Chapter Twenty-Five
Summer
I was just washing my hands when Rue came in, ahead of Marlene and the kids. I grinned and waved a wet hand at her. “How was town?”
She frowned at me. “Tell you later.”
I tipped my head. That didn’t sound good, but I knew better than to ask in front of our guests. Jake and I had just come in after setting up half a dozen jumps for me on a flat piece of land that he’d found a couple hundred yards beyond the arena. I was hoping to get a chance to ride Aria over them but tonight I had a shift at the café, so Aria was going to have to wait. I was torn between wanting a slow enough night that Sharon would send me home early and having a crazy busy night that would leave me with a pocketful of tips. God knew I needed the money to pay for Aria’s food.
Rue dropped her jacket and purse at the door, then came over, retying her hair into a ponytail as she did. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said, eyeing the pork chops in the sink. She kissed my cheek heartily. “I wasn’t sure if you’d remember we were having pork tonight.”
I looked away, embarrassed at how much I wanted her to notice my effort. “Well, I figured what was the point in making a meal plan if we didn’t stick to it?”
She kissed me again. “That’s my girl.”
I let Rue order me around so that we had dinner on the table in under thirty minutes. I didn’t see Marlene or the kids until we rang the dinner bell, then I got caught up in the excitement of hearing all about their trip to town and the exciting things they’d done and seen.
I wanted to ask questions about what Brady and Rue had been up to during the trip, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it, especially with everyone sitting at the table. Jake and Brady were deep in conversation, talking about the condition of the cows and about Jake’s suggestion that we keep them in for one more day before pushing them back out to pasture. I was curious about their conversation but I could ask Jake to fill me in later.
Marcus and Max kept me entertained during the entire meal but I kept noticing how Jake continued to glance over at me, seemingly whenever he could. It was almost unnerving, but at the same time, I liked that he was watching me. I liked it a lot.
I hurried and finished clearing plates and Rue sent me off to get ready for work. I dressed quickly in my uniform which happened to be a cute pink dress which was short and fitted, but not overly so. I left my hair down and threw on some lipstick, blush, eyeliner and mascara. Then I jogged down the stairs and came up short before I smashed into Jake as he turned the corner. His eyes widened as soon as he saw me and he pushed his hat up as he took stock of me.
“Wow.”
I blushed and looked away. Something about the way he noticed me always caught me off guard. I twisted my fingers together and stepped around him, promising myself that I wasn’t going to be taken in by those damned blue eyes again. “Bye,” I said. “I’m off to work.”
“Hey.” He looped his fingers gently around my elbow and tugged me closer. I could feel the heat of him and I was suddenly nervous that someone might walk in on us.
“Hey yourself,” I answered as I separated myself from him.
“Can I drive you?”
“If you want to, but then you’ll have to come pick me up too. And I doubt you’ll want to do that because it’ll be late.” My eyes darted to his knife-trimmed fingernails settled in the crook of my arm.
“I don’t mind.”
A shiver rolled up my spine as part of me wished he’d decline. But the other half was thrilled he wanted to make the effort. His fingers fell away from my arm and we walked to his truck together.
He opened my door and once I was seated comfortably, jogged over to his side. The ride into town was pretty quick and I noticed that neither one of us said very much—just making small talk that annoyed me to no end. I just hated feeling anxious and uncomfortable around him.
“I’ll be done around eleven or maybe sooner if it’s slow,” I offered, once we reached the café. “I’ll text you once I know.”
“I hope you get off early,” he answered with a shrug.
“Why’s that?”
He smiled that devilishly boyish grin at me. “Because I’m dying to taste you again.”
I felt myself go every shade of red as Jake chuckled at me. He lifted his hand in a quick wave and then gave me a secretive smile that instantly turned my insides to mush. I smiled back and then hurried through the front door, inhaling deeply in hopes that my heart would slow down.
***
Sharon, Kenzy and I all pulled the weight of our shifts together, each of us helping out the other. We managed to finish up the night quickly, then Sharon was showing me the door after the last customer left. “Have a good night, bug.”
“G’nite, Sharon.” I laughed that I was already picking up her accent.
Jake was waiting in the parking lot, arm slung out his open window. “Hey, good lookin’. Need a lift?”
I stopped at his door and curled my fingers over the opening, close but not touching him. “Maybe. You goin’ my way?”
He tipped his head and leaned out the window, making an overt scan of my bare legs and short skirt. “Definitely.” His voice was a growl that tickled my ears and I skipped around the truck and climbed in, all the while reminding myself that Jake and I needed to be friends again… just friends.
Why? Because I wasn’t sure what we were doing. We hadn’t had a conversation (no thanks to me) and it seemed like we were just sort of falling back into the way we always had been together with the exception that we were now sleeping together. Well, that wasn’t something I was necessarily comfortable with.
So, while I was working my shift, I’d made the decision that it would be better for us to go back to our awkward friendship, which would probably be made all the more awkward since recent events. I just wasn’t going to allow myself to become that girl who was always available whenever the guy she was crushing on happened to want to have sex with her.
