Play the Game

"Open up your mind and let me step inside
Rest your weary head and let your heart decide
It's so easy when you know the rules
It's so easy all you have to do
Is fall in love
Play the game"
Play The Game- Queen

I woke up the next morning around 10 am. I blamed the moonshine. I knew Jake had already left with his dad and Reggie.  I got up and saw what Jake picked out for me to wear today. Ironically, he chose my white and red maxi dress that I originally bought with the intentions of seducing Ethan.

I picked it up and went to the bathroom. I washed up quickly and got dressed. I did my make-up and hair in Jake's room. I heard knocking on the door.

"C'mon in." I called.

Jasmine puttered in wearing a jean skirt and a pretty blue jeweled tank.

"Good morning." I smiled at her and motioned for her to join me on the bed.

She looked at it suspiciously.

"Y'all didn't do anything last night did you?" Jasmine asked.

I smirked. "The bed is safe." I answered honestly.

She shook her head and hopped on the bed with me. She undid the side ponytail I did and braided it.

"We need to set an appointment to touch up your roots." Jasmine remarked.

"Really? I kinda like the light brown and blonde." I said.

"At least let me add some brown low-lights." Jasmine suggested.

I nodded "I'm off every Tuesday. Just let me know what time."

"I'm so happy you and Jake are dating. I knew he liked you on the 4th of July." Jasmine stated.

I laughed. "I don't think he even liked me back then."

"He did. I could tell. When you came outside, he dragged me out of the pool to met you. He described you as down to earth."

"Ok..." I smiled, not seeing how she thought that meant he liked me.

"He didn't talk about girls like that and he sure didn't hang out with girls like that."

"Well, I'm glad he made an exception for me. I thought I was the only one lowering my standards." I grinned.

Jasmine looked at me with a weird look on her face. "Does he talk about his exes with you?"

"Not really. I mean, I don't wanna know about the multiple women he's dated." I said. "Is Criscelle one of them?"

"No!" Jasmine denied, adamantly. "Absolutely not. But you should ask him about her."

I nodded. "I plan to. On the way home."

"Good. Come on. Let's go downstairs so I can hang out with my new mommy." Jasmine sighed.

I laughed and followed her downstairs.

Stephanie was in the kitchen waiting for us. She had coffee and doughnuts and we sat down to eat. It was really easy talking to her. We kept it neutral talking about celebrity news and the VMAs. We talked about Nicki Minaj's butt, Ariana Grande's ponytail and Taylor Swift's new sound. Stephanie is sweet and jovial. I can see why she and Jose get along. They both have that charming go getter personality. Jasmine and Jake have it to. I was not sure about Julissa. Yes, the age difference was weird, especially with the whole graduating around the same time from the same school. But Stephanie and Julissa were in their 30's and Jose was happy. Isn't that what matters?

Stephanie didn't talk much about it. She just said she hopes that Julissa will make an appearance today. Jasmine just shrugged.

The guys came back, reeking of the outdoors and beer, but they had a cooler full of fish.

"Good morning. I would hug you, but-" Jake started.

"That's cool. I don't wanna smell like fish. Fist pound?" I said, holding out my fist.

He smiled, but fist bumped me.

"You should change out of that dress. Women clean the fish." Jake informed me.

"Eww, gross. If I would've known that, I woulda went fishing." I pouted.

"No. Sorry Lily. That's the men's job." Jose winked at me.

"Well that blows." I said, jokingly, standing up to go get changed.

"Another woman job." Jake countered.

I smirked at him. "Good luck with that one for the next few months."

"Cariño, I'm sorry. I'll clean the fish." Jake apologized. Everyone laughed at him.

We ended up just taking the fish over to Jake's aunt Theresa's house. She is Jose's older sister that lives in Irving. She has a nice, modest house with a huge backyard. Kids are jumping on the trampoline outside. All the food is set up outside along with tables and chairs.

The fish was dropped off inside to a group of women still cooking. Jasmine introduced me quickly before we ducked out.

"Trust me. You do not want to be in there when they start up. Just compliment the food and keep moving." Jasmine warned me.

I laughed but followed her lead. Jake walked me around and introduced me to his aunts, uncles and tons of cousins.

We eventually made our plates and sat down to eat. There was fried and baked fish, spicy mashed potatoes, beans, rice, elote corn, and avocado salad. For dessert we had huge slices of Tres Leches cake.

Afterwards, we sat around, too full to move. Jose busted out his whiskey, but Jake and I both passed. Jake had his arm draped around me while he talked to one of his cousins.

"So when's the wedding Jose?" A family member asked from across the table.

Jose looked at Stephanie. "I think we're looking at 12/13/14." He answered. Stephanie's face lit up with a smile.

"That's really soon dad." Jasmine replied.

