Ice Cold Heart

Chapter 8

We all met at the entrance of the mall at three o'clock that afternoon.

Jacob and I arrived together, and surprisingly, we didn't get any of the weird looks we'd been getting before. I wasn't sure if everyone had finally gotten used to seeing us together or if they had simply stopped caring.

Either way, I was glad.

Well, almost everyone seemed fine with it.

Britney was standing with her arms crossed, wearing a slight frown as she watched us approach. I noticed it immediately, but I decided not to give her the satisfaction of asking what was wrong.

There were also more people here than I expected, including Benji.

The second Benji turned around and saw Jacob and me walking toward the group together, an evil smirk spread across his face.

My stomach tightened.

I knew that look.

He was thinking about the bet.

I ignored him.

Instead, I walked straight over to Tristan.

"What's up?" I greeted him, giving him a quick fist bump.

"Finally," Tristan said. "I thought you two were going to be late."

"Blame him," I joked, pointing at Jacob.

Jacob looked at me with a confused expression.

"Me?"

I laughed.

"I'm kidding."

He smiled and shook his head.

For the rest of the afternoon, I decided I wasn't going to let Benji's pettiness ruin my day.

Not today.

After paying for our bowling shoes and the rounds, we split ourselves into teams.

Tristan, Jacob, Britney, and I were on Team A.

Mason, Carmen, Logan, and Benji made up Team B.

Ricky, Louis, Sammy, and Claire were Team C.

The competition started almost immediately.

Mason was talking trash before he'd even picked up his first bowling ball.

"Team A is going down!"

I laughed.

"You say that every time."

"And one day, I'm going to be right."

"Keep dreaming."

Jacob stood beside me, holding his bowling ball against his chest while watching everyone take their turns.

When it was his turn, he looked at the pins nervously.

"I don't think I'm very good at this."

"Just aim for the middle."

"What if I miss?"

"You won't."

He looked at me.

"You sound very confident."

"I am."

Jacob smiled before stepping up to the lane.

He rolled the ball.

It slowly traveled down the lane before knocking over several pins.

Jacob turned around with a huge smile.

"Did you see that?"

"I told you."

"You did."

He looked genuinely proud of himself, and I couldn't help laughing.

We spent hours bowling, teasing one another, celebrating every strike and groaning dramatically whenever someone got a gutter ball.

After our first game, we wandered around the mall, buying whatever caught our attention. Some of us went into clothing stores, others looked at shoes and accessories, and eventually we all ended up at the food court.

Jacob and I sat beside each other while everyone argued over what to eat.

By the time we finished, the guys were already demanding a rematch.

Apparently, they couldn't accept losing.

So we went back to the bowling alley.

Again.

And somehow, I ended up winning again.

"There's no way!" Mason complained.

I laughed. "You just can't accept that I'm better than you."

"One lucky game."

"Two lucky games," Tristan corrected.

Everyone laughed.

While we waited for the next round to start, Britney came closer to me.

She leaned toward my ear.

"Since when do you hang out with nerds?"

I glanced over at Jacob, who was standing a few feet away waiting for his turn.

"I can hang out with whoever I want."

"Yeah, but it's just you and him lately."

"So?"

Britney shrugged.

"It looks weird."

I frowned.

"How?"

She lowered her voice.

"He's probably gay. Just look at him. What if he makes a move on you?"

I turned toward her.

She gave me an innocent smile, but I shook my head.

"I don't care if he's gay. Don't say things like that."

Britney rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

I was about to walk away when she suddenly changed the subject.

"I saw that picture you posted last night. You look good in that Adidas tracksuit."

"Thanks. I like their tracksuits."

"Me too," she said, laughing. "They should hire me to model in their underwear."

I burst out laughing.

"Only you would say something like that."

"I'd look good too."

"You probably would."

"I could wear matching red lipstick, and my highlighter would be so blinding."

"You do look good in red lipstick."

"Thank you."

She giggled.

For a moment, everything felt normal.

Then Carmen called from across the bowling area.

"Britney! Let's go to the bathroom!"

"Coming!"

Britney excused herself and left with Carmen and the other girls.

I looked around for Jacob.

He was gone.

I frowned.

Maybe he went to the bathroom.

I waited a few minutes, expecting him to come back.

Five minutes passed.

Still nothing.

I looked around again.

