“I thought I was coming over here to have dinner with the two of you?” he asked in a suspicious tone.
Again, with a knowing smile, she said, “No, my text said, meet at Gillian’s for dinner … I didn’t say she was joining us.”
Jake felt like he had been played. But being played would have implied that Allie knew what Jake’s intentions were, and there was no way that she could have known anything. Then he remembered how Eddie seemed to be able to see right through him, which made him realize that if anyone else could see it, it would be Allie. Not surprised at the fact that she must know and suddenly curious at what her game was, he asked, “Why did you send me a picture of Gillian all dressed up to go out on a date with another man?”
Allie just shrugged and said, “Because I wanted you to see that she was ready to date. Try and shock you into figuring out that it was finally time for you to make your move.”
Irritated, Jake stood to his full height and looked down at his tiny friend. “So let me get this straight, instead of telling me Gillian was ready to date … you thought it would be a good thing to send me a picture of how she was dressed up for another man?”
Allie stood toe-to-toe with Jake, smiled up at him, and said, “Well I knew she was ready to date, I just hadn’t realized that you were ready to date, Jake.”
“What the hell does that mean? I date … why wouldn’t I be ready to date,” he barked incredulously.
“It means, that I know you are capable of dating … I just didn’t know if you were ready to date Gillian,” she said as she stepped back, crossed her arms, and glared at him. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were ready to date Gillian?”
Once again momentarily surprised by her turning the tables on him, he recovered quickly and asked, “How long have you known that I have feelings for Gillian, Allie?”
She smiled and said, “Well I knew you kind of had a thing for her in high school … but the night that she left Logan, I saw it in your eyes. I could see the way you were looking at her, and how you looked like you would do anything to take her pain away.”
“I would do anything to take your pain away, too, Allie, but it doesn’t mean that I have those kind of feelings for you. So how would you know that I felt that way about Gillian?”
She thought over his response and nodded as she replied, “True, but you never have that kind of lust in your eyes when you look at anyone else. I don’t even recall you having that look in your eyes for your ex-wife.”
Knowing there was no use denying what Allie was so sure she knew, he agreed, “That’s because I have never had these kind of feelings for any other woman before.” His admission left him feeling suddenly deflated and once again weak. He turned and sat next to Allie on the bumper of his jeep.
“If you know how I feel for her …” he paused and looked at her, before continuing, “… then why did you let her leave with another guy?”
Allie once again shrugged. “Like I said, I didn’t know you were ready … and I didn’t know what you were waiting for. I figured this was the perfect opportunity to shock you into action.”
Jake just shook his head and looked away from her. She certainly provided a shock to his system, and he wasn’t sure he liked the way she went about it. In fact, it was starting to piss him off the more he thought about it. Running his hands roughly through his hair once again, he let his anger and frustration take the forefront of the emotions he was experiencing. He stood abruptly and took several steps away from Allie. His anger was suddenly becoming a living, pulsating creature inside of him, demanding to be set free. He turned toward Allie and couldn’t stop it from flying out.
“Well, I'm shocked, Allie! Is this what you wanted? To make me feel like complete shit! To be standing here, raging at you because I just had to witness the one woman who I have always wanted, drive off with another man … AGAIN!” He finished off his statement by turning his body to the side and driving his fist into the stucco wall of Gillian’s house. The instant result of pain and numbness helped calm him down as he felt it spread from his knuckles up through his wrist and forearm. The throbbing would follow shortly, but he would welcome the distraction.
He turned to face his friend; fist still clenched, he just stared at her. Allie was clearly a little startled by Jake’s actions. He had never yelled at her, and it had been a long time since anyone had seen him lose his temper like this. It bothered him that she was seeing it now, but he felt like a cornered bear, and he needed to get the hell out of there.
“Well congratulations …” Sarcasm heavy in his words, he continued, “… I am very aware of how it feels to let her slip through my fingers. So thanks for letting me experience it again! But now that she has gotten completely away from me, would you mind handing over my keys so I can go home and drown my sorrows … AGAIN!”
“You can’t go, everyone is coming over … you know, like how we used to do in high school.” She spoke with a slightly timid voice, which only made him feel like more of an ass, because although Allie was small in size, she made up for it in confidence and strength. “Why didn’t you tell me you were ready?”
“I only figured it out last night, Al. I hadn’t had a chance to tell you since you were with her all day—a day I had planned to try and get close to her and see if I could take it to the next level. Then you came and derailed it for me …”
Clearly his brain was foggy since it took him a few seconds to catch up to what she was saying. … how we used to do in high school? Oh no, she couldn’t mean what I think she means? He shook his head at her when he realized what she was saying. Looking at her he asked, “No, Allie, you didn’t?”
She quickly jumped up to defend her actions. “Of course I did! Gillian was the only one of us girls that didn’t have to deal with this torture. I have wanted to do this to her forever!” Jake shook his head at the enthusiasm in her voice. He was thankful that she had recovered from his tirade already, but he was not about to endure what Allie had planned for the evening. He was agitated, irritated, annoyed, and a little heartbroken at the moment, which all combined to make for one wrung-out-guy-who-didn’t-get-the-girl.
