6. Still Just Jake
brIANNA
6
I steer Kylie back inside and take her into the nearest bathroom, helping her lean against the vanity.
“Alright, you stay here. I’m going to grab you a glass of water. Okay?” I make sure that Kylie looks me in the eye, and she nods back.
I have a short window before things get messy, so I race to the kitchen and find a plastic cup. When I return to the bathroom, I curse under my breath when I see Kylie sitting on the floor with her head between her knees.
“No, no, none of that.” I throw the cup into the sink and move her just in time, holding her hair back when she throws up.
Why, oh why, did I let Morgan talk me into coming out?
Half an hour later, I poke my head out of the bathroom again to look for Tara but find Will first.
Once he sees how drunk his sister is, he looks incredibly unimpressed, and I feel guilty for leaving my friend in a position where she’s going to be in for a lecture from her big brother in the morning. Will insists on taking care of her from here, so I leave them to it and head back out to the party.
I find Tara in the midst of a conversation with a small group I haven’t met yet. Tara grins at me and slings an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me.
“It’s so good to see you, Bri. We’ve missed you so much.” She looks across at the three people she was chatting to. “Guys, this is Morgan’s sister, Bri. We went to school together.”
“Hi.” They all chorus, and I smile in reply.
While it’s nice to hear how much people have missed me, it’s also adding to the guilt I was already feeling for being such a shitty friend over the past few years.
Tara’s friends ask a few questions about where I’ve been and why they haven’t met me before. I answer them vaguely, but I’m relieved when the conversation shifts away from me and back to what they were talking about when I joined them.
Looking around at the various groups gathered on the terrace, I watch Jake move amongst them easily. It has been a long time since I’ve seen him or given much thought to my old high school crush, but chatting with him earlier reminded me of how much I had idolised him at school.
He is still incredibly attractive, with his olive skin, bright blue eyes and dark brown hair that curls a little when he needs a haircut. He is in pretty good shape, too, from having such a physical job.
But there’s more to Jake than his good looks. I’d forgotten about his ability to put me at ease by just being in his presence. He’d always cared about his friends above all else, treating us like family and taking care of us when we needed it. Five minutes with him was enough to ease some of the anxiety I’d been feeling at being thrown into a social situation when all I wanted to do was hide with a book.
Tara catches me watching him and gives me a nudge.
“He’s even hotter than he was in school, isn’t he?” she asks with a smile, and I blush a little.
Thankfully, her friends are preparing to leave and miss Tara’s comment.
“It’s not like that. We chatted earlier, and I forgot how easy he is to talk to.”
It’s true. Chris and Will were like older brothers to me, but my friendship with Jake always felt different. He was one of those guys that when you were talking to them, they seemed to really see you. Morgan’s friend circle had been the popular kids in her grade, and it meant that Tara, Kylie and I had been cool by association. But I was so much quieter than my sister and tended to stay out of the limelight as much as possible. Jake always made time for me, though. It’s nice to see that he hasn’t changed in that way now that we are older.
“Sure. But it doesn’t hurt that he’s hot, either. Right?” Tara winks.
“Tara! Be quiet! Someone will hear you. It’s not like that for me anymore, okay? Besides, I just broke up with Richard. I’m not in any shape to check out guys right now.”
Tara pouts. “Nothing wrong with checking out your old high school crush. It’s me, remember? I was right there with you in the Jake Boyd fan club.”
Of course, Jake chooses this moment to walk toward us. Thankfully, he seems to have missed Tara’s comment, and I shoot her a warning look when Jake sits across from us in one of the seats the others just vacated.
Honestly, how had I forgotten how attractive he was? It’s been five years since I’ve seen him, but seeing him now has me momentarily thinking, ‘Richard, who?’
“How’s Kylie doing?” he asks me, and Tara gives me a questioning look.
“She’s okay now, but she was pretty drunk and threw up. I got Will to help her. I think he was going to put her to bed.” I nod towards the bedroom I’d seen Will carrying Kylie to earlier.
Tara sighs. “I’d better go check on her. I’m sure William is reading her the riot act. And I’m sharing a bed with her, so I want to make sure I won’t be dealing with her drunk ass all night.” Tara gets to her feet, heading inside, but not before she gives me another quick wink that, thankfully, Jake doesn’t see.
“It’s good to see some things haven’t changed, I guess,” I say, shaking my head.
“Yeah, although I’m sure Will wishes that one thing had changed. I thought Kylie was laying off the drinks for a while,” Jake says, the concern for our friend evident in his voice.
“Last time she visited me in Sydney, we just hung out. We didn’t do any partying, so I haven’t seen her like this in a while. I just assumed this was an occasional thing,” I say, looking at Jake with a raised eyebrow. “Have I missed something?”
“Yeah, until last year, it was an occasional thing. You know how Will feels about getting write-yourself-off drunk, and Kylie did it almost every weekend for a while there in the past year.”
Well, that explains the concern. I wish I’d known that before I got Will involved. He deserves to enjoy the night without worrying about his sister, and Kylie could probably do without the lecture.
