The Wrong Choice
By Misha
Disclaimer- I don’t own any of the characters, I am just borrowing them for a while and will return them unharmed.
Author’s Notes- This takes place during Book One, Chapter 8. This is my take on if the MC choose Jake, I’ve already written the scene choosing Estela in “Safe” and I may end up doing a Sean version just to cover all the angle. This one is based off the prompt request “This place gives me the creeps”.
Pairing- Jake/MC
Rating- PG
Summary- While deciding where to sleep, Stephanie ponders her attraction to Jake and the fact that even if he is the wrong choice, he’s the one she wants.
Words- 502
You’re cold and scared and you don’t want to sleep alone.
The question is who should you sleep beside? You know what the answer should be. You should be walking over to Sean and taking shelter in his strong arms. Sean is the ultimate Mr. Right. He’s handsome, has good prospect and is a genuinely nice guy. You should be running over to his side.
Yet… You’re not. Despite the fact that you know he’s interested in you, you can’t bring yourself to develop that attraction into something more. You were attracted to him at first, on the plane and during the first couple days on the island, but… The attraction faded. You care about him as a friend and that’s it.
You can list all kinds of reasons why. You can tell yourself that isn’t the right setting for romance, that Michelle is too much of a complication, or you can it in his savior complex. But you know those are all excuses. The real reason you aren’t interested in Sean has nothing to do with him, nothing to do with the island, and everything to do with Jake.
Your eyes land on the pilot. You know he’s bad news, but… You want him. Sometimes you almost feel like you need him. Which is ridiculous since you’ve only known him a few days and your relationship hasn’t crossed the line from friendly flirting to anything more serious.
Or at least on the surface, it hasn’t. Underneath the flirting there are deeper currents and you know that you both feel it, this intense connection. But neither one of you is ready to act on it. It’s obvious Jake has baggage and so do you. You have a hard time holding on to things and well…
It’s not like anything about this situation screams permanence. After all, if you do manage to get off the island, you have completely different lives waiting for you and getting off the island certainly isn’t a guarantee.
It’s probably best to keep your distance. Maybe you should sleep alone, despite the cold, or go sleep next to Sean, despite Michelle, but you don’t. Instead, you find yourself walking over to Jake and settling down next to him because it’s his arms you want to feel around you.
He teases you a bit, but he settles you into his arms and holds you like he’s been waiting all his life to do it.
“Jake,” you whisper as you settle against his chest.
“Yeah, Princess?”
You want to tell him how you feel, but the words don’t come. You decided it’s too soon for those words, in fact, you’re not sure the time will ever be right to say them. “This place gives me the creeps,” you said instead.
“Me too, Princess,” he agrees, tightening his arms around you. He doesn’t say anything else, doesn’t make any further promises, but his actions are a promise all on their own and they let you know how much he cares.
- End
