Abbie and Jake reconnect at the country club's exit

"Oh hey, you're back." Jake waved at Abbie as she approached him. He saw her smiling at him, and he chuckled to himself. What is on her mind? he wondered.

"Hello cutie," she said. "Miss me?"

Jake nodded. "Always." He couldn't identify why, but he got an energy from her that she had stories to tell. "What's going on?"

"With me?" she replied.

"Yeah."

She shrugged. "Nothing special." Her words dismissed the adventure of the previous fifteen minutes, but she couldn't shake the smirk that decorated her face.

Jake was dubious. "You've got a story. Maybe you'll tell me later?"

Abbie grasped Jake's hand and squeezed it. "I'd love to tell you later."

"Have you been up to some kind of ... business ... back there?" Jake waved vaguely toward the hallway.

"I have." Abbie spoke confidently with a hint of pride. "And now I'm back here with you."

Jake took a small step back so he could see Abbie better. He held both her hands, clasping the way lovers would. He took a deep breath, and let it out softly through his nose. "I swear, if I told people that I went away for a weekend with Abbie Andrews, that we were intimate -- several times -- and that the trip was more like a romantic getaway than probably anything I've had in a long time ..."

As Jake described it, Abbie's smile grew. She felt emotional, hearing Jake talk about their time together this way. She knew what it meant to her, and hearing him articulate how he saw things just made the whole experience feel more important, more personal, more valuable.

"And then," he continued, "if I said, 'oh right, and she also messed around with a few other guys while we were gone --"

"-- and girls," Abbie said, interrupting.

Jake raised his eyebrows. "Of course, and girls."

"And you did too," she added.

"I did," he agreed. "Well, not other guys. But yes."

"Right."

Jake paused to take it all in. "I should be jealous. Or something. I mean, a normal guy in a normal relationship would be jealous."

He ran past the word 'relationship' without editorializing it, or even being aware that he had said it. Abbie knew he had said it, but she withheld her reaction. Instead, she clenched his hands tighter.

"Yeah, that's how other people would behave," she said.

"But for you, it makes perfect sense. Doesn't it?"

"It does." She kept her eyes on his. "Are you ... do you disagree?"

Jake quickly shook his head. "No. Not at all."

"Because at dinner last night, I know we said things." Abbie's smile faded slightly as their conversation got a bit more serious.

"We did." Jake looked back at her, still holding her hands tightly. "Wow, was that just last night?"

Abbie grinned. "Yeah."

Jake paused again, thinking about it. "I'm not jealous," he said with a shrug. "I might be a little envious, because whatever you did, you came back here with a smirk on your face and a twinkle in your eye and a glow about you -- and I know you, Abbie."

She blushed a bit. "I know you do."

"And now you're back here with me."

She tilted her head to the side and nudged herself closer to him. "I'm back here with you," she said, for the second time.

Jake chuckled to himself, and then repeated her words quietly. "You're back here with me."

Abbie rose up on her tiptoes and kissed Jake, softly, on the lips. "I'll always tell you anything, Jake."

He nodded and nuzzled closer to her. "I know." They released their handhold, and walked, side-by-side, toward the door.