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“You still up for company tonight?” He was letting me off the hook.
“Can you stay out this late?” Maybe that was a stupid question, but…
“Mom knows I was planning to hang out with you. She’s cool with it.” He held up his phone. “And she knows how to reach me.”
“Then, yeah…though if I pass out on you, I’m sorry in advance.”
“No sweat. Go home, I’ll go grab the pizza.” He hit something on his phone. “Had the order all ready to go.”
“Okay.” I made it a step, but he caught my hand and tugged me back.
“Frankie?”
“Yeah?”
“I’mnotdating Maria,” he said firmly. Then pressed a kiss to my forehead before he squeezed my hand. “The only person I’m dating is you.”
“Okay,” I sounded like I was stuck on repeat. “You don’t owe me an explanation.”
“I know. Wanted to give you one anyway.” He walked me to the driver’s side door and opened it. “Straight home. I’ll be right behind you. Ten minutes?”
That would be barely enough time to shower. “See you soon.”
It took him more like fifteen, which was great. I needed the shower desperately to wash off the smell of burgers and sweat. My feet were killing me, and I drank about a liter of water because, on top of everything else, I was starving. I hadn’t even had enough time to eat before I left for work much less get anything at work.
When he knocked on the backdoor, I fought yawning tooth and toenail and accepted the pizza boxes. “One sec,” he said then jogged back to the parking lot. A minute later, he returned carrying a coffee table.
“What the…?”
“I’m the reason it got broken,” he said as I scooted out of the way. He carried it in and set it in the living room. “It’s not an exact match but pretty close. So, voila!”
“Thanks, Jake,” I set the pizza boxes down and then flopped on the sofa.
“Glad to help. You really do look tired.”
“Keep telling me how bad I look. It’s really doing it for me,” I found a tease for him and he chuckled. I’d towel dried my hair and combed it straight. I was in pajama bottoms and a tank top, no bra. Maybe I should have put one back on, but it wasn’t like I fell out of the top, and I’d gone braless before.
“Crap…”
“What?” He asked as he flipped open the boxes.
“I need to text Coop and tell him I’m home.” My phone was in the other room.
“I got it.” He pulled out his phone and sent it off. “Done. I also told him not to come over cause you’re tired. That cool?”
Well, a little presumptuous of him to do it in the first place, but at least he’d asked. “I kind of told him to not come over unless we invited him, since—you know—you said you wanted some time.”
His sudden smile sent a shiver through me. Jake leaned forward and brushed a kiss against my mouth, it was almost a careless gesture, yet it still sent a burst of warmth through me. “Thank you.”
“For what?” It took everything I had not to reach up and touch my lips because they buzzed a little. Instead, I reached for pizza.
“For being you,” he said, easing off his shoes and then pulling the pizza up to rest on his lap. He patted the sofa next to him. “And I don’t bite.”
“Yes, you do,” I said and at his askance look, I pointed at my arm. “You bit me in third grade.”
Jake stared at me for a minute then he laughed. “You bit me first.”
“You pulled my hair.”
