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I knew whatpleasemeant, and there was no way I could say no to her, so I stripped down to my boxers and climbed in next to her. She curled into me, resting her head on my shoulder. Pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, I linked my fingers with hers where they lay on my chest and listened to her breathing deepen as she fell asleep.I love you.
CHAPTER19
Emma
Holy shit. Why did my head hurt so much? I kept my eyes shut, pressing my lips together to try and control the nausea roiling in my stomach. There was something flirting around the edges of my memory…something bad…but then why did I feel so safe, despite feeling so sick? The mattress moved. Wait. There was someone in the bed with me? Where was I? Whoever it was shifted, turning on their side and slipping an arm around my waist. It felt good. Really good, actually. Had I ended up going home with Travis after all? No, that couldn’t be right. My memory was hazy, but I was pretty sure I hadn’t liked him. Travis’ arm around my waist would not feel this perfect.
Wincing in anticipation of what I might see, I forced my eyes open and looked around. Then I frowned. This…this looked like Jake’s bedroom. I was in Jake’s bed? I lifted the blanket and looked down. Wearing his shirt? My frowned deepened. Why couldn’t I remember anything that happened? Or how I got here? I tried to replay the events of the previous night. They were scattered. I remembered walking into the restaurant, Travis trying to kiss me and me turning away. What else? Oh yeah, he was rude to the server. Jerk. And then, talking over dinner, I thought he was a bit dull but trying hard. After that—nothing.
Very carefully, because my head was really pounding, I rolled onto my back and turned to look at Jake. He was fast asleep, but even so, he was frowning. Just a slight crease between his brows, but it was there nonetheless. What had him so worried he was frowning even in his sleep? I felt an almost overwhelming urge to run my fingertips down his cheek, to touch him. To see him open his eyes and look at me and smile that smile that always got me gooey inside. And then tell me what the fuck I was doing here. Why had I gone on that stupid date with Travis in the first place? I’d forgotten.
My stomach burbled and I instantly covered my mouth, pushing back the quilt as carefully as possible and hurrying to the bathroom on shaky legs. By the time I got there, the wave of nausea had passed and I was able to suck in enough deep breaths that I could hold it together. I needed to pee, though. There was no way to do that quietly and it felt weird with Jake a few feet away, almost more intimate than lying in bed next to him.
Once I was finished, I washed my hands, scared to look up at the mirror because of what I might see. I chanced it. Yep, it wasn’t good. I was deathly pale, my eyes were rimmed with red and I was still wearing most of last night’s mascara. I cleaned up as best I could, managing to wipe away the rest of the mascara. I still looked like shit. “Hell, it’s not like you’re trying to impress anyone,” I muttered to myself.
Returning to the bedroom, I stopped abruptly. Jake was awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, running his hand through his hair, his perfect body on full display. Those boxer shorts didn’t hide much. He raised his head, his eyes colliding with mine. There was a flash of heat that dissipated quickly, then he was watching me closely. With concern. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. Am I?” Since I had no idea how I ended up at Jake’s house, I really wanted an explanation.
“You don’t remember last night?”
I frowned, making another attempt to recall, but it made my head hurt. “I remember bits and pieces, but not how I got here.”
He told me, his tone flat and emotionless.
“You sped all the way to New Bern based on one garbled text from me?” That was the last thing I should be taking from this situation, I knew, but it seemed the easiest fact to hold onto. Maybe because it scared me the least.
“Of course.”
Such a simple sentence, that conveyed so much more meaning than I was prepared to grapple with, especially feeling the way I did right now. “Oh.”
“I can’t tell you how much it freaked me out, Emma.”
“I can imagine.” The reality was starting to sink in, making my heart thud uncomfortably. This morning could have been very different, if Jake hadn’t come to my rescue.
“You were smart to message me like that.”
Imagine if I hadn’t been able to? Or if he’d gotten there too late? I folded my arms across my chest as the enormity of the situation really hit me, and I started to shake. Without a word, Jake rose from the bed and crossed to me, pulling me gently into his arms, dropping a gentle kiss on the top of my head. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Emma.”
“Me too.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my head in his chest. I felt like crying, but knew if I started, I’d have a hard time stopping. He held me for a long time, running his hands in soothing circles over my back.
“I’ll take you to New Bern to get your car,” he said when I was finally ready to pull away. “You’re okay to drive, yeah?”
“I will be. Thanks.”
“You should probably eat something first.”
I grimaced as my stomach rebelled at the idea.
“Even if it’s just some dry toast, you need something in you.”
“I guess.”
I managed to choke down the toast, washed down with weak black tea, chased with an aspirin. The idea of putting the pink lace dress on made my stomach turn, so I borrowed some sweats and a hoodie from Jake. To complete the look, the only shoes I had were the strappy heels from last night, placed neatly next to Jake’s bed. But my choice was those or bare feet. I chose the shoes.
Then we were driving to New Bern, in a light, drizzling rain. The slow swish of the wipers was the only sound in the quiet of the truck. Jake didn’t make any attempts at small talk and since I wasn’t really feeling up to it, I didn’t try, either. But as the drive wore on, I sensed tension oozing from him. He was frowning, his knuckles white where he gripped the steering wheel. What had him so angry, when he’d been so sweet earlier? It wasn’t me, was it? What else could it be, though? Nothing else had happened.
“So, uh, did you hear that Becca Sampson is having another baby?”
