Chapter Twelve
After dinner, Maya insisted we build a campfire. She was convinced that there had to be some kind of unwritten rule about ranches and campfires going hand in hand. Alli squealed in delight at the idea, and I found myself rolling my eyes at her reaction.
It’s not that she isn’t super nice, it’s just that somehow she keeps finding a way to redefine perky. I honestly don’t know how Spencer keeps from putting a muzzle on her every other minute. I didn’t realize I was gawking at her until Maya broke me out of my train of thought.
“Hello? Em? Marshmallow hunt? Yes?” She snapped her fingers, cueing me to listen to what she was going on about.
“Marshmallows? What?” I craned my neck to focus on Maya as my brain attempted to piece together what she was saying.
“Good Lord. Jake said that there might be marshmallows somewhere in the pantry. Help me look while the boys build the fire?”
“Well, don’t just stand there,” I teased. “We have marshmallows to find.” I jumped up and walked toward the kitchen with Maya in tow.
“Anything you care to share, love? You’ve been quite distracted ever since we got all cleaned up,” she pried with a suspicious stare.
I opened the pantry door and motioned for her to walk in first. She watched me curiously as she walked by. “Speaking of sharing.” I closed the door to the pantry and then crossed my arms as I leaned back against it. “You have some explaining to do. Now spill.”
Her expression turned into a wicked grin. “Moi?” She gestured to herself with her usual dramatic flare.
“Uh, don’t even. You, ma’am, know exactly what I am talking about.”
“It was just a kiss, Em. It didn’t mean anything. Evan and I are just friends.”
“Mmmhmm. And is Evan aware that you are just friends?”
She let out a sigh as she gazed over to one of the pantry shelves and adjusted a can of green beans. “He knows how I feel about Dylan, and we’ve talked about it. We agree that we are better as friends.”
“Y’all agreed or you did?” I pressed.
“Will you stop with the third degree? We agreed, OK? It was just a kiss.”
I could tell by the look on her face that it most certainly was not just a kiss, but I decided to leave it alone. She clearly is not ready to discuss whatever it is that is going on. “OK.” I held my hands back, signaling my surrender. “I’m just saying; it looked like a whole heck of a lot more.”
“Em!”
Laughing, I dodged the package of hamburger buns that she threw at me, then we both focused on searching for the marshmallows.
“Seriously? How are we supposed to find one little package of marshmallows in this thing? They could be anywhere.”
“No freaking kidding,” I let out.
We both sank against the back wall as we realized for the first time just how big this walk-in pantry was. As our eyes scanned the room that was bigger than my closet at home, I decided this was about to be more of a treasure hunt than a simple marshmallow-finding mission.
“Alright, let’s start from the bottom and work our way up,” she suggested.
What felt like ten minutes later, we admitted defeat and walked out of the pantry to rejoin the group outside. We were almost out of the kitchen when Maya piped back up.
“By the way, don’t think for a second that I didn’t notice your question dodge earlier. I know for a fact something happened with you two because it took y’all longer than anyone to “clean up”, and Jake hasn’t been able to keep his hands off of you.” I snapped my head in her direction. “Oh yeah. I noticed. So tell me…did you?” The betraying smile that broke out on my face said it all. “Ahhh! I knew it!” she screamed as we stepped through the door.
“Maya. Oh my God. Quiet down. I don’t want the whole freakin’ group to know,” I hissed.
She was grinning like an idiot. “You got it, boss. These lips are sealed.” She zipped her lips and then flicked away the key. “So how was it? Are you sore?” she whispered.
“Maya!”
“OK. Got it,” she said clearly amused, “But you know you are not going to be able to keep it from me forever. And I can’t wait to hear all the juicy details!”
I stopped and looked directly at her. “Seriously? Don’t make me get a muzzle for you too.” Maya looked at me like she had no idea what I was talking about. “Don’t act like you haven’t thought about muzzling Alli yourself. You forget how well I know that evil mastermind of yours, my dear.” Maya busted out laughing, falling forward and having to catch herself on her knees.
“Touché, my friend,” she laughed.
“And maybe I am a little sore,” I whispered.
“Ahh! It’s literally going to kill me until you spill all the dirty little details!”
“And yet, I think you’ll somehow survive.”
“Bitch,” she muttered under her breath.
“I heard that,” I laughed.
Giggling, she threw her arm over my shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get back over there. I’m sure by now Jakie is going through withdrawal and needs his Emma fix.”
I rolled my eyes as we began walking back toward the group. “Remind me again why I claim you as my best friend?”
“Because you love me.” She put her head on my shoulder and walked her fingers up my arm.
“Right.”
The fire was going strong by the time we rejoined everyone with the news that the marshmallows were a no-go. After the initial letdown of not getting more food, the boys resorted to finding random things to throw in the fire. It became an all out competition about who could find the item that would burn the fastest.
In the middle of all the chaos, I stopped and watched Maya with Evan for a second. She was genuinely having a good time and seemed happier than I had seen her in a while. There was definitely something starting between those two, and I think the only person who didn’t see it was Maya.
