“Hey. What are you doing out here, Evangeline?” he says with apprehension.
“Did you fuck her?”
“Wait. What?” He’s so taken aback he literally takes a step backward as if I pushed him.
“Did. You. Fuck. Her? I ask, taking a step forward with each word, landing right in front of him. He looks at me like he’s never seen me before. And he hasn’t. Not this version, at least. The Latina fire has been lit, and I’m ready to play. “Well, did you? Answer me, God damn it!”
“Yes. I fucked her!” he seethes out, grabbing my waist and pushing me back against the porch railing. His face is mere centimeters from mine. His furious lips are so close, I could press mine against his by just tilting my head. “Is that what you want to hear? Huh? That I fucked her? That I fucked her with my mouth against her front door, making her come in minutes. Then I carried her to her couch and fucked her hard from behind, ramming into her sweet pussy over and over. And after that, she sucked my cock until I was dry. Is that what you want to hear, Evangeline? Is that enough information, or do you need me to break it down a little more for you?” His breathing is heavy, and his eyes are filled with fury.
I don’t say anything. There are no words. My eyes fill up with tears, spilling over and down my face as I begin to sob uncontrollably.
I mean, I become a complete, blubbering mess.
“Shit, Evangeline.” Jake says quietly, pulling me into a hug. His eyes soften, anger dissipating.
“I’m ssssorrry. I sssshouldn’t have asssked you that.” I stutter out while I continue to weep like a little girl who just got scolded for eating a cookie before dinner. Jake holds me tighter, trying to wipe away all of my fallen tears, but fails miserably at the task.
“No, Evangeline. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m a fucking asshole. God, please stop crying, baby. I don’t ever want to make you cry.” He begs, giving me a kiss on the forehead. He pulls back, looking absolutely crushed. But then a smile spreads slowly across his face. “I think I can tell you something that happened tonight that actually might make you feel better.”
I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand, the sobs dwindling into sniffles. “Unless you can tell me it was like throwing a hotdog down a dark and cold hallway, then it’s very doubtful.”
“Oh shit, Evangeline.” He bursts out laughing that perfect laugh that sends a million butterflies fluttering all around inside my tummy. I reluctantly give him a small smile back. But the smile drops when he moves in even closer, pressing his body into mine. My breathing becomes stilted, and my body heats up, going into overdrive. He tilts my chin up so our eyes meet. Then he runs his hands down my cheeks, then my neck, my eyes closing instinctively. When he runs his fingers over the tops of my breasts and down my stomach until he lands on my hips, gripping them tightly, I think I might have stopped breathing altogether. His self-assured smirk proves that to be true.
Asshole.
“Tonight when I was fucking her,” he stops when he hears me suck in a breath and close my eyes tightly. He pulls me into another hug, resting his chin on my head. “I was thinking of you the whole time. I pretended I was fucking you, doing those things to you—tasting you, hearing you scream my name, feeling you from the inside. All you. So much so that when I came, I didn’t call out ‘Becky.’ I screamed ‘Evangeline.’”
I pop my head up so fast, I collide with Jake’s jaw. “Oh shit.”
“Shit, Evangeline.”
He takes a few steps back, holding his jaw in pain. I walk over to him, cradling his face in my hands. “You really said my name?” I ask, unable to contain my smile.
“Yeah, I did.”
I absentmindedly jump into his arms, knocking him completely off balance. We fall onto the cold, damp grass with a harmonized chorus of curse words. As we land, my body rolls off him and we’re both holding our stomachs, and laughing our asses off.
As our fits of giggles begin to wane, he moves closer to me. My head resting on his shoulder. We stare up at the clear night sky, shining stars scattered above us.
“Poor Becky.” I say quietly, almost feeling bad for her. Almost.
“Nah, she handled it pretty well. To be honest, I think she kinda knew my mind was on someone else,” he says, turning his head to me. I can feel his eyes burning a hole into the side of my face, but I don’t turn toward him, terrified of what I would do if I did. I don’t trust myself around this man. I let out a deep breath.
