I wasn't following. "How?"
"I'm not gonna go there, because she wasn't." His voice grew a shade darker. "But if I see some guy, with you, giving you the kind of attention you don't want…" His jaw clenched. "…touching you when you don't want to be touched, putting his lips or his hands, or anything else on you, when he doesn't have your okay." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm not gonna let that stand."
At something in his voice, I felt a shiver go straight through me. I didn't know what to say. Should I argue? Part of me felt like I should. But that would be like arguing for the wind not to blow or the sun not to shine, because Jake was Jake. And I knew, just by looking at him, that he meant every word.
Still, I couldn’t let it go, not completely.
I'd never been a fan of possessive guys. In college, I'd had this roommate whose boyfriend was practically a stalker. He checked her phone and read her texts. He followed her in secret and threatened her friends. And if she so much as smiled at another guy, he found some reason to start a fight, sometimes with her, sometimes with the guy.
It was sad, really. It was even sadder when, after months of creepy craziness, she caught him in bed with her best friend – twice. And even afterwards, long after they'd broken up, they guy still wouldn’t leave her alone.
But that wasn't Jake. Was it? I didn't want to ask, but suddenly, I felt like I had to. In a halting voice, I said, "So let's say for whatever reason, we break up—"
"We're not going to."
I prayed he was right. Life without Jake? I didn't even want to think about it. "I know," I said, "but just for the sake of argument—"
"What are you asking?" he said. "If I see you with some other guy, am I gonna kick his ass?"
"Well, I wouldn’t have put it quite that way."
"Uh-huh." He gave me a hard look. "In this scenario of yours, are we together? Or apart?" He leaned a fraction closer, and I swear, I could feel the heat of his emotions radiating off him.
Or maybe that was just me.
And yet, I gave another shiver. My neck felt stiff, and my mouth went dry. Still, I managed to croak out, "Um, apart?"
Abruptly, he pulled away. "If we're apart, you do what you want. There. We good now?" Before I could answer, he turned away and started striding toward the elevator.
"Hey!" I called after him. "Where are you going?"
He didn't answer. He just kept on going, and he wasn't looking back.
"Jake!" I called. "Seriously. Stop."
Finally, he stopped and slowly turned around. "Why?"
"Because we're not done. That's why."
"We're done enough."
Frustrated, I strode toward him and said, "But where are you going? Upstairs?"
"I dunno."
Well, this was just great. He wasn't going anywhere, not really. He was just leaving to get away from me. It was the same thing he always did whenever our discussions got too heated.
Well, not this time.
I glared up at him. "You can't leave."
"Yeah? Why not?"
On impulse, I said, "Because I am." And with that, I elbowed my way past him and stalked to the elevator. I smacked the down button and waited, while my heart hammered, for the doors to slide open.
While waiting, I refused to turn around, but I could feel his brooding presence in the space behind me, probably exactly where I'd left him.
Good.
Sort of.
Part of me was glad he was staying, but the other part – the stupid part – was desperately wishing he'd plunge forward and beg me to stay.
Or at least ask me nicely.
He didn't.
And so when the doors slid open, I strode forward into the empty elevator. The emptiness wasn't a surprise. The building had four elevators total, but only one of them serviced the two top floors, which made the arrangement surprisingly private.
A security measure? Probably, not that I'd ever asked about it. And I was in no mood to ask now.
Instead, I turned around and slapped button that would take me down to the lobby. A moment later, the elevator doors began sliding shut, leaving me with only the briefest glimpse of Jake, standing in the same spot as before, watching me with an expression that I couldn’t quite decipher.
But I did know one thing. It definitely wasn't happiness.
Chapter 14
When the elevator reached the lobby, I strode out, only to feel my steps falter as reality slammed into me. Where the hell was I going? And how would I get there?
I glanced toward the rear of the lobby, where a pair of wide steel doors led to the parking garage. I'd walked through those same doors less than hour earlier, after driving here using one of Jake's cars.
