One step forward, two steps back - Jaketina
tinasrevolution:
Tina grimaced while still facing her back at her guests, cringing at how idiotic she was being. She should’ve known that she wasn’t able to be around Jake and his son and play house. It was a trap she subconsciously made for herself and fell right into, and it hit her when she least expected it. It was now she realized that what she felt for Jake in high school was making its epic comeback… or was it coming out of hiding?
Grabbing the cups, she took a deep breath and tried her hardest to digest her awkwardness by putting on a brave smile. It was lacking of confidence, mainly due to the reason she knew she had already messed up. She had barely gotten time to get into the ‘fake-it-till-you-make-it’-attitude before she was interrupted by a very hesitant Jake.
“Oh, sure,” she said, her voice a little more high-pitched than she expected it to be. It became harder, even heavier, to smile. “I get it. Family first.” Quickly placing the cups she was holding on the kitchen counter, she started clearing off the table. “It was nice to have you both here,” she said as convincingly as possible, barely looking at Jake. “I’m gonna get that DVD so you guys can enjoy the movie at home, okay?” She gave Gabriel a quick tap on the nose, still averting her gaze from Jake before taking the plates and cutlery into the kitchen sink.
Tina was determined to be a good host until the very end, although there was nothing she wanted more than to make a giant blanket fort and hide under it for the rest of her life. In a quick motion, she ejected the Lion King DVD from the DVD player and put it back into the cover. It was heartbreakingly disappointing they never made it that far to actually watch the movie together, but then again, it might’ve been for the best. She bent down and handed the DVD to Gabe. “You be a good boy and hold on to this. And you can watch this as many times as you’d like and sing the songs as loudly as you can. Make it so loud that I can hear you all the way here,” she encouraged, opening her arms to hug the child. Much to her surprise, Gabe responded immediately and hugged her back with his tiny, tiny arms. “Come back anytime soon,” she said automatically out of kindness, realizing as soon as she said it that it wasn’t ideal.
The air somehow continued to just grow more tense, and Jake suddenly couldn’t wait to get outside to get some fresh air where he might actually remember how to breath properly. He had the urge to loosen the tie that was strangling him before remembering that he wasn’t wearing a tie to begin with. God, Jake. Get control of yourself.
Everything had been going great. Wonderful even. What the Hell happened?
“I’m so sorry,” He repeated, sparing a glance down to Gabe to make sure that he was alright and at least not completely confused by the sudden departure. “We’ll definitely have to raincheck.” He told her, even managing a smile as he rubbed the top of his son’s head. “And thanks again for dinner and -- everything. Really.”
The smile on his face turned more genuine as he watched Gabe run to give her a hug good bye and Tina interact with his son as if she did it all the time. It made him feel something that he hadn’t in a really long time -- something that he couldn’t even pin point at the time. But it felt new and familiar all at the same time and was almost enough to make Jake want to stay. Almost.
When Gabe returned to his side, Jake leaned down to pick him up and smiled tightly at Tina once more. “I’ll talk to you soon?” He promised, though it ended up coming out as more of a question than a statement. But before Tina could answer, Jake turned around and head for the door, taking a huge breath as soon as he made it out the front door.