“What is this, Jake?”
“I don’t know.”
“I love him.”
“I know.”
I finally turn to face him, our eyes connecting instantaneously. We don’t say anything more for a while, both of us stuck in our own heads. We just stare at each other, studying every line, memorizing each freckle. He has three in the shape of a triangle on the side of his left eye. I trace them softly with my finger before I break the silence.
“I should go back inside before we do something we’ll regret.”
With a reluctant nod, he stands up, holding his hands out for me to take and pulls me up against him. I let him hold me in his arms one more time. He moves his nose into my unruly hair, inhaling the scent.
“God, I love the way your hair smells.” I can hear the smile in his voice.
“Perv.” I say with a smile of my own.
He chuckles in my hair. “Not gonna deny that one. So I’ll see you tomorrow morning?”
“Yeah, I’ll text you when the kids get up. If you’re a good boy, there might even be pancakes!” I say as I pull away from him, wiggling my eyebrows.
“Hmm, pancakes. Yes. But breakfast with you and Cole? I don’t know.” He says, wincing like it would be physically painful.
“It won’t be that bad. I’ll be there.”
“Yes. And so will Cole. And if I have to watch him kiss you or even touch you in any way, I’ll most likely be fucking stabbing someone with a fork.”
I laugh. He doesn’t. He’s straight up serious.
“You’re coming, and I’m pretty sure we still have some baby forks you can use. No stabbing, unless it’s your delicious and badass pancakes that this lady will be making you.”
He gives me an unsure look and shakes his head. Time to pull out the big guns. I jut out my lip. His eyes instantly narrow, and as if he can’t help himself, he rubs his thumb across it. I move my tongue across my lip, licking his thumb in the process. He hisses and drops his head back.
“Jesus, Evangeline.”
“So I’ll see you for breakfast, then?” We both smirk.
“Yeah, I’ll see you for breakfast.”
I take a step back, needing the space for a minute. I swear, he’s like a drug that I just can’t kick.
“Goodnight, Jake.”
“Goodnight, Evangeline. Oh hey, give Ben a kiss for me, okay? He was good for you, right?”
“He was an angel, although we might have to keep an eye out for him and Cady. They’re becoming awfully close.” I say with a smile, remembering how cute they were earlier, sitting next to each other any chance they got, never keeping their eyes off each other, in complete and total puppy love.
“I don’t blame him—you Moreno girls are hard to resist.” He says with a cheesy grin on his face. I shake my head and walk backwards to the porch, never keeping my own eyes off of him.
“Goodnight, Jake.” I repeat before turning around and walking to the front door. I’m almost there when he speaks again.
“Oh, and for the record, I wouldn’t regret anything,” he says with the utmost conviction.
I think my heart actually skipped a beat. Yes, this is what I’ve become…corny as hell. I watch him take every single step back to his house. Once he reaches his door, he waves at me. I wave back, and we both go back to our homes and back to reality.
Chapter Ten
Evangeline
I don’t know what time Cole got home last night, but when I wake up in the morning, he’s pressed up against my side with
his leg swung over both of mine, trapping me in bed. I attempt to twist my body around, but his legs are like tree trunks.
Finally after about the fifth try, I magically maneuver my body out from under his without waking him. And like the nerd I am, I fist pump the air, Breakfast Club-style. Leaning over the bed, I give Cole a soft kiss on the cheek before I scurry quietly around the room. I quickly grab a sports bra, a loose fitted black tank top with a picture of Tupac on it—one of my faves—and some cheetah print yoga leggings. I know my style is badass, right? When I make it downstairs, the kids are already on the couch watching cartoons.
“Good morning, guys!” I greet while coaxing my unruly hair into a side braid.
“Morning.” They mumble in unison, completely absorbed in whatever they’re watching.
“Well, my little sunshines, you stay here and relax while I make some pancakes! Okay?”
“Pancakes!” they howl together, as Ben and Dyl high-five each other.