I heard myself sigh. I didn't have a car of my own, thanks to my slime-ball of an ex-boyfriend and my own stubbornness in refusing to let Jake buy me a replacement car. So in the meantime, I'd been borrowing one of Jake's vehicles – a sleek luxury sedan that was well beyond my price range.
Funny, the car was almost starting to feel like my own. But it wasn't, which made me feel all the more ridiculous now.
I mean, I couldn't really drive off in one of Jake's cars, when the whole point of walking out of Jake's office was to assert some sort of independence.
And now, here I was, stranded and feeling like an idiot.
Talk about pathetic.
I stepped away from the elevators and looked around. The building's lobby was ornate, with high ceilings and clusters of expensive furniture, artfully arranged into semi-private seating areas. The first time I'd been here, just a few weeks earlier, I'd been blown away by how posh it was.
But for the past couple of weeks, I'd walked through this same lobby every day, so frequently, in fact, that I almost took its opulence for granted.
My shoulders slumped. These days, I was taking a lot of things for granted. I no longer paid rent. I no longer paid utility bills. I barely paid for food.
Sure, I had no car. But I also had no car payment and a nearly new vehicle to drive whenever I wanted.
There was a time, not too long ago, when I would've gladly wallowed in all these free luxuries, not caring that they might evaporate tomorrow.
Who knows? Maybe they were already gone, along with Jake, thanks to our recent fight.
At the thought, I blinked hard, hoping to stem the tide of unshed tears. The luxuries, I could do without. But Jake? Losing him? The thought was almost too painful to bear. And yet, I knew that if I slunk back upstairs now, I'd look like just another girl who didn't have the self-respect to challenge him on anything.
I was mulling all of this over, when the sound of a male voice, just a few feet away, made me jump almost out of my skin. "Miss? Is everything alright?"
I turned and saw Pete, the doorman, eyeing me with obvious concern.
I gave him what I hoped was a normal smile. "Um, yeah. Everything's fine. Thanks." I glanced toward the glass double-doors that led to the street outside. "I'm just, uh, going for a walk. That's all."
He frowned. "Alone?"
Oh for Pete's sake. Literally.
Sure, I realized that Detroit wasn't known for being the safest city on the planet, but this particular area was really nice. And besides, it was only five o'clock, hours yet from nightfall. My last apartment was in a neighborhood ten times worse than this, and that never stopped me going where I wanted, well, not during the daylight hours, anyway.
I gave Pete a pathetic wave and began striding toward the doors. "It'll be fine."
He hustled forward to pull open the nearest door. But even as he held it wide, he said, "It looks like rain. You sure don't want to drive instead?" He glanced out toward the city street. "Or, I could call you a cab?"
I didn't feel like debating it. I felt like crying. But breaking down in front of anyone, especially someone who'd surely tell Jake, wasn't what I had in mind, so I tried for a friendly laugh. "It wouldn’t be much of a walk if I were in a car." Trying to soften the words, I added,
"But thanks, seriously."
Pete was still frowning when I walked through the open door and onto the sidewalk. The air was humid, and I could smell the promise of a summer storm. I looked up to the sky. Sure enough, the clouds were still dark, just like my mood.
But it wasn't raining yet, and there was no guarantee that it would. But I could guarantee that if I stood around here another moment, I'd probably lose it right here, in front of Jake's building.
So on auto-pilot, I started walking, hoping against hope that the activity would somehow clear my mind.
After a few blocks, I wasn't so sure. With my thoughts in a jumble, I passed high stone buildings with upscale awnings, along with other buildings that weren't so nice. Some showed signs of recent renovations, while others showed only lingering decay, with crumbling bricks and empty spaces where windows must've been, back in the city's glory days.
But there were plenty of people out walking, business-people mostly, probably headed to their cars. It was, after all, quitting time on a Friday afternoon.
