouth agape as she tries to find a way of defense but there is none. She never did smile that night except when she was saying hello to Jake.

“I can’t do this right now, you’re drunk and you’re talking like an idiot,” she shakes her head and turns around to head back inside.

Jake grabs her by the waist pulling her into him, his green eyes are steady on hers and Nola’s hands smack onto his chest.

“You know I’m right,” his breathy southern drawl sends shivers down her spine and are only stopped when he squeezes her waist. “I know you, Nola. I know I screwed up so many times with you but being with you again…” he sighs deeply and presses his forehead against hers.

“Jake–”

“If I kissed you right now, would you kiss me back?”

“What? Jake, I can’t--”

“If I kiss you and you tell Johnny I did–” he skims his nose across her cheek, his lips teasing near the corner of her mouth– “I will take the punch for kissing an engaged woman and you’ll never hear from me again. If you don’t tell him…come find me.”

“Jake…” she exhales his name, her fingers pinching his shirt together. She can feel his heartbeat and her eyes are shut waiting for the bomb to go off from his lips on hers.

“You tell me to stop right now, and I will, Nola,” he brings his other hand up to her cheek.

“I don’t know…my head is…I’m not thinking.”

“If you tell Johnny… I kissed you.”

She opens her mouth to tell him okay but then his lips are on hers. He’s hesitant and slow but it takes a fraction of a second for them to find the rhythm they’ve had for so many years. Jake brings her even closer, and Nola slides her hands up his jaw and into his hair. Kissing him again is like waking up from a nap in the warm sun or crawling into bed after washing the sheets and taking a shower.

Familiar and comforting but also exhilarating.

She’s transported to their first kiss at eighteen and every kiss after that. He’s so familiar and yet–

“My Nola,” he mumbles and slips his tongue over hers.

Her stomach erupted in butterflies; her cheek was hot from his hand holding it. Nola can’t even suppress the small moan that slips out of her. Her fingers tighten in desperation on his hair for more of him. They’re both panting. Her middle finger bumps over her engagement ring and her stomach drops.

She gasps and pushes him away and he doesn’t fight her on it.

“I should…I should go…” she tries to gather her breath.

“Okay,” he nods and kisses her forehead. His lips linger on her skin so affectionately she wants to cry. “Remember, I kissed you. I’ll make sure to take all the blame.”

Nola touches her lips; they’re still tingling from his kiss and her heart is pounding. Jake’s face is somber as he stares at her, he shoves his hands in his pockets. Nola is caught between her head and her heart because staring at him right now all she wants to do is kiss him again.

Her head is sending off warning signals and bright red flashing lights because she needs to go back home to Johnny. She knows she has to go but she so desperately wants to stay.

“It’s okay, Nola,” Jake nods, “Go.”

And because he told her, she left and disappeared into the night.

Jake waited for her to return but when she didn’t, he still stayed. The door of the bar opens and Coyote struts out with a beer for Jake.

“Where’s Nola?”

“She went home.”

“Did you two get into a fight?” Coyote sighs.

“Sort of, but then we kissed,” Jake takes a swig of his beer still staring at the spot where she left.

“You what?” Coyote choked on his drink.

“And I sort of gave her an ultimatum.”

“You’re in deep shit. Her fiancé is going to kick your ass, man.”

“It’ll be worth it,” his eyes linger on the spot where Nola disappeared for a moment longer. “Come on, let’s head back inside.”

***

Nola was crying so hard on her way home that she had to pull over in a Wendy’s parking lot so she wouldn’t drive off the road. She cheated on Johnny, but Jake told her he’d take all the blame by saying he kissed her, and she didn’t kiss him back even though she did. She wanted to keep kissing him and that made her cry harder.

When she finally caught her breath and the tears stopped coming, she found some napkins in her glove compartment. She stares at her reflection in the rearview mirror, her eyes are puffy and red, and she glances at the clock. Johnny should be home by now since it’s almost one in the morning, but she hopes he’s sleeping so he won’t see her crying. She checks her phone and has three messages from Jake.

‘Let me know you got home safe.’

‘I won’t let you take the fall for this; this was all me.’

‘Call me if you need a ride.’

5 notes · View notes

hangmans-darling · 2 years ago

Text

Live Forever [Part 5] Jake Seresin

summary: Jake Seresin and Magnolia James have always been tied together, soon enough their ties become entangled over the years. This is their love story.

word count: 3.7k

warnings: none

masterlist

live forever masterlist

Feedback is always welcome! Enjoy!🥰

“You told me Saturday would be the last time you’d cancel!” Nola exclaims as Johnny is pulling on his jacket.

“I can’t just say no to my Captain, Lia,” he sighs in exasperation.

“But it’s okay to say no to me repeatedly?”

“You know I don’t have a choice. I’m hoping this will be the last meeting and then I can tell you–”

“Why can’t you tell me now? Are you going to keep things like this hidden from me when I’m your wife?”

That catches him off guard and he sighs. He takes her hands in his and stares into her eyes.

“I didn’t want to tell you until it was official and the paperwork had started but…the reason I’ve been leaving for these meetings is because I’m going to be promoted to Lieutenant Commander.”

“What?! Johnny, that’s incredible!” she jumps into his arms squeezing him tight, he chuckles into her hair.

“Thanks, baby. I didn’t want to tell you in case it didn’t happen but all of these meetings have been for paperwork and interviews. But it’s officially happening now.”

“I’m so proud of you,” she says and gives him a hard kiss.

“There’ll be a ceremony and a dinner to follow in a couple of weeks.”

“Am I allowed to come?” she scratches at the buzzed part of his neck.

“Of course, I need to show off my beautiful bride to be,” he smiles and gives her another kiss. “And afterwards, you’re allowed to come as many times as you want when I’m buried deep inside you.”

Nola shivered at his words, his hand squeezed her ass as they kissed feverishly. Johnny was the one to pull away first because he couldn’t be late to this meeting.

“Wait up for me if you’re home before I am,” he tells her and kisses her cheek one last time.

***

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you hung out with Jake alone, twice!” Layla nearly shouts when they meet for brunch on Monday. Nola had an inservice day that ended earlier than planned so she called Layla up.

“It all happened so fast!”

“So tell me everything! What does he look like? Do you hate his guts? Has he tried anything?”

“Slow down!” Nola laughs and the waiter brings over their mimosas. “He looks the same, but older you know? Still handsome as a devil. I do not hate his guts and no he hasn’t tried anything.”

“What does Johnny think of him?”

“He hasn’t met him yet…”

“What?! Why not?”

“He’s been going to a lot of meetings when Jake and I have made plans and–”

“He’s fine with you hanging out with your ex lover?”

“Seems to be,” Nola shrugs glazing over the menu. She notices Layla staring at her blankly. “Nothing is going to happen, Layla. Relax.”

“Just be careful, Nola. You and I both know how you get with Jake.”

“It’s been nine years since we were anything.”

“Yes, but you still have that same look in your eye as you did nine years ago. Just be careful, okay?”

“You have nothing to worry about.”

Later that night, Nomi calls Nola.

“I heard from Juniper who heard from her mom who was told by Jake that you two are together again?!”

“What? No, that’s not even remotely accurate, Nomi. We’ve been hanging out, that’s all.”

“How did that happen exactly?”

“He was at my open house a few weeks ago because his niece is in my class. And his niece is Javy Machado’s daughter, remember him? It was totally happenstance and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that he and I are around each other again.”

“And there’s nothing going on between you two?”

“No,” Nola stresses. “Why do people keep asking that?”

“Maybe because everyone and their mother thought you two would get married but then he was a dick and broke up with you twice.”

“Hey, language,” Nola scolds.

“I”m twenty years old, No-no and dick isn’t a curse word anyway. What’s it like being around him again?”

“Weird since it’s been so long but also the same since we know each other so well. But nothing is happening, okay?”

“Okay, okay. As long as you’re not upset at seeing him then I’m happy he’s back in your life.”

***

On a Friday afternoon during lunch, she receives a text from Jake asking if she and Johnny would like to join him and his crew for a few drinks at The Hard Deck. Johnny says he’ll be late doing more paperwork but tells her to go and have fun since she’s been having a rough week at school. Nearly all of the kids are sick and miserable so she’s been trying to keep her class light and easy.

Nola heads home to change out of her school outfit and by the time she’s at the bar, the streetlights started to turn on as the night sky darkened. She could hear the music from the sand as she parked her car and took a deep breath before heading inside. It doesn’t take her long to spot Jake because he’s gathered by the dartboard and pool table with the other sea of khaki colored pilots.

As if he could sense her, Jake turns around and makes eye contact.

“Nola James, as I live and breathe,” he greets smiling and she rolls her eyes with a smile as she approaches them. She tries not to notice the eight pairs of eyes watching her every move. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“I’ve had a rough week so I need a little break,” she says.

“I can make that happen,” he flirts and Nola ignores it because that’s how he’s always been. “Let me introduce you to everyone. You already know Javy.”

“Hey Javy,” she smiles and he tips his beer towards her.

“Nola,” he grins.

“Then there’s Phoenix, Rooster, and Bob over there,” Jake slings his arm around her shoulders as he makes introductions.

She ignores the slight flutter in her stomach from his touch. This is the first time they’ve touched since she passed out in her classroom.

“What interesting names, but it’s nice to meet you all.”

“They’re our Call Sign names,” the woman named Phoenix says.

“Call Signs?” she glances up at Jake.

“When we’re flying it’s what they call us over comms. It’s quicker and easier than using our real names.”

“Oh. What’s yours?”

“You don’t have to know–”

“His is Hangman,” Javy laughs and Jake glares at him.

“Why Hangman?”

“Because he always leaves you hangin’ to dry in the sky,” the tall blond named Rooster says but it seems playful.

“He always leaves you behind,” Bob pipes up and Nola notices how quiet he seems.

“Ohh, yeah,” she peers up at him and his jaw ticks. “That fits him perfectly.”

The others laugh and Jake shakes his head and sighs when he looks at Nola. She smiles sweetly at him but her eyes give him a knowing look because they both know how he’s left her behind in the past.

“You know what Penny just put in the back, Nola? A beer pong table,” Javy says breaking up their silent conversation.

“Oh really?” she snaps her head in his direction.

“Yeah. What do ya say? You and Hangman versus me and Rooster,” he challenges.

“What do you say Hangman?” she asks and Jake shakes his head.

“Let’s smoke ‘em, darlin’,” he leads her outside then calls over his shoulder, “Get her a hard lemonade, Phoenix.”

They really are transported to the past when they play beer pong. Javy and Rooster (who’s real name is Bradley) are pretty good components but Jake and Nola are still unstoppable. She has a great time and is laughing a lot because they all tease Jake. Jake and Nola end up winning and they give a loud high five in celebration.

“We didn’t even have your cowboy hat as our good luck charm,” she says.

“Cowboy hat?” Phoenix’s eyebrows raise. “Oh I gotta see Bagman in a cowboy hat, please tell me you have a picture of that.”

“Of course, I do,” Nola pulls out her phone and opens up her phone.

“No, no, no, no, no way,” Jake chants and reaches around Nola for her phone.

She squeals when his hands grab for her phone, then he starts to tickle her sides and she’s gasping for air from laughing.

“It’s in my album labeled ‘Summertime’!” Nola hands off her phone to Phoenix and the guys crowd around her as she swipes to the proper album.

“I’m gonna get you for showing them that, Nola,” Jake threatens against her cheek and she snorts in response.

“Okay, Jake,” she pats his cheek and tilts her head to look at him.

They’re stuck in that trancelike moment again, green eyes captivating her deep blue. He stands up straighter since they were kind of bent over the table, but his hands still held onto her waist. Their faces are close, too close where they can feel the soft breath from each other’s lips.

While they were having a rekindled moment, Phoenix, Rooster, Bob and Javy couldn’t stop swiping through her photo album.

Every picture was of her and Jake, most of them were kissing pictures. Kissing each other’s cheeks or on the lips. In all of them they were wrapped around each other as if they were one embodiment. Phoenix looks at Javy, his mouth is in a straight line and they share a look.

“Shit,” Rooster mutters because he sees those pictures in real time as Jake and Nola are still wrapped around each other. “He still loves her, doesn’t he?”

“He never stopped,” Javy confirms.

“But she’s engaged,” Bob says.

“What?” Phoenix looks up from Nola’s phone just as she and Jake are breaking apart. They smile awkwardly at each other and sure enough, there’s a huge rock on Nola’s left hand.

“Shit,” the four of them say.

***

Nola is thinking of Jake more and more and it’s weighing on her just as much as the ring on her finger. She can’t be thinking of him because she’s engaged to Johnny. And with his promotion coming up so soon she needs to support him.

It’s been a week since she met his friends at the bar and she came to a decision to tell Jake they shouldn’t see each other anymore. Things will get too sticky too fast between them. When she texts him Saturday morning if they could talk–Johnny was doing inspections on the ship all day–he said sure but they were at the beach all day.

When she arrives at the beach, they’re all playing football but it’s not regular football. There’s two balls and each team is playing together and against each other. Nola doesn’t understand football all that well but she knows this isn’t the way to play it. She spots Jake right away and scowls because he’s shirtless and glistening with sweat in the golden sun.

Her eyes follow his back as he bends down to taunt Rooster, the muscles in his shoulder flex and pull and Nola is completely distracted until Phoenix bumps into her with her shoulder.

“Hot out, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah,” Nola smiles awkwardly and forces herself to avert her gaze from Jake. Phoenix gives her a knowing look but doesn’t comment on the fact that Nola was drooling over her ex. “Are they almost done? I have to talk to Jake.”

“They probably won’t be done for a while.”

“Why aren’t you playing?” Nola asks but notices she’s in a sports bra and shorts.

“I was, but then I got a stitch in my side so I went to get some water from Penny. I’ll sit with you while we wait for them to finish,” she nods her head towards the picnic table in the sand.

