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Jake came back down. “Where are you going?”
“This was a mistake, coming here. I should go. I’m sorry, Jake.”
“Wait.” He caught my arm and then glanced at the audience we were attracting. He tugged me toward his room again. “Just come and talk to me. That’s what friends do, right?”
The half-grin he gave me was meant to look appealing, but it looked sad. I didn’t know the backstory of Tara being at the party, but Jake was still interested in me. I saw it then. And my decision was reaffirmed.
“Jake, I really should go.”
“Okay, okay.” He let me go but jumped in front of me. He backpedaled as I walked forward. “How about this? If you don’t want to hang out in my room, I’ll come with you. It won’t be like you coming to find me, if you know what I mean. Think of it like me tagging along, and you’re not doing anything wrong because, hey,” he patted his chest, “it’s me following you. Not the other way around.” He tried for his most charming smile. “What do you say?”
We were at the top of the stairs and moving through the kitchen. Tara stood inside the backyard door. A pained expression was on her face.
I didn’t know what to think about that look from her. She was still in love with him. I got that. They dated since their high school years, so I really did get the history, but there had been a note of desperation in Jake’s voice.
I wondered if he was doing the same thing with me that I was doing with him—using each other to forget someone else.
Before we moved into the living room, Jake saw her, too. He stopped, straightened, and dropped his hands back to his sides. A dark look passed between the two.
Decision made.
He was hurting. I’d do the friend thing and get him out there. I grabbed his hand, linked our fingers, and tugged him behind me. “Come on.”
He fell in line behind me, his shoulders and head dropped slightly, as his hand squeezed mine. He murmured close to my ear, “Thank you.”
I nodded. He was trying to get her out of his system.
“I can relate.”
Once outside, I called a cab, but Jake took my phone away and ended the call.
He said, “My car’s on the street. I can drive.”
“Have you been drinking?”
He shook his head. “Tara showed up too early for me to start partying.”
He pulled his keys out of his pocket as we headed for his car. He went to the driver’s side, and I got in on the passenger side.
After the doors were shut behind us, he added, fitting the key into the ignition, “When the ex showed up, I knew the normal thing would be to start drinking, but I couldn’t. My mind was racing too much for me to get drunk. I get hyper and restless.” He pulled into the street. “Plus, I like to have a clear head in case we get into a fight.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Is it like that for you and whatever ex I had no idea about?”
I laughed. He wasn’t upset. I relaxed into my seat and shrugged. “He’s not an ex, but yeah, there’s someone else.”
“I wondered about that.”
“You did?”
We paused at an intersection.
Then, he pulled forward. “I’m going to sound like an ass here, but I’ve kinda wondered about it since the beginning, especially when we raced away from those old people. You seemed extra charged that night, and then when we got to your place, you got that text, and there was nothing for me. You called me Wanker.”
“I did?” My mouth fell open.
He laughed, turning onto the interstate now. “It was sort of a blow to the ego, but, hey, I’m the one who fucked up. I had a shot with you, and I went back to Tara. It was a mistake. The two of us…” He shook his head. “We’re bad. I thought she knew that, too, and accepted it. I don’t know why she came today, but she’s friends with some of my buddies. They invited her. She’s got friends who are friends with my friends.”
“She wants you back, but I don’t have to inform you of that.” I leveled him with a knowing look. “You already knew that.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. His jaw firmed, and his hands clenched tighter on the steering wheel. “Doesn’t matter. No matter how much we loved each other, it’s over.” He glanced through the side of his eye to me. “For good. I have to move on.”
Now, I smiled. Before, I would’ve squirmed, wondered if he’d meant me, but I shook my head this time. “Are you serious? We just told each other that we were trying to forget other people, and you’re flirting with me again?”
