Let It Snow(29)

It had pissed him off. Because that wasn’t his life. She’d left once and she was going to leave again.

Then, when she’d reached out and rubbed his back the same way she had when they’d been a couple, he’d allowed himself a few moments to absorb it. To feel. But he knew from experience that her soft, comforting touch was like crack to him. If he allowed himself to take a hit, he’d suffer painful withdrawals without it.

He needed to keep his distance and be close to her at the same time. He just wasn’t sure how to accomplish that. Somehow, her staying at his house, the house that should have been theirs, even if he wasn’t there, was the only solution he could come up with.

Was he thinking straight? Probably not. Was it the smartest move to have her sleeping in his bed, in his house? No. Jake couldn’t make sense of everything right now. All he knew was that he’d wanted her there, and since she’d agreed, he’d felt about a thousand pounds lighter.

“What’s her name again?” Justin asked. Jake did not feel like continuing this conversation, but he couldn’t blame Justin for asking since Eric wouldn’t drop it.

“Tessa Hayes, Jake and Eric replied in unison.

“That name sounds familiar,” Justin said, narrowing his eyes as if he were trying to place her.

“She only lived in town senior year,” Jake explained. Justin was his brother’s age so he had already graduated when Jake and Tessa were seniors.

“So this is your ex-girlfriend?” Matt asked as he sat on the corner of the bleachers.

“Yes,” Jake answered, trying to keep his tone light. He liked Matt. He was a good guy. He had no idea how sensitive this subject was to Jake.

“So are you guys getting back together?” Matt asked optimistically.

“No,” Jake shot back harshly as he reached into his bag and pulled out his sweats. That wasn’t going to happen, and he didn’t want people getting the wrong idea or rumors spreading because she was staying in his house.

When he looked back up, all three men were staring at him with odd expressions on their faces.

“What?” Jake snapped.

“Nothing,” Justin and Matt answered, shaking their heads, but Jake saw the what-the-hell-is-his-problem looks they were exchanging.

Jake grabbed his bag and turned, his sneakers squeaking on the hardwood flooring.

As they were all making their way out of the gym Justin stopped abruptly. “Hold on. She’s the photographer, right? I remember her coming up to Mountain Ridge all the time to take pictures.” Then a second phase of recognition dawned on Justin’s face as he continued, “Wait, wasn’t she the girl Parker caught you with in the tent?”

Yes.

“She’s a photographer.” Jake didn’t respond to part two of his statement-slash-question.

“Parker caught you with Tessa in a tent?” Eric, always the “detective,” just had to ask a follow-up question.

“I don’t remember.” Jake kept walking.

“Bullshit,” Eric laughed, catching up to him, “What happened? Do Mom and Dad know?”

Jake could not believe his brother was playing the “do Mom and Dad know” card. As kids, that was how they all held power over each other. It was basically their version of blackmail. Well his, Eric’s, and Nikki’s anyways. Amy never did anything wrong, and even when she caught her siblings doing something, she never threatened to tell.

“There’s nothing to know.” No way was Jake going to talk about that night. It was private.

Well, sort of. After Parker found them, he did call Adeline. But for some reason, she didn’t get Tessa in trouble or tell Jake’s mom and dad. She’d just sat them both down and talked to them about being responsible.

A lot of good that did.

“So you guys comin’ to JT’s?” Justin asked, obviously attempting to change the subject. Which he should since he was the one who’d brought up the night in the tent to begin with.

“Hell yeah. Losers buy. I’m there,” Jake said, hoping they had navigated off the topic.

“You sure you don’t need to check in with the missus first?” Eric asked.

Jake knew that he was just busting his balls. But the thing that pissed Jake off was that his brother was only an asshole when he didn’t agree with what someone was doing. What in the hell was Jake doing that was so wrong?

He was helping an old friend.

End of story.





Chapter Eleven




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Tessa pulled into the small parking lot of Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures and saw that not only was Lauren’s car already there, but six others were there as well. She was running late, as per usual. Jake hadn’t wasted any time taking off after he’d shown her around his home. Before leaving though, he’d given her strict instructions to lie down and get some rest—after taking her vitals once more and checking to see if her eyes were dilated so he could “rule out a concussion.”