Cordelia turned around and looked at the bar, which was packed with giddy hoochie mamas getting mauled by borderline sleazeballs. It would take her forever to get through that wall of sweaty bodies, as Molly was all too aware. This was the moment when her sister was going to sneak off with Jake and ambush him with her sex-goddess moves. Cordelia was about to keel over.
Then Jake grabbed the glass from her hand, his fingers gently gliding across her palm. “I’ll go with you,” he said.
Molly wedged herself between them. “Don’t leave me out here all by myself!”
Jake smiled. “You’ll be fine.” He grabbed the greasy himbo who had been up in Cordelia’s backyard business and pushed him in front of Molly. “Here, you can dance with this dude until we get back.”
Molly’s mouth dropped open so far, Crazy Dancing Guy almost thought it was an invitation to French kiss her. Jake put his hand on Cordelia’s waist and guided her through the club before she could see what happened next.
There were about seven or so people between them and the bartender, but Cordelia didn’t care how long it took to reach the front of the line. She was pressed against Jake so tightly that she could feel the indentations of his abdominal muscles through his snug T-shirt. She looked up at him and reveled in the way his lips turned up at the corners and how his hair was playfully tousled as if he’d just rolled out of bed.
He leaned in and spoke loudly into her ear. “What do you think of the gel?”
Cordelia grinned when she felt his breath sweeping over her bare skin. “Molly’s idea?”
“Who else’s?” he said with that irresistible smirk of his. “I look like I belong on the set of Gilmore Girls.”
“You do not.” She laughed. “Wait, hold on, you kind of do.”
“I know. That Jess guy.” He gritted his teeth. “He’s my evil twin.”
She laughed even harder this time and mindlessly buried her face in his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and rested his chin on top of her head.
“Don’t you have that backward?” she asked.
Jake pulled her in even closer. “Cordy, you don’t think I’m evil, do you?”
The crowd shifted, and they edged toward the bar a little more. Their gaze was broken for a few seconds and she sighed with relief. She had no idea what to say next. One dumb comment and this insignificant, yet equally wonderful, banter would end quicker than it began.
“You’re evil in a cartoonish way,” she replied. “Like Gargamel on The Smurfs.”
“See if I buy you a drink ever again,” Jake said, chuckling. “That hurt.”
Cordelia knew exactly what her sister meant when she’d said she wanted to gnaw on Jake’s neck. She was really tempted to lunge at him, but the crowd moved again and they were pushed forward.
Jake put his hand on her lower back, and it sent a rush of chills up her spine. “Hey, can I tell you something?”
She gulped. “Yeah.”
“It’s about last night.”
She gulped again and reminded herself to inhale and exhale or else she’d faint. “Uh-huh.”
“I want you to know that I’m sorry.”
Cordelia’s eyes widened. This was unprecedented. Jacob Stein had never apologized about anything since the day they’d met. He had broken her prized Harry Potter shadow box that had won her second place at her middle school literary fair. He had ruined her best ABC Carpet & Home sheets, using them as drop cloths when he’d painted Molly’s room a nice shade of lavender. He had picked on her, inconvenienced her, and driven her crazy for months, and this was the very first time she’d ever heard the words I’m sorry escape his lips.
But as much as this meant to her, she wanted him to say something else. Something about how he felt about her.
Jake cleared his throat and continued as they shuffled toward the bar. They were next in line. “I guess I just wasn’t prepared and I didn’t know quite how to react.”
This was all good stuff to hear, but she still wanted to know: Did he like kissing her? Did he wish that he hadn’t stopped them from doing more than kissing? Was he constantly thinking about being with her like she was thinking about being with him?
Cordelia wanted to ask all these questions, she really did. But she was so frightened of him backing away like he did on the beach that she said nothing.
Then everything started to seem clear once Jake took her hand in his and clutched it firmly. His palm was damp, and she could tell that he was shaking a bit. His brow was crinkling up and his cheeks were flushed. Cordelia could feel herself inflating like a balloon and rising up off the ground—and she wasn’t even afraid.