They sit in silence as they watch the guys play and joke with each other. They laugh off fumbles and tackles, helping each other up and completely ignore the whistle being blown by a guy named Hondo. All the while, Phoenix is watching Nola who keeps her eyes on Jake.

“Jake says you’re engaged to Lieutenant Fischer?” Phoenix asks and Nola tears her eyes away from the game. She covers her hand over her ring.

“I am, yeah,” she smiles.

“How long have you two been together?”

“Two years. We moved out here about nine months ago because he got relocated, then he was called to go to Europe.”

“You’ve been engaged all that time?”

“Just right before he left for Europe,” Nola clarifies.

“That had to be hard.”

“It was, but he’s home now.”

“Bet it was awkward when they met for the first time, huh?”

Nola stares at her then quickly lowers her eyes to her fingers that are twisting over each other in nerves. Phoenix picks up on it and her heart kind of breaks at the sight.

“They haven’t met yet.”

“Oh. Nola, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What happened between you and Jake?”

“That’s a loaded question,” Nola chuckles, then looks in his direction again. He’s tousling Bob’s hair like she’s seen him do to her own brother Lincoln. “Everything and nothing happened.”

“I don’t understand,” Phoenix’s brows furrow in confusion.

“I don’t either to be honest,” Nola sighs. “Jake was my first everything. First love, first time, first rough break up. He’s my–was my person.”

“What happened?”

“He broke my heart. The first time was when he was going back to the academy for the second year and he wouldn’t have time for me as he would like. The second time was when he was going to start his flight training and he didn’t want me to worry about him in case something happened to him,” she scoffs remembering that night perfectly.

“I told him I’ll worry whether we’re together or not. And then he got hurt and was in a hospital in Germany and Javy called me. I sat with him for three days in the hospital until he woke up and at first I thought, ‘this is it. He’ll realize we belong together.’ But then he broke my heart again by saying I shouldn’t have come and I left.”

“I always knew he was an idiot. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up the past–”

“You’re fine,” Nola waves her off. “It’s messy and complicated but he and I know each other so well…it’s…yeah. Complicated.”

“Can I ask you something again?” Phoenix asks after another moment of silence.

“Sure,” Nola smiles.

“If he did change and realize you two should be together…” Phoenix asks slowly, “would you be with him?”

“I know we just met, and I haven’t even admitted this to my best friend but yeah, I would in a heartbeat.”

Nola sighs and looks down at her ring, she feels the weight of it and thinks of Johnny. When she looks up, Jake is jogging over to her waving his hand. She has to tell him they can’t see each other anymore. Johnny hasn’t fully healed the wounds from Jake–she’s not sure she’ll ever fully be healed–but he’s laid a careful bandage over it.

“Hey Nola,” Jake pants once he’s in front of her. He slides his aviators on top of his head and Nola feels trapped yet again.

They weren’t alone to talk until after they all shared a bite to eat. She and Jake were sitting on the back deck sharing a drink.

“So Jake–”

“Wait, before you start can I say something?” He asks and Nola nods. “I’m sorry about the last time I saw you. I kept breaking your heart and I’ve hated myself every day for it.”

“You were the only one who could fix it, remember?”

“It doesn’t matter. I ruined what we had for stupid reasons and I should have told you in Germany that I…” he takes in a deep breath and glances at her diamond ring. “It’s too late now.”

He rises from his chair and leans on the railing of the deck listening to the waves crash and roll along the shore.

“Should have told me what?” she prompts moving next to him.

“It doesn’t matter now,” he shakes his head. “What matters is that you’re happy and you are. You have your dream job and are engaged to be married.”

Nola bites her lip, the words of goodbye hang heavy on her tongue but she can’t get her lips to form the words. He lifts his head looking at her, there’s a static energy vibrating around them. There’s a big gust of wind and it tosses her hair in front of her face. Without thinking, Jake raises his hand to tuck it back behind her ear and neck.

When his fingertips touch her skin, that static energy intensifies. He has to use both hands to keep her hair away from her face which ultimately ends with him cradling her face. Nola tries to keep her breathing even and her eyes away from his but his hands feel so warm on her cheeks. His cologne sweeps over her, mahogany and teakwood envelops and intoxicates her.

Jake inches closer, his thumb stroking over her cheek.

“Jake, I–”

“Shh, just…wait,” he hushes and tilts her face upwards. Her eyes remain downcast, she focused on his pinned wings. “Nola.”

“Hm?”

“Please look at me,” he whispers.

Against her better judgment, she does. She lifts her eyes slowly then jumps at how close his face is to hers. He hushes her again.

“Just want to pretend…for a moment…” he mutters and closes his eyes.

Nola’s heart is beating so loud in her chest. Her cheeks are blazing from his hands and each stroke of his thumb leaves a new scorch. It’s easier to look at him with his eyes closed and she tentatively presses her hand against his cheek. She notices a faint scar by his brow that was never there before and she wonders how it got there.

Was it from his crash in Germany? Was it from a different mission? Or was it an accident unrelated to flying?

She presses the pad of her finger to the white jagged scar, Jake leans into her touch humming softly. When he shifted his head it brought his lips into her palm and she felt that spark again then tried to pull her hand away.

“Don’t,” he stops her hand by placing his on top. He keeps it against his cheek, his eyes still closed. His fingers close around hers and press into her palm and she closes her thumb over the back of his knuckles. It’s like they’re holding hands but not really.

He lifts her hand a little and before she can stop him, he kisses the inside of her palm and his eyes open up staring right at her. He kisses her palm again, then the petal soft inside of her wrist where he can feel her heartbeat pulsating like a hummingbird’s wing.

Something pulls within her, like a magnet but stronger. Jake is unblinking when he drags her hand to the back of his head and her fingers close around tufts of his hair. The movement brings their faces closer and his eyes transform between two and one as she tries to focus.

“My Nola.”

That snaps her out of it, along with a loud cheer from inside the bar. She jerks away from him and Jake reaches for her.

“No! I can’t do this,” she holds her hand up to keep him away then runs off the deck.

“Nola! Nola, wait!”

Nola races home and is happy to see Johnny’s home. He was looking through her wedding book on the couch and her heart lurched again.

“Hi baby,” he greets then notices her demeanor. “What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head crossing the room and tosses the book off to the side so she can straddle him and press her lips to his. Johnny kisses her back immediately, one hand holding onto her back and the other gripping her neck to keep her stable against him. Nola breaks the kiss so she can remove her jacket and shirt.

“Lia, what’s–”

“Shh,” she shushes and tugs his shirt up and off his chest before kissing him again. She grinds her hips into his and he groans. Nola peppers kisses along his jaw and neck.

“Lia, baby, hold on,” his hands grip her hips, forcing her back a little. He cups her cheek softly, his warm brown eyes gentle and concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I just missed you and want to be with you right now. Please, Johnny. I need you.”

He stares at her for a beat then cups his hands to her ass and thighs so he can stand up. She clings to him tightly, kissing his neck and shoulder as he walks towards their room. He tosses her on their bed, she’s already shimmying out of her leggings and underwear. He’s quick to remove his own sweats and climbs on top of her.

Their mouths connect and she envelops him between her legs, moaning into his mouth when his dick presses against her. They join together in a frenzy, Nola sighs and hums at the sensations he’s giving her. When she opens her eyes they play tricks on her because she’s staring at Jake’s face. She snaps them shut but still pictures him when Johnny kisses her again.

Against her own rational thought, she orgasms quickly because she is picturing Jake and feeling his hands on her face like they were at the bar. His lips warm on her palm and wrist. When Johnny gives her a hard thrust she’s reminded of a time when Jake held her wrists above her head.

“Lia.”

“Nola.”

She bites into Johnny’s shoulder to keep herself from uttering Jake’s name. A vision of him on the beach plays through with his rippling back muscles. Johnny says her name again and she knows he’s close. Her stomach coils when he says her name again.

“Lia, Lia,” he grunts.

“My Nola.”

She heard Jake’s voice too and then Johnny released his orgasm onto her stomach since he didn’t have time to put on a condom. Nola holds Johnny close, his breath hot on her neck as she stares at the ceiling.

What did she just do?

#jake seresin writing #jake seresin fluff #jake seresin smut #jake 'hangman' seresin writing #hangman x OC #jake seresin x oc #hangman smut #hangman fluff #hangman angst #top gun maverick fic #top gun maverick fanfic #top gun fanfic #top gun fic #top gun writing

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hangmans-darling · 2 years ago

Text

Live Forever [Part 4] Jake Seresin

summary: Jake Seresin and Magnolia James have always been tied together, soon enough their ties become entangled over the years. This is their love story.

word count: 5.8k

warnings: fainting

masterlist

live forever masterlist

Feedback is always welcome! Enjoy!🥰

Now

After helping Johnny unpack, Nola wanted to welcome him home properly, but he told her that they were going out to dinner with his buddy Simon and his wife Delilah. They’re pleasant enough but Nola really wanted to spend his first night home together.

“We’ve got all day tomorrow, Lia,” he says undoing the top buttons of his dress shirt.

Hearing his nickname for her makes everything settle around her and brings back the memories of how they started.

Nola wasn’t interested at first, but he kept trying. He was a guest speaker at her school explaining what he does in the Navy. He was introduced as Ensign John Fischer. Nola’s coworker kept whispering to her that he would stare at her while he spoke but she waved it off.

He answered questions for the kids then was waiting outside her classroom as she led her students back to her room until the bell rang.

“Hello ma’am,” he greeted and she couldn’t deny he was handsome. His dark curls, and light brown eyes that matched his skin and she had a hunch he would have a dimple if he smiled.

“Hello,” she responded.

“I was wondering if I could take you out for dinner tomorrow night,” he smiled and she was right, dimples appeared.

“What?” She was dumbfounded.

“Can I treat you to dinner tomorrow night?”

“You don’t even know my name,” she laughed nervously.

“Miss James! Clark is eating glue!” one of your students, Penelope exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, but no thank you. If you’ll excuse me,” she said and ran to stop Clark from eating glue.

The next day as the school day was coming to a close, John was there again but with flowers and those damn dimples.

“How about lunch, Miss James?” he smiled and extended the flowers out to her.

“I have to stay here for lunch.”

The next day, he entered her room while she was cleaning up the art supplies her students were using. The flowers he brought her were sitting in a vase on her desk.

“Can I buy you a coffee?”

Nola sighed and gave in. If he’s this persistent she might as well give him a shot.

“I’d love some coffee.”

Their coffee date lasted well into lunch (which he paid for) and when dinner rolled around, he offered to cook her something.

“You can cook, too? You’ve already done too much, John,” she shook her head.

“I want to do it, but if you have plans then I don’t want to interject. I’ve already taken up your whole Saturday.”

“What about brunch tomorrow?” she suggested and he smiled.

“I love mimosas.”

By their sixth date he took her out on his small yacht he owned. On the back was the name ‘Oasis’ and she commented on how she liked it.

“It’s my own oasis from the ship,” he said helping her step onto the boat.

Nola watched him untie the ropes from the pier, toss them onto the deck of the boat and hop on. She offered to help but he smiled at her to take a seat, that he’s got this. So she continued to watch him as he did the tasks and then they were pushing through the water. Nola moved to the front of the boat and smelled the sea air.

After the boat ride, he docked it and then brought out a bottle of wine and a beautiful charcuterie board so they could eat and watch the sun go down.

“Wow!” Nola’s eyes widened at the arrays of meats, cheeses and other goodies on the board.

“I have to confess that I did not make the board, I wanted it to be perfect for you.”

“No one’s gone through this much trouble for me before,” she shook her head and accepted the glass of wine he just poured for her.

“It’s no trouble at all.”

They sat and snacked on the food while the jazz music he put on played softly in the background.

“So, is Nola short for something?” he asked.

“It is. My full name is Magnolia.”

“You don’t like the nickname Maggie, I take it?”

“No,” she laughed and he stared at her for a while with his head tilted. He tapped his finger on the top of his glass.

“What about Lia?”

“Do you not like my name?” She laughed again and felt her cheeks warm up.

“No! No, that’s not it at all, they’re both beautiful but…”

“But?” she hedged.

“Lia means gentle and calm and that’s how you make me feel when I’m with you. Everything else is just background noise.”

“Okay then, Johnny, you can call me Lia I suppose. I don’t know if I’ll respond to it, though.” She gives him a demure smile.

“Well, you’re the only one I’ll allow to call me Johnny,” he laughed and pulled a piece of hair away from her lips that got stuck from the wind.

“That sounds like a plan. Johnny boy,” she smiled.

“No, no, no. I’m fine with Johnny but draw the line at ‘Johnny boy’,” he laughed and she joined him. While they did their small banter of nicknames, they shifted closer to each other and Johnny’s fingers played with her hair. “Can I kiss you?”

All she could do was nod. She was nervous, her heart hammered in her throat and her ears as he leaned in. She almost told him to stop but then when his fingers pinched her chin lightly and when his eyes fell closed, she let it happen. Nola’s eyes shut as his lips touched hers and it was unfamiliar but exciting.

This is the first kiss she’s had since the last time she saw Jake in Germany. She worried she might not be that good anymore but when Johnny threaded his fingers in her hair and pulled away for a breath that worry was gone.

“Wow, Lia,” he murmured and her stomach flipped as she saw his dimples appear.

He kissed her again, this time with a little more urgency and she followed his lead. This kiss, Johnny, and the new nickname was like a brand new start, a clean slate that wasn’t tarnished by the bruised heartaches from Jake.

Nola pushed Jake out of her mind and focused on Johnny and his lips. She twisted her fingers in his curls and he felt so warm.

“Hey,” Johnny took her hand and lifted it to his mouth, he kissed the ring on her finger. “Where’d you go?”

“Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve been called Lia because you were gone. It made me think of when we met.”