I walk into the kitchen and go straight to my phone charging on the counter. I unlock the screen and notice a text waiting to be answered. I smile to myself, already knowing before checking that it’s from Jake.
Jake: Good morning beautiful. Are the kids up yet? I’m a growing boy. Need food now. ;-)
My smile gets even wider. That was about thirty minutes ago. Someone was up early this morning. I text him back.
Evie: Good morning early riser! Yes the kids were awake when I came downstairs a few minutes ago. I’m just putting the kettle on the stove and there is a pod in the Keurig with your name on it. Hurry. Cole is still sleeping by the way.
The kettle goes off just as I hear a knock at the door. Damn, that was fast. I run through the hallway, pausing at the mirror by the front door, making sure I don’t look too haggard. I did have an awful lot of wine last night. But for someone who hasn’t had any caffeine yet, I look surprisingly good. Not that it matters—I’m not trying to impress anyone.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Evie.
The kids don’t even budge or glance my way as the knocking persists. Shaking my head, I open the door on a ginormous exhale. I’m met with my favorite kind of Jake. Morning Jake. His hair is always a bit tousled, like he just rolled out of bed, ran his fingers through it once, and called it good. And damn, is it good. He’s wearing Nike basketball shorts, a Huskies tank, and Birkenstocks. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but I am pretty sure this man can make anything look good. And again—damn.
“I hate your shirt.” I say, scrunching up my nose in disgust. He laughs.
“But I wore it just for you.” He teases with a smirk. Then nods at my thug life tank, “I love yours.”
“Of course you do. Now c’mon, I was just about to make my tea. Mama needs caffeine, Jake.”
I pull him into the house. He stares at his arm for a long moment until I realize I’m still holding it. I drop it like a hot potato, giving him an apologetic smile that he returns. He then walks over to Ben, pulling him into his arms for a hug. He whispers something in his ear and Ben does the same, while tightening his hold on his uncle. Then Jake sets him down, ruffling his hair before walking back over to me. Ben’s already locked back into the cartoon zone. We head to the kitchen—or our spot, as it seems to have become.
“What did you whisper to him, if you don’t mind me asking?”
He looks bashful for a brief second before answering me. “I told him that I missed him like crazy last night. He said he knows, and that he missed me, too.”
“You’re an amazing uncle, Jake. He loves you so much.”
“Not as much as I love him.” He goes quiet again for a minute, most likely thinking of his sister. Goodness, I couldn’t imagine not being able to see my babies grow up. I put my hand on top of his and squeeze. He looks at me with a sadness that is buried so deeply, the only reason I am able to see it is because I have some of my own buried in the same way. “I think he loves you, too. Yesterday, the way you were with him, so gentle but not at all condescending—you were perfection, Evangeline. You are perfection. I don’t know how I’ve gone through life without you in it.”
“Jake.” I say, shaking my head. I’m at a loss for words.
“So, I thought you were making me pancakes, woman.”
I bark out a laugh at that, filing that little compliment to the back of my mind. Those serious and seriously heart-wrenching words will have to wait for dissection later. Now is not the time. Instead, it’s pancake time. I pull out my organic pancake mix, cinnamon, and blueberries. I can feel Jake’s eyes on me, observing every movement and action my body makes. Heat washes over my skin from the intensity of his stare, causing me to flush practically all over. In the corner of my eye, I can see him smirk. He knows what he can do to me just with those damn piercing green eyes on my body.
Smug bastard.
Well, if he wants a show, I’ll give him a show. I subtly knock over the cinnamon onto the floor then bend over to pick it up with my ass in the air, in full view of Jake. When I hear him groan, I stand up with a huge smile spread across my face.
“Now that was just mean.”
I wink at him before I get back to making breakfast. I get tired of him watching my every move so I put him to work, ordering him to cut up apples, sauté them, and set the table with silverware and cups of orange juice while I finish with the pancakes and turkey sausage. The kids come in complaining about hunger just as I finish heating up the syrup. I instruct everyone, including Jake, to sit at the table while I get all of the plates ready.
