A Sky Full of Stars

A Sky Full of Stars- Coldplay 

"Hello again." I said as Forrest sat across from me in the booth at Italian Villa late Thursday afternoon. This was going to be our last opportunity to meet up for lunch before school officially started and he wouldn't be able to join me.

My last appointment of the day cancelled, so I decided to check out Darren, Forrest's student and my patient, at his second football practice of the day. His team was doing two-a-days; running to build up endurance in the morning then going through drills in the afternoon.

While I sat in the stands, I gave Rocky a call. On Wednesday, I spent the afternoon with Sammy. We got our nails done and went out to dinner. Things are returning back to normal. I asked her if she ever felt like she and Trevor could be friends again. She answered she didn't know. She asked me the same. I told her I didn't know how we couldn't be friends. He was my brother's close friend and Rocky's best friend too. He was like family. I didn't know how to move forward, but I knew I was going to have to. I was disgusted by his actions, but that didn't mean I could write him off. I just didn't know what to do.

"Lily, ultimately it's your choice. I just feel like if you can forgive Sammy, why not Trevor?" Rocky asked as I explained how I felt.

"Trevor was such a dick." I said, quietly into the phone.

"I know, but they both played a role. Sammy forced him to confront his feelings and she sold you out to do it. Who knows what would have happened if he discovered it on his own? He panicked, thinking he lost you. He was in panic mode. And I know for a fact he is trying to get over his feelings for you." Rocky defended Trevor.

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask how, but Darren got clipped at the knees while getting tackled. He was slow getting up.

"Oh shit! Rocky, I gotta let you go!" I said, putting my phone away.

I stood up, but Forrest waved me off, jogging on the field to assist him. I watched Darren get up, a little gingerly. Forrest walked him off, but after talking to him and checking out his knee, he let him get back into rotation.

Darren looked great. After practice, I told him so. He grinned and said thanks while his teammates teased him. Boys.

After the practice ended, Forrest asked if I wanted to grab some food before he headed back to Fort Worth.

I did, and since we were close to Carrollton, and I hadn't had anything besides take out pizza from there, I chose Italian Villa. I headed to the restaurant, freshened up in the bathroom, and was gulping water when Forrest finally showed up from after practice treatments.

"All those boys have a crush on you now." Forrest said, after we decided what we were going to order.

"Teenage boys aren't that particular, but I gotta tell you, I have a crush on Rachel." I admitted.

Forrest laughed. "I think the feeling is mutual. She couldn't stop talking about you."

"Really?" I smiled.

"Really. She said not only did she have a conversation not pertaining to the wedding, but she felt like y'all have been friends forever." Forrest explained.

"I knew I felt something! I was going to go the whole Facebook friends route, but now that I know she feels the same, I'm gonna go for it!" I smiled.

"Go for what exactly?" Forrest questioned.

"Friends first. Whatever happens after that is fine with me..." I shrugged, playfully.

"And how does Jake feel about that?" Forrest asked, after the waiter took our order.

I winced. I had gone the last two days without talking to him. Sammy said we started phase 2 this weekend of going out and making him jealous, but I was over it. I missed him.

"Uh oh. What did you do?" Forrest asked, noticing my face.

"Nothing... it's what he's making me do." I explained the whole Philip drama to him.

"So let me get this straight. He defended you, paid off the dude, and you're mad why?" Forrest asked.

"It's the way he talked to me. Like it was my fault. Like I wanted that asshole to see me like that." I explained.

"Ok... Describe what you were wearing again?" Forrest asked.

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Just go with it. I'm trying to get in his frame of mind." He smiled.

I laughed and pulled up a picture on my phone of something similar to what I was wearing. I slid into the booth, next to him, to show him.

"Wheeew." He whistled. "Ok. That's worse than what I was imagining. I thought it was a nightie."

"Why does it matter?" I rolled my eyes.

"He rolls up, early, thinking he's taking his girl on a date. He sees his girl, half naked, talking to a man outside her door..." Forrest laid it out for me.

Ok. That did sound bad...

"His adrenaline is already pumping, he's probably mad or jealous. Then he sees him grab you?" Forrest shook his head. "I don't even know what I would do if it was Rachel. I don't think there would be much talking involved."

I grinned. "You would round up the posse?"

"You know it. Cowboy justice requires no talkin'" Forrest nodded.

I laughed. Our food came out, so I decided to stay on his side, so we could share.

"Ignoring Jake isn't helping." Forrest said, already splitting his meal in half for me.

"You might be right." I agreed, splitting my meal as well.

"In the future, when you and Rachel become close, can you suggest the apron lingerie thing to her?"

I laughed. "Of course. Maybe a fondue night. Hot melted cheese..." I teased.