Trudging along the city sidewalk, I let myself get lost in my thoughts – of Jake, of my uncertain future, and of every stupid thing I'd done to get to this point.
There was the hotel internship that I'd turned down my senior year of college, because I'd wanted to tend bar at the beach. There was that extra loan I'd taken out after college graduation, to pay for furniture that had gotten destroyed by unseen vandals only a few months later. There was Rango, my last boyfriend, who'd crushed my car for fun and refused to pay for it – well, until Jake forced him to, that is.
And what had I done with the money? I'd played catch-up with my student loans, too embarrassed to tell Jake how insanely delinquent I'd been on all my bills.
I heard myself sigh. Jake. Lately, he'd been riding in to solve all of my problems. A crazy ex-boyfriend? Solved by Jake. No place to live? Solved by Jake. No car to drive? Solved by Jake.
What, exactly, was I bringing to this relationship, anyway? I blinked long and hard. Nothing – that's what, or at least nothing that Jake couldn’t get from a million others girls who'd kill to take my place.
Walking block after block, I became so lost in my thoughts that I barely noticed when the first raindrops started to fall. But then, coming to my senses, I stopped walking and looked around. At least it wasn't a downpour, not yet anyway.
For now, the raindrops were few and far-between. But they were big, the kind that plopped onto the sidewalk and left a distinct circle showing where they'd fallen.
That was definitely a bad sign. I looked up. Any minute now, the sky would surely open up and drench anyone stupid enough to be caught outside – me, apparently.
Damn it.
I looked around. I was on a narrow side street between two rows of tall, brick buildings. It slowly dawned on me that I'd strayed farther from Jake's place than I'd planned. There was absolutely no one around, whether because I'd wandered so far from the business district, or more likely, because the rain was keeping smarter people inside.
How long had I been walking, anyway? A half-hour? An hour? Longer? At this point, I had no idea.
I turned around and picked up the pace, heading back the way I'd come. Or at least, that was my intention.
Surrounded by tall buildings, it was hard for me to tell for sure. It's not like I'd been walking along a single street or anything. Instead, I'd wandered along the side streets, looking to avoid the sights and sounds of rush-hour traffic.
Now, that felt like a giant mistake. Around me, there were still no signs of life. No people. No occupied office buildings. No stores with open signs.
It was actually kind of surreal, making me feel like the lone survivor of a zombie apocalypse. I made a scoffing sound. Yeah, well in that case, I'd be fine too, because the way it looked, I was seriously lacking in the brain department.
What zombie would want me?
I was walking faster now, conscious of the fact that I didn't even have my phone. Stupidly, I'd left it at Jake's penthouse, along with everything else in my purse.
My purse – that was another thing. As it turned out, Jake had snagged it last night from the convention center, and returned it to me with nothing missing. Well, nothing except my sanity, as it turned out.
Had I even thanked him? I meant to. But had I?
I was almost running now, and not only because the raindrops were falling in faster intervals. It was the desolation. It was creeping me out more than I wanted to admit.
It wasn't until I turned the next corner that I saw the first signs of life. Up ahead, maybe five or six blocks, cars were zipping along the city street – Jake's street, if I wasn't mistaken.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Civilization. Thank God.
I plowed forward, determined to make it back before I found myself in serious trouble.
Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it.
Chapter 15
I was only a couple of blocks away from Jake's street when a big gold SUV, with dark tinted windows, squealed around the nearest corner and popped the curb right in front of me.
I'd barely jumped out of the way when the passenger's side window slid down, and a frizzy haired woman in a gold halter top leaned out the open window to call out, "How much, honey?"
I drew back. "What?"
She spoke again, slower this time. "I said, 'How much?'" She grimaced. "Honey."
I tried to look past her. That obnoxious vehicle was on the sidewalk, blocking my path. But just beyond it, only two blocks away, was Jake's street, with regular cars and regular people, going about their regular business, supposedly.
I felt myself swallow. "How much for what?"
The woman's gaze travelled rudely down the length of me. "You know."
