Unspoken by Liliana Camarena Page B

myself, at ease with my life. That’s why I am here. I need you in my life,” I was crying like a baby but everything was so overwhelming; I was sad because he wasn’t saying that he wanted to be with me officially but I was happy because he was finally opening up to me.
    Jackson finally opened his eyes and looked at me confused. It was as if he had been in a trance and he had just come out of it. I smiled, I’m here.
    “And I’m here,” he said and I nodded.
    “So, the conversation was over “are you staying here?” I asked, walking to the kitchen.
    “No, I sleep in the main house,” he said sitting on the bed. “This should be only for us.” I just nodded because, really, I didn’t want to get into that topic again.
    “Do you like red velvet cake?” I asked as I took out a couple of undecorated cupcakes.
    “Never tried it,” he said walking to the kitchen.
    “Oh, Jackson, you sad man,” I said smiling and shaking my head “here, try this one.” I gave him a red mini cupcake. He took a bite of it.
    “It’s delicious, Mar, as always,” he said smiling while trying to get another bite of the cupcake. “What are we exactly looking for?” he asked.
    “I still don’t know,” I said staring at the cupcakes “I think I know what I want to do for the first contest but I need a good looking cupcake,” I nodded
    “They are all very handsome,” he said smiling and I smiled back Ass. He laughed out loud. “No, really, what are you looking for?”
    “Hmm something pretty,” I said looking at the variety of cupcakes I’d baked early in the day.
    “Pretty won’t win you the contest. You need original.” Said Jackson as he went to grab the binder where I had pictures of every work I’d done in the past 5 years.
    “This isn’t too bad,” he said looking at a picture of a bee cupcake.
    “That’s the very first cupcake badge I made,” I said going closer and smiling to myself “they were for a birthday party.” They were really bad; completely flat chocolate cupcakes with yellow stripes, tiny eyes and wings made of white fondant “This won’t make me win.” I shook my head.
    “Ok,” he gave a quick nod and went to coffee machine and brewed two cups “what will make you win, then?” he asked as I stared at the coffee machine.
    “Something more like this,” I said opening the binder on a page a bit further from the bee cupcakes. I saw Jackson’s expression change in a second and he looked up to me.
    “Did someone actually ask you for this?” I had the option of lying but I decided, for whatever reason, not to.
    “That’s what I did for my final exam on my fondant class,” I looked down at the binder and tried really hard not to look at him. It was a complete KFC menu made into cakes and cupcakes with fondant. It looked pretty cool; I had been praised in class by my teacher. I finally looked at him. He was smiling a bittersweet smile, You loved me.
    Did you ever doubt that? I smiled back. He took two steps forward and put his hands on each side of my face and kissed me really quick and then took a step back.
    “You’ll win this damn thing,” What? He just kissed me after 6 years. My mind was somewhere else; all I could do was nod and take a sip of coffee. That kiss as cast and pure that it had been meant so much more for the two of us. My hands were shaking and I gripped the coffee cup harder.
    “I have an idea…” I said and went on to show him what I could do for the contest leaving the kiss behind us or under the rug, anywhere but in that room.

Seventeen
    “Why aren’t you with your parents?” I asked Jackson in between kisses as we danced. We were at a party at someone’s place. I had no idea whose. Most of the locals were back from college for Thanksgiving, including Connor.
    “Because I’m with you,” he said grabbing me by the waist. He had come down with Connor and that had completely caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting him to come for Thanksgiving but