***
There were no nerves this time when we all separated for bed. I was actually looking forward to lying next to Jake, who greedily snatched me up and draped his arm over me after pulling the covers up over us. As soon as I closed my eyes, Jake began to lightly run his finger in little circles over the side of my hip.
“Jake, there is no way I am going to be able to sleep if you keep doing that.”
“So I probably shouldn’t do this either?” He placed a soft kiss on the sensitive spot right below my ear that caused goose bumps to break out across my skin.
“I’m not sure you’re understanding the severity of this situation,” I teased. “You see, I happen to be a sleeper. And as much of me that wants to turn around and kiss you, a bigger part of me is currently much more attracted to the sleep option.”
“And what happens if I don’t let you give into the latter?” I could hear the smile in his voice as he let his fingers trickle up and down my side.
I turned to face him, “Bad, bad things. Murderous things.”
Jake chuckled and then placed a kiss on my forehead. “Alright, Blondie. I see your point.” I began to turn back around, thinking he consented to letting me sleep. I was barely able to turn because in an instant Jake had me on my back, hovering over me wearing a sexy grin. “But I think I’ll take my chances.” He bent down and pressed his lips to mine, and wouldn’t you know my stupid, betraying body was on his side.
***
I woke up the following morning the same way I had the day before. Voices. The difference was this time they were accompanied by knocks and coming from the other side of the door. I sat up and looked at Jake, whose eyes were still closed, as I began to process what was happening. Jake’s lips broke into a grin.
“Come back, Em. I sleep so much better when you’re tucked in my arms.”
“Trust me, nothing sounds better than sleep right now, but by the time I lay down those two are going to come barging in,” I half whined.
Still refusing to open his eyes, Jake reached up with one arm
and pulled me into him. “Nope,” he nuzzled into my neck. “I locked the door last night, so we are safe to sleep and stay in this bed all day if we want to.”
I relaxed when I realized those two freakin’ alarm clocks of human beings couldn’t enter my chamber of sleep. “Good, because I feel like I need at least eight more hours.”
“Someone is grouchy this morning,” Jake said with a small laugh.
“Yeah. Well, I did try to warn you that your own personal safety was at stake if I didn’t get an adequate amount of sleep.” I was now full on whining but was too tired to care.
“You’re adorable when you’re cranky,” he mused.
“I hate you.”
Jake chuckled as he adjusted his head on the pillow, pulling me firmly against him. “Go back to sleep, Emma. You are a little scary when you’re tired.”
I didn’t protest. I shut my eyes, and as soon as I felt Jake’s breathing even out, I drifted back to sleep.
The next time I woke up, I had no idea how long I had been out. It felt like I had been asleep for hours, but the bacon scent that was assaulting my nostrils told a different story. I reached over and grabbed my phone off the nightstand and checked the time.
10:00
I realized everyone else was probably just getting up as well and making breakfast. I looked over at Jake to find him still out cold. Leaning down, I slowly began to place kisses all over his face. When I placed my lips on his, I could feel him smiling and knew he was awake.
“Mmm. I could wake up like this every morning,” he spoke, wrapping his arms around me. Then he squinted one eye open, “Unless scary Emma is still out there. In that case, I may just hide under the covers.”
“I got more sleep. So you’re safe…for now.”
“Is that bacon?” Both of Jake’s eyes were wide open, and I couldn’t hold back my smile over how easily he was distracted once he smelled the food.
“Smells like it.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Jake jumped out of bed and dug a pair of sweatpants out of his bag: the kind that set right above his butt, allowing you to appreciate every abdominal muscle on display above them. If my stomach wasn’t so busy telling me that I was hungry, the rest of my body would have attempted to lure him back to the bed.
We walked into the kitchen to find Heath coming in from the other hall at the same time we were. Everyone else had found a seat around the large island watching Maya cook up eggs and bacon while sipping on their cups of coffee. Upon that observation, I immediately found the coffeepot and poured myself a cup. I was leaning against the counter, enjoying my first sip when I realized everyone was still in PJs except for Maya and Evan. In fact, it looked like they had gone for a run…or something.
“What time did you two get up?” I asked Maya at the same time Evan hopped up and offered to help, taking over the eggs.
She kept her focus on the bacon she was flipping over. “Oh, I don’t know. A couple hours ago maybe?”
“Uh huh,” I let out slowly, “I see.” I watched as the two of them finished cooking breakfast. They were too occupied with each other to even pick up on the fact that I was really asking why they were wearing athletic clothes and why Maya had grass in her hair while neither one of them appeared to have broken a sweat. I watched them intently as I sipped on my coffee until they told everyone to make a plate.
I couldn’t tell you what happened over breakfast because I was too busy watching those two canoodle each other. I almost dropped my fork at one point when Maya literally fed bacon to Evan. Like. Fed. Him. That girl was either lying to herself or lying to me because I have never seen her act so lovey-dovey with anyone. Not even Dylan.
When everyone got up from the table, I followed Jake back into our room. “Did you notice anything weird between Maya and Evan?” I asked once the door was closed.
