AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jake got a very goofy smile as I set the plate in front of him. Like his face was made of taffy, it softened and pulled further than I had ever seen.
I poured some beer in a glass and grabbed a napkin before setting them in front of him and taking my seat.
"You know how I like my spaghetti." He set his napkin in his lap and started twirling his fork. "Thank you, baby."
"You're welcome."
Austen was on the couch, folded over to tie his shoes.
"You want some beer?" Jake offered, nudging my arm.
"Nah, man. I'm leaving." Austen got up and walked back towards his room. A minute later, he was back, standing in the mouth of the hallway, staring into the open kitchen at Jake and me. His car keys jingled in his hand.
Jake waived-his mouth full of food. Austen waived back and locked his stare on me. "I'll be back in a while." He turned towards the door then paused. "My mom's not off until seven."
Jakes eyes widened. "Seven in the morning?"
Austen kept his eyes on the door in front of him as he explained. "They got everybody pulling overtime for the next couple weeks." With that, he stepped out the door.
"He's still with that girl?"
"Sheila. Yeah."
"Good for him." Jake took his empty plate over to the sink and set it inside. "Come here," Jake commanded, using that sexy, stern voice of his as he leaned against the counter.
I walked over, but not fast enough. Hooking the tie of my dress strap with his hand, Jake pulled me closer. When I leaned into him, he widened his stance, making his tall frame shorter than usual. I got up on my toes to kiss him as he set his arms around me. I felt every ridge and ripple of his lean body through his Ozzy t-shirt and sank my nose into the smooth cotton and inhaled. He always smelled so good.
"Did you tell Deanna?"
I almost laughed. "No."
"Why not?"
I pulled back to look, alarmed by his suddenly wounded tone. Sure enough, his forehead was creased.
"What if she tries to stop me?"
He shook his head. "It's not right. She's been good to you, Angel. She'll be worried. You need to tell her."
All the air left my body. "What am I supposed to say? My boyfriend wants me to skip out on my graduation to follow him across state lines?"
"That's a start, but you might also mention that I love you and how we're in a committed relationship." He slipped his hands into my hair, cradling my head. "I have every intention of taking care of you. I'll be there with you, if you want. We can tell her together."
"She's going to say no. She doesn't like me going to see you play. How do you think she's going to react when I tell her I'm moving away with you?"
Jake sighed. "Angel. What she says doesn't matter. It's the principle. If you and me are doing this, we're doing it right. You have to give her the respect she deserves as the woman who took you in. You may not like what she thinks, but you have to let her voice it. Besides, she's a reasonable person. She didn't try to stop you from seeing me, did she?"
"Well . . . no."
"Even though she doesn't approve, because she understands she can't control you like that."
"But what if she doesn't understand this time?"
"We can explain it to her. Baby, I can't risk cops chasing me across the state. It's bad PR."
As soon as he said it, something clicked. "You talked to Pierce about me?"
He tightened his hold on my waist. "Of course I did. He's trying hard to impress us and . . ."