Jake opened his mouth and began to speak, “Cordy, I think—”
Two hands covered Jake’s eyes from behind. “Guess who.”
Oh boy.
Molly wiggled herself next to Jake and faced Cordelia. “It took me forever to ditch that bonehead. Thanks a lot, Jake!”
He instantly let go of Cordelia’s hand, and she deflated just as rapidly.
The bartender approached them. “What’ll it be?”
“A cosmo, a vodka tonic, and…” Jake looked at Cordy, “What do you want, sweetheart?”
Cordelia nearly choked on her own saliva. Did he just call her ‘sweetheart’? Right in front of Molly?
“Rum and Coke, thanks,” she murmured.
Molly was completely oblivious, though. The little pet name went in one ear and out the other. Once the bartender gave them their drinks and Joel Packer’s credit card got another healthy workout, Jake excused himself to the bathroom. Molly took this chance to corner Cordelia.
“Okay, babe. I need to call in a major favor. When he comes back, would you fake a headache and say you need to go home?” Molly asked hopefully.
Cordelia couldn’t believe this. Hel-lo?! Hadn’t Molly heard Jake call her sweetheart? Hadn’t she realized that she’d interrupted a special moment that could have led to something amazing? Hadn’t she stopped for a minute to consider her sister’s feelings? No, no, and a resounding N-O!
“Molly, I want to stay and hang out. I’m having a good time, actually,” she said.
“That’s great, sis! I’m so psyched that you like it,” Molly shrieked above the noise. “This is going to be our place from now on. And you are going to meet someone fantastic here! Trust me.”
She shook her head in frustration. Molly had no clue what was going on and it wasn’t her fault at all. Cordelia had to tell her how she felt about Jake or else this was going to turn into a bigger disaster than it already was. She didn’t want to spend the summer hooking up with someone else. She wanted Jake, and no matter how much that might bruise Molly’s ego or cause sisterly discord, she just couldn’t live with herself if she hid it for one minute more.
“Jake, there you are!” Molly squealed, and linked arms with him.
What the hell? Cordelia thought to herself. Everyone’s timing tonight was so messed up.
“All right, bring on more lifeless computer-generated music,” Jake said while punching his fist in the air.
Cordelia glanced at his glass, which was almost empty. Apparently, Jake had pounded his drink, hence the fuzzy glaze over his eyes.
Molly grabbed his bicep and visibly trembled in pleasure. “Bad news. Cordy’s feeling a little under the weather.”
Oh my God, she thought. Molly is going ahead with this!
“What’s wrong?” he asked in concern.
“Nothing, I—”
“She has a headache. Wanna go home, hon?” Molly interjected.
“Well, no, I—”
“Why don’t we just call it a night, then?” Jake suggested.
This was happening way too fast. Cordelia wanted to put on the brakes, but Molly spoke up again. “It’s early and you’re leaving tomorrow. She’ll be fine, really.”
Jake looked over at Molly, who was practically nibbling on his earlobe, and then back to Cordelia. “Are you sure you’re okay?” There were so many ways to answ
er that question. But the one that summed it all up was on the tip of Cordelia’s tongue.
“No, I’m not,” she said.
Molly reached into her purse and grabbed a twenty-dollar bill and a set of keys. “Here you go, sweetie. The guy out front will call you a cab, and there’s a ton of Advil in the top drawer of my dresser.”
Cordelia wanted to strangle her sister for what she was doing, but she knew Molly well enough to know that there was no malice behind it. She was simply not aware that this even mattered to her little sister. And why should it? It’s not as if Jake insisted that he take her home. It’s not as if he’d told her that he wanted to be with her and not Molly. It’s not as if Cordelia had any right to be mad.
But she was. In fact, she was so furious she couldn’t see straight. She snatched her sister’s money and the keys and bolted out of the Hit Stop without saying another word. She didn’t look behind her to see if Jake was watching her leave. She didn’t cry on the cab ride back to Molly’s college lair. She didn’t stay up past four A.M., even though her sister and the boy she was crazy about hadn’t come home yet.
