Текст книги "Double Clutch"
Автор книги: Лиз Реинхардт
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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 18 страниц)
If that’s what Jake was.
Or would be.
I checked out the website and read the testimonials, which ran the range from pure cheesiness to what sounded like honest life-changing experience. It seemed like it would be pretty awesome.
I put my pajamas on, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and tried to pop an enormous zit that was forming on my chin. Unfortunately it was just big and painful. I put a little cream on it—the kind that advertises your zit will be gone in twenty-four hours but never ever works, at least, not on me – and tried to relax. My brain refused to cooperate on that one.
I went back to Golding, now even more preoccupied, and forced myself through the required chapters and notes before I closed the book and put it in my bag. I looked at the Folly CD cover, trying to get inspiration, but it was pretty bland. Just the band name and a black background with green splatter all over the back. I listened to a few more of their songs, trying to get a feel for what I would put on a shirt if I did manage to design one.
And finally, the phone rang. I didn’t want to admit how much I’d been waiting for it, but I had been. And it never crossed my mind to play games like waiting for it to ring a few times or keeping my voice even when I answered, because I didn’t feel like I needed to hide anything from Jake or pretend with him.
“Jake!”
“That’s a nice greeting.” I could hear his smile over the phone.
“I’m glad you came over today.” I listened to the sound of metal jangling and hitting something. I imagined he was emptying the change out of his pockets and putting his keys down.
“Me too.”
“Did it take you long to get home?” I walked over to my window and put my hand against the freezing pane. I shivered when I imagined flying through fields and woods on a night like tonight.
“No,” he said too quickly, then changed the subject. I knew he was lying to me, but I let it go. If I knew that it had taken forever and he’d been freezing the whole time, I’d have to tell him not to come again. And I knew neither one of us wanted that.
“So there’s this movie theater in Newton.” He paused. “They play, like, random older movies. So tomorrow they’re going to play Footloose and Dirty Dancing,” he said with a groan.
And I squealed and got all girlishly excited. “Jake! That’s awesome!” I gushed. “How did you know I love them?”
“Because you’re a girl,” he pointed out. “And because you have both Dirty Dancing and More Dirty Dancing soundtracks on your shelf.”
I felt a little embarrassed. “I forgot about my CDs.” I had transferred most of them to my iPod, but some I kept for sentimental value.
“So, I’m too lame to be able to pick you up,” he said dryly, “but I thought if your parents could drop you off, I could buy your ticket and popcorn and candy. If you want to.” He waited a second before adding a rushed, “Or not.”
A date! My first date! “No. I want to. I do. What time is it?” I danced around my room and silently screamed with excitement.
“The first movie starts at two o’clock.”
“I’ll be there. Do you mind if I invite my friend Kelsie?” I fell back on the bed and clutched a throw pillow to my chest. Kelsie would love this.
“Kelsie Jordan?” he said, and I felt the clench in my stomach that I started to associate with finding unexpected things out about Jake.
“That’s the one. Do you know her?” I held my breath and waited on the edge of a precipice for him to answer.
“Just from being around.” His voice didn’t sound weird or upset. “Bring her. It’ll be fun.” I could tell from his tone he was mildly let down I’d crashed our date.
“It’s just, if I ask my parents to randomly drop me off at a movie theater, they’re going to want to know who I’m going with, and I don’t want them to get all crazy if it’s a date.” I stopped. “It is a date, right?”
“Seriously, Brenna? I’m asking you to meet me in public to see two girlie dance movies. This is all about me trying to impress you.”
I pressed my hand over my mouth to stifle the insane giggles that threatened to overtake me. I had to take a deep breath before I could calmy say, “Let me call Kelsie and check, and I’ll call you back, ok?” I thought about it. “Or are you beat? I know you worked all day, then came over here.”
“No, I’m not beat. And I definitely want you to call back. Even if it’s late. I’ll wait for you.”