“Lia, Lia, Lia,” he sings her name with a grin then tugs her with him towards their bathroom.

“What are you doing?”

“Eight months I’ve been taking a shower in cramped quarters,” he pulls off her sweater over her dress. “Eight months I’ve been thinking of you in that shower.” he unties the ribbon around her stomach then works on the zipper of her dress. “Eight months I’ve been missing you, Lia. I don’t think I can wait eight more minutes.”

“What about dinner?” she asked but was undoing the rest of his buttons.

“Simon will understand.”

She worked his clothes off quickly and they stumbled into the shower, lips connected as the water cascaded on them. She always loved how strong Johnny was, he lifted her easily against the tiled wall when he entered her. Her moans echoed and bounced back to them through the steam, her hair clung to her face.

He hummed her name again and again in her ear as he thrusted into her. Through the shower door she could see his ass flex and clench in the mirror, her diamond ring winking at her as he moved within her.

“Oh Lia, my pretty girl,” he moaned and she closed her eyes when her orgasm overtook her.

At dinner, Simon and Johnny are talking about their life and time on the ship while Nola and Delilah sit and listen. Johnny had his arm around Nola but she still felt detached even though they reconnected in the shower earlier. Delilah asked about wedding details as their plates were cleared and their glasses were topped off with more wine.

“We haven’t really had time to discuss everything since he’s been in Europe, but now that he’s home,” Nola lifts her ring adorned hand to cover his on her shoulder and gives him a big smile, “maybe we can get to planning.”

“Whatever you want, baby, I’m fine with.”

“You don’t want to help?” Nola’s smile fell.

“I thought that’s what Layla, your mom and sisters are for? Isn’t it a family thing?”

“No, it’s our wedding, Johnny. I want to do this together.”

They stare at each other, both of them at a loss for words.

“Let me see that gorgeous ring again, Maggie,” Delilah breaks the awkward silence by reaching across the table.

Nola sighs, breaks eye contact with Johnny and holds out her hand. She’s told Simon and Delilah repeatedly to call her Nola.

“Oh, it’s just so beautiful,” Delilah gushes turning Nola’s hand from side to side so the diamond glitters. “And it must have cost a fortune.”

“Oh, it did, but my Lia is worth it,” Johnny kisses her cheek.

Nola smiles and tries to relax against Johnny’s side as the conversation turns to golf and something about a top gun. Nola sips at her wine greedily, hoping it will push down her disappointment that Johnny didn’t want to help with wedding plans and a pair of green eyes that haunt her vision.

On Fridays, Nola always had her students create whatever they wanted. She found it heightened their freedom of expression and helped their talent grow. It also gave her time to grade projects and sketch in her own book.

Lately, she’s been drawing willow trees and green eyes hidden through the weeping branches and leaves. Her last class of the day was with her second graders. Nola’s shading the pupil when there’s an outburst near the window.

“It’s a plane, not a bird!” Charlie, your newest student, exclaims.

“It is too a bird!” Danny retorts pointing at Charlie’s paper. “Look at it’s poop!”

“That’s smoke!”

“Hey, hey, hey, we use our inside voices,” Nola says and moves from behind her desk to see what the commotion was. “What is going on?”

“Danny thinks my plane is a bird,” Charlie pouts, her face scrunching.

“It is a bird, Miss James!”

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes-”

“All right, okay!” Nola bends at her knees holding her hands up in between their faces. “That’s enough. Sometimes, our art looks different to other people. It’s okay if you see a bird, Danny, but if Charlie is telling you it’s a plane, then we respect her, right?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Continue your drawing, the school day is almost over,” Nola says then turns to Charlie. “What kind of plane is this supposed to be?”

“A jet plane. My daddy flies one,” Charlie smiles proudly. “That’s him and my uncle is in this one.”

Nola sees she drew the fighter jets and it makes her think of Jake again. But as soon as his name or face starts to shift into her focus she forces it away immediately.

“I think they are very good planes, Charlie,” Nola smiles then moves back to her desk. She stares at her sketch in her book and sees Jake’s eyes staring back at her. She knows she’s lying to herself by trying to push him from her thoughts, but he’s always on her mind.

When the school day is over, she’s excited for dinner with Johnny, Layla and Bodhi. Johnny is just getting out of the shower when she comes home, his towel wrapped around his waist and water droplets roll down the tattoos on his chest.

“Oh good. I’ll change and we can go to Champ’s,” Nola kicks off her small pumps.

“I’m sorry, baby, I got called to base to go over a debriefing on Europe.”

“Seriously?” Nola’s shoulders fall. “Layla and Bodhi are so excited to see you.”

“I know, I know. I want to see them too,” he steps closer to her. When he finishes knotting his towel he cradles her cheeks in his hands, his brown eyes are sad. “The higher in rank I get, the more responsibility I have.”

“I know,” she sighs then remembers there will be a dinner next week to officially announce him as Lieutenant and Nola will be pinning him. “How late will you be? Could you meet us after?”

“I can try but I don’t want to break a promise to you. Tomorrow, I swear it will just be you and me.” He kisses her forehead. “We’ll do anything you want.”

“Okay,” she relents.

“I love you, Lia.”

“Where’s Johnny?” Bodhi asks when Nola arrives at Champs alone.

“He got called to base to do a debriefing of his time in Europe,” Nola shrugs sitting down across from them.

“Aw man, well we have plenty of time to see him. He’s home for awhile now, right?”

“He should be. He said tomorrow it’s just going to be me and him.”

“Good. Maybe you can go over wedding ideas,” Layla says.

“Yeah, maybe,” Nola smiles sadly. “Let’s get a drink.”

When she picks up the menu to skim over the cocktails, her ring is shining brighter and feels heavier than ever because of Johnny’s absence.

She always has a great time with Layla and Bodhi so after dinner they ended up at a bar on the beach called The Hard Deck. It was a little packed but they got served pretty quickly from a kind woman. Nola noticed a lot of Navy pilots coming in through the front door then there was a loud clamor of a bell. Loud cheers erupted from everyone in the bar.

“What’s going on?” Nola asks looking around. She plucks her cherry from her glass.

“If you disrespect a lady, the Navy, or have your phone on Penny’s bar, you buy a round,” a bystander says.

“Oh sweet! I’ll go get our drinks!” Bodhi says. He kisses the top of Layla’s head and makes his way to the bar.

“Well that’s cool,” Layla laughs.

“Super cool,” Nola agrees with a smile and glances around the bar as if expecting someone.

“Are you looking for Johnny? Did he get to leave early?” Layla asks.

“What?” Nola notices a cluster of pilots by the pool table. “Um, no. He hasn’t responded to my last text.”

She opens her phone to make sure she has service. She does and her message sent an hour ago is there saying it was delivered.

Hey babe. We’re at this bar now called the hard deck. Let me know if you can come by! 😘😘

Nola stares at the ‘seen’ below her message minutes after she sent it. At least he saw it.

“We’ll stay for a bit longer and see,” Layla holds Nola’s hand in assurance.

The three friends chit chat about their jobs and Nola taps her fingers on her glass as ‘Slow Ride’ by Foghat plays over the JukeBox. They finish their drinks and are about to leave when the music cuts off and the trill of a piano is overheard by the upset patrons.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Nola turns to peer at the piano.

“Someone’s being carried out!” Bodhi laughs looking in the opposite direction from the piano.

Nola doesn’t pay that any mind and instead listens as ‘Great Balls of Fire’ is being sung by the piano player. The crowd has gathered around him so she can’t see who it is but she notices the khaki all around; he must be a pilot.

“That’s so fun,” Nola comments but Layla and Bodhi aren’t paying attention as she takes out her phone to record a video of the performance.

“Let’s get outta here before they get too rowdy,” Layla says pulling Nola by the elbow.

When Nola got home, all the lights were still turned off so Johnny must not be home yet. She checks her phone and has messages from her sister Nomi asking about wedding plans and if she and their mom can fly out to go dress shopping soon. There are still no messages from Johnny.

Nola does her nighttime routine even though she is a little drunk. She’s pulled back the comforter and is about to crawl in when she hears the front door open and the swift clicks of Johnny’s dress shoes come down the hallway.

“Johnny!” she squeals leaping at him. She tries to give him a kiss but only gets his chin.

“Hi,” he chuckles and steadies her. “Are you drunk?”

“Maybe,” she shrugs playing with one of his gold fastenings on his suit. “A round or two was paid for at the bar we were at because someone disrespected a lady, the Navy or a phone.” She counted off the reasons on her fingers then giggled into his chest. “No, no, no, you can’t disrespect a phone. I don’t remember but lady and Navy rhyme.”

“Okay, sweetheart, let’s get you to bed,” Johnny smiles rubbing her back. He spins her around but she covers her mouth. “Are you okay?”

Nola shakes her head then runs to their bathroom and throws up in the toilet. She’s waiting to feel Johnny’s assuring hand and soothing words but it doesn’t come until she’s standing in front of the mirror rinsing out her mouth.

“Better?” he asks watching her wipe at her mouth with a towel.

“Kinda,” she whispers, her head is starting to pound.

“I’m glad you didn’t do this in front of Simon and Delilah,” he says and Nola stares at him.

Did he really just say that?

“Do you need anything?”

She shakes her head and exits the bathroom. Johnny closes the door so he can get ready for bed and Nola settles under the covers listening to him brush his teeth and wash his face. When he comes out, he hangs his suit on the proper hangers and he joins her in bed. He kisses her temple and shuts off the light.

Nola stares at the clock next to her side and thinks of the time Jake took care of her when she drank more than she intended when she visited him at school. He hand fed her a glazed donut and made sure she drank enough water before bed. She presses her hands to her head as if it would push the thoughts of him away and somehow ends up falling asleep.

She dreamt of green eyes, trucks, bonfires and cowboy hats but didn’t remember a single thing when she woke up.

Johnny woke her up gently with a soft kiss to her temple and a mug of coffee. Her favorite hangover food was on a plate in his hands along with two pills of Aspirin. When they’ve finished eating and her head feels better, Johnny kisses that spot below her ear that always gives her goosebumps and they have slow morning sex.

After a shower and another cup of coffee, they’re sitting on their porch watching cars drive by and neighbors move up and down the sidewalk. It’s a very pleasant Saturday morning and then Johnny’s work phone rings.

Nola listens silently to his side of the conversation so she already knows their time is cut short again.

“I–”

“You have to go,” she interrupts him and gives him a sad smile. “I know. It’s okay.”

“I’m so sorry, baby. It’s a quick run through and I’ll be home by dinner. I’ll pick something up to eat and we can have a fire in the back with your favorite wine.”

“Okay.”

The rest of the week goes by in the same manner; Nola is home alone while Johnny works late. He tells her he wants to go out Friday night on Wednesday but she reminds him (for the fourth time) that she has an Open House at school until 8:30.

They share a quick dinner Friday night before she changes into one of her nicer school dresses then heads out early to make sure her room is set for the parents. She always enjoys meeting the parents of her students and telling them how proud she is of them and all of their work.

“Miss James!” Charlie bursts through the door followed closely by her mother.

“Hello Charlie,” Nola smiles at her then holds out her hand to her mom. “I’m Miss James.”

“Diana,” Diana smiles and shakes her hand. “You’re Charlie’s favorite teacher.”

“Well, I’m glad to have her. She’s such a joy and I love what she creates.”

“Can I grab my plane picture to show my dad?” Charlie asks.

“Go ahead,” Nola motions towards the art displayed on the tables.

Diana and Nola continue to talk about Charlie and how she draws at home as well when Nola recognizes a familiar face walking in her room. A face she hasn’t see in a very, very long time.

“Javy?” she stares in shock as he comes in wearing his service khakis.

“Nola? You’re Charlie’s art teacher?” he asks in equal shock.

“Yes…are you…I’m sorry, I’m confused,” Nola shakes her head.

“Me too,” he laughs awkwardly then stands next to Diana. “I’m Charlie’s dad and Diana is my fiance. We’re hoping to finally tie the knot soon–”

“But it’s hard when he’s being called on missions all over the world,” Diana smiles at him.

“Yeah…I can attest to that,” Nola smiles politely. Her ears are starting to ring because the last time she saw Javy was in Germany. Jake’s name is on the tip of her tongue. “Congratulations on the engagement, that’s so great Javy.”

“How do you two know each other?” Diana asks.

“Uh, I dated his best friend in college and we hung out a lot,” Nola explains. She couldn’t bring herself to say his name. Her neck began to heat up under her dress and she lifts her hand to bring her hair forward.

Javy’s eyes widened at the large ring on her finger.

“You’re married?”

“What? Oh! No, not yet. I’m engaged, too.”

“Wow! That’s great! Congratulations!” he hugs her and Nola pushes down an ache, he’s the biggest reminder of Jake yet.

“Thank you,” she hugs him back but they both pull away at the same time.

“Um, we should go see her other teachers before it’s too late–” Javy tries to back out of her classroom.

Charlie objects behind Nola and Javy looks behind him nervously.

“I have to show you my planes, daddy!” Charlie pouts.

“It really is a great picture. She drew you and her uncle,” Nola smiles.

“Right,” Javy coughs. “Let’s see, munchkin.”

Nola watches as Javy and Diana look at the drawing Charlie did. Now that they’re next to each other, Nola can see how much Charlie does look like Javy. How did she not see that before?

“Nola James?”

The back of Nola’s neck prickles. She knows that voice all too well and she hasn’t heard that voice in nine years. Javy turns his head, realization washes over his features and Nola understands why he tried to get out of her room. Her head is pounding as she turns slowly around and sees Jake.

He’s in his service khakis as well, his hair is short but not buzzed. It’s pristine and held perfectly in place and his green eyes are piercing. He’s as handsome as ever and Nola holds her breath.

“As I live and breathe,” he drawls quietly.

“Jake,” she gasps out before everything spins and turns dark.

