9
The walk is brisk. They do their business and we head right back for breakfast. They’re over the moon when I feed them. I’d love to be a dog. Wouldn’t life be great if all you lived for was food, sleep, and running around chasing stuff.
When we get back, Jacob is already in the kitchen, making breakfast; eggs and blueberry pancakes. Well, I’m not sleeping with him again, but I’m sure eating his food.
As we settle down at the table to eat, he shoots me a wink. “So… last night,” he starts, “was pretty awesome.”
I can’t help but smile. “It was… but…”
“But what?”
“But it didn’t mean anything, Jacob,” I tell him. I don’t want him to get any ideas. “I was just… you know… I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Corrie.” He digs into his pancakes. “I miss you every single day.”
A long breath escapes me. “Stop saying stuff like that.”
He shrugs. “Why not? It’s how I feel. Why should I hide how I feel? You know me… I’ve always been an open book.”
I do. I know him. It’s what I love about him. He’s always worn his emotions on his sleeve. “Well, it makes everything harder,” I point out. “So knock it off.”
I savor a bite of pancake and struggle to not look at him.
After a long beat, he says, “I… I need to tell you something…”
My gaze jerks up, curious. “What?”
“I have to make a confession,” he goes on, and my pulse speeds. What has he done? Did he cheat on me? Does he have a girlfriend now? All kinds of possibilities run through my head.
“Last night…” he starts and pauses.
I set down my fork and knife. “Last night what?”
He winces as he pulls out his phone and fiddles with it for a few seconds.
I’m dying of curiosity. What’s on that phone? Did he film us?
Finally, he plays a sound for me, the same terrifying growl I heard the night before.
“What?”I say, confused.
“It’s an app. It plays all kinds of sounds,” he explains. “That particular one is the grizzly sound,” he says with a guilty expression. “Scary as shit.” He laughs. “There aren’t even bears around here, Corrie.”
I’m fuming. I’m a kettle just about to whistle. I can’t believe the nerve of the man. “Are you telling me that you played sounds on your stupid phone to try to scare me? On purpose?”
He shrugs innocently. “What? I thought it’d be funny.”
“Well, it wasn’t! I was scared to death.”
He bites his lip, stifling a grin.
I want to punch him in the face.
“And not only do you scare me half to death, you take advantage of the situation to get into my pants.”
“Well, you didn’t seem to mind that part too much,” he points out. “If I recall correctly, you seem to like it quite a lot actually—”
“I can’t believe you, Jacob. You’re such a… such a…”