We clicked off, and I dialed Kelsie’s number with fingers shaking from pure excitement. It rang and rang and she finally picked up.
“Hey girl!” Her cheery voice rang out in my ear. “I tried your house today. Where were you?”
“Oh, we were busy all day getting stuff done in my room. I must not have heard the phone. ” Because maybe I was locked in my room, wrapped around Jake Kelly?
“Oh, well Newton is having this awesome movie thing, and a bunch of people are going.”
I laughed. “That’s so weird. That’s what I was calling you about.” I examined my Dirty Dancing CDs, thankful for those few minutes of snooping that led to Jake asking me on a date.
“Are you going? Ohmygosh, you’re going with your bad boy, aren’t you?” Her squeal almost punctured my eardrum. “I knew it! I called it!”
Even though I was hopping up and down with happiness, I managed to keep my voice calm and speak rationally to Kelsie. “I’m going to meet him there, but I was hoping you would come too.”
“Well, I’ll be there. Now that I know Jake will be taking you on a date, I’m going just to spy. Are you excited? Beyond excited? About to have a heart attack?”
“Yes! I have a lot to tell you, but I’m going to call Jake back and tell him it’s good. I’ll call you tomorrow?” I opened my closet and shuffled through my clothes, wondering what I should wear.
“Sounds good. Have a really nice conversation.” Kelsie dissolved into another fit of giggles.
“I will,” I said and couldn’t help giggling right along with her.
I dialed Jake’s number, and he picked up right away. “Hey, Brenna.” His voice was slow and sleepy.
“Kelsie said a bunch of people are going. So, I’ll meet you there?” I threw shirts and pants on my bed along with a few skirts and dresses. How dressy would this be? Should I dress as cute as possible or go understated?
When Jake spoke, his voice was measured and guarded. “You don’t have to go with me, you know. You can sit with your friends.”
“Maybe I want to go with you. And you can whisper all of Johnny’s lines to me.” I plopped on my bed and wrapped my arms around my knees.
He laughed. “Is that Patrick Swayze? Maybe if we were watching Roadhouse I could tell you all of his lines.” He cleared his throat. “I know he says that no one puts Baby in a corner.”
I closed my eyes and soaked it all in. “Ooh, that’s the line! You sound tired.”
“I guess I am. I hate working a double on the weekend.” He yawned into the phone.
I thought about telling him about Saxon and my kiss to clear the air before our first date, but the timing seemed so off. And I just didn’t want to talk about it. But there was something I wanted to get his opinion on.
“I wanted to tell you something. My parents found this summer study abroad thing where you go to another country and learn about something.” I held my breath and pressed my lips together, waiting.
He sounded more alert. “Like being an exchange student?”
“Yes. But for the summer instead of the whole year.” I closed my eyes and imagined us together all summer, maybe taking day trips to the beach, going out and getting Dairy Queen, snuggling at the movies. I half hoped he would be completely unsupportive and beg me to stay.
“Please tell me you’re going to do it.”
Shock rippled through me. “You want me to go?”
“No,” he said honestly. “I miss you when you’re half an hour away. I’ll probably go psycho when I know you’re across an ocean. But it sounds awesome, and I want you to do that kind of stuff. You’re too smart to just rot in this little county. You need to get out there. It’s good for you.”
“So now you know what’s good for me?” I teased.
“I like to think so.” His voice was low and soft. I loved it. “I wish I was there with you right now.”
“Me too,” I sighed. “You need to get off of the phone. You need to get some sleep.”
“I can sleep in tomorrow,” he pointed out. “You’re right, though. We should both get some rest. Sweet dreams, Brenna.”
“You too,” I said.
He laughed lowly. “There’s no doubt about that.”
We clicked off, and it was a good thing I’d been up at the crack of dawn with Mom and Thorsten and worked all day, because I was way too excited to sleep unless exhaustion forced me to. I turned off the lights in my new room and stared at the paintings on my wall, which were eerie and strange in the moonlight. Before I knew it, I opened my eyes to the morning light that streamed in through my new shades and it was time to get ready for my first date.