When she comes to, she smells mahogany teakwood and hears her name faintly being called. When she hears it in Jake’s voice, her eyes flash open and she sees him staring down at her. She tries to sit up.

“Woah, woah, hey, hey, hey slow down,” Jake says.

She stares up at him and realizes he’s holding her in his arms. She can feel his warmth all over her, the muscles in his arms.

“What happened?” Her voice is small and timid. She then notices it’s only them in her classroom.

“You sorta passed out. But you didn’t hit your head, I caught you before you could have hurt yourself.”

“You…caught me?”

“Yeah,” his green eyes are full of concern as they look her over. His thumb is rubbing the top of her shoulder.

“Where did Javy go?”

“To get you some water,” he presses the back of his hand to her forehead then the pads of his fingers trail down her cheek.

Each touch leaves a burning flame on her skin but all she does is just lie there in his arms.

“You feel a little clammy…”

Nola can’t stop staring at him. He’s really here?

“Yeah, I’m here, Nola,” he chuckles, his green eyes lift to stare into hers.

“You heard that?”

“You said it out loud.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just been–”

“A long time,” he nods slowly.

They’re both caught in a trance of old memories, feelings, and the complete surprise of being this near to each other again after so many years. Jake opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by Javy.

“I got the water!”

“Miss James, are you sick?” Charlie asks peering around Javy’s legs. Diana holds onto her shoulders to keep her a good distance away.

“Uh, I think I can sit up on my own,” Nola says awkwardly.

“Right,” Jake nods clearing his throat.

He helps her sit up then takes her left hand so he can help her stand to her feet. He rubs her back subconsciously then glances down at her hand in his and he sees the ostentatious diamond ring. He’s frozen, staring at it.

Nola tries to hide her hand from him and thankfully Javy hands her the small paper cup of water. Nola mutters a soft ‘thank you’ and Jake turns his head away from the diamond letting her hand drop to her side.

She feels like she’s going to pass out again.

***

Nola has finished putting away her student’s work and was waiting on her coffee to brew by her desk. The rest of the evening went by in a blur, she was on autopilot speaking with the other parents because her mind kept replaying the moment she saw and heard Jake. Absent-mindedly she’s twisting the band of her ring as she watches the brew drip and trickle into the carafe.

There’s a knock on her door and she whips around to see Jake standing in the doorway, he bashfully places his hands in his pockets.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” she responds breathlessly.

“Do you…do you need help cleaning anything up?”

“No,” Nola glances around her room. “I’m all good, thanks.”

He nods, purses his lips and starts to leave.

“Wait!” she calls, taking a step forward and Jake spins around quickly. “Do you want a cup of coffee?”

Once they’ve made their coffee how they like, they move to the corner of her room where she’s got a pair of comfy chairs for kids to sit and draw. They sit in an awkward silence, each taking a sip of their coffee.

“So, who’s the lucky guy?”

“We don’t have to talk about that,” Nola shakes her head and chips away at some paint on the handle of her mug.

“Come on, Nola. If I didn’t want to know I wouldn’t have asked. Who is he?”

“Lieutenant John Fischer.”

“Navy guy, huh? I’ve heard of him.”

“Yeah, guess I have a type,” she says grimly.

“Does he treat you well?”

“Yeah, Johnny’s great,” she nods quickly and then the past few days roll through her mind. How he’s been coming and going more than usual and how he doesn’t want to help plan their wedding. Jake doesn’t need to know about those minor details.

“Good, I’m glad to hear it.”

“Are you seeing anyone?” she sighs wanting to change the subject off of her and Johnny.

“Dating on and off again,” he shrugs, “but nothing serious. Let me take you and your fiance out to dinner soon.”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to–”

“Please,” he holds up his hand, “it’s a congratulatory dinner on your engagement. My treat.”

“All right,” she laments. “So, what are you and Javy doing here? Do you live here now?”

“We got called to a mission for Top Gun.”

“What in the world is that?” she asks taking a large swallow of her coffee and he smiles.

“Fighter Weapons School, it’s where the best pilots go to learn aerial combat. I was first in my class when I went the first time,” he grins and Nola laughs because it’s his cocky grin. “Now, me and a bunch of other pilots were called for a very special mission and we’re all fighting to be team leader.”

“Uh oh, bet you’re such a good sport about that,” she teases.

“Oh you know I am,” he laughs.

“Is it dangerous?”

“What?”

“What you do, is it dangerous?”

He frowns slightly and averts his gaze to his coffee.

“Yeah, Nola, it’s dangerous. I’m the only naval aviator on active duty with a confirmed air to air kill.”

“That’s…great?” she makes a face not knowing if it’s a good thing or not.

“It is. I’m the best,” he smiles and she rolls her eyes.

“Same old Jake.”

They finally head out when the janitor comes by and tells Nola he’ll be locking up soon and she should be heading home. Jake walks her to her car and then asks if tomorrow night works for dinner. She says yes and she thanks the high heavens he didn’t hug her goodbye because she didn’t know what she’d do if he did.

She drives home in silence going over the whole night in her mind. When she does get home Johnny is already asleep and she slips in beside him quietly after she’s changed and washed her face. Johnny rolls over in his sleep and brings her against his chest, he nuzzles into her neck.

***

The next morning when Johnny asks how her open house went she tells him about the kids and their parents and brings up Javy and Jake. Johnny recognizes Jake’s name but he doesn’t lead on if he’s upset or anything by it. To Nola’s surprise, he agrees to grabbing dinner with Jake.

The rest of the day is spent with them making lunch and going for a walk along the beach. Nola is happy when his work phone doesn’t go off and she actually thinks they’re going to go for dinner when he pulls his phone from his pocket as they’re about to walk out the door.

Nola listens stoically as Johnny takes his orders that he needs to return to the ship.

“I will be there in twenty minutes, Captain,” Johnny says and brushes his thumb over her bottom lip. “I promise you, this should be the last last minute cancellation. These meetings are important, Lia and I wish I could tell you but they’re–”

“Classified,” she finishes. “I know. I don’t have Jake’s number to cancel–”

“No, no, don’t cancel because of me. Go have fun and catch up.”

“You’re sure?”

Johnny knows all about hers and Jake’s history. It was on their eighth date where the topic of exes came up. He asked if she was ever serious with anyone and her prolonged silence told him there was. He wanted to know so she told him about Jake and their constant on-again-off-again relationship. She told him how he broke up with her twice in order to save her heart and then she told him about Germany.

Johnny listened intently and wiped her tears away when stray ones betrayed her and rolled down her cheeks. She apologized for crying and Johnny told her not to worry about it but he did call Jake an idiot and that made her laugh because she always called him an idiot, too. When she asked about his person he said he didn’t have one.

“Until I met you, Lia.”

Johnny kisses her forehead now and slips his credit card into her hand.

“I’m sure. And I know he said dinner was on him but it’ll be my treat since I’m canceling.”

“Johnny, you don’t have to–”

“I want to,” he smiles at her then lifts her left hand to his mouth. He kisses her ring finger, his brown eyes melting into hers. “Have a great time and I’ll see you when you get back. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she smiles.

Nola doesn’t notice Jake do a double take when she walks in searching for him in the restaurant. When she does spot him, she smiles and he rises from his chair so he can pull hers out for her.

“Where’s the fiance?” he asks once he’s settled back in his own seat.

“He got called in just as we were walking out the door, and he gave me his credit card because he couldn’t make it.”

“Really?” Jake drawls and a Cheshire grin.

“Don’t go crazy, Jake,” she scolds lightly and lifts up the drink menu.

“All right, all right,” he laughs. “Sad I don’t get to meet him.”

“I’m sure you will soon.”

As their courses are brought out they catch up some more and he tells her how proud he is of her for doing what she loves. The next topic are their siblings and all four of them are doing well in college.

“Lincoln will probably go pro in football,” Nola says after a swallow of wine.

“That’s what Lottie told me, he’s a great athlete.”

While they’re waiting for dessert, Jake stares at her as she looks around the restaurant. When she meets his gaze her eyes widen.

“What?”

“You look really good, Nola,” he compliments.

Nola hates how her cheeks betray her by warming and turning red at his words. He knows it too and he smiles.

“Watch it, Jake,” she warns, then sighs.

“Just stating facts, darlin’. So, when’s the wedding date?”

“Haven’t decided that yet. We haven’t had time to plan for it since he’s been in Europe the last eight months.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

There’s an awkward silence but then the dessert is presented to them. They each got fried ice cream drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce.

“I’m so full, that was delicious,” she says walking past him when he opens the door for her. “I’m going to have to walk this all off tomorrow.”

“How about now? We could walk up and down the block if you’d like,” he suggests.

As they walk, they reminisce about the old times they shared in high school. They laughed and joked about prom, and she teased why he didn’t just ask her to be his date. He confessed he was too chicken to. It was like no time had passed between them, even though it’s been nine years it’s like they picked up the bookmark of where they last left off. It was always easy talking with him. They make plans to get together again with Johnny on Tuesday and she says it shouldn’t be a problem.

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hangmans-darling · 2 years ago

Text

Live Forever [Part 3] Jake Seresin

summary: Jake Seresin and Magnolia James have always been tied together, soon enough their ties become entangled over the years. This is their love story.

word count: 5.5k

warnings: smut, fingering, a fight, mentions of blood, angst

masterlist

live forever masterlist

Feedback is always welcome! Enjoy!🥰

Nola has started her junior year at Ole Miss and on top of her student teachings, advanced art classes and being Vice President of Tri Delta she barely had time to write to Jake. Jake’s letters became scarce as well because he transferred to flight school and the training was more intense for that.

They both agreed that she’d visit him the last four days of spring break but when she arrived, something felt different. That wall was back up between them even though he greeted her with the same enthusiasm he always did. The four days went by in a blur, there were a lot of tense silences but to ignore them, they both initiated sex to try and rectify it.

On the last night, he sat her down on his bed and held onto her hands, Nola stared at him with wide eyes.

“I start my real flight training this summer. I won’t be home at all,” he started, and she remained silent. “I…being a fighter pilot is dangerous, Nola. The last thing I want to do is break your heart again, but I don’t…I won’t put you through the worry of wondering if I’ll come home alive.”

Nola sniffed and looked at their joined hands in her lap. She felt this coming but even if she was expecting it, it didn’t make it hurt any less. She let go of his hands and moved in front of the window, it’s pouring rain and it hit the window harshly.

“Nola, please say something,” he said.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay…we aren’t together anymore,” she surrendered, her shoulders falling. “But I don’t want us to stop being in each other’s lives, Jake.”

“Of course not,” he stood from his bed to stand next to her. “Do you still want to write letters?”

She nodded and turned around, she wanted to keep a brave face but when she looked at him, all of her walls crumbled.

“Together or not…I’ll still worry about you and want you to come home safe. Even if you’re not coming home to me.”

“Nola–”

She cut him off by launching herself into him, her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders as she kissed him like she’s never kissed him before. In this kiss was everything she feared to say and now it’s just breaking through. Jake knows they shouldn’t sleep together because this is already hard enough, but his willpower is always swayed when it comes to Nola.

“No, we shouldn’t–” he tried to be the rational one, but his hands betrayed his words as he lifted her shirt.

“I know, I know we shouldn’t,” she agreed, lifting her arms so he could pull her shirt off, “but…please, Jake? One last time.”

“My willpower isn’t as strong as last time…” he stared into her eyes as her hands undid his belt and pants.

He made no move to stop her. As he stared into her eyes, he saw the future he desperately wanted with her. With a resigned sigh he kissed her again and lifted her into his arms.

They fell to his bed shedding the rest of their clothes off. They moved together in a frenzy; he licked his fingers and prepped her quickly. Nola moaned at the precision of his fingers and the way his palm met her mound as she bucked into his hand.

“Ready?” he asked when she clenched around his fingers and her slick slid down his fingers.

“Yeah.”

Their love making is also frantic and rushed, both of them wanting to hold onto this moment for as long as possible. Their kisses were sloppy, teeth crashed together and her nails bit into his back. They came together in a symphony of moans and groans.

“I’m always yours,” he mumbled on her lips.

“And I’m yours.”

Nola cleaned up in his bathroom but when she came back out and laid on his bed to go to sleep, Jake rolled on top of her, capturing her lips. Their goodbye lasted all night, exchanging times of pleasure.

2 years after

Jake texted Nola asking if she wanted to come over for a drink. It was already one a.m when he messaged her, so she knew something was wrong. After their break-up they more or less only had a physical relationship with each other. Nola kept records of each one.

Six months after their breakup when they were both home in Texas, he invited her over to tell her about his first time flying. He was still giddy from the adrenaline of it all and one thing lead to another and they ended up having sex in his truck.

Nine months later after she went through a bad breakup, she called him up. He let her cry about the asshole on his shoulder and he assured her that the guy was an idiot for cheating on her.

“Kind of like you?” she sniffed and he chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess. I would never cheat on you, no one should, because being with you is…there’s nothing like it. Who could compete with you?”

The way he was looking at her and stroking her cheek stirred that electric current between them once again and soon enough she was on his lap.

And that was the cycle they had, a carousel of coming back to each other when they were home or he was stationed near her. The feelings were still there but a line was drawn to not cross into that territory of a relationship again.

When Nola knocked on his door after receiving his text, he pulled her in with lips already on hers as he unzipped her coat. Sex between them was always exceptional because they knew what the other liked. He knew her sweet spots and she knew that when her fingernail trailed beneath his boxers in a teasing manner, he would already be hard.

He was moving at a much faster pace than they usually did and Nola could feel how tense he was in his shoulders. Jake’s movements were frantic and uncoordinated, he lifted up her shirt but then quickly went to her jeans to undo those. But he didn’t pull her jeans down, instead he rutted against her with his tongue swiping inside her mouth once more.

“Jake, Jake, Jake, wait,” she gasped when he bit her bottom lip a little too harshly.