“So that’s where you were,” he teased, while grabbing a fresh shirt from his bag.
“What?”
Jake chuckled and walked over to me as he pulled the shirt over his head and then kissed the top of my forehead. “You were completely checked out at breakfast. I tried to get your attention a few times before I realized you were in your zone. You do that sometimes when you’re really focused,” he smiled.
“Oh,” I blushed, “I didn’t mean to ignore you.” I didn’t even realize this was a regular thing for me. I wonder how often I just “check out” around people. Around Jake.
“Don’t apologize for being you, Em. Don’t ever apologize for doing the little things that make you so perfectly Emma.” The way he was looking at me caused me to turn a deeper shade of red.
How is it that Jake seems to know me better than I know myself? And why does that make me feel like I love him more than I already do?
“So, are you going to change or do you plan on going in that?”
“Change for what?”
Jake let out a small laugh, “Town. We decided at breakfast to go into Fredericksburg for the afternoon.”
“Right. Of course.” I turned to my bag and pulled out a shirt and pair of shorts.
I quickly changed and then ran a brush through my hair, throwing it up into a ponytail before putting on a little makeup. I had just applied a coat of lip gloss when I realized Jake was leaning against the door frame watching me.
“Beautiful,” he said when my eyes met his, sending a rush of warmth through my body. “Now come on, Blondie, there is an ice cream place in town you have to try,” he finished with that perfect smile of his.
We spent the entire afternoon in Fredericksburg. As promised, one of our stops was to get ice cream. And, oh man, was it good! No, more like amazing. I sampled a few flavors while everyone else gave their orders and by the time it was my turn, I, of course, didn’t have it narrowed down. Without missing a beat, Jake ordered the three I couldn’t choose between, in the largest cup, and then grabbed us two spoons. Heath made some wisecrack about it, but I was too busy gushing to care.
We ate our ice cream while walking around checking out all the shops on the main strip. We had just stopped, so Alli could go inside one of the shops we had come to, when Jake found a bench and motioned for me to sit with him. I looked up right as Jake scooped another bite of ice cream out of our cup and found myself wondering what was going to happen next year when Jake went to college.
Was he going to want to break up or try to make it work? If we did try, would it work? Long distance can be tough, and I’ve heard most high school relationships don’t make it. I quickly shook the thought out of my head. I didn’t want to dwell on something that could interfere with the rest of our weekend.
We stayed in Fredericksburg to eat dinner before heading back to Jake’s ranch house. It was about an hour drive, and by the time we got back it was dark outside. We remembered to grab marshmallows while we were in town. So as soon as we got back, the boys built up the campfire and the girls got the s’mores supplies ready to go. We spent our last night at the ranch around the fire and eating more s’mores than I have ever had in my life.
When it got late, we put out the fire and everyone departed to our own rooms. This had been the perfect weekend, and I was in no way ready for it to be over. After spending the weekend falling asleep in Jake’s arms, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to go back and sleep alone in my own bed. We were definitely going to have to make more ranch trips. Because the answer is, I can’t. I can’t be fine sleeping without being pressed up against him and him being the first thing I see when I wake up.
Once we were back in our room, Jake closed the door and then laced his fingers with mine. “This is going to be a problem for me,” he said, looking directly in my eyes.
“What is?” I asked, reaching out and brushing his tousled hair to the side. Though, a part of me was wondering if he was feeling what I was feeling about this being our last night together – our “last night” being the problem he was referring to. At least, I was hoping that’s what he was going to say.
“Emma, how I feel about you…” his brows pulled together. Wouldn’t you know, that boy even makes frustrated look good? I was trying to focus on what he was trying to say instead of how bad I wished he would lean forward and kiss me, but the look on his face and how his lips were just inches from mine made that very difficult. “Emma, the way you make me feel…I don’t ever want to give you up. I don’t want to have to take you home tomorrow, and I definitely do not want to not have you wrapped up in my arms when I close my eyes at night.” Once he started speaking, the urgency in his words made my heart flutter. All I could think about was needing his lips on mine.
I reached up and circled my arms around his neck and connected my lips to his. There was no hesitation. As soon as Jake felt my lips beg for his to open, he had one hand gripping my lower back and the other tangled in my hair, pressing me into him. He kissed me like he needed me to breathe – like I needed him to breathe. His fingertips gripped into my back, causing a moan to escape my lips and my mind to get lost in that beautifully hazy fog. He trailed kisses along my jaw and down my neck, focusing on that sensitive spot that he discovered drives me crazy. By the time he made it back to my lips, I was completely breathless. I stepped back and lifted my arms, and a smile broke across his lips. I don’t know what it’s going to be like once we get home, but tonight I’m with Jake and tonight I don’t have to worry about that just yet.
Chapter Thirteen
The drive home seemed to go by so much faster than the drive to the ranch house, probably because no one was ready for our weekend getaway to be over. When we got to our cars, we all said goodbye and agreed that we were going to have to make this happen again soon. Jake and I lingered longer than the rest of the group – not able to leave each other just yet.
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