Chapter 7
In that foggy time between being asleep and awake, the first thing I thought about was Jake. I dreamed about kissing him. My sleeping mind was as sex addled as my waking one. My dream was one long string of kissing and rolling around on my bed. I stretched and sighed, then got up to ask Mom if it would be okay to go to the movies. She said it was fine, she would drop me after Thorsten left for work, and part of me was disappointed by her easy answer. I almost wanted her to demand to know who was going and when and where, so I’d be forced to tell her that it was actually a date. But I knew that as much as I wanted to share, it was better to keep Jake to myself for now.
I went to the bathroom and showered, then took a long time drying my hair straight so it looked extra shiny. I put on my makeup and paid extra attention to my eyes. I thought they looked pretty sexy when I was done. I went to my room to pick an outfit, and realized I had a missed call. Jake!
I called him right back.
“Hey, gorgeous.” He sounded excited. “I just wanted to call and say hello.”
“Hello,” I said and bit my lip to keep from cackling like a lunatic into the phone. “Did you sleep in?”
“Yeah, a little. I can’t really talk too long. My dad needs some help with stuff before this afternoon. But, I can’t wait to see you.”
“I can’t wait to see you, either. Go help your dad.” I twirled around my room, so glad he couldn’t see me acting like a maniac.
“See you soon,” he promised.
Okay, we were dating. It had to be. You didn’t call to check on someone every few hours and giggle on the phone and dream about them kissing you unless you were dating.
But he hadn’t asked me to be his girlfriend. And I wasn’t about to do any asking. I was all about being an independent woman, but there were lines I needed to draw pretty firmly when it came to dating. And I was not going to ask a boy to be my boyfriend. Period.
I went through all of my clothes three times and finally picked a black dress with a polo collar and a pink belt around the waist. I put on gray leggings and pink Converse low tops. I had a gray canvas peacoat with a flannel lining and a pink cashmere scarf and hat Mom bought me when she and Thorsten went on a trip to Paris while I was visiting my grandmother in Michigan.
Once I was dressed, I needed something productive to take up my time and keep me from pacing a hole in my bedroom floor. I did some more work on my sketches for the Folly shirt, listening to their music in the background as I worked. I was starting to piece some things together I thought would look cool. While I worked, I finally managed to lose track of the time, and before I knew it, Thorsten knocked on my door.
“I’m off to work, Brenna.”
I got off of the bed and kissed his cheek. “Drive safe, Fa.”
“Have fun today,” he said and put a twenty in my hand. “For the movie and snacks.”
“Thanks.” I gave him a quick hug.
When it was exactly time to go, I bolted off my bed, got my purse and coat, put on my hat and scarf, and went to get Mom.
“Ooh, honey, you look so cute,” she gushed as she grabbed the keys.
“Thanks.” I hoped Jake thought so.
We drove to the theater, and Mom kissed me and reminded me to have my cell on vibrate and call after the movie if I was going to get something to eat with my friends. I wondered how long Jake would be allowed out.
When I got out of the car and looked around, it wasn’t Jake I noticed, but Saxon, leaned up against the wall, one leg bent behind him, smoking a cigarette. I saw Kelsie near him and the guy Chris who was in our Crafts class and the lead singer in Folly. There were two other girls and a guy I didn’t know.
Saxon and I met eyes, and he looked me up and down slowly, but he didn’t greet me or call me over. I hated the warm flush that came over me as his eyes worked over my body, assessing. I wanted to erase my memory of Friday afternoon with him. I could tell from the way he looked at me that he was thinking about it.
Kelsie waved her hands over her head. “Brenna! Come here!”
I waved at Mom, who smiled and pulled away, and I went to say hi to Kelsie, trying to avoid looking at Saxon while at the same time looking for Jake without being too obvious.
