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“Really?” I back up so that my ass is pressed against the edge of the desk where I had been doing my makeup.
“You’re right. An hour isn’t long enough. I’ll never get tired of this.” And he lifts me up onto the surface of the desk, spreading my legs and settling between them.
By the time we’re done, it is well past the time I’m supposed to meet Poppy and the others. Sighing, I rearrange myself as best I can before I kiss Jake goodbye.
“Have fun, gorgeous. Will you be at the other place tonight or are you coming back home?” Jake refuses to call my house anything other than ‘the other place’ and I kind of love it.
He pulls me into a hug, resting his chin on the top of my head. Then he wraps his arms around me until there’s absolutely no space between us.
“Honestly, I’ll probably call you for a ride.” The words are muffled since I’m pressed against his chest. “So your place, I guess.”
“Not my place,” Jake corrects me with a kiss that soothes every bit of chaos in my soul. “Home.”
21
JAKE
When Margot isout the door, I pick up my phone immediately. After finding the name I’m looking for, I hit call and press the phone to my ear.
“Hey,” I say as the other line connects. “I’m coming over. No excuses, it’s on.” Then I hang up.
Closing and locking the door behind me, I look around before leaving and making my way to the other side of town, crossing into the neighborhood I’ve been to many times before. Pulling into the driveway at the very end of the street, I’m greeted with a smile and a beer. The screen door swings shut behind me as I make my way inside, into the chaos that is poker night.
Poker night has completely taken over Brian’s kitchen. There are almost half a dozen men standing in the room with beers in their hands, and a collection of bar stools surround the kitchen island.
“Are you ready for this, boys?” I laugh and take the cash out of my pocket that I reserved just for the night ahead of us.
“You’re obviously ready to lose, then?” Brian smiles and slaps me on the shoulder before taking the seat directly next to me.
I chug the beer in my hand, ready to get down to business. Looking around the room, I’m impressed with the turnout. Sitting next to Brian is Travis, then Logan, and next to him sits the last member of our party, Aaron.
With a nod more to myself than anything else, I reach for the deck of cards in the middle of the table. I start shuffling them while Brian counts the chips and hands them out.
While everyone gets settled, the chips handed out, beer and snacks ready for when the guys want to eat, the first hand is dealt.
I throw away two cards, hoping to make a straight. Although by the end of the first hour, I’m not paying as much attention to the game as I am to the conversations around me.
Finishing the beer in my hand, I get up to get another. “When I get back, can we finish this game? I want to be done before Margot’s girls’ night is over.” I leave the room to shouts coming from the other men telling me I’m pussy-whipped.
Walking back into the room, the mood is definitely lighter than it’s been lately. I hand out the extra beers that I grabbed, and we settle back into the game for a few hours.
“I have some news.” Brian pauses, staring down at his feet for a second before returning his eyes to focus on mine. “So, Maya and I have decided that we should look into surrogacy, find out if it’s a possibility for us, and part of that was seeing a specialist yesterday. Apparently, there’s a possibility my girl can have kids. But she doesn’t want to try. She keeps telling me that when it doesn’t happen, it’ll just break her heart.” He looks back down at his hand, and I feel the general mood of the room fall.
Maya was told that she can’t ever have children after a lunatic broke into her house and almost killed her. It was the worst night of my career. I was one of the first deputies on-scene, along with Brian, when it happened. It had messed with all of us, but the fact that Maya can’t have kids has taken away a part of who she is. And now, the idea that she is afraid to even try because of it tears at me.
“Hey, man. Your woman is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. She just needs time. You know that. She’ll come around.” I can’t help saying the same thing I have said a hundred times before.
“It’s not for me. I mean… yes, I do want a baby with her. But you all know how much it killed her knowing that she couldn’t have them. I just want to give her everything.” Brian rolls the beer in his hand, and I catch myself thinking about how long I should wait before telling Margot that I still want kids.
“Are you stupid?” Logan pipes up. “Did you think that part of the problem might be that it’s been too long, and you haven’t married that girl? How long are you going to make her wait?”
“No. That’s not it. We wanted to make sure that it was going to last.” Brian sounds like he’s just making excuses, and it makes me laugh.
“Screw that shit, Brian. We all knew it was going to last when we sat in the backyard watching fireworks after the trial and you two ran off to bang like monkeys in the house. Get on with it and marry her already. Then talk about the baby making.” Travis eyed his beer and then cleared his throat. “You don’t want to miss out on a great life together because you screw up something important.” Eyeing him, I make a point to find out what the hell is going on with him. Travis never talks about his life or what happened between him and his brother.
“You assholes are right, is that what you want me to say? Now shut up and someone deal those cards. I need to make back some of the money you’re fleecing me for.” Brian’s tone says that he doesn’t want to discuss it anymore, and that is fine with me.
“You’re a lucky dick, Jake. You know that?” I haven’t really been paying attention to the hand, but I know me taking his money isn’t what Logan is talking about.