I glanced down and felt my face go suddenly hot in spite of the ever-increasing rain. Like an idiot, I was still dressed in my work getup – those ridiculous Daisy Duke shorts and that low-cut frilly white blouse.
At work, where I wasn't the only person dressed this way, the uniform was bad enough, but out here, it didn't exactly blend. Probably, I looked like a working girl alright, just not of the bartending variety.
What the hell had I been thinking?
But I knew the answer. I hadn't been thinking. I'd been too upset to think. What else was new?
The woman spoke again. "Well?" Her tone grew snippy. "How much?"
Okay, dressed like a slutty cowgirl or not, I was feeling more than a little insulted. "It's not what you think," I told her. "I'm on my way home."
"Why?" She gave a brittle laugh. "The party's just starting."
I glanced ahead, toward Jake's street. It was right there, within sprinting distance – assuming I could leap over that stupid vehicle – except I couldn’t.
But I could go around it. Muttering, "I've gotta go," I turned away. Walking quickly, I crossed the narrow street, making for the opposite sidewalk.
It was raining even harder now. I wanted to run, but somehow, I knew that would be a mistake. So instead, I strode forward, keeping my eyes ahead and my senses on high alert.
I'd barely made it to the end of the block when I heard the roar of a nearby engine. On instinct, I leapt out of the way just in time to avoid getting squashed as that same vehicle, just like before, plowed onto the sidewalk and stopped just inches away from the nearest brick building, effectively blocking my path.
I whirled around, intending go back the way I'd come, but I didn't have the chance, because a new obstacle was in my way. It was a huge, slick-looking guy, dressed in all black, with a big, diamond earring that glittered even in the gloom.
Where on Earth had he come from? The vehicle? Had he been the one driving?
If so, he wasn't anymore. Obviously.
And didn't he care about the rain?
Next to me, the SUV's window slid down yet again, and the same woman leaned out, this time from the driver's side. She gave me a mean, little smile. "Hi. Remember me?"
My heart was poundin
g, and the rain was falling in buckets now. I looked from the woman to the man. It occurred to me that the guy's clothes looked awfully pricey – way too nice to be getting soaked like this.
Then again, I was dressed stupidly too.
Just great.
We had something in common. Somehow, the thought was less than comforting.
Slowly, I backed up until I felt my ass hit the side of the SUV.
In front of me, the guy smiled and moved deliberately toward me. I didn't know what he had in mind, but the possibilities weren't looking too great.
He leaned close and spoke in a low, deep voice. "You working here?"
I gulped. "What?"
He made a show of looking around. "Here. You working this place?"
"What? No," I stammered. "I'm just on a walk, that's all."
He laughed long and loud, like a crazed killer wielding a machete. Lightning flashed, followed by the quick clap of thunder.
Whatever this was, it couldn’t be happening. I was like one zombie away from a real-life horror movie.
When the guy finally stopped laughing, he looked over to the woman and said in a loud sarcastic voice, "You hear that, Violet? She's just out on a walk." He looked back to me and said, "Nice day for a stroll, right?"
I swallowed hard and pushed a clump of soggy hair out of my eyes. Desperately, I blurted out, "I’m, uh, meeting someone, so I've gotta go."
He leaned closer. "Is that right?"
The woman, oblivious to the rain, was hanging halfway out of the vehicle now. She called over to the guy. "We should make her pay."
I glared over at her. "For what?"
She flicked her head toward the guy. "For walking on his street. Dumb-ass."
I whirled toward the guy and said, "You don't own the street. Nobody does."
He gave me a wide grin that sent chills down my damp spine. "Sorry, but you're wrong, baby-doll."
I sucked in a deep breath and tried not to let my panic show. His vehicle, the way he was dressed, the things he was saying, it was pretty obvious what he was getting at. Somehow, I'd infringed on his territory, or at least, that's what he thought I was doing.
Jake Forever (Jaked Book 3) Page 7