No Air

***Mini Bonus****

"So how do you expect me
to live alone with just me
Cause my world revolves around you
It's so hard for me to breathe
Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air
Can't live, can't breathe with no air
It's how I feel whenever you ain't there
It's no air, no air" No Air by Jordin Sparks ft Chris Brown


Not going to lie, all throughout the rest of my day at work after seeing the post, I plotted what song I could post for Omar. I settled on "Fuck You" by Lily Allen. By the time I finished with my last appointment, I was laughing at the whole situation. Omar and Sammy were both playing a game I wanted no part of. As soon as I got off work, I checked my Facebook to see if Sammy took down the video. I saw I had a message from Jake instead. I opened it right away.

Hey Lily. If you didn't see Omar's post, disregard this. If you did, I'm so sorry. I had no idea he was posting that and already took care of it.

I looked on Jake's news feed. Omar's post was no longer there. The video on the other hand was still up. I texted Sammy.

Me- Still need to take the video down

In the meantime, I untagged myself in the video and wrote Jake back.

I'm sorry too. I'm working on the video.

Jake wrote me back immediately.

You can keep the video up if you answer my calls.

I took a deep breath and put my phone back away. I didn't know if I was ready for that. It would be too easy to get caught up in how much I missed him and not how many problems we had. We needed to talk it out first.

I went home and went straight to Sammy's room. She was in her mirror, holding up a dress to her body.

"Hey." I said, after she invited me in. "Did you take down the video?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Did you see what his friend posted?" Sammy said, not even looking up from the mirror. "I have a screen shot-"

"I saw it. Just like the video, it was childish. Jake already took care of him, so take down the video." I said.

She finally looked up at me. "You're getting back together with him, aren't you?"

"Sammy, that has nothing to do with this." I sighed, exasperated.

"Of course it does. Last night, you had fun. You relaxed. You weren't worried about him. Don't go back to being that pathetic girl that lets him control you." She lectured me.

"Believe me, no one is going to control me. Any relationship decisions I make will be my choice.  So take the fucking video off or my first relationship decision will be unfriending and blocking you." I told her, crossing my arms. She glared at me, but I stared right back. Our stare down was broken when she put the dress down.

She grabbed her phone. After a moment of playing with her phone, she looked up at me. "Done." She snapped.

"Thank you." I said, forcing a cheerfully tone, turning to leave.

"Just like you can make your own relationship decisions, so can I. And I don't like you very much when you're with him." She stated as I walked out.

"What does that mean?" I asked her, turning to face her.

"It means you're not the only one that can unfriend someone." Sammy finished, dismissing me and picking up the dress.

I left her room in a huff.

She could be such a bitch sometimes...

I went to my room and got dressed to go to Darren's football game. My phone rang, I answered it when I saw it was Rocky.

"Hey. Whatcha up to tonight?" She asked me.

"Gonna to Lewisville to watch Darren's game. Other than that, nothing."

"Want some company?"

"Absolutely, I'll be over in like 30 minutes."

As promised, I was at her house in 30 minutes.

"Where's Brandon?" I asked her, as I declined a drink. We really needed to get on the road.

"He went out with Jake." She answered nonchalantly.

I couldn't help the surge of pain that hit me. I didn't wanna think about Jake going out. I know, I went out too, but knowing Jake and his history with women, it would be a matter of time before he moved on to the next one. I wished I could feel anger at that, but I only felt hurt.

"Apparently, it's one of the first times he's left his apartment, outside of work. Brandon was getting concerned. He literally had to drag him out." Rocky informed me.

You would think that would make me feel better knowing he was taking the break up as bad as me, but it didn't. It made me feel worse. I took a deep breath.

"Are you ready? Let's go." I said quickly, wanting to focus on Darren and football and anything else but Jake.

"Wait. Someone else is joining us." Rocky smiled at me.

I groaned. "Who is it? Peyton and Chris? Cause I can't handle them right now. Really no couples."

"No. You're going to be happy to see him." Rocky said.

"Trevor?!?" I asked, surprised. I already asked him if he wanted to go, but he was heading to Austin for the weekend. I was sure that was why Rocky called to check in on me.

"No. You know he's going to Austin."

Thankfully, the front door opened so I didn't have to guess anymore. I was pleasantly surprised to see Ethan and EJ.

"EJ!!!" I said, giving him a big smile. "How ya been?" I said, leaning over to give him a big hug.

"Good." He said, hugging me back

"Good?!? I've been busy and sad at not being able to see you!" I said, dramatically.

EJ gave me a half smile. "I've been sad and busy too."

"Aww, whatever!" I exclaimed, tickling his sides. He laughed and maneuvered away from me. He ran to Ethan's side. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Hey Ethan. You look nice." I lied.