“Where is he?” She tugged on my dress. “You look so adorable. I almost finished a necklace for you. It would go perfect with that dress if you had a blue belt. Do you?”
“I don’t know. Where he is,” I clarified. “I do have a blue belt. Thank you for the necklace.” My head was spinning. “I didn’t realize Saxon would be here. And Chris?”
“I know.” She dug her fingers into my arm. “Saxon actually got everyone together.”
“Oh.” My mind immediately turned suspicious. I wondered if he asked Kelsie to ask me. I could ask him if he had, but I definitely didn’t want to.
“He’ll be here.” Kelsie grabbed my arm and started to lead me to the group.
“It’s okay,” I said, though it definitely was not okay. Where was he? What if he didn’t show up?
And then he was right there. I didn’t see him arrive, but once he was there, I didn’t care about anything but pressing my lips to his. I was aware, somewhere in the back of my mind, that Saxon would see it, but I tried to push that thought away.
Jake looked slightly embarrassed when he saw the crowd. He pulled me over to the side before he kissed me. His kiss was hungry but quick, and not too indecent. I had a feeling Jake wasn’t much of an exhibitionist and that was fine with me. Making out in the privacy of my room was one thing. Making out in front of a Newton movie theater was skanky.
“You look great.” He pulled back from me and let his eyes wander from my head to my toes. “I really like your dressy thing.”
“Thanks.” I pulled closer and kissed his nose. “It’s usually called a ‘dress.’”
He laughed and pulled his hat off, running his hand over his shower-damp hair. “You know what I mean. So these are your friends?” He threw a pointed look at the group clustered nearby, watching us without looking too obvious about it.
“Hey Jake.” Kelsie waved and smiled. “This is Chris, Amanda, Joey and Megan, and this is Saxon.”
Jake nodded and smiled politely until he saw Saxon. His mouth thinned into a hard line. “Saxon.”
“Hey Jake.” Saxon dragged on his cigarette and talked through the smoke that billowed out of his mouth. “How’s it going?”
“Alright.” Jake pulled me closer to his side possessively.
Did they know each other? There was an animosity between them that crackled in the air. I gave Jake a questioning look, but he shook his head slightly, letting me know he couldn’t talk about it there.
The weird vibes suffocated the group into an awkward silence, but neither of the guys looked ready to do more than glare.
“Maybe we should go and buy tickets,” I suggested.
“Good idea.” Kelsie raised her eyebrows at the huge group that had congregated at the ticket booth. “It looks like the crazy fans are getting here.”
Sure enough, gaggles of middle-aged women in handmade ‘No one puts Baby in the corner!’ t-shirts jostled at the ticket window.
“I’ll go get our tickets.” Jake squeezed my hand.
I took the twenty out of my purse. “Here,” I offered.
“No.” He held his hands up and shook his head. “This is a date, Brenna. I’m not letting you pay for anything.”
“But you have truck parts to buy.” I held the twenty out again. “You worked hard for your money.”
“And I want to spend it on you, so let me.” He closed my hand over the bill and pushed it back towards me.
He walked over to get the tickets, and Saxon snaked into his place, his mouth close to my ear.
“So that’s why you ran out of my car?” His cigarette was out, but he reeked of smoke. “You’re Jake Kelly’s latest conquest. Have some self-respect, Brenna.”
Jake turned his head and scowled at Saxon, obviously aggravated, but stuck in his place in line. Saxon gave him a cruel wave.
“I got out of your car because I was tired of your company. That’s it, Saxon. And what I do or who I do it with is not your business.” I waved at Jake and he looked relieved.
Saxon reached out and tightened my unfurling scarf like he’d done the other day at school. “You could do a hell of a lot better than Jake Kelly. I’m an asshole, but even I’m a better choice than he is.”
I could see Jake’s body tense as he waited, switching from foot to foot impatiently.
