"Hello?" I said, smiling as I answered.
"Hey," he said.
His voice.
With only a word, my body wanted to yank the steering wheel severely to the left so that I would turn back to Miami.
"Hey," I said.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Heading to my parents' house. Kayla and Aiden will be there with Reid. We're gonna have lunch."
"Uhhh, I forgot you were going up to Oakland Park," he said. "I was gonna come by Uncle Bill's to try to see you."
"I thought we said we'd try to hang out tonight," I said.
"We did, but that doesn't feel like it's soon enough."
I had to bite back a huge smile. The sound of his voice on the phone made me feel giddy.
"I'm usually home from my parents' by four," I said. "If you want to come by when I get back, then…" I hesitated. I was breathless with nerves, even over the phone.
"Then, what?" he asked.
"Then, we could hang out, if you want, or whatever."
"Or whatever?" he asked, incredulously. "I knew you'd be at church this morning. I've been counting the minutes till you got out and I could call you and go see you, and the best you can give me is, or whatever?" He spoke in a teasing tone.
I laughed at that. "I'm trying to act casual."
"Oh, so you could go either way about hanging out with me today?"
"Nooo," I said. "But I'm pretending I could. You know… trying to act cool."
"How do you really feel?" he asked.
"Like I'd ditch my family and turn the car around in high-speed, police-chase, donut-making fashion to get back to Miami if you wanted me to."
Jake laughed. "K.K."
"What?"
"I can't stop thinking about you."
A gigantic smile spread across my face. My eyes burned. I wanted to cry.
"Did you hear me?" he asked.
"Yes," I said shyly, glancing around even though nobody was in the car with me.
"I can't get you out of my head," he said.
"I like myself there," I returned. "I think it looks good on me."
I heard him let out a laugh. "What? Being in my head?"
"Yeah," I said. "I like me there."
"I like you there, too."
We were silent for a few breaths as I tried to wipe the smile off my face for long enough to say actual words. Jake didn’t give me the chance. He spoke before I could.
"Kristen, my girl, I remember every single second of last night. I can't wait to hold you again. I'm aching for it. I wish we were at that beach again right now."
I glanced outside. It was clear out and it was early afternoon, which meant the sun was blazing down. It was brighter than bright outside, and I imagined us back at the beach in the full light of day. I wondered if all the things that transpired between us would have happened in the daylight.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"I'm thinking I wish we were at the beach, too," I said. "I've been so out-of-it and busy this morning. Part of me feels like I made last night up."
"I can assure you, Miss Hall, you did not make any of it up," he said.
His voice beckoned to me—I felt physically tugged to get back to Miami as soon as I possibly could. I came really close to turning my car around.
Chapter 16
Jake
The models had all been promised copies of Suzanne's final portfolio.
Jake's had been delivered to him that Saturday during the midst of him realizing how he felt about Kristen. It was as if he had discovered who she really was, and that changed everything.
His life trajectory changed in that instant, and the fact that Suzanne delivered the portfolio on that day, only served to put his feelings for K.K. over the top.
He had fallen in love with her soul, and he hadn't even thought about what a talented photographer she had turned out to be. She had made Suzanne's portfolio into a work of art—a story almost, and Suzanne had only the best things to say about her talent and work ethic.
Pride rose up in Jake's chest. A mixture of pride, possessiveness, protectiveness, and happiness came over him. Jake had been almost afraid to look at Clara's photographs, but when he got to them, all he could see was the talent and love of the person who had taken the pictures.
It was all very clear. Kristen's feelings for Jake were similar to the ones he now had for her. He could see it, feel it, in the way she responded to him. He couldn't imagine having this feeling for all those years and not getting the opportunity to have it quenched. He couldn’t understand how she had done it—stood there and watched him date different women over the years when she loved him all along.
He saw Clara's photographs, and all he could see was how amazing it was that this woman who had every right to hate Clara had done her best to make her look beautiful. That was the sort of confidence and kindness that made Jake's chest ache. He then looked at the pictures Kristen had taken of him, and he smiled, enjoying being able to see what she did with the photograph—what features she had chosen to emphasize.
The crazy thing was that he had already decided he had to have Kristen before Suzanne brought the portfolio to him. The work she had done was just icing on the cake.
Jake had met up with her at the beach that very evening. They had spent a few hours together that night, talking, kissing, flirting. They were straight-up tangled in each other's arms while they were in the ocean that night.
Jake could not stop thinking about it.
He felt like he would do just about anything to wind up in that same scenario again. It was now the following day, and Jake had been waiting all day to talk to her. Jake went to church that morning, but they attended different places, and Kristen's had taken a lot longer than his. His church only lasted an hour from start to finish, so he had been home since 10am.
He hadn't been able to reach her until 1pm, and when he finally did, he remembered that she was headed out of town. She said she was usually home in Miami by 4pm, but that seemed to Jake like an absolute eternity.
