Rules and Roses: Untouchable Book One

by Long, Heather

  “Text me when you get home?”

  I locked my car and, with my roses in hand, I started backing toward the sidewalk. “I have to go feed the cats and get ready and get out of here.”

  “I know…it’s cool. I’ll see you later.” He waved a hand, but as soon as I hit the steps leading to my backdoor, he called, “Text me when you get home, so I know you’re in safe?”

  If I texted him, he’d probably show up. I didn’t mind that mostly, but Jake wanted the time, and just like I wouldn’t let them intrude on Ian’s. “Okay, but don’t come over unless we invite you, okay?”

  Coop grimaced. “Okay. Have a good night, Frankie!”

  I waved and then rushed. As it was, I ended up sliding into work about ninety seconds late. Fortunately, my boss just waved me to get on with it. The rose thing was a constant in the back of my mind all the way through my shift. It was, at least, until Ian showed up at six-forty with Jake and they grabbed a table on my side.

  They were both hot and sweaty, but seemingly in a better mood than they had been earlier. I didn’t really have a lot of time to chat, because half the football team showed up along with more kids from the school, including Maria and Sharon, both of whom wedged in at the table with Jake and Ian when I returned with their food.

  “There you are,” Maria said. “Can we get a big and thick each, strawberry for me and vanilla for Sharon?”

  “Yep,” I said as I put the burgers and fries in front of Jake. He tried to catch my eye, but all I asked was, “Do you guys need anything else?”

  “Thanks, and sorry about the girls. We didn’t invite them,” Ian told me firmly, and Sharon shifted on the seat next to him.

  “Damn, Bubba, that’s cold.”

  “He’s not wrong,” Jake said flatly. “We didn’t ask you to sit down, but you’re here now.”

  “And all the other tables are full,” Maria said, nudging Jake with her arm. “Don’t be a dick.”

  “I’ll get your shakes. It’ll be a couple for the burgers.”

  “You’re busy,” Sharon said with a quick smile. “It’s fine.”

  I was busy, and Rachel Manning sailed in the doors with a couple of her friends. My life was about to be complete. The tables were full, so Rachel headed for the counter. I glanced over my shoulder and told her it would be a minute as I slid the check in to get the burgers ready for Maria and Sharon, then picked up more food to run out.

  I still had shakes to make. I paused to greet them and get their orders and Rachel eyed me. “So, you and the French guy?”

  “Not on the menu,” I answered. “Shakes and burgers, pretty much what we serve every day.”

  “Really?” She leaned forward, elbows on the counter. “Are you really that oblivious? That guy is crazy about you.”

  She was a customer. I had to keep it upbeat. “He’s a nice guy. What would you like?”

  “You make me so sad, Frankie. Big and Thick, chocolate shake.” Her girls ordered the same things and I smiled.

  “It’ll be a few minutes, but I’ll get your shakes out soon.”

  Then I was digging out the ice cream and getting the shakes started. Sharon and Maria had gotten Ian and Jake to talk to them. Jake was even laughing when I brought the shakes over to deliver them.

  He sobered up like he’d been doing something wrong when I swung by. “Burgers should be up in a couple. You guys need anything else?”

  “No, we’re fine…wish you were getting a break,” Ian said, eyeing the door. We had customers waiting.

  “It happens,” I said. “Sometimes it’s just better to be busy.” I left their tallied check for them and got moving.

  Except for bringing the girls their food, I really didn’t get back over there before they finally gave up the table and headed out. Jake lurked by the register, but my boss was out giving us a hand so I wouldn’t get anywhere near it.

  The next time I got a chance to look, he was gone.

  Instead of nine, it was a quarter to ten when I finally had time to finish rolling my silver and getting out of there. It had been a good night. I’d made decent tips, at least from those who didn’t stiff me.

  When I came out of Mason’s, Jake leaned against his SUV, which was parked next to my car even though I hadn’t texted him yet.

  “Hey,” he said at my approach. “You look tired.”

  “I am tired,” I admitted. “I was going to text when I got in the car.”

