Let It Snow(62)

Tessa burst out laughing at the nickname he’s chosen to give his junk. She nodded as she went into the bathroom and closed the door. Just like the first night she’d been in town, she almost didn’t recognize the image staring back at her.

Her face was flushed, her lips were swollen, her clothes were rumpled in undress, and her hair was a mess. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as the realization of what had just occurred sank into her.

She’d just had a sexual encounter…with Jake…at Say Cheese…in the middle of the day. Tessa waited to see if she would feel regret. Embarrassment. Shame. Nope. Nope. And nope.

All she felt was excitement and happiness. She had about eight more hours until she and Jake could finish what they’d started in the studio and Tessa couldn’t wait.





Chapter Twenty-One




‡


Jake walked into JT’s and his eyes immediately landed on Tessa. She was laughing at something Levi had just said as she poured several drinks at once. A small twinge of jealousy crept up in Jake’s chest. He didn’t like it.

Jealousy was a useless emotion in his book. And he’d never had to deal with it with any other girl he’d been with. Only Tessa.

Jake waved and said ‘hi’ to a couple of guys from the station as he made his way between the tables and chairs. He crossed the room and took a seat at the only empty stool at the bar.

Before he even sat down, Levi had a longneck sitting in front of him. “Hey, Jake. Haven’t seen you around.”

“I’ve been working,” Jake said as he brought the bottle to his mouth and took a swig.

He had been working for the last few days but normally Jake would have been at JT’s at least two nights over his days off last week. Instead, he’d been with Tessa or brooding about her return. Which had just been a week ago.

It was only last Wednesday that his world had stopped spinning and he thought he’d seen a ghost. Jake looked over to the exact spot in the room that he’d laid eyes on Tessa a week ago. It felt like a lifetime had passed in that time.

“Hey, Jakey,” he heard a whiny voice say from behind him, “do you want to play some pool?”

He turned and saw Courtney, who had managed to wear an even more revealing outfit tonight than the last time he’d seen her when she was going commando under a short skirt and practically falling out of her shirt. Tonight, she was wearing a netted, form-fitting dress, and although she had the appropriate undergarments on, the peek-a-boo effect of the fabric—if it could be called that—of her dress left little to the imagination.

“Not tonight, sweetheart.” Jake winked at her and swiveled back around on his stool.

He felt hands running over his shoulders and down his chest as he heard Courtney purring in his ear, “Please? Play with me, Jake.”

Jake had to stop himself from turning around and pushing her off of him. Hard. It was just that the feeling of another woman’s hands on him, now that Tessa had touched him again, made him almost sick to his stomach.

Still, he didn’t want to be a dick, as he was so often accused of. So instead of jerking away from her, he stood, causing her hands to fall at their sides, and said, “I’m with someone, actually.”

Was it technically true? No. But there was a truth in the statement. He’d always been with Tessa. Even when she’d left. His heart had gone with her, because she owned it.

An irritated-slash-mad look crossed Courtney’s heavily made-up face. “Who are you with?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jake said, not wanting this conversation to continue. It was not headed in a good direction. He nodded as he moved past her. “Have a good night.”

Luckily, he spotted his sister Nikki. She was seated by herself on a two-top and had her laptop open. He pulled out the stool on the opposite side of the table and sat down. Looking up, she smiled and took out earphones that he hadn’t noticed she’d been wearing.

“Whatcha doing?” he asked as he scooted his chair closer to the table and set his beer down.

“Studying,” she said with a sigh.

“In a bar?” He hadn’t been in school in a while—granted, he hadn’t been the best student when he was in school—but he honestly didn’t think that this environment would really be the most conducive to retaining and processing knowledge. “Is the library closed?”

“Ha ha ha, very funny.” His sister shut her laptop and ran her fingers through her hair. “I had to get out of my house and be around people. I was going stir-crazy.”

Jake had wondered about the transition from flight attendant to full-time student. Nikki was social with a capital S. She needed interactions. Things happening. She got bored faster than five-year-olds.