"We held off long enough thinking your sister would come around. Hopefully she will." Jose answered.

"So what's gonna make this marriage different than the other three?" His older sister asked.

There were a couple snickers and laughs and Jose placed a reassuring hand on Stephanie's back.

"I think the biggest difference is that we know what we want out of our marriage and what each other's expectations are. Love, trust, friendship, all of those are important but it doesn't mean anything if we don't see the same future." Jose explained.

"Depends and senior citizen discounts?" Jake's cousin Frankie joked. Everyone laughed, including Jose.

"Joke all you want, sobrino {nephew}, but I encourage you all to have that conversation before settling down." Jose stared at Jake and me when he said it. Which made everyone glance our way. Jake just laughed it off.

"We've been dating officially for a week. Y'all look at Jasmine and Reggie." Jake chuckled.

Jasmine laughed. "Whatever Jake. You're next in line. Not me."

I smiled at them.

"It's never too early to have that talk Jacob-" Jose stopped suddenly, looking towards the house.

His face brightened when Julissa, Victor, and their two kids walked from the house to the backyard. Isaac and Maryann came right over to their grandpa. He hugged them both.

Julissa and Victor sat down at the table and they all caught up. It was tense, Julissa didn't acknowledge Stephanie except for the initial hello, but at least they were cordial.

Mariachi music started blaring from the speakers. I watched as the less sober family members cheered and made their way to the make shift dance floor in the middle of the backyard. When everyone started to dance in a circle, I looked up at Jake, grinning.

"Don't. Whatever it is that you're about to say, I don't wanna hear it." He said with a smile.

"Babe!" I laughed. "You don't even know what I was going to say."

"I can guess it was going to be a joke about stereotypes." Jake said.

I laughed harder. He knew me well.

"No. I was going to ask you if you wanted to dance. In a non stereotypical, non-circle style." I lied.

Jake smiled at me. "You gotta dance in the circle first."

"I'm gonna need some moonshine then." I agreed.

We spent the rest of the evening dancing and laughing with his family. I honestly had a blast. When it started to get dark, Jake and I said our goodbyes before heading back to Dallas.

"So? Did you have fun?" Jake asked, as we drove.

"I feel like I shoulda been adopted into your family." I announced.

Jake laughed. "I'm glad you weren't. That would make things really awkward for us.

"Fine. I felt like I fit right in. Better?" I corrected.

"Yes."

I was telling the truth. Jake family was so much fun. The loving teasing and the laid back environment was so comfortable for me. I appreciated everything Jake did to make me feel included. I hated to bring up the one uncomfortable part of the weekend, but I knew I needed to know.

"I did wanna talk to you about the only... I guess weird part of the weekend."

"What? My dad's speech? Don't worry about that-"

"No. I completely agree with your dad's speech. I was actually talking about Criscelle" I interrupted him.

He focused entirely on the road. "What about her?"

"Who is she? To you?" I asked him, flat out since he wasn't offering any details.

"She's the younger sister of a girl I dated." Jake explained.

"Oh... Miguel's mom?" I asked.

Jake nodded.

"So... are they like family friends? Do you see them a lot?" I asked.

"No. My ex lives in Georgia. Criscelle lives in Dallas. Apparently Jocelyn has been hanging out with her recently."

"Is that weird for you?" I asked, trying to understand the tension between them.

"Not at all. They were really close but Jocelyn cut her off after Isabella's dad died. Criscelle is a good person. Hopefully it'll rub off on Jocelyn." Jake reasoned.

I sat deep in thought. I felt like I was missing something.

"What's wrong Lily?" Jake asked me.

"I don't know. Nothing... y'all just seemed really uncomfortable." I said.

"It was. I think that's just how it works with exes. I mean, I wasn't expecting to see her nor my ex's kid. Especially not at a family gathering. If that wasn't bad enough, it was the first time I took you to meet my family." Jake said, glancing at me.

I thought about it. I really don't have much to compare it to, so I couldn't relate. But I remembered how weird it first was when I hung around Ethan when I came back. I nodded.

"I think so too. For a while, I would have loved for Ethan to be booted to the island of misfit toys just so I wouldn't have to deal with how weird it was between us."

Jake smiled. "Georgia is far enough for me."

I laughed at him.

We drove in compatible silence for the rest of the drive. We ended up spending the night at my place. I had errands to run in the morning to get ready for the game night at Rocky's. Jake was going to meet me at the house around 4, an hour before everyone else was due.

Rocky sent me a list Monday morning of what she was making and last minute supplies. She also asked me to bring my crock pot, Xbox and Battle of the Sexes. I felt bad I didn't contribute much, but I figured I would make it up by showing up early and helping set everything up.

I went to a grocery store and bought the short list of items Rocky needed. I also bought supplies for a popcorn bar. My last store was game stop. I bought a Dance Kinect game.

