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“Stick with me; there’s more where that came from,” he said, tilting his head to look at her, his tone amused but with a somberness snaking behind the humor.
“Okay, Jake,” she said, stepping back from his embrace. “But here’s the real question for tonight. Can you sit at that table to eat?” She motioned toward the custom table they’d had sex on last spring. The night she had broken up with him. “And not think about…” Her hand ran down her chest to her pelvis before resting on the crevice between her legs, her chin out, challenging him.
Jake barked out a laugh. “God, you are bad, bawdy…”
“Bawdy…? Here we go with the old western descriptions of women.”
“Yep, and you fit it. And to answer your question—hell no. There is no fucking way I can sit there and not think about that night...” Wiggling his eyebrows at her, his chin cocked up. “You screaming like a banshee overcome with pleasure…Yep, no way my mind can block out the meal I consumed on this table that night. How about the sofa or maybe the barstools?” he asked, that smug smile plastered across his face.
Rakell shook her head, pulling in her lips to hide her smile. Somehow his cockiness was disarming, escorting her body back in time, feeling him on top of her, in her.
His spine eased, seeing her fighting back a genuine smile. This back and forth, this ease, was what kept him longing for her. The ‘forever version’ ofthiswas something his brain always went to when he tried to block her out. “Well, beautiful...is my memory correct? Were you not screamingmadly?”
Rakell held up her hand. “All right, Jake. I’ll give you the screaming part. But save the adverbs…I mean ‘madly’?”
After dinner Rakell found herself telling Jake about some of the crazy messages she’d received from reporters. They hadn’t figured out where she lived, but they had narrowed it down to Austin, which concerned her.
“They’re probably guessing becauseIlive here,” he said reassuringly.
“I’m hoping.” But even as she said that, she knew it was a matter of time before someone leaked information to the press. Her brain started scrolling through all the people who had seen her and Jake together. Most of them were people close to Jake she didn’t think would talk, but who knows who had noticed them at the gym?
Then she opened up to him about theSports Illuminatedshoot, how she hadn’t expected to get picked for the magazine, much less the cover, after the comments about her hips. She explained to Jake that it was why she’d worked so hard to lose weight (she left off the part about how Matt and Lana were concerned), tanned, and dyed her hair white-blond. Jake remarked that she looked great regardless, but he preferred her hair this way, light brown with natural highlights.
Rakell talked more, maybe too much, she thought, even as the words spilled from her mouth, but he listened intently.They sang country songs while they cleaned up together. She commented again that he was a good singer. He told her he got it from his mom.
After they’d finished cleaning, Jake, not wanting the evening to end, suggested they watch a movie, even though he could tell her eyelids were droopy. He just wanted to be with her a little longer, squeeze out a bit more time with her. Rakell took him up on his offer to be her pillow, so she lay on the couch, her head in his lap, a blanket covering her body as they watchedGreen Book.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice groggy, “It helped to have you here tonight.”
“Of course,” Jake stated, his hand cupping her shoulder, closing his eyes briefly, happy he’d made the point of coming to Austin before heading back to Sacramento. As Rakell fell asleep, he had to fight the urge to pepper her cheeks with kisses. He loved her hair fanning out across his lap, hearing her faint breathing as she slept.
He carried her to her room and laid her under the duvet, leaving her jeans and sweater on. Searching for a piece of paper, his eyes couldn’t help but study the photographs on her dresser. There were so many of her and Matt and his family. Then his eyes fell onto a photograph of Rakell standing next to a woman strikingly familiar. Her features were woven into an older woman slightly taller than Rakell, rail thin, smiling with her arm around a sandy brown-haired man with captivating green eyes—Rakell’s eyes. Her mom and dad, he thought, smiling.
He left a note on the other pillow before slipping out.
THE ONE that’s still here…Jake
Chapter Three
Jake:Your Condors merch should arrive tomorrow...Send
Rakell:Thank you…I’m flying to London today, but I’ll let the front desk know to expect a package. Lana is excited…Send
Jake:London…work?...Send
Jake:Modeling or consulting? I’m not sure what you do…delete
Rakell:Yes…I’ll be back in time for the big game…Send
Jake:I’ll be looking for a hot redhead in a Condors jersey sporting the lucky white jacket…Send
Rakell:I probably shouldn’t wear the jacket if I’m trying not to be noticed. Also, Lana told me that the lucky white jacket is trending all over social media, so people will be looking for it…Send
Rakell:Some big-mouthed football guy told a reporter it was his lucky white jacket…Send
Jake:That was discreet compared to my thoughts.Wear it! I’m superstitious. Please!...Send
Rakell:You’re demanding and weird…Send