Mason and the others were sitting nearby watching Tristan take his turn.

I waited until Tristan finished before walking over.

"Have you seen Jacob?"

Tristan looked at me.

"No. I thought he was with you."

"He was."

I looked around again.

"Britney came over and started talking to me. When I turned around, Jacob wasn't there anymore."

Tristan's expression changed.

"Maybe he went outside."

"Maybe."

I walked toward the counter to return my bowling shoes and collect my regular shoes.

Something didn't feel right.

I knew Jacob.

He wouldn't just disappear without saying anything.

I walked through the mall, checking the stores and hallways until I eventually spotted him outside.

He was sitting beside the fountain.

The same fountain where we'd sat the first time we came to the mall for ice cream.

He had one hand in the water, gently moving it around as the fish swam near his fingers.

I walked over and sat beside him.

"Hey."

Jacob didn't look at me.

"Why are you out here by yourself?"

"Just playing with the fish."

His voice was quiet.

I looked at him.

"You okay?"

He nodded.

But he was frowning.

That was enough to tell me he wasn't okay.

"Jacob, what's wrong?"

He slowly removed his hand from the water and wiped it against his pants.

He looked around nervously before biting his bottom lip.

"I kind of got jealous."

"Jealous?"

"When I saw you with Britney."

I sighed softly.

"We were just talking. There's no reason to be jealous."

"Yeah, I know it's okay to have conversations with people."

He paused.

"But she was touching you like I would."

I looked at him.

"She was blushing and giggling, and then she touched your chest."

He frowned.

I usually found his jealousy cute.

But this wasn't cute.

His eyes were starting to water, and suddenly all I wanted to do was make him feel better.

"I'm sorry."

Jacob looked at me.

"I didn't realize she was being too touchy, and I didn't realize it was upsetting you."

"You shouldn't apologize."

"Why?"

"Because we're not together."

His voice became quieter.

"So I shouldn't be jealous when someone else has your attention."

He looked down.

"Or if you want to be with someone else."

My heart sank.

I didn't know what to say.

Technically, he was right.

We weren't officially together.

But at the same time, he was completely wrong about how I felt.

I knew I'd be jealous if I saw him with someone else.

Probably more jealous than I wanted to admit.

And the thought that Jacob was sitting here worrying that he could lose me to Britney hurt.

He wasn't someone I wanted to make feel insecure.

"Is it time to go home?" he asked.

His eyes were glossy when he finally looked at me.

I nodded.

"We'll leave whenever you're ready, Jay."

"I'm ready."

He stood up.

"Wait here. I'm going to tell everyone we're leaving."

He nodded.

I headed back inside and found the others.

"I'm taking Jacob home."

Mason looked surprised.

"Already?"

"Yeah. He's tired."

Nobody argued.

I grabbed my things and headed back outside.

Jacob was waiting exactly where I'd left him.

I walked over and held the door open for him.

He gave me a small smile before getting into the car.

The drive was quiet.

Usually, Jacob and I talked nonstop whenever we were together, but this time he mostly stared out the window.

I kept glancing at him.

I hated seeing him like this.

I wanted to say something that would make him understand that Britney wasn't important to me.

But the truth was, there was only one person I wanted.

And he was sitting right beside me.

⸻

I pulled up in front of Jacob's house and parked.

The engine went quiet.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Jacob shifted in his seat before quietly mumbling goodbye.

"Bye, Zai."

He reached for the door handle.

"Jacob."

He stopped.

I took a breath.

"Will you be my boyfriend?"

He turned toward me, his eyes widening.

I gave him a nervous smile.

My heart was pounding so hard I could practically hear it.

I'd never been this nervous asking someone anything before.

Jacob stared at me for a few seconds.

Then a smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Yes."

I smiled.

"Yes?"

"I'll be your boyfriend."

He giggled.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

Relief washed over me.

After everything we'd been through, after all the confusion and mixed signals, Jacob was finally mine.

Well...

Not mine.

But my boyfriend.

And somehow, that felt even better.

I smiled at him.

"Thank you for being my boyfriend, Jay."

Jacob smiled back.

And for the first time in a long time, I wasn't thinking about the dare.

I wasn't thinking about Benji.

I wasn't thinking about what anyone else thought.

All I could think about was the boy sitting beside me and how lucky I felt to have him.