It’s all worth possibly breaking my back over, though. At this point in time, it’s what I feel I deserve after running when I did.
Once I have him in the car, I take his car keys and head back with the porter. I tip him generously and pay the hotel bill for Jake. I give them the keys, asking them to please call a pickup service to collect his car and bring it back to Jake’s address. I write down my number and all the details they need before running back to Jake.
On the drive to his house, I pick up a few bottles of water before settling back for the journey ahead. All I want to do right now is get Jake back to the safety of his home.
During the drive, Jake stirs and mumbles a lot but doesn’t fully awaken. I’m glad he’s making noise. At least it means he’s still alive. I’m worried about him. I’m not sure how much he had to drink, and it scares me to death.
I get to Jake’s even quicker than I got to the hotel, grateful I didn’t get pulled over for speeding. Parked in front of his house, I grab a water bottle from the trunk then gently pat his face. “Jake, Jake,” I prompt, trying to rouse him. “Jake, please sit up. You have to drink some water.”
He manages to rise, slightly opening his eyes to squint at me. “Ana, are you real?”
A smile tilts on my lips. “Yes, baby. Please, drink some water for me?” I place the bottle to his mouth, and he takes it down in steady gulps. I’m rummaging through his pockets for the house keys when I spot him smiling.
“Ana, we can’t do this here.”
If this wasn’t so serious, I would be rolling my eyes by now. “I need to get you in the house so I can put you to bed.”
“Yes, come to bed with me. You left me all alone in the other one.”
The guilt that washes over me is vast and unrelenting. I try to put all thoughts aside for now so that I can tend to Jake’s needs. I pull at him to get him out of the car, and luckily he complies by wrapping one arm around me.
I try so hard to hold my breath so I don’t have to breathe in his smell, but it’s no use when I’m pulling his dead weight up the stairs to his house.
“You smell so fucking good, baby,” he mumbles, nuzzling his nose into the base of my neck. “I’m going to marry you one day. You watch. Me and you against the fucking world. No one can stop us. Not even Stella.”
My breath hitching, I hesitate on the stairs to glance at him. He still has his eyes shut, but he has this huge grin on his face. I nudge him. “Jake, come on. I’ve got to get you upstairs.” I nudge him again when I get no response. Finally, he opens his eyes long enough to see me standing there.
“Ana, is that you?”
An amused smile creeps up on my lips. “Yes, Jake. It’s me. Come on,” I urge, trying to haul him up. “We have to get you to bed so you can sleep this off.” I yank one last time, and this manages to spark some energy in him.
“I miss you trying to get me into bed.” He laughs then stops on the second to last stair. This is going to take forever! He turns to me, gently tugging on a strand of my hair. “Did I ever tell you that you were the best sex I ever had? Tiger in the sack, you are.” The tiger sounds he makes next set me off into a fit of giggles. Jake may be drunk, but he’s a cute drunk. It almost makes me forget for a moment that he stinks of the stuff I cannot bear to smell.
“Come on, Jake,” I plead, tugging again. “Only a couple of more steps, and we’ll be in your room.”
“Where you belong,” he slurs, putting one foot on the step followed by the other.
I finally manage to get him in his room before he collapses on the bed. He mumbles something, gathering the sheets before smiling. “Ana,” he whispers, cuddling the sheets up to his cheek. “I love you, baby. More than you’ll ever know.” A big smile spreads wide on my face. I love him too. More than he will ever know, but