I batted Saxon’s hands away and threw my scarf ends over my shoulder. “Jake’s a great guy, and I don’t really want to talk about him with someone like you.” I narrowed my eyes and stepped away from him. “Back off.”
“He’s a walking STD, Blix.” He closed the space between us. “The guy’s slept with more girls than I’ve looked at. And he’s an idiot. He can’t even read.”
I was so done with him. “Shut the hell up!” I hissed. Jake had paid for our tickets and was hurrying towards me. “Just because he doesn’t have a photographic memory doesn’t make him less intelligent than you. In fact, he’s ten times smarter and more interesting than you could be on your best day.”
He threw me an indulgent smile, like I was a toddler having a temper tantrum. “It’s your life.” He shrugged. When Jake was almost next to me, he pulled me over and kissed me on the cheek, his eyes on Jake the whole time. I twisted away from him, and he winked at me. “She’s a real hellcat, right Jake?”
“Come on, Brenna.” Jake linked hands with me and led me inside. He smelled so good and clean after the smoky, musky smell of Saxon. “He’s such an asshole,” Jake muttered. “Was he bothering you?”
“No,” I lied. “We just have classes together at school.”
Jake’s mouth tightened. “Oh. That’s cool,” he said, even though it was evident it was anything but cool as far as he was concerned.
“We’re not friends.” Even as the words were out of my mouth, I wondered why I said them. Even if Jake and I were dating, I wouldn’t expect him to ask me to give up friendships just because he didn’t like someone. Not that Saxon was someone I cared to keep a friendship with, but there was still the principle of it.
“He’s just a lot of trouble.” He looked me in the eyes. “And he’s charming as hell. You don’t even know he’s screwed you over until he’s done.” He shook his head. “Never mind. You want some candy?”
I was glad for the change in subject. “Yes. How about Raisinettes?”
He made a face.
“What?” I jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow. “You don’t like Raisinettes?”
“It’s like fake candy. I always thought of it like candy an adult would trick you into eating. Look Brenna,” he said, his voice all high. “It’s not a raisin! It’s yummy candy!”
I laughed, as much because I liked his silly joke as because I was glad we had moved past the weirdness with Saxon. “Well, I love them.”
“Then you’re getting them.” And suddenly, right in the line, he pulled me close and kissed me. “I never thought I’d be so excited to go see, arguably, two of the dumbest movies in the world.”
I slapped him on the arm. “These are cultural icons! These set the bar for all other dance movies!”
“Wow. I’m so glad,” he said drily. We were at the counter now, and the pimply girl selling refreshments didn’t bat an eyelash in my direction. She batted her eyelashes at Jake and asked if she could help him in a way that suggested she had more than scooping his popcorn in mind. “Raisinettes, Mike and Ikes, a large popcorn and a large…what do you want to drink?”
“Coke is great,” I said, then saw all of the options. “Oh, how about Cherry Coke? Do you like that?”
“Yeah, that’s cool.” He never took his eyes off of me. The girl behind the counter looked at me with daggers in hers. “A Cherry Coke, please.” He finally looked her way and she smiled, then tossed me a look and went to get the drink.
“Does that happen a lot?” I asked after Jake paid a horrifying amount for our tiny candy boxes, tub of popcorn, and soda, and we moved away from the counter and the girl still throwing him longing looks.
“What?” He juggled everything in his arms while he tried to slide his wallet into his back pocket.
I took the popcorn and soda and tossed a kernel in my mouth to enjoy the perfect salty crunch that only movie theater popcorn possesses. “Do girls fall all over you every time you go out?”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, genuinely puzzled.
“Jake, that girl would have hopped in your pocket and gone home with you if you looked her way. How could you not see that?” I offered him a piece of popcorn. He opened his mouth and I fed it to him, thrilled at the touch of his tongue on my fingertips.
“I don’t know. She just seemed nice. To tell you truth, I really didn’t even notice her. Why would I be looking at any other girl here?” He put his arm around me.