She fell asleep after counting the ceiling tiles over and over again, and deciding that tomorrow she was going back to San Diego.
Chapter Sixteen
Cordelia woke up at noon to a throbbing headache and the sound of muffled laughter coming through the wall. She groggily peered through the beaded curtain and glanced at the small love seat that was on the other side of the living room. Jake wasn’t sleeping on it, as he should have been. The linens that Molly had put out for him last evening were still stacked up neatly on the couch cushions. Cordelia massaged her temples as she contemplated the possibility that Jake was romping around in his boxers on Molly’s twin bed. When she heard her sister yelling “That tickles!” she nearly suffered a stroke.
Apparently, Molly had gotten her wish. She had tempted Jake with her long limbs and her beautiful complexion and her gravity-defying boobs, and now he was probably straddling her or something.
Cordelia ran to the bathroom and hurled herself over the toilet bowl. The cool porcelain felt great against her hot skin, and although her stomach was cramping, she didn’t throw up. Her heart was palpitating and her muscles were quivering. Her mind kept chanting: Jake and Molly had sex. Jake and Molly. Had sex.
Maybe I’ll just stay in this bathroom for the rest of my life, she thought.
There was a soft tap on the door.
“You okay in there, sis?”
Oh God, Molly. Cordelia didn’t think she could deal with her right now. In fact, she’d rather flush herself and let the California sewage system carry her back home.
The doorknob jiggled, and within seconds Molly was hovering over Cordelia. “Oh no! You’re puking!”
Shit, I forgot to lock the door.
Cordelia looked up at her sister, who was wearing nothing but an all-too-familiar Pedro the Lion concert T-shirt and a smile. Her stomach grumbled loudly. “Just leave me alone.”
Molly tried to hold Cordelia’s hair back, but Cordelia swatted at her hands. “I’m trying to help you.”
“Well, don’t,” she barked.
“Someone needs some coffee and quick,” Molly said cheerily.
Cordelia’s rage was simmering. “I’m fine. Now get out of here, okay?”
“In a second, bitchy-pants. I need to grab something and I’ll be out of your precious way.”
The urge to purge heightened once Cordelia thought about what Molly might grab. Lubricant? Condoms? Chocolate-flavored body butter?
Thankfully, it was only a packet of Oral-B Brush Ups.
“The taste in my mouth is nasty,” Molly proclaimed.
“Are you done now?” Cordelia asked with a sneer.
Molly leaned up against the sink and grinned. “Don’t you want to hear about my night?”
Cordelia tried not to gag. “Not really.”
“Well, Jake and I—”
Those were the only words that stuck in Cordelia’s brain: “Jake and I.” Everything else just sounded like buzzing in her ears. She could see Molly’s facial expressions and her gestures. She obviously had a night of passion that was worth printing in the letters section of Hustler magazine. Then Cordelia spotted a huge hickey on the left side of her sister’s neck. She began to feel dizzy and weak when she imagined Jake slurping all over Molly, and within no time, the weakness morphed into searing jealousy, which subsequently transformed into a fury that she couldn’t contain anymore.
“Will you shut the fuck up?” she screamed, and leaped up.
Molly was totally taken by surprise. So much so that she just stood there stunned.
Cordelia kept on yelling, though. “Do you really think I want to hear any more about how you did it all morning long with Jacob Stein? It’s killing me!”
“What are you talking about?”
“You and Jake’s lips and his ass and his eyes and his hands all over you. I can’t take it!”
“And why not?” Molly said suspiciously, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“It’s disgusting, that’s why!” she cried. “So disgusting that I’m going back home.”
“Is that so?” Molly asked.
“Yes,” Cordelia mumbled, her lower lip wobbling. She was practically in tears.
“Well, it looks like you weren’t listening to my story at all,” Molly said, giggling a bit. “Nothing happened between me and Jake.”
Cordelia’s breath caught in her throat. “What?”