“You make some decent money?” As he asked, Sharon flipped the outside lights of the café off, drenching the parking lot in shadows.
“Oh, I didn’t even count it yet!” I answered, legitimately excited. I pulled the wad of bills out of my purse and started counting them.
“Well?” Jake asked once I was finished.
“Eighty-nine dollars!” I beamed back at him. “Doesn’t sound like that much but that alone will almost cover Aria’s feed!”
He inhaled swiftly and without any warning, he was suddenly right in front of me, his fingers wrapped around the nape of my neck. The space between us vanished as he pulled me closer and his lips found mine. I clung to him to keep my balance, but as he deepened the kiss, I was lost to the assault and slipped my hand through the thick hair at the back of his head. He growled against me, rolling his tongue over mine. He must have taken a shower right before coming to get me, because he smelled like Irish Spring soap and his hair was still damp.
When we finally came up for air, my heart was pounding.
“Sorry,” he said with a smile that said he was anything but.
I sucked in a big breath as I berated myself for not pulling away. How were we going to be friends when the tension between us was this obvious?
“You’re just too much for me to resist,” he continued.
I smiled and lifted my face. “You give the best apologies ever.”
He let go of me and threaded our fingers together. “You want to go straight home, or you okay if we take a detour?”
The way the blood was pumping through my body, I wasn’t going to get to sleep for a while. But there was a voice in the back of my head that told me I needed to stop this. I needed to make sure things returned to how they used to be. I mean, I wasn’t going to be at Springhill forever—just through the summer and then I’d be moving on. So did I want to make this whole thing a lot harder than it needed to be? The short answer was, no, I didn’t.
“Detour,” I answered as that inner voice of mine started yelling at me that I was making a mistake with Jake and one that I would live to regret.
Jake laughed and started the truck, then headed in the opposite direction from the ranch. “How was your night?”
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Crazy. I don’t know how Sharon stays so composed always.”
“Lots of practice.”
“I guess but I’m not sure I’ll survive long enough to be that good.”
He took my hand and held it on the seat between us. His fingers were firm and warm and I liked the way his thumb settled across mine. “Sharon wouldn’t keep you around if you couldn’t hack it. I’m sure you are awesome like you are with everything.”
I smiled at him and even though I was sure he was just saying nice things to be kind, I still liked hearing them. “Hope you’re right.”
He pulled our interlocked hands up to his lips and kissed the back of mine. “Count on it.”
I wasn’t really paying attention, so when he pulled into a parking lot of what looked like a random playground, I was a little surprised. “This was your detour?”
He turned off the truck and got out, tugging me behind him. “Hang on, before you diss it.”
I scrambled out of the truck, tugging at my skirt to keep from flashing him. “I’m really not dressed for this.”
He walked toward the playground, but took a left through a wooded section and I squinted, trying to make out whatever the big black void was beyond the tree line. It could have been a pond or a giant soccer field, I couldn’t tell from where I stood. The moon wasn’t up yet, so his face was thrown into shadow as we walked further away from the parking lot lights. The paved walkway ended, but he led us over the grass. My feet started hurting again.
“If you’d told me we were going on a hike, I would have worn different shoes,” I teased.
He turned and looked at my little heels, then bent down and scooped me up in his big arms in one swift motion. I squealed and wrapped my arms tight around his neck and he took off running, laughing as I tightened my hold.
When we emerged from the trees, I heard the sounds of water lapping gently against the edge of a tiny pond. “Wow, this is so pretty!”
“I found it a while back and wanted to come check it out again at night,” he answered as I wondered how he’d come across such a hidden place. Had he brought some other woman here? My breath caught in my throat as I considered it. This was exactly the reason why what we were doing wasn’t a good idea. The faster we went back to being friends, the better.
Of course, maybe we could still have this night, I rationalized with myself. Maybe I could make the change to friends tomorrow. I mean, what was one more night right?
Above the pond was a dock and before I knew it, Jake was carrying me to the edge of the dock where there was a railing on one side and a short bench. He lowered me, then sat on the end of the bench and settled his back against the railing, then patted the bench between his legs. “Come here.”
I bit my lip and shifted. “I don’t want to get dirty.” It was a lame excuse, but I was suddenly aware that we were very alone, and we hadn’t bothered to talk about anything that had happened between us… like ever.
He tugged on my middle finger and drew me closer, then pulled me down, fluffing my skirt at the last second so it was my bare butt that hit the wooden bench instead of the fabric. Luckily, the bench was worn smooth so I didn’t have to worry about splinters. I slid closer, nestling myself between his thighs.
“Look,” he said as he motioned to our right.
The moon was full, yellow and round over the highest peak of the mountain, and my breath hitched in my throat as soon as I saw it. The silver light spilled across the lake and cut straight across the water to where we sat. The crickets and night creatures were quiet like we were all in awe of something that happened every night, but were still mesmerized all the same. Jake’s fingers tightened over mine and I relaxed into him as I wondered what would become of us, if there really even was an “us.”
