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“I’m fine. I just think I need some time alone,” she stated trying to stick to her resolve as she noticed the look in his eyes. It was the look that was there after they’d made love the first time and she couldn’t give in. It would tear her apart the second he left.
“I’m not leaving you alone Cee, not tonight, not ever.”
“Jake I really don’t want to argue right now. Please just let me be.”
“No baby. I listened to what you said once and ignored my gut, and I lost you. I’m not going to do that again. I’m staying right here with you.”
“I don’t want any more lies today. I’ve had enough and just want to be left alone. My brain’s about to crash and I just want to sleep.”
“Lies? Cee, what are you talking about?”
“Your distraction for me, I don’t like being lied to so just go. This is over.”
“What?” he demanded as she got up and walked across the room to the dresser.
“This—you can’t tell me you really thought I’d buy that bull about you not sleeping with anyone since we’d broken up. You were trying to distract me, keep me from finding out those three were in the ballroom but guess what Jake, it didn’t work and now you need to go because I can’t be with someone who lies to me.”
“It wasn’t a lie, Cee.”
“Yes, it was. I know you and there’s no way you’d go for eight years without having sex. Now for the last time get out. The last thing I want is someone else trying to make decisions for me. I think today showed quite clearly why.”
“No. I let you push me out of your life once I won’t let you do it again.”
“It’s not your damned choice Jake it’s mine and I want you to leave,” she stated giving him a look that said she wasn’t going to back down.
“Fine but this isn’t over Cee, it’s never been over for us,” he countered crossing the room to kiss her. She resisted but not nearly as much as she could have and that allowed him to leave the room without pushing it further. He headed downstairs and camped out on the couch. He wasn’t going to let her run away again.
∞∞∞
“Stacey, you don’t have to be here,” Mark said for the millionth time the last two days as she worked her way through the mess backstage. “We can handle it.”
“I’m fine. I’m not going to let what happened stop me from finishing this,” she replied as she checked the programs one last time before letting them go out to be distributed.
“She’s okay,” Emma said stalling him and Jake who was watching her closely.
“How? Some psycho nearly killed her two days ago and she’s acting like it was nothing,” Jake stated.
“Look when Nathaniel held a knife to her, we all were freaked out but not Stacey. She was fine the next day and we all thought she was just putting on a show, but she wasn’t. She gets that it wasn’t anything she did that made these guys go after her. She’s fine.”
“You’re seriously saying that she’s ready to go on with her life as though nothing happened two days ago?” Mark asked.
“She’s as much the Stacey you knew before it happened.”
“So, we shouldn’t worry about her?” Mark inquired. “Alright I’ll let her be.”
Jake waited until he left before looking at Emma. “If she’s so fine then why is she refusing to talk to me, look at me, or even acknowledge me?”
“Because you stupidly told her the one thing you should have waited to tell her. What the hell were you thinking telling her that she’s been the only one for you while trying to keep her from finding out? She’ll never believe you about it now.”
“She told you? Shit…Miles told you, didn’t he? I swear I’ll kill him.”
“No, you won’t. What you’re going to do is find a way to get Stacey to bid on you.”
“How am I supposed to do that when she won’t look at me?”
“By flirting with Angie,” Emma stated taking out her phone. “This is Angie the girl who has gone after every single one of the guys she’s dated.”
“Don’t you think me flirting with her will send Cee running away from me?” Jake questioned.