They talked while she made the drive to her parents' house, and she seemed to feel the same way. K.K. had every right to keep her distance or make Jake earn her trust, but she wasn't doing that.
Everything he said, she responded to. They talked for a half-hour while she drove to her parents' house, and in that time, she decided it would be one of her faster trips to Oakland Park.
They were talking about Kristen's family when Kristen suddenly gasped and said, "Oh, my goodness, what is he? Is that? Oh my gosh, I can't turn in."
"Kristen, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just… I’m in my mom's neighborhood, but I just drove past their house. I didn't pull into the driveway."
Jake could tell there was something wrong—that she was startled or scared. His back straightened, as if he was ready to come running.
"Please tell me what's going on."
Kristen breathed a long sigh, trying her best to think straight.
It was definitely Preston's car.
There was no way to confuse it with anything else. It was a white BMW with a spoiler and dark, tinted windows. Some of the students in the youth group had called it 'the panda', and that was the first thing she saw when she glanced in her parents' driveway. A panda. A scary panda. Not scary, but dreaded, at least.
She did not want to see Preston.
She had not planned on seeing him.
She knew the next time they made contact, she would have to confront him with the news that she didn't want to see him at all anymore. She had actually considered just texting him or calling him rather than doing it in person. It would be much easier that way—especially if there was a bracelet in the equation.
All of this went through her head at once, causing a traffic jam of thoughts. Then, it hit her.
"I never even told him where my parents live," she mumbled the words absentmindedly as she turned onto the next block.
"Kristen, wha
t'd you say?" Jake's voice came over the speaker system, startling her.
"What? Me? I'm fine. I'm still in my car, but that's just so weird. Preston's car is in my parents' driveway, and I never even told him where they live. I just got there, but I didn't stop. I kept going instead of pulling in."
"Please tell me you're joking."
"I'm not joking," she said.
"What's he doing there after you told him you couldn't see him anymore?"
"I didn't… I haven't had time to tell him. I haven't even talked to him since… I was planning on calling him or texting him this afternoon. Probably from my mom's house. I wasn't even going to talk to him in person. I have no idea what he's doing there. He doesn't even know where my parents live."
"Then it's not him," Jake said. "He's got a white sports car," he said. "It could be anybody."
Jake was right, but the thing was, she knew it was Preston's car.
"Let me let you go so I can call my mom or my sister," she said. "Kayla's car was there, too, so I know she's at my mom's. I'll call one of them and ask if he's there."
Kristen knew he was, she could just feel it.
"Do you want me to come up there?" Jake asked.
His question instantly made her feel a million times better.
"Would you?" she asked, relief evident in her tone. "It's up past Fort Lauderdale. Would you be okay with making that drive?"
"Yes," Jake said. "But it's gonna take me a little while. I can try to be there within an hour."
"Jake, it would really mean a lot me it if you came up here."
He could hear the relief and thankfulness in her voice. "Are you gonna be okay until I get there? You don't have to go to your mom's house if you don't want to. You can wait for me to get there if you want."
Kristen was really tempted to take Jake up on that offer, but she knew the already awkward encounter would be intolerable if she had to do it with Jake standing right there to witness her nerves.
She wanted him there afterwards, though.
And Jake's pending arrival would be an incentive for getting things settled with Preston right when she walked in the door.
Jake had been to her parents' house before and said he remembered how to get there, but she sent him a text with the address so that he could put it in his GPS.
The knowledge that he was on his way was the only thing that powered her through turning around to head back to her parents' house. She would call her family on her way, but in her heart, she knew what their answer would be. She knew it was Preston's car in the driveway.
Jake was out-of-his-mind with concern. He was consumed with finding his keys so that he could leave as soon as possible. He had tentative golf plans with a friend, but he would have no problem canceling them. He was planning on canceling them if K.K. would have been free to hang out, anyway.
Jake wished she had asked him over sooner so that he would have already been on his way. He thought of the reluctance, almost fear, in her voice. He was extremely anxious to get to her.
A minute later, she called him back.
He was still shutting things down at his house, but his phone was in his pocket, and he picked up on the first ring.
"Hey."
"Hey. I just wanted to let you know that I talked to my sister, and it is Preston over there. He must have been right there when she talked to me because I could hear her being overly friendly."
"Call her back and tell her to ask him to leave," he said.
"I can't ask her to handle that," she said. "It's already bad enough that I have to do it. I just wanted to make sure you still thought you could come, because I'm telling myself that seeing you is my prize for being brave."
"You're my prize," he said. "Hey."
"What?" she asked.
"Go in there knowing I love you, K.K. Be brave. Keep it simple. Tell him you're spoken-for."
Kristen believed him. She knew Jake well enough to know he wouldn't say something like that lightly. He loved her. He was officially speaking for her.
"Okay. I'm heading in there now," she said, putting her car into park. "I'm gonna let you go, but get here as soon as you can."
