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As her plane taxied into the Austin airport, Rakell pulled out her phone, but the one person she was hoping to hear from hadn’t texted. She had a sick feeling that he was done with her.
Matt:How was Paris?...Send
Rakell:Great, still haven’t heard back from Jake…Send
Matt:I’ll repeat what Jonathon says…You have options…Send
Rakell:Then why do I feel sick?...Send
Lana:Going out for drinks tonight, you in?…Send
Rakell:Just landed in Austin. I’m wiped. Paris was intense. Tomorrow?...Send
Sorting laundry as if on autopilot, she kept checking her phone, but there was nothing from Jake. Her stomach knotted up as shewent through the texts he’d sent the night before she’d left for Paris.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
She texted Matt, walking slowly on the sidewalk toward the gym. When she looked up, Jake and Dwayne were just a few feet from her.
“Oh, hi,” she said tentatively.
“Hi.” Dwayne smiled, then shifted his eyes toward Jake, who was looking past Rakell, not saying a word.
“Did you guys just finish?” Her eyes scooted from Dwayne to Jake’s blank face, eyes focused behind her, his mouth tight, giving nothing. She twisted her neck to see if there was someone behind her, then back again when she realized he was avoiding looking at her.
Dwayne nervously shifted his gym bag from his right hand to his left and replied, “Yeah, just finished, heading to the lake for a run.” Jake’s dark mood over the past week had left him wondering if there had been some difficulty with Rakell. Now, seeing the way Jake stared past her blankly without a word, his suspicion was confirmed.
God. He’s not talking to me, not even in person.She’d never seen his face this void of expression, not even the night she’d walked away from him almost a year ago. At least then, his emotions had been evident. Her stomach bottomed out, and she could feel her pulse in her neck. If she didn’t confront him now, then when? She knew Dwayne was uncomfortable, but she had to ask Jake what he meant when he had texted herEND. At this point, it seemed there could only be one answer, but she wasn’t going to walk away from him, not this time.
“Jake.” Her voice sounded strained. “You haven’t responded to any of my texts or calls. I mean, can we talk?”
His face remained frozen. “Nope, busy.” An icy tone encompassed his clipped words, and he kept his eyes focused beyond her.
Dwayne cleared his throat, wishing he could be anywhere else.
“Jake, please, at least tell me whatENDmeans. I mean, us, like, are we over?” She hated the pathetic she heard in her voice.
Dwayne’s eyes grew big, landing on his friend. He knew whatENDmeant, and Jake didn’t walk back from it, not ever. He quickly looked at Rakell, absorbing the glassy sheen taking over her big green eyes, making him want to hug her. Instead, Dwayne sputtered, “Um, yeah, gotta call my aunt, my Aunt Mildred. I’ll see you at your truck.” He lifted his chin toward Jake.
Jake stole a glimpse of her stunned face. It was hard not to cave; when this girl hurt, he felt a drive to make it go away, but he was sick and tired of being the only one working in this relationship.
Rakell caught Dwayne’s expression; she knew this was an ‘oh shit’ kind of moment. “Jake?” Her eyes blinked madly, trying not to cry as Dwayne distanced himself from them. “What does it mean…were you referring to us?”
She stiffened under his penetrating gaze, the answer she dreaded clear in his fixed jaw and vacant eyes.
“Yep, done. Done with all this bullshit.” He gestured between them.
“Jake, can we talk…please?” Stepping toward him, she reached up to touch his arm, but it fell to her side as he abruptly wrenched away from her hand.
“Nope, Sweetheart, it’s a lot too late, there was time for that before you got on the fucking plane.” He moved to theside. “ENDmeans done…” After a beat, “Bye…” he emphasized, taking a long step past her, leaving her standing alone on the sidewalk, unwilling to look back because his resolve softened when he looked at her, and he needed this to be over.
When he got to the truck, he saw Dwayne’s dumbfounded expression. Jake warned him, “Don’t, just don’t, I…”
“Dude, you fuckingENDed−her?” Dwayne asked as they both jumped in the truck. “Her?Thatgirl, like, theloveof your life?”
He turned the key. “Dwayne, it doesn’t matter howeverythingshe is, beautiful, smart, funny, sexy…none of it matters if the stress of…”
Dwayne kept going as Jake backed out of the parking space. “…huge rack, amazing green eyes, that hair…did you forget about her glutes…sorry, dude, but she’s going to get snatched up quickly. Jesus, you textedENDto her? What the hell happened?”
