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And he’s not staying.
She had to remember that, to keep it in the forefront of her mind. To do anything else was emotional suicide.Chapter FifteenJules shut the door softly behind her and turned the lock. She inched backward, skirting the floorboard that creaked…and screamed.
“Where were you?” Aubry sat on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket like a burrito, only her face and hands showing. She peered at Jules through bloodshot amber eyes. “You left your phone here.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t plan to be out this long.” She plopped down on the couch next to her. “Have you been up all night?”
Aubry shrugged. “There was a new map pack on my game. And then you didn’t come home, so I figured I’d just keep playing.”
Her friend had always loved gaming, but this was a lot, even for her. I’m a horrible person. She was worried about me and I was getting drunk and passing out. She should have borrowed Adam’s phone and called. “You want to go get some breakfast?”
“Already on it. Johnny Jacob is bringing me the breakfast special from the Finer Diner.”
She blinked. “I didn’t realize Finer Diner delivered.” Probably because they didn’t in the twenty-six years she’d lived in this town. “Is that a new thing?”
“Not officially.” Aubry leaned back with a sigh and set her controller aside. “I didn’t feel like dealing with people, and cooking is for savages.”
“You just think that because you could burn water.”
“Details, details.” She waved that away. “I’m tipping him twenty bucks, but it’s worth it to avoid going down to the diner.” She shuddered. “People see me sitting alone and think that it’s sad and I look lonely, and they sit down and talk and, worse, they expect me to talk back.”
“You poor thing.” She patted her head. There was a knock on the door, and she hopped up to get it. There was a wad of cash in the frog mug by the door and she grabbed that on her way. Johnny Jacob smiled when she opened the door. “Hey, Jules!”
“Johnny.” She passed over the cash. “You’re up early.”
He was starting to come out of that awful stage of puberty where the body seemed determined to go through as many awkward changes as possible in a seriously short amount of time. He was still breaking out and gangly to the point where she wanted to feed him a cheeseburger or twelve, but now there were hints of the man he’d be. Where the heck did the time go?
He grinned. “I picked up a second job for the rest of the summer. I’ve got my eye on that sweet little Ford for sale down on Upriver Drive.”
“Good for you.” She took the plastic bags from him. “You have a nice day now.”
“You, too.” He stopped at the top of the stairs. “Hey. Is it true that you’re dating Adam Meyer?”
Apparently the plan was working. She didn’t know if she found that comforting or just exhausting, especially after this morning. “Yep.”
His face lit up. “That’s so cool. Did you know he rides bulls? He’s held the record down at San Antonio for seven years.” There was a fair amount of hero worship on his face, and she couldn’t blame him. Adam really was larger than life. There was a lot he’d done that was insanely cool, whether to a teenage boy or a twenty-six-year-old cat café owner.
I like him. Crap.
“He’s pretty great.”
“He’s the best. If I wasn’t going to college, I’d totally be a bull rider. I bet he gets mad chicks.” He flushed beet red. “Er, sorry, Jules. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just—”
“It’s okay. I’ll see you around.” She eased the door shut, her good mood slipping away. Because Johnny Jacob was right—Adam Meyer was like catnip to women. He might not have put that power to use since he’d been back in Devil’s Falls—probably because she’d jumped him the first time he was out and about—but that didn’t change the fact that he’d probably left a string of broken hearts behind him.
She set the food down in front of Aubry on the coffee table and resumed her seat. “Why does it bother me that Adam may have banged his way through half of Texas?”
“Because you like him.” Aubry took out the foam containers and set them in a neat little row. “But you know you’re not really dating and that this thing is ending at some point, so you don’t have the security of being able to discount his past.”
That was it exactly. Jules sighed. “Pretending to date him was a mistake.” Especially when it had become clear that they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
“Then we don’t you date him for real?”
She frowned as Aubry nudged a container over to her. “For me?” She opened it. “Holy crap, you got me French toast with blueberry syrup. How’d you know I’d be back in time?” It didn’t matter that she’d just eaten with Adam. There was always room for French toast with blueberry syrup.
