A Reason to Stay (Oak Hollow) Read Online Free Page A

so afraid of damaging the bond between them that he hadn’t been able to come clean with her about his feelings. The guy in the movie hadn’t been afraid to lose everything in order to gain the love of a lifetime, and he was rewarded with a happy ending.
    For Jake and Ellie there would be no kissing scene in the rain. There wasn’t even a chance for one as long as he was afraid to show her what she really meant to him. Suddenly the warmth of her and her fresh, clean scent was too much for him. He was tired of worrying so much about tomorrow. Tomorrow would come whether he wanted it to or not. And watching her leave would hurt whether he’d taken a chance or not. He didn’t think a slap in the face or even a firm but polite "thanks, but no thanks" he might get if he told her how he felt could hurt worse than the torture of the "what ifs" he would have to live with if he didn’t. But the words still felt stuck in his throat. How do you tell the best friend you’ve ever had that you love her more than life? He couldn’t find the words. But, if he didn’t know how to tell her, he definitely knew how to show her.
     
     
Chapter Five
     
    Tears rolled down Ellie’s face as the movie credits rolled on the TV screen. She always cried at this movie. But tonight, her tears were more for herself than for the bittersweet happy ending of the movie.
    Though she hadn’t wanted the night to end, it seemed as if the hours had flown by. It had been a wonderful evening. They’d pigged out on Chinese food, drank a little too much, laughed and talked all the way through the action movie as Jean Claude Van Damme kicked butt, then snuggled under a blanket for the next movie. All in all it had been a standard, fun Movie Night. Jake had been a bit distant at times, but Ellie chalked that up to woman problems. It happened all the time. The woman of the hour would become clingy and start "wanting more" out of their "relationship". At the first mention of the word commitment Jake would start getting antsy, trying to figure out a way to bolt without hurting the woman’s feelings.
    Whenever that happened he’d be distant for a day or two, then when he was ready he’d tell Ellie all about it. He always had. Ellie couldn’t count the number of times Jake had come to her with, Suzie wants me to meet her parents, Janet gave me a key to her apartment, or the biggie, Lisa wants us to buy a dog together. Do you know how long dogs live? These desperate declarations had always been followed by I’m just not ready for that kind of thing, Ellie.
    It had been a while since he’d come to her with such a problem, but she should have known it would be coming. It always did. Ellie wracked her brain to remember whom it was he was dating now, but the name didn’t come to mind. Well, it didn’t matter. It was someone. There was always someone. At least this time when he had this problem, he would have to call her to tell her about it. Maybe having hundreds of miles of phone line between them would dull the pain of hearing the details of yet another of his conquests.
    Ellie forced the distressing thoughts from her mind. There would be enough pain tomorrow when she said goodbye to Jake, and plenty of pain and loneliness in the coming weeks. She wouldn’t let it ruin tonight for her.
    But tonight was over. The last movie had ended and now she would have to leave her warm and comfy spot nestled against Jake and go lay down in that big, lonely guest bed. She knew, from many movie nights spent there, she’d be able to hear Jake’s soft snoring through the wall. The sound would be comforting to her as she drifted off to sleep. Sitting up, she turned to look at Jake.
    "Could you hand me a tissue?" she asked, motioning toward the box on the table near him.
    Wordlessly, Jake retrieved a tissue from its container. But instead of putting it in her outstretched hand, he brought the tissue up to her tear stained cheeks. Softly, he began wiping the tears from her