“Very true. Very smart of you to mention,” I said and gave him a quick buttery/salty kiss.
We found Kelsie and the group in the theater and tried to figure out how to sit all together. We moved back and forth along the row so everyone could find a seat. Somehow in the shuffle, Saxon just happened to wind up next to me. I tried not to care, but how could I not?
Jake looked completely pissed off, which was understandable, even though I didn’t know their backstory. Saxon was so obnoxious, I could understand someone being irritated with him for no reason other than his being in the same room.
Jake put his arm around me and held me close as the lights dimmed and the movie began. I leaned my head on the hard, hot muscle of his shoulder. He was wearing a faded t-shirt and faded jeans with his boots and the same jacket. It occurred to me suddenly that Jake wasn’t making any kind of fashion statement. Jake didn’t have many clothes.
I snuck a sidelong glance at him as the movie flickered on the screen, panning the rolling hills and sparkly lake of Kellerman’s. He was always clean, but there was something about him that made me ache to help. He looked like he had enough – enough to eat, enough to wear – but nothing special. It was like no one had ever considered pampering him in any way. He had exactly what he needed and nothing more.
Suddenly I wanted to see where he lived. What was Christmas morning like at his house? Did someone make him a birthday cake? Had he ever been on a vacation? I had a feeling every answer would depress me. I squirmed a little when I thought about how much money he spent on this one date. He could have bought himself something nice. Or maybe his money didn’t go to extras at all. Maybe a lot of it went to the basics. I had no idea what his dad did for work.
“What’s up?” Jake whispered. “Can’t get comfortable?”
“These seats are so hard, aren’t they?” I said, grasping gladly at the rope he threw for me.
“Here.” He moved the soda down to the floor so he could lift the armrest between us and press it back. “Lean on me.”
I was able to drape myself across his lap and snuggle completely in his arms. I tucked my feet up on the seat and nestled against him. I was so comfortable physically, I was able to calm down mentally.
Then I felt the oddest sensation. It was like someone was tracking a fingertip over my ankle. My ankles were bare since my leggings ended mid-calf and my socks were super short.
I hoped it was some kind of big crawly bug. I actually prayed that was the explanation.
Because if it wasn’t, the only thing that could explain it would be that Saxon was deliberately touching me. I was torn. If I acknowledged it, I would help irritate Jake’s fury and give Saxon the satisfaction of drama. If I ignored it, Saxon might take it as a sign I wanted it or liked it. I pulled my legs up and away, but Saxon still managed to discreetly keep one fingertip gliding along the sensitive skin of my ankle.
I just concentrated on Jake. I made sure Saxon could see me bury myself in Jake’s arms. At the particularly steamy parts, I leaned up and kissed him briefly. He smiled down at me, and I knew it had to be obnoxious to anyone without someone of their own to kiss and cuddle. When the awesome last dance/jump sequence flashed on the screen, I drew my foot back and kicked Saxon. Hard.
“Ow!” he yelped and looked at me with something between irritation and respect.
“I’m sorry, Saxon.” I kept my eyes wide and my expression serious. “I had a leg cramp. I didn’t notice you were so close.”
“No problem.” His look told me that he gave me his grudging respect.
When the credits rolled I said, “Jake, I think we get a refill. Do you want to get one while I use the bathroom? I think there’s going to be a line.”
“Sure,” he said, then turned and gave me a quick kiss that left me wanting more.
It was excellent anyway.
As soon as he was gone I grabbed Saxon by the hand and dragged him to the lobby. There was no point in making a scene in front of all of our friends, because he would love that.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I hissed.
He looked at me for a long minute with his eyebrows raised, clearly enjoying the entire situation. “You’re going to march me into the lobby because my fingertip touched your ankle?” he asked, his voice cavalier.
“Don’t do that.” I shook my head and pointed at him. “Don’t twist it so I sound ridiculous.”