"Lily. Stop. You're giving me a chubby." Forrest smiled at me.

I busted up laughing loudly. "Gross Forrest."

"Lily?"

I looked up to see Ethan with Daniel, his co-worker. It's not fair how attractive Ethan is. I swear, he looks cool in a suit when it's hot and humid outside. I was sweltering in basketball shorts and a tank at the football practice.

"Hi Ethan. Hi Daniel." I smiled, standing up to give him a hug, so glad I freshened up.

"I thought I heard you laughing. Crazy running into you here, small world." Ethan said, hugging me. I hugged Daniel too as Forrest stood up.

"Not really. Rocky told me about this place. And she discovered it through you right?" I chatted.

"More like Brandon." Ethan answered, looking over at Forrest.

"This is my friend Forrest." I introduced them, quickly.

"Nice to meet you." They all shock hands. As they did, the hostess called Daniel's name.

"That's us. Enjoy lunch." Ethan said, before they headed to their table.

I took a deep breath as I sat down across from Forrest. He gave me a questioningly look.

"The boy that's on my Facebook? EJ? That's his dad." I explained.

"I can see that. Do I wanna know who he is to you?" Forrest said, intrigued.

"Even if you did, I don't have the time to explain it." I said.

We relaxed and finished our lunch. On the way out, I waved to Ethan and Daniel. They waved back as we left.



I texted Jake when I made it home. Forrest made me see how childish I was being. I wanted to talk to him and work it out. Not ignore him like it was a punishment.

Me- Hey Jake. What are you doing?

Jake- Nothin. At the gym.

Me- Can I join you?

Jake- Can you?

I shook my head, but smiled. He put the address in the text.

I left to meet him at the gym. When I got there, I texted Jake that I made it. A moment later, he met me at the front. He got me a visitor's pass and we made our way inside. His body looked amazing in a black training pants and a fitted black tank.

I smiled as I noticed how we complimented each other. I was wearing all white. He looked me over in my white basketball shorts and muscle tank that read: I flexed and the sleeves fell off.

"Lies." He smiled as he read my shirt.

"Whatever. I can spot you if you finally wanna work on your upper body." I teased.

He led me to a bench press. After loading it with 300 lbs, he laid down and began to bench the weight easily. He did a rep of 10, before resting.

"Aren't you gonna spot me?" He grinned, before starting another rep.

Normally, I would be turned off by such an arrogant display. I hated people who just went to the gym to show off, but I loved watching Jake. Too much. It almost made me forget we still needed to talk about what happened.

"No. Looks like you got it." I said, snapping myself out of my trance. "Can we talk for a second?"

He put the bar up and sat up. He motioned for me to sit on the bench next to him. I did and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you. I was upset at first and then Sammy suggested I ignore you to prove a point." I explained.

"I got the point that day. I was angry and took it out on you. I'm sorry for that. If you would have called me, I would have told you." Jake said.

"I know. It's just, it reminds me of how my dad and brother treated me. My dad still does. I understand that is just how he is, so I accept it. I can't accept that with someone that I'm dating."

"I know. Your brother told me that." Jake said.

I looked surprised. "When?"

"At the airport. I told him I just wanted a chance with you, but I felt like you were pulling away from me. He told me you would if you felt like you were losing control. He suggested taking it slow." Jake explained.

That really shocked me. I didn't know Jake reached out to my brother like that. I was even more surprised my brother gave him such insightful advice. I'm sure Jenna had something to do with that.

"I'm trying Lily. It's hard for me to give up that control, but I'll do it for you. You just gotta promise that you'll always be honest with me."

I nodded enthusiastically. "I promise and I'm sorry." I said, before kissing him on the lips.

"I'm sorry too. That I lost control and made you upset and messed up what looked like a great date." Jake said. "I'm especially sorry Sammy got to benefit from it."

"She's going through a lot. She needed it." I explained.

"I don't even wanna know what she is going through. As long as she keeps it away from you and doesn't give out anymore relationship advice. Or any advice at all." Jake shook his head.

I laughed.

I let Jake do his workout routine while I did some ab work. Afterwards, I jogged on the treadmill. I didn't want to be super exhausted, so I stopped while he was still working out. I explored the workout facility. Jake found me taking selfies on a rowing machine.

He laughed at me. "You ready?"

"Ready." I smiled.

"Wanna go on a date tonight?" He asked.

"I do."

"Ok. Go home and change. I'll pick you up after I shower here." Jake said.

"Geez, still bossy." I said, smiling so he knew I was joking.

"Sorry. Do you wanna go change? If you want, you can stay sweaty and nasty." Jake corrected.

"Shut up. I'll see you in a bit."