  “Yeah, I kind of wondered if you hadn’t because of Maria.”

  I lifted my shoulders. “You and Maria aren’t dating anymore, right?” Not that I really had a leg to stand on. I was dating other guys, even if Jake and I hadn’t made it on a date yet.

  “Right,” he said. “We didn’t expect them to just sit down and then not leave.”

  “Well, it took a while to get them their food,” I said almost as an apology.

  “You still up for company tonight?” He was letting me off the hook.

  “Can you stay out this late?” Maybe that was a stupid question, but…

  “Mom knows I was planning to hang out with you. She’s cool with it.” He held up his phone. “And she knows how to reach me.”

  “Then, yeah…though if I pass out on you, I’m sorry in advance.”

  “No sweat. Go home, I’ll go grab the pizza.” He hit something on his phone. “Had the order all ready to go.”

  “Okay.” I made it a step, but he caught my hand and tugged me back.

  “Frankie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m not dating Maria,” he said firmly. Then pressed a kiss to my forehead before he squeezed my hand. “The only person I’m dating is you.”

  “Okay,” I sounded like I was stuck on repeat. “You don’t owe me an explanation.”

  “I know. Wanted to give you one anyway.” He walked me to the driver’s side door and opened it. “Straight home. I’ll be right behind you. Ten minutes?”

  That would be barely enough time to shower. “See you soon.”

  It took him more like fifteen, which was great. I needed the shower desperately to wash off the smell of burgers and sweat. My feet were killing me, and I drank about a liter of water because, on top of everything else, I was starving. I hadn’t even had enough time to eat before I left for work much less get anything at work.

  When he knocked on the backdoor, I fought yawning tooth and toenail and accepted the pizza boxes. “One sec,” he said then jogged back to the parking lot. A minute later, he returned carrying a coffee table.

  “What the…?”

  “I’m the reason it got broken,” he said as I scooted out of the way. He carried it in and set it in the living room. “It’s not an exact match but pretty close. So, voila!”

  “Thanks, Jake,” I set the pizza boxes down and then flopped on the sofa.

  “Glad to help. You really do look tired.”

  “Keep telling me how bad I look. It’s really doing it for me,” I found a tease for him and he chuckled. I’d towel dried my hair and combed it straight. I was in pajama bottoms and a tank top, no bra. Maybe I should have put one back on, but it wasn’t like I fell out of the top, and I’d gone braless before.

  “Crap…”

  “What?” He asked as he flipped open the boxes.

  “I need to text Coop and tell him I’m home.” My phone was in the other room.

  “I got it.” He pulled out his phone and sent it off. “Done. I also told him not to come over cause you’re tired. That cool?”

  Well, a little presumptuous of him to do it in the first place, but at least he’d asked. “I kind of told him to not come over unless we invited him, since—you know—you said you wanted some time.”

  His sudden smile sent a shiver through me. Jake leaned forward and brushed a kiss against my mouth, it was almost a careless gesture, yet it still sent a burst of warmth through me. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” It took everything I had not to reach up and touch my lips because they buzzed a
little. Instead, I reached for pizza.

  “For being you,” he said, easing off his shoes and then pulling the pizza up to rest on his lap. He patted the sofa next to him. “And I don’t bite.”

  “Yes, you do,” I said and at his askance look, I pointed at my arm. “You bit me in third grade.”

  Jake stared at me for a minute then he laughed. “You bit me first.”

  “You pulled my hair.”

  “Yeah,” he grimaced. “I did do that.”

  I scooted over anyway and pointed at the remotes on the side table. He pulled up YouTube on the television and, since I was logged in, he scrolled it to the watch later and then handed it to me. “You pick.”

  Pizza in one hand and the remote in the other, I looked at our list and yawned before stretching my legs out to rest my feet on the new coffee table. I picked a video at random and started it. We ate and we watched. I killed about four pieces of pizza before my stomach stopped gnawing on my backbone.

  When I leaned back, Jake wrapped an arm around my shoulders and glanced sideways at me. “This okay?”