“I have to get out of here, Allie … I can’t do this. Give me my keys, or I’m just going to walk home.” When Allie shook her head no, Jake took in a deep breath and let it out before saying, “Goodnight Allie.” As he turned to walk away, she called out to him, but he didn’t stop. He was not in the mood for pretending he didn’t care anymore.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
As Mike made the turn onto her street, the butterflies in her stomach that had been dormant for the latter part of the evening took flight. And boy-oh-boy did they make themselves known. Don’t puke. Don’t puke. Good God, whatever you do—do not puke! While chanting this mantra in her head, she hoped her nervousness didn’t show on her face. She needed a distraction. Oh, yeah right … what could possibly provide a distraction?
Mike let go of her hand that he had been holding for the drive home and reached to turn off the radio, which was on low, no more than background noise. She felt comfortable sitting without talking, which was a good sign, but didn’t change the fact that she hadn’t been on a first date in almost two full decades. Or the fact that she was sixteen at the time, and those dates were a little bit different than the full grown up date she just went on.
What was expected? Was she supposed to wait for him to open her door? Well, yes, she thought, because he had gotten her door at every stop during their evening, and he helped her climb out of the truck because it was so high, and she was in boots. That thought made her smile. He was certainly a gentleman, and he definitely did everything right so far.
They had had a great evening together. As far as first dates go, it was more than she would have expected. He had made reservations at a quaint French Bistro in the Hillcrest area of San Diego, which had a nice atmosphere, and her pork tenderloins were fantastic. The little fat girl inside her was ecstatic when they went to Extraordinary Desserts afterwa
rd. They then wrapped up the evening with a stroll over the bridge that led to Balboa Park. All in all, the company was great, the food divine, and the scenery was simple and perfect. She decided that if he asked to see her again, it was definitely a yes. Yes … he was definitely worth getting to know.
But it wasn’t until about five minutes ago when they got off the freeway that her nerves started to get the best of her as to what would happen next. Oh God, was he expecting to come in? Should I invite him in? Would that imply that more was being offered than just a drink or conversation? Oh gosh, why didn’t I do more research on this? Those damn butterflies were multiplying and appeared to be dive-bombing in her stomach now, getting everything all churned up. Ugh!
She broke the silence when she suddenly thought of something. “Keys! Oh no, I hope I have my keys … I am terrible at remembering them when I'm not the person driving.” She dove into her purse with a vengeance, thankful for the distraction. If she didn’t have her keys, he would have to leave her on her doorstep while she waited for someone to come with a spare, and then he couldn’t come in. That was good … it took that possibility off the table. She wasn’t sure if that was a relief or a disappointment. But being the gentleman that he was, he most likely wouldn’t just leave her sitting on her porch. Oh, she hoped her keys were just evading her in this bottomless pit of a purse.
She thought maybe Jonathan had come home tonight since he wasn’t really speaking to Logan. But no, they had talked with him about staying with Logan whether he liked it or not because it helped provide a good front for Dylan with regards to the divorce; even though Dylan seemed to be the only one of the three kids that was unaffected by it. Gillian just wished she could get Jonathan to talk to her … she knew that he would come around—she just had to be patient. Wow, that was a second distraction. Guess they weren’t in as short a supply as she thought.
Mike smiled over at her, gave a small chuckle and brought her back to the moment. “Well that would make sense, but I don’t think you have to worry about that. It looks like there might be a party going on at your place.”
“What?” She looked up from her diligent digging in her purse, which she really needed to clean out by the way, certain that Mike was looking at the wrong house and didn’t know what he was talking about. She quickly realized that he was right. Oh no … they didn’t! Of course they did! Just great—this was more than a distraction—this was a clusterfuck!
Her driveway was full of trucks—at least eight—of varying sizes filled her driveway. With a quick glance on the street as they passed, she guessed there was at least six more vehicles that she recognized parked there, too. Looks like they called everyone for the event. Oh, Allie is so gonna pay for this one.
“Is it okay if I park in front of the driveway, blocking it? There doesn’t appear to be anywhere else for me to park,” Mike said, interrupting her thoughts of how exactly Allie was going to pay for it.
“Yes, of course,” she answered quickly, and he started to maneuver the truck around to be parked. She looked at the house to see it was fully lit up with the lights on in the backyard and everything … they were probably out in the game room just waiting for her to bring her date in.
Mike finished parking his truck, pulled the keys from the ignition and turned to get out of the truck. But Gillian wasn’t ready yet, so she reached over and grabbed his arm, keeping him in his seat. “Mike wait … not yet.” He looked over at her, and then closed his door, the light in the cab slowly dimming ‘til it turned off. He scooted a bit across the bench seat toward her and reached for her hand.
“Is everything okay, Gillian?” he asked as he took her hand in his.
She smiled at him as she turned her hand around in his palm so she could give it a gentle squeeze in return. He was just so sweet. She didn’t want her friends to scare him off yet … and that was exactly what they were trying to do. Well maybe not scare him off exactly, but it was certainly a test of theirs. She had forgotten all about said test and didn’t expect to ever have to subject anyone to it. Well, nobody except dates her daughter brought home.
