The Other Side - Chapter 35

"The Other Side - Chapter 34" 

Jake gasped for breath as the salt water of the ocean sucked him under the tide, threatening to never let him go. He tried to struggle but felt his arms were like lead and he was falling down, down, down... It took Jake a moment to realize that the ocean was his sheet and his lack of breath was due to how he had his face pressed against the back of Lissa's hair.

Jake woke with a start and blinked as he let the feeling of drowning in the ocean fade away. Then all the events come back to him in full force. From the moment Lissa had entered his room the night before everything was in overdrive. Fast forward. And yet in the past all over again.

Lissa's slow, deep breathing told him that his sudden gasp in the middle of the night had not woken her. Gently, he turned on his side to look at her. Her bare back glowed ivory in the soft moonlight that peeked through the blinds. He couldn't help but feel a stirring, low and deep, within him. There was no doubt that Lissa was beautiful and, as he thought back to the night before, absolutely amazing. He was a lucky man. He was the luckiest of any man in this entire world, if he really thought about it. Riches, love of a beautiful woman, a solid career that would take him until the end of his days. There was no reason why he couldn't be happy forever like this.

Jake carefully slid out of bed. He tip-toed across the room and into the bathroom where he gently shut the door. Jake squinted as he turned on the harsh florescent light. Bypassing the small paper cups on the side of the sink, Jake turned on the water and shoved his mouth under the faucet, taking a couple long drinks of the semi-cool water. He splashed a little on his face before finally looking himself in the mirror.

His hair was still disheveled from Lissa's hands and the only thing that covered his body was his silk black boxer shorts, which he still thought were ridiculous even though Lissa said she thought they were sexy. He snorted. He remembered the silly shorts Becky had worn in his hotel -

Jake pulled away from the sink as if he had been shocked, adverting his eyes from himself in the mirror. The sudden spasm of guilt had been unreal. It hadn't even occurred to him last night when Lissa came in that Becky had been the last person...

Jake groaned internally. He didn't want to go through this again. He didn't want to keep remembering Becky. He didn't want to think about that amazing night, or any other night he had spent with her. She had made it brutally clear when he left that things were over forever. And, even though it had taken him a while, now was the time he could finally move on. Internal guilt or not, she was out of his conscious mind. And with Lissa lying in his bed just on the other side of the door it was time for him to give everything he had ever known of Becky to the wind. That part of his life was over. At one point in time he had been Jacob Kilmer. Now he was Jacob Jones and he was on this ride for the rest of his life.

I'll never be rid of her for as long as I live. ...Unless I act now. Jacob shut off the light in the bathroom and opened the door a crack. He listened for Lissa's sleeping breath before walking out the rest of the way. But instead of crawling back into bed, Jacob went over to the closet. With the aid of the small sliver of moonlight, Jacob found a small suitcase that had yet to be unpacked. Silently, he opened his latched and opened it. He imagined he could still smell the sand of Africa among the folds of the clothes he could never be caught dead wearing in front of the United States' media.

But the clothes were not what he was looking for. His fingers prowled the folds until he found the carefully carved leg of the trinket. He pulled the small giraffe figurine that Becky had purchased for him at the market from the suitcase and held it up in the light. It truly was beautiful with each individual spot on the giraffe's hide indented slightly. To him, this was a symbol of their past relationship. Jacob raised his arm to throw it back in the suitcase and close it forever... but his sudden gusto for closure dissipated. He rubbed at the spots on the giraffe again before carefully playing it back into the folds.

Who am I kidding? That time with Becky had meant a lot to him, and he wasn't going to destroy it. She was going to be a part of him, like it or not. That doesn't mean I can't move on though. He snapped the latches of the suitcase back together, the giraffe figurine safe inside, and shoved the case into the very back of his closet, positive that he would never pull it out again.

"Jake, what are you doing?"

Jake jumped and turned to Lissa whose eyes were wide open and peering at him through the dark. His heart pounded hard in his chest. Had he actually forgotten she was in the room with him? It didn't take him long to recover from the sudden shock though and he walked over to the bed, giving Lissa a long, middle of the night kiss before crawling under the covers next to her again.

"Nothing Liss. I was just... taking care of something, is all."

Melissa kept her eyes on him as if not believing the story. Jake let a small smile creep on his face as he looked at her mussed hair on his pillow. He ran his fingers through it.

"You know, your hair looks like shit."

Lissa's mouth dropped open in shock. She tried her best to glare at him for the comment but Jake saw the laughter she was trying so desperately to hide. Not bothering to wait for a response from her, Jake lowered his mouth onto hers and pulled the covers over their heads.

------

"But, Ms. Ettison! I'm sorry, I am trying my best! Please just give me another few minutes and I will do everything I can."

Melissa glared at the make-up artist with a hatred that should have melted her to the ground. "No, you have had your time. I'm through with you. You are to do your work in the time provided."

Melissa glared at the bags under her eyes in the well lit make-up room completely ignoring the protests of her usual artist. Suddenly, she heard the sound of laughter in her ears. She jerked her head up, ready to assassinate the culprit.

Jacob leaned over her shoulder and looked at her in the mirror, raising one eyebrow. "Oh, come on, Liss. Don't take it out on Helen just because you're a little sleep deprived. It's probably your fault since you were up all night anyway." Jake let a grin take over his face and, as much as Melissa tried, she couldn't help but smile back.