“What?” He looked at her and his eyes were a crazed electric green.

“Slow down,” she said and held his cheeks between her palms. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I need to be with you right now.”

He pushed forward so he could kiss her again and she let him but then pulled away once more, her head thumped against the wall.

“Jake, what is it? You can tell me. I can feel how tense you are and your hands are shaking,” she said. She felt them quiver on her lower back when he hugged himself a little closer to her. “Talk to me, it’s just us.”

He stared at her, the crazed look gone and replaced by sadness. He swallowed harshly, licked his lips and shook his head.

“I lost a wingman today.”

“Not Javy–?”

“No, no, he was on deck. It was…I don’t even know exactly what happened. It was a bird strike and Ferrari tried everything, but he started to spiral and was struggling to eject…” he closed his eyes. “I saw him go down, he never parachuted, and it was…the silence on the comms is living in my brain. I keep picturing it. I keep thinking if there was something I could have done.”

“Oh, Jake,” Nola stroked his cheeks affectionately and smoothed the crease of his brow until he relaxed, and his eyes opened again. “I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk more–”

“No,” his voice was stern, eyes a hard green. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think about it. I only want to be with you and focus on you right now because you make it all disappear. Please, Nola, I need you.”

“Okay,” she nodded and leaned in to kiss him softly. “Okay.”

He continued with his motions, but the movements were more calculated. They shuffled to his room and when all of her clothes were removed, he dropped to his knees in front of her holding his head against her belly. His lips were soft and tender on her skin as he kissed lower and lower, her fingers played through his hair gently.

“Lay down,” he commanded softly, and she did.

He hooked her leg over his shoulder, breathed her in with lips hovering over her core. He licked at her tenderly and with precision, the soft moans heard from her enticed him more. He alternated between sweet licks and peppered kisses before sucking on her clit, his tongue throbbing against the bundle of nerves.

She squeaked out his name, one hand flying to his hair, her hips lifted with each stroke of his mouth. Her eyes were already seeing stars when his finger slid inside her and her leg tightened around his head from the explicit pleasure, he was giving her. Just as she was about to climax, he stopped his motions and kissed her lower stomach again, his teeth nipped at her skin.

“You always taste so good, darlin’,” he mumbled and pumped his finger leisurely.

“I was close,” she exhaled, staring at him. His eyes met hers.

“I know. Want to make this last.”

And he did. He edged her three more times, each one lasting a little bit longer and she was whining at him but enjoyed it at the same time. He’s never been like this before. When he’d had enough or just couldn’t hold out on not being inside her anymore, he lifted her, so she was further up on his bed.

He held her gaze while he lowered himself on top of her, pressing into her gently. It’s been a while since the last time they connected this way and Jake had to really concentrate and focus as he bottomed out. Being close with Nola like this really made everything else in the world disappear. He kissed her tenderly while his hips slapped against hers in another heated frenzy.

When they lay together in the afterglow, he explained how his superior told him there will be many others in his career and he needs to learn to let go now or he won’t make it as a pilot.

“That’s a little harsh,” Nola said tracing her finger in the creases of his chest.

“He’s right. I can’t hold on or it’ll distract me.”

Nola’s finger stopped because she felt like his words held a double meaning towards her.

“But with you, Nola…I don’t have to hide anything away.”

She rolled her head over onto his chest to look at him. His eyes were on the ceiling but quickly met her gaze and smiled.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” she shifted herself, so she was straddling him. His hands flew to her hips, his fingers rubbed at her skin, and she peered down at him. “But you better not die on me Jake Seresin or I’ll have to kill you.”

“Yes ma’am,” he grinned, and she dipped her head down to his with a kiss.

After that round, he brought in some water.

“Have you gone out with Robbie at all?” he asked pulling on a shirt. Nola was already wearing one of his Navy shirts, he loved to see her in it.

“You really want to know?” she raised her eyebrows while she tried to untangle her hair after their exploits.

“No, I guess not,” he flickered a smile.

Eventually he fell asleep from Nola playing with his hair. Nola watched the digital clock by his bedside change from number to number as she contemplated staying the night or going back to her own place. Ultimately, she knows it won’t do either of them any good if she does so when she’s sure his breathing is deep and even, she removed herself from him.

She dressed quickly and quietly and scribbled a note for him to find in the morning. She was about to walk out the door when his voice startled her.

“You don’t have to go, you know.”

She turned and his hands were in the pockets of his gray sweats.

“I know, but I should. You know that.”

“I keep breaking your heart and I hate myself for it everytime,” he walked closer, so he was in front of her. “And I know I’m selfish for reaching out to you.”

“I’m selfish for never saying no,” she smiled softly. “Do you want to know the reason I come back time and time again after you’ve broken my heart? It’s because you’re the only one who can put it back together again.”

“You put me back together again, too.”

***

A year after he lost his first wingman, Nola received an alarming phone call. She had finished her first month of her first job as an art teacher and drove to her parent’s house. She noticed Juniper’s green punch bug in the driveway which wasn’t uncommon but when she walked inside the house, she felt a shift in the air as her family stood up when she entered.

“What’s going on?” she asked noticing Juniper and Lottie’s faces were pale. Their parents weren’t here.

“Honey–”

Nola’s phone lit up in her hand, she forgot she turned it back on as she walked inside the house. It was Javy and her heart fell to the floor. With shaking fingers, she accepted the call and her voice shook.

“Javy?”

“Are you driving or are you home?”

“Javy, what's wrong?” she asked staring at her family.

“Jake took a bad hit while on a mission. His parents were already notified and, on their way, but I know he’d want you here. Is there any way you can come to Germany?”

“I need you to tell me he’s alive, Javy. Please,” Nola whispered.

“He is alive,” he responded slowly. “But you should still be here.”

“Okay. Um. I’ll be on the next flight out.”

Packing, going to the airport and the flight went by in a blur for Nola. Juniper and Lottie begged to go with her, but she told them they needed to stay with her parents; she promised she would call them right after she saw him. Jake’s parents picked her up at the airport, his mother was crying but smiling.

“He’s going to be just fine,” his mother Joyce said.

“What happened?”

“They can explain more at the hospital,” his father Jacob Sr. responded. “His friend Javy is there waiting for you.”

Nola ran towards Javy when she saw him sitting in the hallway. His left arm was in a sling and there were a few other pilots sitting not too far away from him. A woman with dark hair and a tall blond man with the shadow of a mustache.

“Tell me what happened, Javy,” she begged holding onto his arm

“It was a dogfight the minute we were in the air, there was a lot of smoke and Jake took one of the enemies out. We were being tailed by another one and were fighting it off but then we ran out of ammo. Our reserve was on the way, and we tried to divert it, our left engine got hit. We inclined to try and put it out but then it really caught fire.”

Nola listened with bated breath, her eyes focused and unblinking on him as he explained.

“We tried everything we could, but our other engine got hit and we ejected. Part of Jake’s chute got hit with a small fireball and he fell in a downward spiral. We had a rough landing in the mountains. He was unconscious when I finally found him and–” Javy closed his eyes as he remembered it and Nola’s filled with tears.

“Can I go see him? Is he awake?”

“He woke up as we were flying to the nearest medic base and the only thing, he said was your name. He’s always told me that if something bad happened to not tell you but this…this was bad, Nola. I know he wants you here even if he denies it.”

“Sounds like him,” she choked out a laugh and wiped at her eyes.

“You can go in; I don’t know if he’s awake or not. They’re keeping him sedated. Try not to freak out when you see him. He’s beat up pretty badly.”

“Okay. Thank you for calling me, Javy. I’m glad you’re okay, too,” she stretched up to kiss his cheek and he held his arm out towards Jake’s room.

Nola took a deep breath before entering. She kept her eyes on the handle as she shut it behind her and took more deep breaths before looking to the bed. Nola stood frozen upon seeing him for the first time. His forehead was bandaged and stained with dried blood, his face bruised and cut. His right arm was in a sling and cast and there were some bandages wrapped around his torso.

She walked silently towards him and saw his chest rise and fall in even movements. There’s a chair next to the bed and she pulled it closer. Her body collapsed onto it as her eyes roamed over his body. His left hand had a splint on two of his fingers while small cuts were decorated up his entire arm. Did he fall through a tree?

Very carefully, Nola touched his arm sliding her hand in his. His fingertips were cool, but his palm was warm, and she pressed her lips to the back of his hand. She could feel his heartbeat on his wrist and heard it on the monitors. She thanked the heavens that he was alive. She rested her cheek on his hand and stared up at him, wishing for him to open his eyes.

Nola isn’t sure how long she laid there holding his hand. Eventually his parents entered the room to sit and wait and Javy came in as well. They talked quietly with each other, and Nola kept stroking his hand watching for any movement of his eyes. When a nurse came in to notify them visiting hours are over, Nola threw a fit that she wasn’t leaving.

“Let her stay, he’d want her to be the first person he sees when he wakes up,” Joyce told the doctor and nurse.

Eventually the staff relented. Javy told her he’d be back in the morning after doing another write up of what happened in the jet. Jacob Sr. brought her suitcase in and Joyce kissed her on the top of her head.

“Try and get some rest, honey. Thank you for staying with him.”

“I’ll try. Oh no! I forgot to call Juniper and Lottie! I told them I would as soon as I saw him–”

“We’ll call them, don’t worry.”

In the middle of the night Nola jerked awake but Jake was still asleep.

“I’ll be right back, I have to use the bathroom,” she told him. She kissed his hand and brought her suitcase inside.

She changed and brushed her teeth. There was an extra blanket and pillow on the chair and a smiling nurse when she came out of the bathroom. Nola thanked her and asked how he was looking.

“He’s stable, his stitches are holding well. He’s been in and out of clarity ever since he got here. We’re hoping he’ll wake up soon.”

Nola nodded then took her seat again, the nurse closed the door on the way out. Once she was settled with the pillow and blanket, she took Jake’s hand again and held it against her cheek.

“I’m right here, Jake,” she whispered.

Nola stayed up all night but eventually fell asleep around seven. Her body needed rest and the next time she woke up; the sun was setting, and Jake’s parents were sitting at the table in the corner.

“I’m glad you got some rest,” Joyce said. Nola shot straight up to look at Jake, but his eyes were still closed.

“Did he wake up?”

“No, not yet,” Jacob Sr. sighed gravely. “We ordered food for you; it should be up here shortly.”

“Javy was here but he didn’t want to disturb you. He brought Jake’s things and there was this in his breast pocket of his suit,” Joyce handed Nola a folded-up piece of paper.

Nola released Jake’s hand and took the paper. When she unfolded it, she recognized it as the note she left for him that last time they were together and a photo of her fell onto the bed. The photo was from their first summer together and she had on his cowboy hat. On the back he scrawled ‘my good luck charm.’.

Her eyes scanned to the letter, the places it was folded were thinning as if he’s opened and closed it a thousand times.

Jake,

I know last night didn't change anything between us. But I’ll always be there for you when you need me and have to let go. Just don’t ever let go of me.

Always yours,

Nola

“I hope my son will come to his senses and realize keeping you away like this because of his job is idiotic,” Joyce said, and Nola laughed. She folded the photo into the note carefully shut again.

“I’ve been telling him he’s an idiot since we got together the first time.”

“Thank you for always being there for him,” Joyce brushed at Nola’s hair.

Joyce and Jacob Sr. left when visiting hours were over and Nola couldn’t stop thinking about how Jake had her photo and note in the pocket of his flight suit. It warmed her heart that he carried her with him whenever he flew but Javy’s words are stuck in the back of her mind. How Jake told him not to contact her if something happened to him.

“I know you so well and yet I don’t get you, Jake,” she said to him. “Should I not be here when you wake up?”

She closed her eyes to rest as she laid against his arm and hummed their song. Memories of them roll through her mind and a foggy future she still constantly clings to. She remained by his bedside for two more days, humming and singing to him softly while holding his hand. She’d kiss his fingertips and stare at him, silently begging him to wake up.

“What’s an angel like you doin’ here with me?”

Nola’s head snapped up at the sound of his voice on the third day. His parents went downstairs to get some lunch. His voice was hoarse and scratchy but then she saw his eyes lift open slowly.

“Jake?” she whispered. He blinked at her heavily, a corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile.

“As I live and breathe.” His signature–slow but strained–grin appeared.

Without thinking, Nola leaned in and kissed his lips quickly.

“Are you really here or’m I dreamin’?” he asked groggily.

“I’m here! I’m so glad you’re awake,” she touched his face gently. He went to lift his right arm to touch her cheek but then winced when he tried because of the sling and cast.

“What happened? Where am I?”

“You and Javy were in a crash…you’re in a hospital in Germany.”

“Javy…oh.” Jake blinked and stared at the wall as his memories resurfaced. He saw flashes of sky and earth and images of Nola before his vision went dark. “Where is he? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine, he has a broken arm but he’s okay,” she rubbed at his hand. “Are you in pain? Do you need me to get the nurse?”

“No, no ‘m okay,” he shook his head and hissed from the bandage around his forehead. “Want to look at you. Your hair’s different. Shorter.”

He lifted his arm she was holding so he could touch the ends of her hair with his fingers. She cut her hair to her chin.

“I wanted to try something new.”

“I like it,” he swallowed then coughed.

“Here, there’s some water,” she grabbed the plastic cup from the table by his bed. She held it up to him and guided the straw to his mouth. “Drink slowly.”

He did as she told but drank the whole cup.

“Thank you,” he cleared his throat and cupped her cheek again staring at her. “I can’t believe you’re here. Beautiful as ever.”

“Stop it,” she smiled and kissed his palm. Her fingers tickled up and down his forearm.

They sit there staring at each other, years of history and love tied between them.

“I told Javy not to call you if I’d get hurt,” his lips turned down in a frown.

“It’s not like I wouldn’t hear it from your parents, Jake,” she sighed.