All the guys had given Maddie a heads up that they would be doing this to her when she had her first date. At the time, Gillian thought it was funny and was looking forward to subjecting her daughter to such an event, especially since she could point the finger of blame toward Logan, Sean, and all the rest of the guys. That’s what she gets for laughing at her daughter’s expense; this was certainly a dose of karma if ever there was one. Gillian took a deep breath and gave Mike’s hand another squeeze … hopefully he would be able to handle this crew of misfits she loved so much.
With a small smile she said, “I had a great time tonight. I’m so glad you asked me out.”
“I'm happy to hear that, and hopefully it means we can see each other again. I really enjoyed your company, too,” he said as he reached his other hand up and gently moved a strand of hair from her forehead. It was a tender and intimate gesture that made her pulse increase and her skin tingle. How cool was that?
She let out a deep breath and sighed.
“Well, I hope you still feel that way in about five minutes.”
He raised an eyebrow and one side of his lips curved up in a smirk as he leaned a little closer and said, “And what’s going to happen in the next five minutes that would change my mind? Are you really a man or something? ‘Cause honestly, Gillian, that is about the only thing it would take to change my mind.”
That made her laugh. “No, I can say with complete confidence that I only possess girly parts.” He unleashed a full blown smile on her as he reached his hand back up to her face and caressed her cheek as he moved it into her hair at the back of her head … and leaned in …
“That is very good to hear, Gillian,” he whispered against her lips, just before he pressed his lips against hers. He stayed there for a few seconds and then slowly pulled away from her, but he didn’t go far. Oh, he smelled good … a slight bit of cologne or maybe his soap. But it was all man and completely yum.
She opened her eyes and met his stare directly. She felt that tingly sensation erupt all over at the thought of more contact like that. Whatever he was looking for in her stare, he must have found.
“Very good to hear,” he repeated and emphasized very, just before he pulled her closer and slanted his lips over hers for a deeper kiss.
She felt his tongue slowly make contact with her lips, seeking entrance. She placed her hand on his chest, felt the hardness of his body as she surrendered to him. Her lips parted on a sigh allowing him entrance, and she felt his tongue slip into her mouth. Her surrender didn’t go unnoticed by him, if the groan she felt rumble in his chest and the simultaneous tightening of his grip meant anything.
His taste burst into her mouth. The sweetness of the chocolate dessert they shared earlier still present, coupled with another one that could only be described as all man. Definitely a good flavor … what woman wouldn’t like a chocolate flavored man?
He let go of her hand and slid his arm around her waist, pulling her the rest of the way across the bench and tighter against him as he continued to kiss her.
Her breasts were now pressed up against his chest, and the sensation made her sigh again. He felt so good against her. It felt so nice to be touched by a man, to feel like a desired woman again. She felt the unwanted sorrow of what that meant creep into her mind, but shut the door on that quickly. There was no room in the cab of this truck for those kinds of emotions. She had moved on. Her inner confidence was empowering and invigorating.
Fully into the kiss now, she slowly slid her tongue against his and took her now free hand and brought it up to his jaw, feeling the slight roughness from the end of day stubble all men had. It was very sexy. She then slid it around his neck and up into the hair at the back of his head, dying to know what his hair felt like.
Running her hands through it—it was so soft and thick, just like she thought it would be. “Mmmmmm,” she moaned into his mouth. Was
that her? Maybe it was the high of being a first kiss, but wow! She was beginning to feel dizzy, even a little drunk, as he continued his gentle, yet commanding, assault on her mouth. He was literally making her breathless. They needed to come up for air.
As if he heard her thoughts, or maybe he was feeling low on oxygen as well, he slowly pulled away. Gently pressing one more soft kiss to her lips, he leaned his forehead to hers while they both waited for their breathing to return to normal. She slowly opened her eyes and let them focus on his as she pulled back to see his face, and smiled at him. The look of lust in his eyes was unmistakable and completely arousing.
“Thank God for having girly parts ‘cause I wouldn’t have wanted to miss a kiss like that.” He chuckled at her comment.
“I think I'm going to avoid commenting on your girly parts for this evening. It would be ungentlemanly of me to do so.” That earned a laugh from her. “Now, do you want to tell me what might change my mind about wanting to see you again?”
She had completely forgotten that she was sitting in a truck, parked in front of her driveway, while making out with her date … just like a teenager. Gillian couldn’t contain her giggle at that thought. All she needed now was her father to flash the front porch light, signaling his awareness of her in the driveway. Or better yet, to glance at the front window and see the curtains drop back down to hide whoever was spying. Then she would really feel like a teenager.
Reflexively, she glanced over to the front of her house and saw her brother standing in the front window. Not secretly spying, no he was openly watching, showing them he had no qualms about being seen. Sean was standing tall with a scowl on his face and a beer in his hand. He was obviously trying to be intimidating. Well, at least he wasn’t wearing his police uniform, the stupid bully. Gotta love big brothers. And next to him was Allie, the one most likely responsible for this, with a big shit-eating grin on her face. Oh yeah, she was guilty as hell.
Love Realized Page 14