  “It’s nice.” I almost rested my head against his shoulder, but my hair was wet, so I tried to straighten.

  “It’s fine,” he said nudging my head back.

  “You sure?”

  “I’m sure,” he said with a smile. It was colder in the apartment with the air conditioning on, and the longer I sat there, the more tired I became. I think even my hair was tired at this point. Jake rubbed my arm lightly. He was a lot warmer and I curled my legs up and shifted to be closer to him.

  “Jake?” I was half-asleep.

  “Hmm?”

  “This isn’t a great date for you.” I smothered another yawn.

  “I get to spend time with you.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I like it. Besides, we’re still getting together on Sunday, right?”

  “Umm-hmm.” We were on our third? No, our fourth video, and I’d seen this one already, but I thought Jake would enjoy it. He’d mocked the movie when we saw it a couple of years before. The rumble of his laughter when it started told me I’d made the right call. It was twenty-some odd minutes. I could rest my eyes.

  For a minute.

  Another yawn pulled at my jaw, and my eyes drifted closed.

  Just a minute.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sleepover

  Warmth wrapped all around me, I wanted to burrow into it unwilling to open my eyes. I tugged the blanket a little tighter even as I tried to stretch. Rubbing my nose against the pillow, I sighed. It still smelled like Jake. Tiddles purred from somewhere near my desk and I could have sworn Tabby leapt off me. A yawn pulled at my jaw, but when I cracked my eyelids, it was still mostly dark.

  Cool, more sleep. One of the cats must have still been on the blanket, I squirmed to get more comfortable, and the hand on my stomach slid up to cup my breast. That was…

  Wait.

  What?

  My eyes jerked open. The room was still dark, and I was definitely in my bed, and there was definitely someone else curled up against my back. I lifted my head from—an arm, not a pillow—and twisted.

  “Jake?”

  A grunt was his only answer. Then a very firm squeeze of his hand against my breast sent a thrill through me. Wrapping the arm I’d been laying on around me, he pressed his nose against my hair and nuzzled a kiss to my nape. The prickle of his stubble sent another wave of sensation washing through me. Squirming, I tried to turn over.

  “It’s the middle of the night,” came his sluggish voice. He rolled from his side to his back and he took me with him. It was definitely still dark. I could barely make out that he was there by the light sneaking in around the edges of blinds. But the outdoor light was yellowy and dim.

  He’d kept an arm around my shoulders, but the hand on my breast had slipped away when he rolled.

  “Jake,” I tried again, the racing of my heart chasing sleep away. What time was it?

  Lifting his head, he grumbled then adjusted me—literally tugged me closer to his chest while one of my legs slid over his. “It’s like two in the morning, Frankie. Go back to sleep.” He punctuated his sentence with a yawn. It flexed his chest and the rub against my tank top left my nipples strained and pointed.

  Okay, now more than just shock had me awake.

  “You’re sleeping in my bed.” Way to go, Captain Obvious. That was a stellar observation.

  My eyes burned, and I rubbed the heel of my hand against one before I set it back against his chest. I had nowhere else to put it as long as I was plastered to his side. I’d found a way to work my right arm under his pillow somehow and there was something nice about the weight of his head on the pillow and then my arm.

  With a groan, Jake turned his head and pressed a kiss to the top of my head while trailing his fingers lightly against my upper arm. “You fell asleep—well, actually, we kind of both did. But sleeping sitting up sucks, so I carried you in here.” Another yawn. “Then I kind of didn’t want to go… If you want me to leave, I’ll get dressed.”

  It would have been hard to miss the note of complaint in his voice. Easing up a little, I squinted at him in the dark. The steady beat of his heart under my palm was awkward and at the same time familiar. It was hardly the first time we’d had a sleepover, though typically we planned it. The guys hadn’t slept on my bed or me on theirs in a few years. We had when we were kids, but the sleepovers had grown limited to big parties and usually at Archie’s where there was room in the guesthouse for all of us to spread out.

  This was… different.