Molly went on. “Like I said, Jake and I came back here about an hour after you left. Some jackasses stole all the mirrors off his car, and it’s illegal to drive like that. I told Jake we could get them replaced today, but he seemed too pissed off to listen to reason. He claimed his car was crap and he didn’t have his license on him anyway, so he said he was better off abandoning it and flying out to Seattle as soon as possible. So I took him to the airport and put the tickets on Dad’s AmEx. I figured Dad owed him that much for all the shit he went through to bring you here, right?”
Oh my God, he’s gone, Cordelia thought. He didn’t have sex with Molly and he’s gone!
“Then why are you in his T-shirt?” was all she could think to say.
“I spilled my drink all over myself at the club,” Molly explained. “This was layered over his white Hanes one, so he gave it to me.”
Cordelia gave into the wave of sadness and relief that she was feeling and began to cry. Molly knelt down and put her arms around her.
“So what’s going on—do you like Jake now or something?” Molly asked. “That’s impossible. You hate him!”
Cordelia just kept sobbing.
“Oh my God, sis. You like Jake! Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
She sniffled. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” She sobbed some more. “Anyway, I don’t even think Jake likes me back.”
Suddenly, Molly laughed really hard. “Are you kidding? He’s crazy about you!”
“He is not,” she said in disbelief. “I’m a total loser.”
“Why are you a loser?” Molly asked.
“Because! I broke that stupid rule! I showed Jake how I felt about him and it backfired and now he’s gone and that’s why I’m a stupid loser!” she rambled.
“Well, he doesn’t think you’re a loser.” Molly stroked Cordelia’s hair lovingly. “Actually, after you left, all he did was talk about how worried he was about you. And when we went to breakfast yesterday, all he did was talk about how great you were and how much you’ve changed.”
Cordelia knew this was true. She had changed—not completely, of course. But just enough so that she felt she had that sense of balance in her life, so she didn’t feel like she had to rely on schedules or predictability or organization in order for life to seem more manageable and less scary. Jake showed her that when she let some of that go and everything wasn’t in her control, things still worked out in the end. She realized that the
times when she felt most centered and balanced were when Jake was around to light a fire underneath her, and when it came down to it, she discovered that Jake was similar to her in many ways. And there was so much more to know about him.
But more importantly, it seemed that Cordelia had just as much of an impact on Jake. She wanted this to make her feel better, but instead she felt even worse because now he was hundreds of miles away.
Molly nuzzled her a bit more. “I couldn’t have hooked up with him if I’d wanted to, hon. He’s completely head over heels for you.”
“But why did he leave without saying good-bye? Why didn’t he come back here and tell me how he felt?”
Molly’s eyes brightened. “Holy shit! You’re the girl on the beach!”
Cordelia was too flabbergasted to reply.
“On the way to the airport, I asked him why he wanted to rush out to Seattle at the crack of dawn. Then he told me that he’d blown it big time with this amazing girl who he’d kissed on the beach. He said that he’d never felt that connected to anyone and it terrified him, so he pushed her away. I guess he’s running for the hills now,” Molly said thoughtfully.
Cordelia thought of how she’d avoided the things that scared her most, and she understood all too well what Jake must be doing. Still, it broke her heart to know that she couldn’t reach out to him. He didn’t have a phone anymore—thanks to her own stupidity—and she had no idea where he was going.
This was the end of the line.
There was another tap on the door. “Everything okay in there?”
Definitely a male voice. With a British accent.
Molly smirked. “We’ll be out in a minute, Julian.”
Cordelia gave her sister a sideways glance. “Who the hell is Julian?”
“A pilot,” her sister said with a deep sigh. “Met him at this airport bar after Jake wandered off to catch his flight. God, Cordy, he was so scrumptious, I just had to take him home with me.”
They both erupted into a fit of hysterical laughter.
Cordelia wiped at her eyes. “You never quit, do you?”
“Hey, it’s called ‘the friendly skies’ for a reason,” Molly quipped. “Besides, a fling with Julian could be worth tons of perks.”
Getting Lost with Boys Page 15