abcnovels
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Winnie
“I miss you!” Jake exclaims into the phone on the first dial. He sounds thrilled that I’m calling. “I’ve been to the gym, been out for a run, and done everything and anything to not think about you! It’s not working, though… I miss you so badly.
A bubble of joy lifts from my chest at the warm welcome, and the turbulent anxiety in my stomach evaporates. I needed to hear sweet words after what Dana told me, and Jake delivered.
“I’m glad you’ve missed me,” I mutter into the phone, grumpy because even though I don’t want to think Dana was right, it’s still upsetting me. She threw a curveball at me with her words, and I wet my lips, needing to speak out. “Say, you don’t think I’m a gold digger, do you?”
“What?” Jake laughs, amused that this is the first thing I ask him on the phone. No, why would I think that? But… if you were, would it really matter, though?”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “You wouldn’t care if I were a gold digger?”
“I like to spoil you.”
I roll my eyes even though he can’t see. I’m going to become a successful attorney and won’t need you to spoil me soon. Independent and all that crap, that will be me.”
“Soon is in a few years, and with me, you won’t need to worry about student loans and noodles while you’re an intern.”
“I’m not letting you pay my student loans and food—uh-uh, no way. We haven’t even been together for that long. You’re not stepping up as my sugar daddy.”
“Hmm,” Jake hums in a playful tone. “I kinda like you calling me daddy, though…
“Oh, stop it, you! You’re making me blush,” my cheeks are burning, but I’m smiling too. He is definitely a daddy, but I can’t make his ego too big while on the phone. “Hey, not to change the subject or anything, but how do you feel about skydiving with me?”
Jake laughs in surprise. “Are you joking right now? Skydiving? Really?”
“No? I’m not joking. I thought it would be a fun activity for us to do. I have a couple of free weeks before I start as an intern. You’re not scared of heights, are you, big man?”
“Of course not!” Jake’s voice doesn’t sound very convincing, and when I laugh at him, he sighs. “Maybe a little? Skydiving sounds extreme. I wouldn’t feel very manly after I shat my pants…”
“Fair enough… how about kayaking?”
“Down a stream?” He asks.
“Yeah?” I like working in a team with Jake, and kayaking would be perfect for getting that team feeling.
“I can do that… should we bring a tent and shit too?”
“A tent and shit?” I giggle. “I think you mean beer and hotdogs… a tent is a good idea, though. We should also make a fire, try not to get mosquito bitten, and go stargazing. It will be awesome and so much fun.”
Jake laughs, on with the idea. “Sure… I have a game tomorrow night, but I can… probably take off from practice after that.
If I tell the coach I’ve met a woman and we will be kayaking and hiking, he will be happy. It’s a physical activity too.”
“True…” I muse. “But If you need more training, you can always carry my fat ass up a hill or something.”
“You aren’t fat, like at all-I could probably run up a hill while carrying your skinny ass.’
Since throwing insults at one another isn’t new, and how we roll, I don’t take offense and laugh. “Don’t call my ass skinny!”
“Make me.”
I snort. “I will beat you and your fat ass once I see you again.”
“You and what army?” He challenges.
“I know you’re ticklish, Jake Andersson,”
I say in a dark tone. “And I’m not afraid of using that against you!”
He barks a laugh but calms down a little. ” You know that I mean no offense, right? I have nothing against your ass. It’s a perfect ass. No need to get mad at me and bring out the big guns.”
“Aw, I know you meant no harm, Jakey boy, but it’s too late. I won’t let you touch my ass after you’ve offended me!”
“What?” He sounds horrified.
“That’s right,” I say in a matter-of-fact voice. “I will wear the new thongs you bought, the black lace ones, but I won’t let you touch the goods. Nope. This ass will be out of your reach.’
“You can’t do that to me!”
“I can, and I will!”
Jake laughs, and we talk some more on the phone until we both fall asleep without hanging up.
***
The next day, I’m half-sleeping in the passenger seat while Jake is driving. I’m tired from the last- minute flight to Jake’s part of the country. And by last-minute, I mean calling Tobias in the middle of the night and begging him to fly me over.
The cost?
I’m babysitting Tobias’s kids next weekend while he and Hannah go to a spa. The trade was definitely worth it. I love their kids and have no idea why watching them would be a problem.
Tobias, however, laughed darkly when I said that and uttered, “Oh, wait until you try to make them sleep, and you will understand the pain.”
Now I’m questioning if I’ve made a mistake…
My eyes slowly close to the soft music, but a bump in the road makes them fully open again. Jake laughs behind the wheel. “Sorry… quite the bumpy road out here. I will try to be more careful.”
“No need,” I dismiss his words with a grimace and sit straighter. I’m wearing Jake’s hoodie. It entirely swallows me, but I pull it down to see better. “Where exactly are you taking us?”
“I have no idea…” Jake tries to hide his grin but fails. He is beaming a second later at my stunned expression. “What?
It’s a place in the middle of nowhere.
Some place I found on Reddit.”
“Reddit?!” I sigh heavily. “Damn it, Jake! This is how we are going to die gruesome deaths! What if the location is the lair of a serial killer that lives off unsuspecting victims like us?!”
Jake barks a laugh, showing me a glimpse of his teeth as he glances my way with amused eyes. “Don’t worry. I brought a gun, but you’re welcome to sleep with me if you’re scared. I will protect you.”
I shouldn’t blush. Jake’s words are so sugar-sweet, and after fucking him, one would think I’m immune, but I’m not. My heart flips like a pancake, and I inhale deeply.
“I’ve missed sleeping with you.
His expression softens, and he silently rests his hand on the middle console with his palm facing up- thank the gods for automatic cars. I place my smaller hand in his, and he squeezes.
“Missed you too,” his voice is a deep, soft rumble that sets off palpitations in my chest. They grow worse when he smiles. ”
It was a surprise that you picked camping as our date. I’m pleasantly surprised.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” he squeezes my hand again, stroking his thumb over my palm in a way that tickles. “It will be just you and me out here. I think we need that,” his eyes grow serious. “Because a certain twin is a little too curious for his own good. Fucking Mark.”
I giggle. “Isn’t Mark seeing someone to keep him busy?”
“I think it’s sex without a string,” Jake shrugs. “He doesn’t talk much about it, but that isn’t the point,” his brilliant smile is back. “The point is that out here in the woods, no one will be able to hear
your moans of pleasure when I fuck you against a tree.
I laugh out loud. “So romantic.”
He winks at me. “You know it.”
My smile remains even as we park the car and set up a tent close to a nearby lake.
We make fire, grill some marshmallows, and make plans to go to sleep soon. It’s already late, and we only wanted to get out here to kayak first thing in the morning.
So, we make ourselves cozy inside the tent. I expect Jake to sleep beside me, skin -to-skin. But he slides into his own sleeping bag. Its… disappointing. We are both lying like cocoons beside each other, staring at the ceiling of the tent, and it sucks.
After a few minutes, I can’t take it anymore, and I turn to face him. I want to tell him that we should combine our sleeping bags into one bed, but the brute is already sleeping.
Breathing through his mouth and eyelashes spread over his sunkissed cheekbones-Jake is so cute. My insides warm, and I sigh heavily. I guess it’s not the end of the world.
We can cuddle and have sex tomorrow.
“Sleep tight,” I mumble and close my own eyes. “Because tomorrow, you won’t be getting any sleep at all.”