“Are they here?”

“They’re at the hotel,” she nodded. “No visitors allowed after ten.”

“How’d you get to stay?”

“I raised hell,” she smiled.

“That’s my girl.”

Upon hearing those words and being able to look him in the eye, Nola rolled her lips into her teeth to try and keep her tears at bay. It didn’t work. It just hit her that this could have been a completely different outcome, he could have died in the crash or right here in front of her because of unforeseen circumstances. The idea of losing him forever washed over her like a tidal wave and she sobbed loudly against his hand. She breathed him in and thought how she could have lost him.

“Hey, hey, c’mere,” he said in a hushed voice. Her head fell onto his chest and Jake did his best of holding her with his free hand. He kissed the top of her head. “It’s all right.”

She cried onto his chest as he rubbed at her hair and murmured soft words to her. He told her she was on his mind the whole time he was falling through the sky, how he dreamed of her. He always saw her face and that’s what made him hold on.

“Is that why my note and picture were in your breast pocket?” she asked after her crying subsided. Jake wiped her tears from her cheeks the best he could, he was frowning.

“How do you know about that?”

“Javy brought it with your stuff. Your mom found it and showed me. Why aren’t we together Jake?”

“For this very reason, Nola. I don’t want you to go through this everytime I go on a mission.”

“Hiding it from me while we’re friends makes it easier? I’m still in love with you, Jake and that’s never going to change.”

“Nola–”

“Tell me you aren’t in love with me, too and I’ll drop it.”

He stared at her. He couldn’t tell her that because he’d be lying.

“We’re so good together Jake, how can you not see that?” she shook her head.

“I know we’re good together, Nola. I can’t put you through this again. I didn’t even want you to have to go through this now.”

“The only way that will happen will be if we are completely out of each other’s lives. I don’t want that because my heart will never recover.”

“Nola…maybe we shouldn’t–”

Nola closed her eyes. If she couldn’t see him, his words won’t come true.

“How does this not hurt you?” she whispered, opening her eyes, a tear rolled down her cheek.

She stared at him then something within her shifted. Jake saw the way her blue eyes darkened.

“You want me out of your life for good, Jake? You know me, I’ll disappear no problem.”

“It kills me, I would rather burst into flames than to keep doing this to you–”

“Then stop doing it! Why is it so hard for you to just be with me?” Nola exploded; her eyes fiery.

“You deserve better, that’s why,” Jake said.

“What makes you think you can decide that? It’s my decision who I love and want to be with, not yours. I flew to Germany for you! Because that’s what you do when you love someone, you’re there for them no matter the circumstance.”

“You should leave,” he responded quietly. “Find someone who will be home with you and not risk their life. You deserve to grow old with someone.”

Nola dropped his hand like a hot iron and snatched up her things, tears streamed down her face and Jake watched her in silence.

“I hate you,” she said, voice quivering.

“I know you don’t,” he responded quietly.

“Oh yes, I do. You break my heart time and time again and I let you because I know we’ll fall back together. But now that I’m here, in Germany and you’re still breaking my heart–you got what you wanted. Don’t contact me ever again, Jake Seresin,” she choked out. “You’re stupid for letting me go.”

“I know,” he nodded. He blinked tears away.

“Idiotic. But I don’t know who’s the bigger idiot, you for letting something that’s so good between us go or me for believing we’ll actually end up together.”

She rolled her suitcase to the door then paused, waiting for him to call her back and to apologize. When he didn't, she bit her lip and forced herself to not look at him as she walked out. This was the last time.

She cried herself dry at the hotel and again on the plane and again when she was back home. Javy texted her asking where she went. Jake’s parents tried reaching out and so did his sisters. The only person she wanted to hear from was radio silent and that silence confirmed that it was really over between them.

Nine Years After Germany (Present Day)

Nola stares at the large 5 carat emerald cut diamond on her left hand. It sparkles in all the right facets when the light hits it but it’s the weight that bothers her. She’s not used to the size of it even though it’s been placed there for the last eight months. She’s driving along the highway near San Diego because a great job opportunity arose, and she had to take it.

She’s teaching art at a private school, it’s her third school of her career since she graduated from Ole Miss, and she loves it. She helps teach grades K-8 with two other teachers and she absolutely loves her students even though it’s only been a few months. Since they’re a private school their first day was in Mid-August.

Nola was on her way home on a Wednesday when her phone started to ring. She answered it on her car system and saw it was Layla.

“Has he come home yet?” she demands.

“Hello to you, too,” Nola laughs. “I’m not even home yet so I don’t know. I’m not sure when he’ll land, you know the Navy.”

“I don’t know the Navy as well as you do. Let me know when he’s home, I know how it upsets you when he’s gone and dealing with the move to San Diego on your own…”

“I’ve learned to live with it and the move wasn’t so bad. I had a great experience with the movers. Maybe the four of us can get dinner at Champ’s on Friday if he’s home by then.”

“Bodhi would love that. Oops, a bride just walked in. Don’t forget you have to get a dress soon too!”

“I know, I know,’ Nola sighs. “I’ll text you later.”

Nola arrives home ten minutes later, and she sits in her car allowing the heat to absorb over her as she recollects herself. It’s always hard coming home to an empty house, at least now she has everything put in its proper place, so it feels homier but still; she doesn’t even have a dog or a cat to keep her company. Going to bed alone takes its toll as well. It’s been four months since he’s been in Europe, which has been half of their engagement.

She stares at her engagement ring again, flexing her fingers with the facets twinkling back at her. An all too familiar song begins to play on the radio and before she gets caught up in memories, she shuts her car off and gathers her bags. She scrambles for her keys that always seem to end up at the bottom of her bag and when she finally unlocks it, she nearly falls on her face from a suitcase placed by the door.

“Ow! What the hell?” she hisses and drops her own belongings on the floor.

“Oops, I wanted to surprise you, not injure you.”

Nola freezes upon hearing his voice. She turns around slowly and he’s there, still looking fresh and crisp in his uniform.

“Hey baby,” he greets with a dazzling smile.

“Johnny!” she gasps and runs into his arms. He lifts her off the ground holding her tight.

“I’m home, baby,” he kisses the side of her head.

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hangmans-darling · 2 years ago

Text

Live Forever [Part 2] Jake Seresin

summary: Jake Seresin and Magnolia James have always been tied together, soon enough their ties become entangled over the years. This is their love story.

word count: 7.1k

warnings: smut, fingering, a fight, mentions of blood, angst

masterlist

live forever masterlist

Feedback is always welcome! Enjoy!🥰

They exchanged a few more letters and the plan was to get together over holiday break but Jake had to stay at the Academy for drills. He promised he’d be at her formal and that he’d pick her up at her sorority house promptly at seven o’clock. Two of her sisters, best friend Layla from home, and Naomi waited with her with their dates, Bodhi and Dalton.

It was two minutes until seven o’clock and Nola had a sick feeling in her stomach that Jake wasn’t going to show up. Either something came up or his flight got delayed or something terrible happened to him.

“Let’s just go,” Nola said gathering her coat and clutch. She checked her phone one more time in case she missed the vibration of a text from Jake.

“Are you sure, honey?” Naomi asked giving her sad eyes.

“Yeah, it’s fine, I’m sure something important came up,” Nola blinked rapidly so the tears stinging her eyes wouldn’t fall.

When she opened the door, Jake was standing there in his Navy dress blues, with his hat clutched against his abdomen. His hair was buzzed again and he was clean shaven as opposed to the scruff he sported during the summer.

Keep reading

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hangmans-darling · 2 years ago

Text

Me .01 second after I post a fic knowing it takes longer than that .01 second to read it: omg what do they think😳

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hangmans-darling · 2 years ago

Photo

the first time Maverick sees Hangman and Coyote at the bar and he definitely seems impressed with Jake Seresin’s no look bullseye three in a row. just like Tom did with Glen’s no-look bullseye. well done Jakie. xD [anecdotes from this scene] [x]

#why is this so hot #and how he just casually smacks his hand in high five?#his confidence is smothered with his cockiness but idc #hangman #glen powell

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hangmans-darling · 2 years ago

Text

updated the masterlist!! excited to share the rest of Jake and Nola’s story!!

Live Forever Masterlist

This became longer than I expected but I’m so in love with this story. It’s over 30k words (will update later once the rest is posted) and I’m so excited to share this. It is split between two timelines, past and present.

Summary: Jake Seresin and Magnolia James have always been tied together, soon enough their ties become entangled over the years. This is their love story.

*** = smut/sexual situations

Then

Part 1***

Part 2***

Part 3*** (coming October 27, 2022)

Now (coming soon)

Part 4*** (coming November 3, 2022)

Part 5 (coming November 10, 2022)

Part 6 (coming November 17, 2022)

Part 7 (coming November 25, 2022)

A list of firsts–oneshots of Nola and Jake

“first” date

first deployment experience

first scare

first wedding

4+1 fic of proposals

wedding planning

the wedding

the honeymoon

first house

first test

38 notes · View notes

hangmans-darling · 2 years ago

Text

Live Forever [Part 2] Jake Seresin

summary: Jake Seresin and Magnolia James have always been tied together, soon enough their ties become entangled over the years. This is their love story.

word count: 7.1k

warnings: smut, fingering, a fight, mentions of blood, angst

masterlist

live forever masterlist

Feedback is always welcome! Enjoy!🥰

“Let’s just go,” Nola said gathering her coat and clutch. She checked her phone one more time in case she missed the vibration of a text from Jake.

“Are you sure, honey?” Naomi asked giving her sad eyes.

“Yeah, it’s fine, I’m sure something important came up,” Nola blinked rapidly so the tears stinging her eyes wouldn’t fall.

“My, my, Miss Nola James,” he drawled, his green eyes holding her gaze for a moment before sliding down her body. “As I live and breathe.”

“Jake!” she squealed and jumped into his arms. She felt the bitter chill of the wintry night but she didn’t care because he was actually here. He lifted her in his arms with the same excitement, his nose buried in her neck as he breathed her in. “I thought you weren’t going to make it.”

“I said seven o’clock, didn’t I?”

She could feel his smile and she hugged him tighter, his hands were hot through her coat. There was a throat clearing behind them.

“Oh! Let me introduce you to my friends,” she said and he set her down but still had a firm hold on her waist. “These are my sisters, Layla and Naomi and their boyfriends, Bodhi and Dalton. They’re in Alpha Phi Alpha.”

Layla and Naomi’s eyes were wide as they looked at Jake in his uniform.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Jake nodded. “Shall we get going?”

The limo awaited them outside and Jake helped Nola get into it before following in behind. When the rest joined them Nola thought she heard Naomi mutter to Dalton, “why don’t you join the navy?” Nola smiled and stared at Jake until he looked at her.

“What?”

“I thought you weren’t coming, I thought something more important came up.”

“This is important,” he rested his hand on her knee leaning in closer to her, “I told you I wouldn’t miss it.”

When they arrived at the hall where the formal was being held, Nola couldn’t help but feel giddy as everyone stared at Jake. He really was handsome in his uniform. She introduced him to her sisters that came up, they all had the same glazed look in their eyes when they saw him. One of the Big’s came by and Nola tensed.

Kyra was a notorious flirt in their sorority which wouldn’t be a bad thing if she flirted with single guys. She flirted with every boyfriend that a sister had.

“Maggie, who’s this charming fella you have with you?” Kyra gushed, her eyes locked on Jake.

Nola hated being called Maggie and she knew Kyra knew that.

“This is Jake Seresin. Jake, this is Kyra, she’s a Junior.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Jake nodded politely.

“Are you her cousin?”

“No ma’am, I’m her date,” Jake cleared his throat and Nola could sense he was getting irritated already. That made her feel good but she still compared herself to Kyra. Kyra was tall, thin and beautiful while Nola was barely 5’ 3”, a little curvy and on a good day, average looking.

“How did Maggie score a man like you?”

“Oh shut up, Kyra,” Layla rolled her eyes.

“More like how did I score Nola,” Jake said smiling sweetly to Nola. He took her hand, winking. “Excuse us, we should hand in our coats.”

Nola smirked at Kyra while she followed Jake to the coat check area.

“That was incredible! I can’t believe she thought you were my cousin,” Nola said, unbuttoning her coat. “She was trying to make a jab because we’re from the south. I hate how she calls me Maggie and yet she still does it. I don’t–”

She paused taking her coat off because Jake made a disgruntled sort of noise, almost like he was choking. Nola stared at him in alarm with her coat halfway off her body.

“What is it?!”

“How am I supposed to keep my hands off you when you look like that in this dress?” his eyes rake over her ruffled dusty rose dress.

“Oh stop,” she waved him off and finished removing her coat.

“I’m serious, darlin’, we might have to find another coat closet…” he suggested with a wink and took her coat.

She smacked his chest lightly.

“Stop it,” she blushed.

“No,” he smiled taking her hand and spinning her. The ruffles of the dress flew up and he let out a low whistle. “Damn. I’m with the best looking girl in the house.”

“Let’s go get a drink,” she shook her head chuckling but inside she had a million butterflies.

They mingled and drank and ate. Jake was a big hit at the formal and Nola couldn’t tell who wanted to talk to him more, the girls or the guys. The guys loved hearing about his life in the Navy so far and the girls just wanted to stand by and look at him. Nola didn’t blame them, she also had to force herself not to stare at him the whole time.

She excused herself to the bathroom as more girls made their way towards Jake. Naomi was nearby and Nola knew she’d keep an eye on the situation. After telling Naomi and Layla about Jake freshman year they weren’t sure what Jake’s intentions were with her. They told her it makes sense she was still hung up on him, you usually are with the person you first have sex with.

But Nola knew that wasn’t true.

Nola also knew Jake could hold his own but a small part of her wondered if he’d encourage the flirting or not. It’s not like they’re together but they are dates and there’s a certain history between them.