  “Frankie?” he sounded more awake. “I’ll go. It’s fine…”

  “No,” I said slowly, more reluctant to kick him out than to let him stay. “Mom’s out of town.” It wasn’t like we’d get in trouble.

  “Cool,” he yawned the last of the word and urged me back down with his hand against my back. This time I curled up to him, trying to ignore the heat of his leg against mine, and the way his heart thudded against my ear even if I rested on his shoulder. He stroked his hand over my shoulder and down my arm in light, easy gestures.

  I wasn’t really sure I could go back to sleep, even if I’d been exhausted earlier. Awareness swept through me at each breath he exhaled. The firmness of the muscle under my hand made me want to trace the rigid lines. He was wearing a shirt, but only boxers I was pretty sure. I’d seen Jake shirtless plenty of times. He was cut.

  “Frankie,” he murmured in a drowsy voice. “You okay?”

  “Not sure I can sleep like this.” It was kind of embarrassing to admit. He felt good. Real good. Even tired, I kind of didn’t want to miss it.

  “Mmm…fix it…” The bed bounced a little as he rolled over, tumbling me onto my back, but before I could adjust, he had an arm around my middle. Then I was on my side, my back flush to his chest with one of his legs tucked between mine and both of his arms around me, one hand flat against my breast bone, just above said breasts and the other on my abdomen. The tank top rucked a little which let his fingers rest against my skin.

  It was so much better.

  And so much worse.

  Then Jake nuzzled a kiss behind my ear. “Go to sleep. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

  Weirdly, even when I thought the last thing I’d be able to do was sleep, I must have because the next time I opened my eyes hints of daylight edged the window, but it was still mostly dark in the room and my alarm hadn’t gone off. Jake’s arm rested around my middle, his grip having loosened, but he hadn’t moved away. I’d rolled a little more to my front and he draped my back like the best heated blanket ever.

  Jake is sleeping in my bed.

  A little thrill accompanied that thought. Running my fingers lightly over his hand, I traced the lines of it and then lined my hand up against the back of his. I must have woken him, because he caught my hand in his and then pressed his lips against the back of my shoulder.

  “Morning,” he rumbled, the prickle of his stubbl
e scraping at me with each word. “Not time to get up yet.”

  “I don’t know what time it is,” I admitted, I pulled his hand up, holding it to my chest. It curved his biceps right across my breast and I considered changing the position of his hand, but I didn’t really want to move it.

  With a groan, he squeezed my hand and let me go before he rolled onto his back. Turning fully on my stomach, I lifted on my elbows to get a better view as he reached lifted his phone off the side table. The sudden light from the screen had me squinting, but also gave me my first real good look at a rumpled Jake, face covered in new growth, and his hair in disarray. This was Jake. Not the smooth football player who always took care with his appearance to look good at school.

  The rugged, unpolished side was even more attractive, if that were possible, and my stomach tightened as I studied him.

  “It’s just barely six.” He dropped his arm with the phone and then turned his head to look at me. My eyes were still a little dazzled from the lit screen. “Hey...”

  “Hi,” I whispered, suddenly shy and rather glad his screen had gone off. It gave me somewhere to hide while I got my shit together.

  Jake rolled to his side and then he was just right there, close enough I could feel his breath on my cheek. He must have brushed his teeth the night before—crap, I hadn’t—because he did not smell bad. At all. In fact, all I could smell was Jake. That night when I went to bed, my sheets were going to smell like him, too.

  The idea made me grin.

  When he brushed his fingers against my cheek, then began to comb my hair away from my face, I sighed. That was nice.

  “Sleep well?”

  It was a weird question, but not…

  “Pretty good,” I admitted. “A little weird when I realized you were still here.”

  “Weird good? Or weird bad?” With lightly calloused fingertips, he traced the shell of my ear and it sent little shivers down my spine.

  “Weird undecided,” I said, not quite able to keep from smiling. “This is kind of—nice.”

  “Yeah?” He slid his hand into my hair and then down to my nape. “Frankie?”

  “Hmm?”