-----------------------------

"Super Walmart?!? Really Jake? That's our date? Are you punishing me now?" I pouted, faking disappointment as we got out of Jake's Escalade. I was really curious to what we were doing here. If I would have known this was the plan, I would have stuck to my workout clothes and not the pretty, low cut maxi dress I was wearing.

"Yes. Picnic was on your list of lame date stuff." He said, wrapping an arm around my waist as we walked into the super store. "We can buy the basket on the Wal-Mart side. Food on the super side." He explained.

I smiled. I loved that idea and I was pleased he remembered my silly list.

We got a cart and Jake navigated it through the store. We found a picnic basket and a blanket to sit on. We then went to the food section to pick out our dinner. We stuck with finger foods and picked out deli wraps, a fruit bowl, mixed nuts and cheese cubes. I frowned up when he wanted to buy fried chicken from the deli.

"Trust me." He said, before ordering ranch chicken wings.

We selected bottled pink lemonade and waited in line to complete our purchases. We carried our bags to the car. We put everything in the picnic basket before I navigated him to a park close to my apartment, but it was super crowded. Lots of kids and dogs.

"Why don't you search for another one?" Jake suggested to me.

One Google search later, I navigated to another park in Addison. It's called Celestial Park and was small park hidden in a residential area. As we walked through the park we saw jogging trails, plant identifiers and a cool sundial. We went down a set of steps to sit in a grassy area. We laid the blanket down and set up.

We were the only ones in the area. Most people were on the trails, walking their dogs or jogging. There was no playground, so I didn't see any children. Because it was in the middle of the residential area, there were no signs of the city. It was like being isolated with Jake. It was an amazing feeling.

"Well?" Jake asked me, as I took a bite of a chicken wing.

"Oh wow. That's really good. I'm shocked." I said after I chewed and swallowed.

Jake smiled. "Told you so."

"Enjoy that. You'll never say it again." I told him. He laughed. "But really, what made you wanna try it?" I asked him.

He smile faltered. He cleared his throat. "This girl I knew. Her family didn't have a ton of money. Her brothers and sister thought Wal-Mart chicken was the best. I just thought it was cause they couldn't afford wingstop. Until I tried it."

I laughed. "Wingstop flavors are the best. But I'm not even a huge ranch fan and these are so good."

He fed me a green grape (I was picking them out of the bowl. They're my favorite.) and smiled. "Glad you liked it."

We finished eating and sat enjoying each other's company til it started to get dark. When Jake started packing up, I groaned.

"No babe. Let just stay here. Away from everything. Forever." I said, dramatically. I didn't want to leave. I was enjoying learning more about him. His likes and dislikes. It was small things, like Wal-Mart chicken, but I loved that he was opening up to me.

"Aren't you going to miss your apartment?" He asked with a smile.

"Not at all. It's funny. When my cousins saw my house in California, they couldn't believe I wanted to leave, but my aunt said she'd rather live in a box and have peace of mind then live in a mansion with turmoil." I explained. Jake finished putting the food and trash away and sat down next to me.

"My dad's house is not a mansion, but at the time, I was like fuck a box." I continued. Jake chuckled at me. "But I kinda get it now."

"I get what she's saying too. I think it might take some work, but I don't see why you can't have both." Jake said, pushing my hair behind my ears. He rested his hand on the side of my head.

"You think so?" I asked, staring into his eyes.

"I think you can have anything you want Carino." He said, before bringing my face closer to his. He kissed me delicately. It was like he was relearning my mouth, only brushing his lips against mine at first. When I pressed against him and parted my lips, he explored my mouth with his tongue.

"Can we go to my place tonight? I'll make sure you get home in the morning for work." Jake asked, when he pulled back.

I nodded, my lips still tingling from his soft embrace.

We stood up. I folded and hung onto the blanket. When we walked up the steps, we noticed the steps were glowing with stars. Famous quotes and poetry were inscribed on the steps. Quotes from George Santayana, Robert Frost and Blaise Pascal lined the steps. I read each one as we climbed. I stopped on Nathaniel Hawthorne's quote from The Marble Faun. It read: "Time flies over us, but leaves it's shadow behind."

"So do you like this kinda stuff?" Jake asked, motioning to the steps.

"It's fun to think about." I said.

"Not for me. I hated English in high school."

"Me too. It was my worst subject." I explained.

"Good. I don't think I could date you if you we're a studious nerd type." Jake said.

I smiled. "I still got an A. Just hated it. I actually loved to read, but I hated analyzing every little thing, like metaphors and allusions and themes and literary images. It just killed the enjoyment of reading for me."

When Jake just looked at me, I smiled. "And I sound like a studious nerd type huh?"

"A little."

"So... how bout them Cowboys?" I grinned. He finally smiled and grabbed my hand as he lead me to his car.