Is it bad she wants something to happen at the end of the night?

Nola applied more lipgloss to her lips before returning. Jake was still surrounded by the girls and Naomi gave Nola a big smile and a double thumbs up.

Jake saw Nola approaching and all of his attention was set on her. He smiled and extended his arm through a pair of girls so they could make way for Nola. When he took her hand, he pulled her against him with his other hand on her waist.

“Hey beautiful, how about a dance?”

“Really?” Nola’s eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, it’s a little too crowded over here,” he winked then turned to the girls. “Excuse us, ladies. I need to get my girl on the dancefloor.”

As soon as they were on the dancefloor ‘Live Forever’ by Little Big Town began to play and Nola gasped because it was their song.

“I asked the DJ to play it,” Jake smiled. He spun her into his chest and they remained that close with their joined hands held between them like a gift as he began to move slowly with the song. “You really look incredible, Nola.”

“So do you. I miss your scruff though,” she touched his smooth cheek. When he laughed she put her thumb in the indent of his dimple.

“It’ll be back in a few days.”

“I won’t see you in a few days.”

“Yeah you will. I don’t go back to the Academy until the eleventh. I’m all yours for six days, darlin’. If you want me.”

“Of course I do!”

“When do you start classes?”

“The eleventh,” she giggled.

“It was meant to be,” he smiled spinning her around. “Are boys allowed at the house?”

“Officially, no. But no one follows it.”

“Is your bed big enough for two?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” he ducked his head to her ear. “As much as I love you in this dress, I can’t wait to get you out of it.”

Nola had a hard time swallowing and keeping a straight face. Jake smirked because he knew the battle she was having within herself.

***

When formal was over and they were in the quiet of her room, Jake placed his hat on her desk and watched her undo her shoes. She held onto her dresser for stability as she undid the fastenings then kicked the shoes under her bed. She faced him and a whirlwind of memories passed between them.

He took careful steps towards her and ticked her chin up with his fingers. With a small, soft smile, he leaned in and kissed her. It was like a first kiss but also a familiar one. It felt like home.

They were both hesitant at first because it’s been a long time since they’ve kissed each other. Nola made a satisfied sound upon feeling his lips on hers so she inched closer, dropping a hand to the back of his neck.

Jake’s hands slid down to her waist and to her lower back.

“I’ve been waiting to do that all night,” he murmured, giving her a slight squeeze.

“Why didn’t you?��

“Because I knew if I kissed you in that room in front of all those people,” his fingers yanked the zipper of her dress down, “I wouldn’t be able to stop.”

She shivered at his words and at the burning graze of his fingertips on the newly exposed skin of her back. She arched into him and one of her straps fell off her shoulder and his green eyes softened as he gazed at her. Nola slid her hand from his neck down his chest and unfastened his buttons. He released his arms from around her so she could push his jacket off revealing a tight white t-shirt.

Jake yanked it off by the collar and Nola got a good look at the new muscles he’s formed, her hands pressed against his abdomen. She felt him suck in a breath at her touch and while she ogled him he was staring at her. Her other strap fell from her shoulder.

“Can I slip this off?” he asked touching a strap, his finger skimming over the top of her breast. He smiled when she shivered.

“Yeah.”

She removed her hands from his stomach and lifted her arms from the straps completely. Jake tugged on the dress so it slipped down her body. They both watched the ruffled dress crumple in a pile, then their eyes met, their lips joined together and he lifted her onto the bed.

Without the barrier of her dress they both moved swiftly. She swished his belt buckle apart and worked on the zipper while he did the button. He kicked his pants down to the edge of her bed and removed his boxers as well so he could press himself against her.

“Jake,” she gasped, her teeth tugging on his bottom lip when she felt his hardness against her core.

But it was his fingers that slotted between her legs, his middle finger stroked the damp spot of her panties, he smiled when her body reacted to his touch.

“What’s got you all excited, darlin’?” he asks coaxing his finger up and down with the slightest bit of pressure.

“What do you think?” she gasped when his thumb swiped the fabric of her panties to the side and the pad of his finger slipped between her folds. He was teasing her.

“Hmm,” he hummed and rested the left side of his body on her bed, his eyes focused on hers while his thumb and finger continued to play with her. “Is this all for me? Have you been thinking of this all night?”

Nola bucked her hips very slightly but Jake noticed and he smirked. He tilted his head and pushed his finger in a bit, Nola’s hand grasped at his bicep that was near her head.

“Jake…”

He presses in a bit more and Nola’s hips buck with a bit more urgency. His green eyes flash and he presses in some more until he’s knuckle deep. Nola gasps at the sensation and Jake kisses her, his tongue invading her mouth tasting her moan when he curls his finger inside her.

He picks up a steady speed, fingering and curling until he adds a second finger. Nola moans and her hands fly to his neck, her pelvis meets his hand to be closer, to feel more of him.

“There’s that sound I’ve missed,” he sighed and pumped his fingers faster and faster.

Nola’s breathing picks up and she bucks her hips to meet his palm, silently begging him to go deeper. Her eyes close as his fingers become relentless, her mouth is open in a continuous string of moans and her lower stomach starts to flip. Sensing it, Jake continues his ministrations of his fingers while his thumb rubs tightly on her clit and Nola tosses her head back with a loud whimper. Her body closes around him as her orgasm envelops her completely.

“Yeah, there you go, baby…come on my fingers, c’mon,” he coaxes and kisses her cheek.

When her body can’t take it anymore and the orgasm slowly ebbs away, her body lowers back on the bed and she lets out a long exhale. When her eyes open she’s staring into Jake’s. She pulls him in by his cheek to press her lips to his in a frenzied kiss. Jake slows his fingers and pulls them out with the same amount of care

“I think your panties are ruined,” he murmured and Nola laughed.

“I don’t care, get them off,” she sighed while his fingers trailed up her naked torso.

“Want a taste first,” he mumbled and stuck his fingers in his mouth.

Nola exhaled as his eyes fell closed for a moment and she smiled at him. She took his wrist removing his fingers from his mouth so she could insert them into her own. Her tongue split his fingers as she tasted herself.

“Jesus,” he muttered. When she released his fingers he shifted back so quickly and grabbed at her panties. Nola raised her hips to aid him in sliding them down and off and when they were, he scrambled to his pants to get a condom. While he rolls it on he stares at her with a faint smile.

“What?” she asked crossing her legs suddenly self-conscious.

“Just missed you,” he said and kneed back on the bed stroking his dick slowly. His eyes glazed over her body and she opened up to him again.

“You did?” she preens at the confession and the way his dick nudges between her folds.

“I always do. You’re my girl,” he lowers himself against her and he coats his tip with her slick. “Remember?”

He sighed when he propelled further in and Nola’s mouth opened up. He fucked into her slowly, making sure his body didn’t crush hers so he caged her head between his forearms. As he rocked in and out of her, their noses nudged together and their breath mingled.

“You feel so good,” he sighed and she nodded.

“You do too,” she whispered and snaked her arms around his back. Her nails dug into his skin as he picked up the pace, her bed rocked with the motions of his thrusts. Her knees dropped to the side so she could take more of him and she let out a loud moan.

“I love that sound,” he praised and licked at her bottom lip, “keep doing it.”

Jake picked up the pace, the sound of their hips meeting filled her room and her moans increased in volume. She brought her hands up above her head.

“Hold my wrists,” she panted and Jake nearly slipped out of her.

“What?” his thrusts slowed as he stared at her in wonder.

“Hold my wrists,” she linked them over each other, “Or tie them. I don’t care.”

“Really?”

“Yes!” she moaned.

“Okay, okay,” he nodded, then searched around her bed frantically for something to tie her wrists together. When he didn’t find anything, he placed both of his hands on hers keeping them in a tight grip. She smiled.

“Now go faster, please.”

Jake practically growled at her command–and this new type of position–and complied. He snapped his hips to hers with an increased speed that made sweat form on his brow. He felt Nola try to reach for him but since she was locked by his own grip she relented and enjoyed him railing into her. She whimpered and mewled underneath him, lifting her hips to meet his thrusts.

Jake could tell she was close because of how much wetter she was and he tried to hold out so he could keep hearing those sweet, sweet sounds she made. When Nola clenched around him Jake groaned long and loud.

“Don’t–I can’t hold it…you feel too damn good clenching me, baby.”

“Come with me,” she encouraged and wrapped her legs around his waist. She pulsated around him and Jake felt the flutter of her and he let go with a grunt.

He pressed his lips to hers in a sloppy kiss as he spilled into the condom, their movements frantic and off kilter in the best way. His grip on her wrist tightened as they rode their orgasm together and then he started to slow until he rested on top of her. He removed his right hand from her wrist so he held onto her hip.

Nola used her free hand to wipe the sweat from his brow with her thumb. He pecked kisses all over her face and their fingers intertwined up above just as they kissed.

“God, have I missed you Nola. You have no idea.”

The next morning, Nola wakes up to the sound of her door closing. She watched Jake tiptoe across her room with his coat on and a drink tray and a brown bag in his hands.

“Where’d you go?” she asked and he jumped at the sound of her voice. He turned around and smiled at her, his nose and cheeks were a little pink from the Minnesota chill.

“I got us breakfast and brought my bags in,” he nodded to his overnight bags against her closet. “Kyra told me this is your favorite place for coffee and bagels.” He held up the brown bag showing the name of the cafe Nola likes.

“Did she offer to take you there?” Nola sighed.

“Yup,” he removed his coat, unzipped his jeans and pulled on a pair of dark gray sweatpants. “But I said I’d be there for a while and she wouldn’t enjoy herself.”

“Mhm.”

“You’re so cute when you’re irritated,” he grinned and grabbed their breakfast. He sat next to her and she sat up to look at what he bought.

“She’s just annoying, she flirts with every boyfriend–” Nola froze as she gazed into the bag at the two bagels. “I didn’t mean–”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind you calling me that,” he brushed a piece of hair that fell over her face back behind her ear.

“You don’t?” she stared up at him.

“No. I sort of call you my girlfriend.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. A lot of them asked if I had a girl back home and I didn’t even think when I said yes and talked about you.”

“You talk about me?” Nola smiled sitting up.

“Damn right I do.”

“So…what exactly are you saying? Do you want to…get back together?” she asked carefully keeping her eyes on the lip of the coffee cup her finger was tracing.

Jake sighed and stared at her. He ticked her chin up with his finger but Nola’s eyes stayed down. He waited for her to look at him and when she finally did he smiled softly.

“I do. I’ve missed you so much, Nola. I was so happy when I got your letter back to me and I couldn’t wait to see you on this trip. But I know I hurt you last Summer and if you’ve moved on or met someone then that’s okay. I’ll learn to accept that.”

“Jake, I’ve always wanted to be with you.”

“Yeah?” he smiled slowly and leaned in closer to her.

“You’re an idiot, Jake Seresin.”

“I know.”

He closed the space between them with a kiss, he kissed her slowly and with intent. She could feel his apology and the same longing she had for him. Nola rested her palm on his lower stomach but before her fingers could slip beneath his sweats, Jake pulled away.

“Our coffee’s going to get cold.”

“I don’t care,” she shook her head and felt him smile.

“I need a little sustenance, darlin’,” he nuzzled his nose to hers like he always used to do.

“Fine,” she sighed dramatically and pulled back but not before she skimmed her nail dangerously close to his member. The look he gave her was priceless and she snickered as she took out a bagel.

They talked a little bit about what they’ve been up to, Jake asked about Lincoln and Nomi while she asked about Juniper and Lottie. When their coffees were just about finished Jake cleared his throat.

“So, what brought on the whole tying your wrists together?” he asked.

“Umm…do you really want to know?” she avoided his eyes.

“It was another guy?” he asked and she nodded. “You can tell me, it’s okay.”

“He sat next to me in class last year and we were in the same lecture this year…it didn’t mean anything because I was heartbroken after what happened with you and…it was only a few times.”

“A few times you slept together or a few times he tied your wrists?”

“Few times we slept together, we only tried the wrist tying once.”

“How was he?”

“What?” she snapped her head in his direction. He took her coffee cup and placed it next to his on her nightstand.

“How was he?” he asked again, his eyes imploring hers for an answer.

She tried to tell if he was mad but he truly seemed curious.

“It was okay…” she answered slowly, gauging his reaction. He cocked his head to the side with his lips pursed gazing at her.

Then all too quickly, he threw up her comforter so it billowed onto his back and he hovered over her. His hand was on her thigh, his thumb rubbing circles on the innermost part of her thigh, teasing closer and closer to her center.

“Aaand how is it with me?” he smiled.

“Ohh, is that what you want? You want to be told you’re the best I’ve ever had, huh?” she grinned staring up at him.

“Only if it’s true,” he continued to smile and ducked his head to her neck. His lips were warm and gentle on her skin, his tongue wet as he kissed her.

“Did you sleep with other girls?” she asked tilting her head so her neck was more exposed to him.

“Just one,” he admitted, “but it was only because her eyes looked a little like yours.”

“How was she?” she curled her fingers in his hair as he sucked more on her neck, and his fingers were teasing her folds again.

“Nothing compared to you, baby.”

They remove their clothes quickly and in the heat of the moment, forget to put on a condom. This sex is more intimate than the night before, Jake thrusts with careful precision and Nola bit her lip with each pull and glide. She tried to keep her noises at a bare minimum but when he hit that one special spot, she couldn’t hold it in.

Her nails punctured his back as he railed her harder and faster, their breaths mingled into labored pants and then she was crying his name in pleasure. When she finished, Jake wasn’t far behind and he quickly pulled out as he felt his own orgasm roll through him and onto her stomach.

“Ohh,” he groaned and nearly fell on top of her but he caught himself by his forearm. “My Nola…”

Nola couldn’t help the smile on her face upon hearing that. She tilted his head up and gave him a soft kiss.