"I'm already on the road," Jake said. "I'll be a half-hour."
"Be careful," Kristen begged.
"I will."
"I… I'll see you in a minute," she said.
She was going to say 'I love you', but she had to settle for a different phrase because she was already torn up with nerves at the fact that she was about to go into her parents' house and break up with someone who wasn't even technically her boyfriend, anyway.
It didn't make her feel better the person in question likely had an expensive bracelet in his pocket. It also didn't make her feel better that she had never specifically said where her parents lived. It would have been more understandable if he had her mom or her sister's contact information, but he didn't have that either.
Kristen chose not to think of these things. She had a task set in front of her, and there was nothing she could do but confront it. She had one goal and it was to march into her parents' house and tell Preston she couldn't see him anymore.
***
Jake's hands were tied.
He wanted to be there for Kristen. He had heard the doubt in her voice, and he wanted so badly to be at her side. Also, it drove him crazy to think that Preston was at her house without being invited. In the time since Jake had realized his feelings for Kristen, he had recalled his interactions with Preston. He didn't like the man, and it wasn't just because he had eyes for Kristen. That definitely added to Jake's distaste, but it wasn't the only reason for it. He just didn't like him as a person.
***
Preston could be really charming when he turned it on, and he laid it on thick for the Hall family.
He had pulled into the driveway only minutes after Jim and Tammy got home that morning. He told them about the bracelet and his plan to surprise their daughter with it. He told them the truth, which was that it had been easy to find out where they lived through a mutual friend on Facebook. He said he wanted to give Kristen a surprise but that he didn't know her family well enough to know if he could depend on their secrecy if he had forewarned them he was coming. They admitted he was smart and had a good laugh about not being able to hold secrets from each other.
And, since they loved Kristen and enjoyed having someone else be fond of her, they grew fond of Preston with great ease and readiness. Plus, they had seen a photo of the bracelet on Preston's phone. It was beautiful, and they knew Kristen would love it.
Preston had been at their house for over an hour (talking to Kristen's parents and helping Tammy in the kitchen) before her sister, Kayla, and Kayla's family came over. Preston hadn't met Kayla's husband, Aiden, but he had encountered their three-year-old son a few times previously, and he had no trouble charming Reid.
He did this by asking the boy about bulldozers, dump trucks, and other heavy machinery. By the time Kristen got there, the whole family was eating out of the palm of his hand.
Chapter 17
Kristen
I had no idea what to expect when I walked into my parents' house. It was ridiculous, obviously, but my imagination went to the negative. It crossed my mind that Preston would be inside, holding my family against their will, with everyone tied to chairs with duct tape in some kind of hostage situation.
I had no reason to imagine such a thing—Preston had been nothing but nice to me. It was just a thought I had before I came into the house. I shook it off as I went inside and was happy to realize that the opposite scenario was true.
"There she is!" My dad hollered from across the room when he saw me come inside through the kitchen.
Mom was in the kitchen, and I stopped to hug her. From over her shoulder I took in the action in the living room.
Preston was down on the floor with Kayla and little Reid doing an oversized floor puzzle while Aiden and my dad sat on the couch, dividing their attention between watching the puzzle pe
ople work and watching a baseball game on the television.
Preston began to get up as soon as he realized I had come in the house.
My gut ached with dread—good old tummy-ache dread that had me on the verge of crying already. I knew I couldn’t break down and do that, but I could feel a lump in my throat. Preston was kind, considerate, handsome, and responsible. He was a catch, and the thing that made this moment such a drag was that he really liked me.
I hated letting people down. I hated confrontation of any kind, really, and this was the worst kind… the kind where I had to flat-out reject him in order to get my point across. There was just no way for me to remain friends with him and pursue my feelings for Jake. It was all I could do to refrain from trembling visibly.
I hugged my mom, trying to act normal, but I was extremely tense about the confrontation. There was just no way I could avoid it, though. Jake was on his way. Jake Reynolds. The Jake. My Jake. He was driving here at this very moment, and I would have to stay focused on the task.
Preston was still in the living room, talking to my sister and Reid, but he had stood up and was smiling at me during breaks in their conversation and obviously waiting for me to go in there.
"Preston said y'all enjoyed the baseball game," Dad said as I headed that way.
"We did," I agreed, joining them in the living room.
Preston walked over to greet me, and I gave his hand a squeeze in an awkward way, stifling a hug before it could happen. He went with it, smiling as he went back to join my nephew on the floor.
"Aiden and I forget all about seeing a ballgame," Kayla said. "Preston was telling us how much fun y'all had. We're gonna have to take Reid now that he's old enough to sit still and appreciate it."
"We should take the whole family sometime," Dad said.
It should have been much easier than it was.
I should have waltzed right in and told Preston we needed to talk before walking him to his car and taking care of the dreaded but inevitable conversation.
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