He holds a hand over his heart. “It’s true. I swear.”
I concede. “Alright, I’m sexy. Point taken. What’s next on the list?”
“You’re smart.”
“Yeah, we’ve already covered that one,” I move my fork in a circle motion, “moving on.”
He takes a sip of wine and grins at me. “What do you mean we covered it? I just now said it.”
“Historically. We’ve talked about it before.”
“Okay. Well, one of my favorite nights ever was the time we both got drunk on blueberry wine the night after you took your third and last SAT test, remember? Despite already being a National Merit Finalist, you insisted on taking it again and raised your score another fifty points?”
I nod. I remember. I know exactly where he’s going with this, and I can’t help but smile.
“That’s the night you took a gas powered weed whacker to Gavin McCloud’s prized landscaped garden.”
“We,” I correct, giving him a severe look, “we were both there that night. We both had gas powered weed whackers. I was the only one who got caught. You know Gavin still hates me?”
He bursts out laughing and I join him.
“Yeah, I was there, but I was too drunk to get mine to turn on. You turned yours on and it was so fucking loud. I heard the door slam when he came out, tripped, and fell behind his fake waterfall into his Koi pond. So he never even knew I was there. Didn’t he chase you off with a broom? And you never gave me up. Not even under what was described to me as very intense police questioning.”
He gives me an impressed look. “You know my friend Walt? The backup running back?”
“Yeah, of course I know him. I live here.”
“Then you know he became a deputy later?”
I nod.
“Well, he told me about it afterward. Angie never cracked. Said he saw drug dealers crack under the kind of pressure you were under. Threatened your scholarship and everything.”
“Yeah, assholes. All for a few flowers and hedges. Lucky for me, I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it.”
“You’re strong, Angie. Always have been. You know what? That’s one of the things I’ve always admired about you. Your strength. To tell you the truth, I’m jealous.”
“How many of those beers have you had?” I ask him.
He grins. “Hey, you’re the one who asked for a list.”
The waitress comes back to give him another beer and try to flirt with him right in front of me. That’s something I’ve actually been used to since high school, only it bothers me more now that we’re actually together. Kind of.
In Jake’s defense, he stares at me the whole time. Like I’m the only girl here. He’s all I ever wanted. And he’s right here in front of me, giving me that thousand-watt smile that I’ve missed all these years.
At the end of the night I grab my purse and get back into his car.
“Come to my place,” he says with a twinkle in his eye. “I’m not nearly done thanking you for your help.”
Chapter 37
Angie
I wake next to Jake and roll over, staring at his angelic face. His tan, sculpted arms, and blond hair falls in ringlets making him look like a Greek god statue come to life.
He’s sleeping like an angel. But he was a demon in the sheets last night. I smile to myself as I watch him snore slightly, a smile playing on his lips.
I stretch and then do my best to silently slip out of the bedroom so I can make some coffee. As opposed to my beat up and broken coffee maker, he has one of those Keurig machines.
I spin through the kiosk and take a second to choose one and then pop it in. Seconds later, that heavenly coffee aroma is filling the room. It’s going to be a great morning.
Last night was fun. Really fun. The kind of relationship I’ve been waiting for my whole life. It’s funny how much Jake was holding me back. Either because of my own insecurities about how the whole thing with the two of us went down in high school or my holding out for him and refusing to give my heart to anybody else.
Life is a funny thing. I add milk and sugar and take that first magical sip of the morning. I savor it as I walk to Jake’s window and look out at the ocean.
I hear footsteps behind me and Jake pads over, wearing only boxer briefs.
“Morning, babe.” He reaches down and kisses me on the neck. “Here’s where I get to show off for you,” he says with a wink.
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Oh?” He did plenty of showing off last night. Thanks to his exploits in the bedroom, I slept like a rock.
“Breakfast. I’m really good at making breakfast. What do you say to eggs, hashed browns, and toast?”
“Yes, please.” Great sex and he’s going to make me breakfast? I could get used to this. I cross the room, snuggle onto his couch, and then watch him get to work. He’s confident in the kitchen. It’s obvious that he’s done this before.
“Coffee?” I ask. It’s the least I can do. He nods and I pop in a coffee pod for him and grab him a mug. A couple minutes later I fill the mug with cream and sugar and hand it to him before I return to the couch.
The food smells amazing, and soon he’s delivering two steaming plates of food to the coffee table.
I take a bite. It’s delicious. “When did you learn to cook, Jake?”
“Picked it up. You know, the internet and everything. Besides, you know how much I love to eat.”
“Fair enough.” I dig in.
A few minutes later, Jake takes the two empty plates into the kitchen. That was