“That’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“I thought you might appreciate it.” Then his lips grazed the back of my neck, sending a thousand prickles of need racing across my skin. The heat of his thighs pressed into mine and I wanted to settle deeper against him, but I was also very aware of the solidity of his erection pressing against my left butt cheek. His lips traveled across my exposed skin and I fought the urge to release the first button from my dress so he could taste more of me. His hands rubbed the length of my forearms and slipped to my waist. I let my own hands fall to his thighs and I was shocked at how warm and firm they were. I rubbed slowly down to his knees and back up.
“You’re so sexy.” His voice was husky and breathless as his fingers tightened on my ribs. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind,” he continued. “Goddamn, I swear I think about you constantly.”
“Hmm. And what do you think about, exactly?”
He laughed. “The look in your eyes when I’m thrusting inside of you, the noises you make when you’re coming, the taste of you.” He took a breath. “And if I’m not thinking about being inside you, I’m thinking about how gorgeous you are and how I feel like I’m a lovesick puppy half the time I’m around you.”
Warmth and happiness welled up within me as soon as he finished his sentence. The crickets started again in a soft serenade and I lost myself to his touch. His fingers traced my ribs then slid up and covered my breasts. I sucked my lower lip and ground my hips until I heard his hiss of breath. I shouldn’t have been encouraging him, but everything about him felt so good. His fingers tightened on my breasts and I arched my back as my nipples stiffened. No matter what was going on in my head, my body wanted him, needed him.
His touch softened and I turned, settling myself so I was on his lap, legs dangling off one side. His lips grazed mine and he kissed me like he had all the time in the world. I loved those lazy kisses of his, even though I was ready to go full throttle and take it to the wild frenzied level that was making my heart pound.
“Climb on top of me,” he whispered.
I didn’t say anything but eagerly straddled him as he unzipped his pants and pulled his enormous shaft out. It was sticking straight out, eager to plunge into me. And I was ready. Actually, I was beyond ready. The inside of me was stinging, the feeling I got whenever I wanted Jake, whenever my body was ready for him. I ground myself against his throbbing erection, enjoying being in charge.
He gripped me by either of my hips and then shoved his pelvis up, ramming his length into me as I threw my head back and moaned. And then I slid down the entire length of him and started riding him, rubbing my nub against his stomach as I took his whole length inside of me.
“That’s it, baby,” he breathed at me.
“I love it,” I whispered back as I gripped a fistful of his hair and pulled, wanting him to know that I wanted it rough, hard.
“I want you to promise me that I’m the only man whose going to ever be inside you.”
I laughed, deciding to play a game with him. “I’m not sure I can promise that, Jake.”
He frowned. “Why’s that?”
“Because you aren’t giving it to me hard enough.”
He chuckled as he lifted me up and then placed me back on the bench on my knees. My upper body leaned against the chair back as he spread my legs and gripped me around the stomach, holding my butt up into the air.
“You’re going to regret saying that, Posh,” he whispered. “Because now I’m going to give you everything I’ve got.”
I groaned out because his words turned me on to no end. Before I knew it, I was lurching forward as he slammed his whole enormous length into me and then gave it to me as hard as he could. Hard. Harder than hard. He gripped my hair and slammed himself deep inside of me, pulling out and ramming me even harder as I moaned against him. My legs started to quiver as a second or so later, an orgasm seized me.
He grabbed my hips and forced himself into me even harder. He thrust one more time and then moaned out loud as his erection pulsated inside of me. Then he collapsed against me, spent and exhausted.
***
We watched the moon rise higher in the sky. I wanted to say something about what was going on between us, but I also reminded myself that I didn’t have time for a serious relationship, not now—not when I didn’t know what my future held or how long I’d be here. Not when the end of the summer was now in plain view. My time here was limited and I needed to treat it as such. Getting into a relationship with Jake was the last thing I should have been doing. Because leaving him at the end of the summer would be that much harder.
Once we were back in the truck, he reached over and stroked my cheek as he kissed me softly on my forehead. “You haven’t said anything to me about what we’re doing,” he said, his words surprising me.
“What we’re doing?” I repeated, although I knew what he was talking about.
He frowned at me. “What we’re doing in as much as,” he started and then lost his train of thought. “Well, in as much as we’ve been sleeping together.”
“Oh,” I answered with a quick nod. “Well, you haven’t asked,” I chimed back, mocking him slightly.
He chuckled as he started the truck. “Okay, consider this me asking then.”
I was surprised, shocked even. I hadn’t in a million years thought that this conversation would have come from him. Instead, I’d been so concerned with appearing needy or insecure that I hadn’t even considered how he might be feeling. As soon as that realization dawned on me, I instantly felt guilty that I’d been so caught up in myself.
Men had feelings too, apparently.