I arrange the kids’ pancakes into smiley faces using the sausages, apples, some bananas, and whipped cream. I make a plate for Cole and put it into the oven to keep warm. Then I bring over plates for Jake and I. He’s sitting next to Ben, who’s sitting next to Cady, then Dyl. There are two empty seats, one next to Jake and one across. I choose the one across from him, handing him his plate before I sit down. He mouths a thank you, then dives right in, letting out a loud moan after he takes the first bite. We all burst out laughing.
“Holy hell, woman, these are so good. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better pancake,” he says through a mouthful of food.
“I told you. Badass.”
“What’s badass?” I hear from behind me, scaring the bejeezus out of me. I turn to see Cole in the hallway, practically glaring at Jake. Oh shit.
“My pancakes, babe.”
“Oh, they most definitely are.” He walks up to my chair and leans down, kissing me upside down. “Good morning, beautiful. Morning Jake. I didn’t know you were coming over for breakfast today.” He walks over and kisses Cady and Dyl on the forehead, marking us all as his. I can almost feel Jake tense up, and I see his jaw clench, but he recovers quickly.
“Yeah, sorry about that. Evangeline was kind enough to invite me over since Ben was already here. And well, I just couldn’t pass up free breakfast—or the company that comes with it,” he says with a cocky grin.
Cole just stares at him, trying to figure him out, I suppose, while Jake stares back with that complacent look he has down pat. I look back and forth between the two, as does Ben. Cady and Dyl are completely oblivious to the tension emanating in this room. Oh lord, this is ridiculous. I grab a napkin, crumple it into a ball, and throw it at Jake. It hits him right between the eyes. He looks so completely shocked. We all laugh at him, including Cole, cutting the tension in half. I cross my eyes and stick out my tongue, and he smiles a genuine smile at me before throwing it back, missing me by centimeters after I hop out of the chair and run around the counter, hiding behind Cole.
“You’re lucky you’ve got the guard dog.”
I snicker behind Cole’s back before peeking over at Jake. He and Cole are both shaking their heads like I’m crazy. Maybe so, but at least Cole isn’t about to rip Jake’s head off. Eesh. So much testosterone. I step out from behind Cole and grab his plate from the oven.
“Your breakfast, your Grace.” I say with a curtsey. He snorts.
“Ner
d.”
“And proud of it, baby,” I say with a big, goofy grin. Cole drops the plate on the counter, grabs me by the waist, and pulls me into him. Then kisses me hard, leaving me breathless. When he finally releases me, he walks over to the table, plate of food in hand, with a very self-satisfied look on his face, smirking at Jake as he sits down. Show-off.
I steal a glance at Jake, whose pained eyes are on me, his hand gripping his fork so hard I’m afraid he’ll bend it. I try giving him a reassuring smile, but I’m pretty sure it looked more like a grimace. He quickly stands up, dropping the fork with a clang.
“We should get going. Ben, when you’re done eating, meet me in the living room.”
Ben doesn’t even get to answer before Jake leaves the kitchen like his effing pants are on fire. I turn to Cole, who, from the smile on his face, is very much enjoying his pancakes.
“Hey, I’m going to go get Ben’s stuff together for Jake, okay?” His smile vanishes then, and he stares at me for a while before answering with a tentative nod.
I hesitate briefly, then run away down the hall to find Jake. I slow to a walk when he comes into view. He’s sitting on the stairs by the front door with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He looks so damn beautiful and completely stressed out at the same time.
I come to stop right in front of him, the front of my legs pressing against his knees. He runs a finger up my leg toward my inner thigh and back down again. We both let out a deep and shaky breath. This is dangerous. Risky. Too risky. I capture the hand that is sending tingles down my entire body, making my knees buckle. He looks up at me with want, wanting to claim me as his. But I’m not his. I tug his hand, trying to pull him up.
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