"But Jake!" She whined, pouting her lips. "I have a really big interview today. I need to look perfect."

Jake rolled his eyes and stood up. "Lissa, you always look perfect. But just in case the light catches you wrong, maybe you ought to let Helen finish?"

Melissa opened her mouth to retort but the words died on her tongue. With a nod from Jake, Helen proceeded to dab cream under Melissa's eyes.

Melissa wasn't quite sure what had gotten into her. She never let anyone in this world change her mind. Why was she suddenly being so submissive to Jake? Sure, they had shared a wonderful night together, but it's not like it was the first... gently she bit her lip, despite the fact that it meant she could ruin her lipstick. She couldn't stop thinking about what she had seen early this morning. She had woken up to find Jacob sitting on the floor going through a suitcase. At first she had thought he was leaving but... that wasn't it. He had lifted something from it and he held it in his hands so tenderly she almost thought it had been alive. It wasn't until he had thrown the object somewhat viciously into the case and snapped it shut that she saw the airplane tag still on the handle. AFR.

Melissa closed her eyes, half for the benefit of the Helen and half for herself. That bag had been to Africa. And if Jake was looking through that bag that meant he was thinking about Africa. And if he was thinking about Africa, that meant he was thinking about Becky. Melissa felt a panic rise up in her.

Am I ever going to be rid of that girl? Am I ever going to know for absolute certain that I am first in Jake's life? Melissa did her best not to shudder. Jake had been thinking about Becky after he and her had made love. Did that mean that he and Becky had...? Melissa didn't want to know, but she couldn't help but wonder. She felt a fiery sort of betrayal in her heart, even though in no way had Jake cheated on her.

It was obvious to Melissa that she needed to find some way to keep Jake next to her. He was always a wild one with far too adventurous of a mind. Even Karlee had told her back when they first started dating the first time that Jake would need to be kept on a short leash. Melissa looked herself in the eyes, pretending to disapprove of how Helen had completely removed the sleepy bags under them.

I am not letting him go. If it means backing him into a corner, then so be it. And with a nod from Lissa's agent, she left the make-up chair to go do her interview.

----

Melissa smiled cheerfully and answered all the questions of the reporter from one of the famous news networks. She hadn't even bothered to find out which one. Anymore, they were all the same. She went through and told the ridiculously dull plotline of her movie, moving the interview along quickly so they could get to the questions she really enjoyed answering.

"Well, Ms. Ettison - enough with the business talk! Tell us a little about your life right now, is there anything else keeping you busy besides your work?"

Lissa gave a light laugh. "Oh, you know how things are around here - always work! But I do have something else to keep me occupied." She left the question open ended knowing what was coming next.

"Ah yes! A Mr. Jacob Jones - dare I even ask how things are going in your new and old relationship?"

"Oh yes, please dare!" Lissa laughed again. "Things are going wonderful. I don't think I've ever been happier. The time during our separation barely even exists to us anymore. We were meant to be together, we both know that now."

The reporter raisec his eyebrows at her answer. Normally that kind of in-depth answer required a lot of prompting on his part. Deftly, he smelled a story about to break.

"Well anyone could tell just by the look in your eyes you are a girl in love," Melissa flushed appropriately, "do I sense marriage bells in the future?"

Lissa flushed again, waving her hands and avoiding the camera. "Oh! Goodness, I..." She dropped the act and looked straight at the reporter. "Let's just say that you should keep your camera ready." She winked. The reporter looked like he had just struck gold.

"You heard it here first folks! Ms. Melissa Ettison, star of Never Get Caught, with big plans on the horizon! Thank you for your time!"

Melissa looked into the camera. "No, thank you."

-----

Jake couldn't breathe as he watched Melissa's interview through the black-and-white monitor. His blood ran cold in his veins. Did she just really say that? Did she just tell the reporter that a marriage announcement was on its way? He could almost here the Tabloids on their presses already - creating rumors about when the wedding would be, whether or not they had already eloped, whether Lissa was knocked up or not - and by whom. Jake looked around desperately for Karlee who looked just as shocked as he did.

"Jake - please don't tell me that -"

"No!" Jake pressed his hands on the sides of his face. "I haven't said anything! We haven't even... even slightly discussed such a thing! We just - oh my god, what has she done? That girl is out of control!"

Jake watched as Karlee let out a sigh of relief. But he was miles away from such a relief. What Lissa had just said on national television was going to be a living hell to get over - not only through the media but through her. Did she think that what happened last night had been some sort of proposal? Was she really that dense? Or maybe she was actually so happy that she was letting her inner feelings out - which in some ways scared him more than her normal manipulative personality.

Vaguely, he imagined being married to Lissa. He imagined having to wait on her hand and foot. He imagined - Jake shook his head. He had to get the bottom of this now. He cared for Melissa but their relationship would have to change in many ways before he would even dare to propose to her.

"Melissa!" Jake shouted across the set as she came out from behind the cameras. She turned to him and smiled, giving him an air kiss and a wave.

"I have to run honey and do a scene! I'll talk to you later though! Same time as last night, right?" She winked and then walked away, giving her perfect bottom an extra swish. Jake watched her walk away in shock. She did it on purpose. She absolutely did it on purpose.

Jake sank down into a chair, staring at the floor. Could he even fight it? Should he? It occurred to Jake, not for the first time, that he was in way over his head.

"The Other Side - Chapter 36"