He looked better than nice. He was freshly shaven and his hair looked recently cut. He looked amazing in a smart, black suit. It accentuated his lean, toned frame and looked so good against his skin tone.  He looked immaculate every day, but I could tell by the special attention to details, he must have a special event to get to.

"What's the occasion?" I asked, focusing on his face.

"Anthony's firm opens next week. The company is throwing a big event for our clients and potential new clients." Ethan explained.

"That's great." I nodded.

"Tell her the better news!" Rocky said, smiling at us.

"I sign my contract for partner next week too." Ethan told me.

I smiled at him. "Wow Ethan! Congratulations. You so deserve it. I'm not even going to point out how I told you so."

Ethan laughed. "Thanks for not pointing it out Lily."

I laughed too. I almost forgot how attractive his laugh was to me. The fact that I hadn't seen it in so long added to it' appeal. Kinda breathtakingly beautiful.  An awkward moment passed, with us just smiling at each other.

"C'mon EJ. Let's put your bag in the guest room. Then we're gonna go watch a football game with Lily." Rocky instructed EJ. He made a face, but followed her.

"Your son is unpatriotic with his dislike of football." I joked to Ethan.

"I thought baseball was America's past time." Ethan countered.

"Key word: was." I said.

Ethan shook his head. "How are you doing? With Jake and everything?"

"You can point it out how you said it was going to be nothing but drama." I smiled, weakly.

"That was me being bitter. I'm sorry to hear that you are having problems. I wish you nothing but happiness." Ethan said.

My smile grew sincere. "I'm working on it. Thank you. I wish the same for you."

"I'm working on it too." He said, giving me the same half smile EJ just gave me. I smiled to myself.

When Rocky and EJ came back, Ethan bent down to talk to EJ.

"Be good for Racqelle and Lily ok?" When EJ nodded, Ethan stood up straight. "I'll see you later."

"Tomorrow morning." Rocky corrected. "We'll be sleep by the time you finish up."

"I'll call." Ethan said.

"Don't. You'll just wake me up." Rocky said.

"For the love of all things good, don't wake her. Everyone will feel her wrath." I said, making a horror face. EJ laughed.

"Fine. Have a good night. I'll see you first thing in the morning." He turned to me. "Bye Lily."

"Bye Ethan." I said. Rocky looked at me.

"Ready?" I asked before she could say anything.

She nodded.



We had fun at the game. EJ wasn't interested in learning the game of football, but he did like the band. He was intrigued by the drumline at halftime. After a snack of Sour Punch Straws and Sprite, he was drumming along with the band on his legs. I was impressed by his rhythm. He definitely needed a drum set. After the game, we said "Hi" and "Bye" to Forrest.

On the drive home, EJ feel asleep in the car. I got out to helped Rocky carry him in. I froze in place when I saw Jake and Brandon sitting on the couch. My heart felt like it stopped when our eyes met. I had to remind myself to breathe.

"Lily? What the- oh!" Rocky said from behind me when I abruptly stopped. She figured out what was wrong when she walked in front of me. Jake immediately got up and walked my way. I focused on the top of EJ's head as I finally convinced my legs to start moving.

"Let me help-" Jake started.

"I got him." I said quickly, as I took EJ to the guest room. I took my time getting him into bed as I tried to pull myself together. I didn't need to hyperventilate in front of Jake. That would be too fucking much.

I took off EJ's shoes and tucked him in. When I looked up, I saw Jake standing in the doorway, watching my every move. His eyes were so intense, I wished I would have focused on them to read his mood, but I was distracted by his busted lip and bruise forming under his right eye.

I got up, turned off the light in the room, and shut the door. When I stepped into the hallway, Jake didn't budge an inch. He just kept staring at me. I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and touching his handsome, injured face. He flinched, so I pulled my hand away. He stopped me, grabbing my hand.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice tight and breathless. Which made sense, I felt like I couldn't breathe when he touched me.

"Omar and I had a disagreement." He said, strained. I didn't know if it was because he was hurt or because I had the same effect he had on me.

"About what?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"You."

I sighed. "That's a stupid reason to fight with him."

"You're the only thing worth fighting for Lily." Jake started.

I tried to pull my hand away. "I want my hand back." I said, looking into his eyes.

"I want you back." He said, closing the distance between us.

"You need ice." I said, not backing away from him.

"I need you Lily." He breathed, before pressing his lips into mine, softly, giving me every opportunity to pull away. I didn't.

Even though the embrace was gentle, it was desperate. I tasted the desperation on his mouth, as he brushed his lips into mine, trying to coax me into returning his kiss. I felt it in his touch, as he stroked my hair behind my shoulder so he could cup my face. I smelt it in his scent, along with hints of alcohol and cigarette smoke.

I finally moved my lips from his.

"Lily, I love you." He panted against my lips. I heard the desperation in his voice. I saw it in his eyes before I closed my eyes and kissed him back.