Gracie's best friend...Jake

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Yes, Jake is Gracie's best friend. Not just best "guy" friend...best FRIEND...on the planet. He is just that guy that every girl should have to help her navigate her relationships. He's honest but gentle with his words, he's a great boyfriend. For years, Gracie has watched the way he is with his girlfriend, Jessica. He really is the most genuine person she has ever met and she counts herself lucky to have snagged him as her BFF! ...oh yeah, and he's HOT!

The best way to introduce you to Jake is to let you peek inside a conversation they had in Gracie's apartment. Jake was the one she could count on to say the things no one else would... the things she didn't want to believe.

...enter, Jake...

          “Gracie, you are an amazing girl. You are beautiful and kind and you have the biggest heart of anyone I know.” He pulled back and looked me straight in the eyes. “But, you have to see that Noah doesn’t respect you.”

            “Jake!”

            “Listen, if no one is going to be brutally honest with you, I will, because I can’t stand watching you break.”

            “Stop.” I shook my head and put my face in my hands.

            “Gracie, listen to me. This is like a train wreck, everyone is watching and everyone is seeing the same thing. But for some reason you aren’t seeing the damage he is causing. This is eating you alive. He is stealing away the Gracie we all love and leaving and empty shell. It hurts me to watch. Honey, he doesn’t love you!”

            His voice was getting louder and his grip on my arms was a little tighter as he spoke.

            “Honey, he doesn’t love you!”

            I wiggled free and ran into the other room, “STOP IT, Jake!”

            “How does he show it? If he loves you, tell me what he does to prove it to you.”

            “He…well…”

            “See, you should be able to come up with something immediately. You can’t.”

            “How can you…”
            “He treats you like shit,” he started to tear up, “I see you crumble more each time we talk about what he’s done to you. He has changed back into the old Noah and he doesn’t deserve you. You are way too good for him. When are you going to see that?”

            “Jake, you are my best friend! My very, very best friend! How can you say these things to me? How can you purposely hurt me like this?” The last question came out as a whisper.

            He walked over to me and wiped my tears. He took my face in his hands and said, “Because sometimes being the best friend means telling the truth even when it hurts.”

            I crumbled in his arms and he helped me to the couch. I don’t know how long we sat there but I eventually cried myself to sleep. When I woke up I was covered up with a blanket and there was a note jotted on the receipt from our last take out order,

“Remember to not settle. You are worth so much more than you give yourself credit for.

Love you to pieces, Jake”

You like him, don't you? Yeah, he's hard not to like!