When I got to Rocky and Brandon's place, Rocky was already in the kitchen, rolling croissant dough around a cream cheese and chicken mixture. I hugged her, washed my hands, and got settled beside her to help out. After finishing the chicken puffs, we shaped mini patties for sliders, fixed mini pizzas, rolled up pigs in a blankets, and loaded up my 3 pot crock pot with spinach artichoke dip, hot seafood dip and nacho cheese sauce.

 We gave each other recaps of our weekend as we cooked. Rocky and Trevor made a trip to Waco to see the first game at the Baylor Bears new stadium and she informed me she invited Bilal to game night.

"I know. I know. I was drinking and it was fun. So it just slipped out. I've regretted it ever since." Rocky said at my shocked face.

"I can always call him and tell him not to come. But I think it might be a sign y'all can be friends again." I said.

"Maybe." Rocky shrugged. "Guess we'll soon find out."

I told her about my weekend. And Jake's little case of the ex situation.

"Maybe she's the ex that put him through hell, so that's why there are bad feelings. How long ago did they break up?" Rocky asked.

"At least 4 years ago, based on Miguel's age..."

"Unless-"

"Don't even Rocky!" I smiled.

"You know what they say. Mommy's baby, daddy's maybe." Rocky laughed.

"Shut up Rocky!"

Rocky left me in charge while she got more sleep. I finished heating everything up and putting decorations up in the house and in the backyard. I set up cards and dominoes outside. I set the den up for the kids with board games and the Xbox Kinetic. I moved the furniture back so that there was plenty of room. The dining room was set up for the kids to eat. All the food was snack food, so I didn't worry about seating for the adults in the kitchen or living room.

Jake showed up on time, with a sexy green short sleeved dress that matched the green cargo shorts and black shirt he was wearing. It would have been modest if it wasn't for the black mesh cut outs under the arms, along the waist sides, and at the upper back. It showed sexy skin that was way too much for a game night.

"Weekend is over, thank God! This is a kid friendly game night." I announced.

"Well you're wearing it or we are leaving. It's a three day weekend." Jake countered.

"Whatever." I said.

"Bye." Jake said, turning around to leave. I called his bluff. For two minutes. Then I went outside to see if his car was gone. It was. I called him on the phone.

"Come back. I'll fucking wear it."

"Alright. Come back inside."

I did, and he was in the kitchen, munching on a blue cheese and bacon slider I just put together.

"Where is your car?!?" I asked.

"Parked in the back." Jake laughed. I huffed and grabbed the dress from him. He followed me to the guest room. He watched me like a pervert as I put on the dress. His eyes darkened as he looked me over.

"Shoes?" I asked.

"I left them in the car." He said, huskily.

"Let's go get them." I said, anxious to get out of close quarters with him looking at me like that.

He grinned and followed me out of the room. I smiled when I heard EJ in the living room, checking out the Kinect games I brought. I noticed Rocky was up. I smiled at Brandon and Ethan.

"EJ!!" I greeted him, walking into the den to give him a hug.

"What are you supposed to say EJ?" Ethan asked.

EJ looked up at me. "That was a non-romantic hug. I don't like you, like you."

I burst out laughing and Ethan smiled at me.

"Really? You're gonna have your kid make fun of me?" I said, trying to hold back my laughter.

"I'm just making sure there is no room for confusion." Ethan said.

"Whatever. Jordan and I are cool. We hugged it out, in a non romantic way." I told him. Ethan laughed too.

"What are y'all talking about?" Brandon asked.

I told them about Jordan dating my boss and how I might have assumed she wanted to date me.

"Wow Lily. Did you invite them? Maybe they could be yall's couple." Rocky smirked.

"Shut Up." I said, smiling.

"Was that your work drama?" Jake asked.

"It was." I nodded.

"But seriously, everything was good Friday?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah. I actually called her back that night. After I got off the phone with you. And Derek was too busy to notice anything was up."

"Glad to hear that." Ethan nodded.

"Come here so I can show you your shoes." Jake said. On the way out to his car, he stopped me.

"You called Ethan about your work situation? Why didn't you talk to me?" He asked.

"You were busy..."

"Not when I got to your place."

"By then, Ethan already made me see how ridiculous I was being. It was a non-issue like I said." I explained.

"I wanna be the person you turn to. Whether it's an issue or not." Jake said, sternly.

I should have been upset by his cave man mentality, but it was so sweet, I smiled at him instead.

"Of course babe." I said, hugging him. I planted a kiss on his lips.

"Now let's get those shoes so we can get this party started." I grinned.

Jake smiled at me. I was so happy that was resolved quickly.

 I wish I would have known the games I was in store for that night. I would have hopped in Jake's car and forgot the whole idea of a game night.