“So what happened?” He reached out to put a piece of my hair behind my ear. I grabbed his hand, and held it, twisted out and away from my body.
“This.” I held his hand up high. “You can’t touch me like that, like we’re together.” I gritted my teeth.
“I wasn’t aware you were Jake’s absolute property.” Saxon twisted and pulled his hand slowly so we were almost holding hands.
“I’m my own absolute property.” I pulled away from him. “And I’m asking you to stop.”
“If touching your ankle does this to you,” he said, his body as close to mine as it could possibly be without actually touching me, “imagine what we’d be like together.”
“You’re an idiot,” I spat for lack of better words.
“Just a truth-speaker, baby.” He laughed at my back as I stalked to the bathroom.
Kelsie was in there. “Hey you!” She put on a coat of mascara and batted her eyes at her reflection in the mirror. “How’s your date?”
“Going good.” I was still shaky from my conversation with Saxon in the lobby. “How’s yours?”
“He’s very cool.” She winked at me. “Do you have the lipstick you’re wearing with you?”
“Yeah, here you go.” I pulled it out of my purse and handed it to her.
“Thanks. It makes your lips look really soft, almost like you’re not wearing lipstick.” She put it on carefully. “How do I look?” She pursed her lips for me.
“Beautiful.” I kissed her cheek. “I’m going to pee. You going back?”
“I’ll wait for you if you want,” she offered. Her eyes crinkled in their usual friendly way.
“Thanks, but you go. Just tell Jake where I am if he looks frantic?”
“That’s so cute.” She pinched my cheek. “You guys are already like some old couple.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know, we’re so adorable it’s nauseating.”
When Kelsie left, I thought about what I could do to combat Saxon and realized that was probably exactly what he was counting on. Saxon lived for mind games, and his touching my ankle had nothing to do with actually touching me and everything to do with burrowing deep in my head where I couldn’t get him out. I flushed and went to the sinks. I braced my hands on the cold white porcelain and looked at my reflection for a long time.
I was pretty. Especially with makeup and good hair and a cute outfit. But it wasn’t my made-up eyes or my crazy style that had Saxon attempting to tempt me with the tip of his finger on my ankle. My best guess was he liked me because I called him out on his bullshit. Maybe it was just novelty, or maybe it was an addiction. Because if I thought about being in a serious relationship with Saxon, I didn’t see the mind games ending; in fact I thought it would be just the opposite. Every word he said, every action he made would be to trip me up, keep me on my toes. And I was positive he would get happiness from it, perverse or real.
Who wants to be constantly on her toes with her boyfriend?
I washed my hands and felt like splashing water on my face, but I knew my mascara would never hold up.
I walked out of the bathroom and smashed into the wall of Jake’s chest. My hands went up instinctively, and I could feel just how threadbare the fabric of his shirt was.
“Are you okay?” He cradled my face in his big hands. “You were in there for a long time.”
I grinned at him because his panicked worry was just right, just what I wanted. And I realized he was what I wanted, alone. “I don’t need Pepto, if that’s what you’re dancing around.”
His smile made his eyes crinkle up, and I loved it. “You want to go in?”
“You know, I think they made a mistake putting Dirty Dancing first. How can you follow an act like that? I don’t think Footloose is going to cut it.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I want to buy you some cheap Chinese food.” I gave him my best sexy wink. I’m not ashamed to admit I’d practiced it in front of the mirror. Not very ashamed, anyway.
“I can buy you dinner.” His offer was a tad defensive.
I knew I had to match his tone with an even more defensive one. “I don’t know why you won’t accept some food from me,” I huffed. “Are you going to be this ungrateful every time we go anywhere, ‘cause I won’t be coming in that case.” I raised one eyebrow at him, very slowly. And knew he was completely taken aback, and floundering to figure out what to do.
“Alright.” He rubbed the back of his neck, then shook his head and put an arm around my shoulders. “Will your friends be worried about you?”