“I’m yours?”

“Mine,” he nodded and kissed her. “Am I yours?”

“You’re all mine, Jake Seresin,” she giggled.

Nola showed Jake around her campus and they went on group dates with Naomi and Dalton and Layla and Bodhi. Nola was happy with how well Jake slipped into their group. When it was time for him to leave, Nola pouted on her bed the whole time she watched him pack.

“Stiffen up that lip, little lady,” he said crouching in front of her. His thumb rubbed over her bottom lip.

“I won’t see you until May.”

“I know,” he curled her hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek. “I wish I could be here for your Spring formal.”

“Me too, but I know you have training,” she sighed.

“It’ll be May before you know it, Nola,” he kissed her forehead.

When May finally did roll around, she stayed with him for the whole week of Spring Break. The spring gala wasn’t until Tuesday evening so on Sunday night when she first arrived, he told her they were going to a party.

“A party?” she asked a little nervously.

“It’ll be just like the ones at Cody’s back home, baby,” he kissed her cheek.

“Okay,” she huffed, then flipped open her suitcase. “I’m not going to drink that much because I don’t know anyone and I want to make a good impression. Now I have to find something to wear!”

“What you’re wearing is fine, Nola,” he said, eying her up. She has on cotton shorts and a sweatshirt that hangs off one of her shoulders.

“This is loungewear, Jake.”

“So? I like it,” he stands close to her, his arms wrapping around her stomach and back. “Especially this part.” He kissed her bare shoulder, then when he felt how warm her skin was and smelled the light scent of her coconut soap, he kissed her more.

“Jake,” she giggled and tried to pull away. “That tickles.”

“You’re using coconut soap now?” he asked, continuing his lips across her shoulder.

“You noticed?”

“Mhm,” he kissed the space below her ear and she giggled some more trying to push him away.

“Jake! You told me we’re going to a party and I need to change.”

“I can help with that, I’m a pro at taking off your clothes.”

To prove his point he slipped his hands under her sweatshirt and lifted the fabric up with his lips shifting to her jaw and the corner of her mouth. She let him remove it and connected their lips together.

“What’s gotten into you?” she smiled into their kiss.

“I’m just happy you’re here with me,” his fingers slipped beneath the band of her shorts and he pushed them off and guided her to his bed. “I missed you like crazy, baby.”

They fell together onto his bed and they end up running a little late to the party. When they arrived, she met his close friend Javy Machado. He welcomed her with a big bear hug.

“It’s about time I met you, Seresin goes on and on about his girl,” Javy said. “I almost thought you weren’t real.”

“She’s very real,” Jake grinned then winked at Nola when she looked at him.

A bunch of the other guys call them forward to get some drinks and Nola noticed beer pong was set up.

“Can we play?” she asked taking the red solo cup from Javy.

“Are you any good?” one of the guys asked, he smirked at his buddy.

“Oh she’s very good,” Jake nodded.

“Well, all right then. Let’s play.”

Nola drinks a bit more than she intended, partially to nerves and also because she and Jake were winning. The night got a bit more hazy but she was having a great time and Jake loved seeing her with his friends that have become his brothers. He couldn’t keep his hands off her.

Once they were back at his apartment, she nearly fell on her face when she walked in the door but he guided her safely towards his bedroom.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked setting her down on his bed.

“I think I need water,” she sighed and held her head in her hands. “And bread or something.”

“I got you baby.”

He went to the kitchen and brought back a glass of water and a donut he thought she would like. Her eyes widened at the donut but he made her drink the water first then he broke off pieces of the donut and fed them to her.

“That’s so good,” she exhaled. “I’m sorry you have to take care of me. I didn’t mean to drink–” she hiccuped “--this much.”

“I don’t mind, just as long as you had fun,” he smiled and grabbed one of his t shirts for her to wear to bed.

“I did have fun.”

For the gala she chose a long green dress to match his eyes which almost popped out of his head when he saw her in the dress. It hugged to her body like a glove, almost as if it was a part of her skin and when he touched the fabric it was so silky between his fingers.

“Nola James…as I live and breathe…” he shook his head as he kept gazing at her.

“Is it too much? You said it’s more of a formal gala with long dresses and–”

“You’re perfect.”

She’s introduced to more people when they enter the hall but thankfully they sit at a table with Javy and his date, Selena. The food is impeccable and after dessert, it’s time to dance. Jake takes her hand right away to pull her onto the dancefloor because the first song they play is Live Forever.

“Did you plan this?” Nola smiled, resting her hand on his shoulder.

“Maybe,” he shrugged and spun her around. When they join back together again he’s staring at her a bit more intently.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he shook his head, his smile a little bashful. “I’m happy you’re here.”

They continued to dance the night away until everything slowed down and they sat in a circle with Javy and a few other men and their dates. Beers were being passed around and Nola sat on Jake’s lap. One of them, Nola thinks his name is Mickey, starts stomping his feet and clapping his hands and starts to sing a sea shanty song.

Pretty soon, the rest of the group joined in and Nola bounced in Jake’s lap because he started to stomp his feet as well. Nola laughed and tried to clap along, turns out they all had really great voices and when the medley came to a certain point Jake’s name was being called. He shook his head.

“Go sing,” she urged him and stood up from his lap.

He grabbed his beer bottle and gave her a look as he moved to the center of their circle. His singing voice was deep and sultry as he sang about a ship named Santiana along the plains of Mexico. Jake really got into it and that spurred something within Nola, she’s never seen him like this before but she loved it.

When he finished the song he pulled her to her feet against his chest with his fingers clutching the silk of her dress and kissed her in a way that shouldn’t be in public. There were catcalls and wolf whistles until they broke apart.

“You have no idea how hot that was to watch,” she murmured and wiped off some of her remaining lipstick from his mouth.

“Oh really?” he drawled and tightened his hand on her waist.

“Mhm. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“I can’t go home without you,” he grinned.

After their formal clothes are thrown onto a pile at the foot of his bed and they’re gripping at each other in desperate need to be closer, they lay in the afterglow of their throes of passion. Nola ran her fingers over the short buzz of his hair, he licked his lips as he stared down at her.

“I love you, Nola,” he said in such a tender voice it made Nola’s heart stutter.

That’s the first time either of them have said those words and her motions paused in his hair. He swallowed audibly, his Adam’s apple bobbed but his eyes stayed focused on her.

“I love you, Jake,” she responded with the same level of tenderness.

***

Spring rolled quickly into Summer and those Summer months are always fleeting. They’re both back home and spend time with each other’s families. Both parties are ecstatic that they are together again.

One night they’re over at Cody’s for a party and they meander to the willow by the pond hand in hand. He set his beer down on the grass, Nola picked it up reprimanding him about bugs or spiders crawling into it as he took out his knife. He carved off part of the bark so there was a clean workspace of the wood underneath. It looked like the moon and he began to carve.

“Be careful,” she said watching him work.

He carved their initials, ‘JS + NJ live forever.’

“What do you think?” he smiled at her proudly from his handiwork.

“You misspelled love, honey,” she giggled and pointed at the word.

“No I didn’t,” he took his bottle back from her and grabbed her hand. “I put ‘live forever’ because of our song and because I’m going to live forever in love with you.”

Summer turned into Fall and Jake visited her at school again but this time it was around Halloween. They decided to dress up as Popeye and Olive Oyl since he’s a Navy man and all. While they were getting ready to go out for the night to attend Halloween parties, he mentioned how he’s been thinking of becoming a Navy pilot.

Nola was painting the anchor tattoos on his arms to complete his costume and she paused before he explained what that would entail.

“I think it sounds great.”

“Yeah?” he smiled.

“You sound excited about it, if it’s your dream, go for it. I’ll support you all the way, you know that.”

“And you’re the best, you know that? These look great by the way, maybe you should be a tattoo artist.”

“I don’t think so,” she giggled.

They’re at their third fraternity house of the night; the Tri Delta’s have to keep up the camaraderie with the frats, and they crush it at beer pong like always. Layla and Bodhi are with them while Naomi and Dalton are hitting up the other houses to keep up appearances. After the final round of beer pong, Jake and Dalton left to get more drinks.

Two guys who are members of the house bump into Layla and Nola. They apologize but don’t leave and instead become lewd and obnoxious. Nola and Layla try to ignore them by creating distance, but it only enticed the frat guys more. Soon they become really persistent and when they grab onto the girls’ wrists Jake and Dalton return.

“You have about ten seconds to remove your hands from my girl or I’ll break your nose,” Jake warned.

“Your girl, huh? Next time, don’t let her wear this,” he tugged on the deep cut collar of her shirt and Jake snapped.

He handed off his drink to the nearest person and his fist collided with the guy’s jaw in seconds. Nola stumbled with him almost falling to the ground but Jake caught her and spun her out of harm’s way.

“Are you all right, baby?” he asked in concern, before she could answer the guy grabbed Jake’s shoulder. Jake spun around and the loud POP of his fist connecting with Jake’s face echoed in the party.

The two of them scuffled, Dalton and the other guy tried to break them up but to no avail. Soon, they’re both on the floor wrestling and punching when able.

“No! Jake, stop it!” Nola tried to go towards him but Layla has a firm grip on her.

“Oh no, you stay right here, honey. No need for you to get hit.”

Eventually, more brothers of the house intervene and they’re finally pulled apart from each other. Nola recognized one of them as a guy named Robbie that she knows. He’s the vice president of the frat house and also the guy she slept with to try and get over Jake. Robbie looked right at her.

“Nola, what happened?”

“He and his friend wouldn’t leave me and Layla alone. They grabbed us and Jake was only trying to help,” she explained then reached for Jake as he finally stood up. He fell against her, she clutched his head gently on her shoulder. His hair was sweaty when she whispered into it, “Are you okay?”

“We don’t tolerate being disrespectful to women in this house. You’re no longer a part of Kappa Tau anymore and neither is your buddy,” Robbie told them. His two friends shoved the cohorts out of the living room towards the front door.

“Thanks Robbie,” Nola nodded just as Jake lifted his head. She gasped because of the blood and bruises already forming. “Let’s get you some ice.”

As she cleaned up his face (a busted lip and bruised eye) Robbie entered the kitchen. He was dressed as a firefighter.

“How ya doin’ man? My name’s Robbie,” he held out his hand and Jake shook it.

“I’ve had worse. I’m Jake. Thanks for kicking him out.”

“Not a problem, we have a good relationship with the Tri Delta ladies and we won’t infringe on that no matter what. Are you okay, Nola?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks again, Robbie,” she smiled politely at him then turned her attention back to Jake. Jake noticed a slight tension between Robbie and Nola when he left, Jake stared at Nola.

“You two seem friendly.”

“We’re friends,” she agreed.

“Seems like he wants to be a bit more than that.”

“Yeah well, he knows I’m with you. I talked and cried about you enough to him last year…”

“Wait, is he the one you slept with?” he asked and she nodded. “How often do you see him?”

“Nearly every week because we do a lot with their house for fundraisers and things.”

“Has he tried anything with you?”

“What? No, Jake, of course not. We’re just friends.”

“Not from what I see.”

“Well, you’re not seeing properly because you got punched. Let me finish.”

***

After that night on Halloween things became rocky between them.

Their communication became less and less and when he showed up four hours late to her twenty-first birthday party that’s when she knew something was very wrong. Nola plastered on a fake smile throughout her party while she constantly checked her phone to see if he left her a message.

When he did finally arrive at her parent’s house, he looked horrible. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was messy and his beard wasn’t trimmed how he normally has it. Jake shook hands with people as he walked by, he hugged his siblings and Nola’s siblings.

“There’s our birthday girl! Happy birthday darlin’!” he shouted with his arms wide. He enveloped her into a hug and she could smell the liquor.

“Are you drunk right now?” she asked just as he tripped on his feet while standing straight. Nola tried to hold him up, she looked into his eyes and they were glazed over.

“Naw! Well…maybe, I had a few shots with Cody before I got here,” he sighed heavily and stared at her. “You’re so beautiful, Nola. Like a flower. Beautiful like the magnolia flower!”

He yelled the last bit and everyone looked in their direction. Nola saw worried and judgmental looks on their friends and family’s faces. His mother had a deep frown.

“Okay, why don’t we go outside for some fresh air?” she patted his chest affectionately.

“Yes! To the outside!”

Nola smiled at their loved ones and declined offers from Dalton and Bodhi who offered to help with Jake when she passed by. Jake was mumbling some drunken nonsense in her ear until they were outside in the backyard of her house. He fell onto the swing on the patio in a heap of limbs, his shirt bunched up.

“What the hell, Jake?” she crossed her arms. Now that it was just them, she felt the true sting of him showing up late and drunk.

“What?”

“You’re four hours late to my birthday party, you didn’t text me where you were and you show up drunk as a skunk. What. The. Hell?”

Jake blew raspberries and pulled himself up into a sitting position.

“I’m sorry,” he flourished his hands as if he did a magic trick.

“That’s it? You think saying ‘I’m sorry’ will make it better? Do you have any idea how hurt I’m feeling?”

“I’m here now aren’t I?”

“Not really. Did you drink so you’d be able to tolerate coming? Did you want to come at all?”

“No, no, no, don’t do that. Nola, you know I want to be here.”

“Then where were you?”

“I told you, I was with Cody.”

She stared at him trying to detect if he was lying but the more she looked at him the more hurt she felt.

“Go home, Jake.”

He caught her by the hand as she walked by.

“Woah, wait, hang on,” he said. “It’s your birthday. I want to celebrate with you.”

“Then you should have been here four hours ago.”

Bodhi ended up driving Jake back to his parent’s place. Juniper and Lottie were pissed at their brother and told Nola that they don’t blame her for kicking him out of her own party. The next day, he showed up with flowers and the gifts he didn’t get to give her the night before and a very heartfelt apology.

Nola accepted them but she still felt a shift had formed between them.

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