“I’ll keep an eye on her now that I’m back. See if I can work out if anything is going on. We talked earlier about getting together this week once I’ve settled into the new office and stuff, so I’ll make sure there’s no drinking involved,” I say.
Jake cocks his head to the side while he studies me closely. “Right back into taking care of everyone else, huh?” he asks.
“You still see everything, don’t you?” I ask, and he smiles at me.
“I think you’re avoiding your own stuff.”
I look at him before clearing my throat. “So I take it this party isn’t the usual way you guys catch up anymore?” I am all about avoidance and hope Jake will happily play along.
He regards me for a few beats more before answering. “Hell no. We’re all too busy for that now, and honestly, none of us were all that into partying anyway. Except for maybe Morgan.” He says with a laugh, nodding towards where my sister is dancing in the loungeroom with Annelisa.
I smile, grateful that he allowed my subject change, and turn to look at my sister and her best friend. I notice that while Morgan is a few drinks in, the only drink I’ve seen Annelisa have all night is water.
“Yeah, even Morgan has calmed down a lot, though. I think she’s ready for babies and stuff now,” I say, looking back at Jake.
“So’s Chris. It feels strange when people you’ve known since you were a kid suddenly start talking about marriage and babies.” Jake shakes his head before taking another sip of beer.
“So, not on the cards for you yet, then?” I find it difficult to believe that a guy as great as him is still single.
“Uh, no. One needs to be in a relationship for that. Or, at least, I would need to be in a relationship before that sort of thing is on my radar.” I notice his eyes drift over me while he says it before shaking his head slightly.
Interesting.
“So, no Mrs back in Stanthorpe then?” I have no idea why I asked that.
I feel my cheeks warm.
“No, Bri, still just Jake,” he says with a cheeky grin.
“Well, Just Jake, I think when the right woman comes along, you’ll sweep her right off her feet,” I say, and Jake raises an eyebrow at me while he takes another swig of his beer.
“Yeah. Do you have any idea who that might be? Because I gotta tell you, I am yet to find her in the land of Tinder, Bumble, and all the other apps.”
“Oh God.” I groan when I realise I will eventually be on those apps, too. Just the thought of it makes me feel sick. “I’m not looking forward to online dating again now that I’m single. In my experience, it was a veritable minefield for men with issues. I guess it goes both ways?” I ask.
Jake nods with a laugh.
“Well, sadly, everyone I know in Brisbane these days is in this apartment, so if you haven’t found her amongst this crowd, I’m probably not going to be much help,” I say with an apologetic smile.
Jake continues to grin. “You’re probably right.”
He looks over my shoulder and nods at someone. I turn around to see a few people leaving and get the sense that the night is starting to wind down.
“You’re crashing here tonight, right?”
I turn back to see Jake looking at me again. “Yeah, Morgan insisted. But I’m not sure where she’s expecting me to sleep because all the rooms are taken, and I’m not crashing in with Kylie and Tara – not with how drunk Kylie is.”
I look over at the couches. I guess they could be comfy, but I will still have to wait until everyone goes to bed before I can finally get some sleep.
“Well, you’re welcome to bunk in with me. I don’t snore, I promise. And the bed is freaking huge, so we can make a pillow wall down the middle if you need it?”
Share a bed with Jake Boyd? It’s exactly like the one-bed trope in one of my romance novels.
“Um…” I’m not entirely sure what to say.
Jake raises his hands. “I’m not trying to get you into bed, Bri. I promise. From the look you just gave the couch, I can tell you’re not keen on sleeping there, and the bed is big enough for five people,” he says.
I regard him closely, checking to see if perhaps he isn’t the nice guy I always believed him to be. There doesn’t seem to be any ulterior motive behind his suggestion, though, and he waits patiently for me to decide what I want to do.
“Okay. The bed did look massive. Thanks, Jake.”
And that is how I wind up sharing a bed with Jake Boyd on my first night back in Brisbane.
I wake to discover an arm around my waist and a body pressed against my back. I’ve never been one for touching while sleeping, and I freeze for a moment before remembering where I am and who the arm belongs to.
If I’d been drinking last night, I’d be worried that I’d done more than just sleep, but I know I went to bed alone. When Jake stumbled into bed later, he had indeed stayed on his side of the bed. We must have gravitated towards each other through the night because we are now together in the centre of the bed.
I feel the steady rise and fall of his chest against my back and realise he’s still asleep.
I look down at the tanned arm slung across my bare waist. I’d forgotten to bring anything to sleep in, so Jake had kindly lent me one of his shirts, and it’s ridden up through the night, now just barely covering my breasts. His legs are tangled with mine under the covers, and a quick look over my shoulder gives me a glimpse of a bare chest.
I know I should move away, but I am just so comfortable. His warmth protects me from the cold air pumping through the air conditioning, and I wriggle back a little until there’s no remaining space between our bodies.
Sleepily, I wonder why I have always avoided sleeping with someone hugging me because this is the most relaxed I’ve felt in years. My eyes start to close, and I allow myself to drift back to sleep while Jake’s hold on me tightens. I shiver slightly when his breath brushes the back of my neck, but it adds to the comforting feeling, and I drift off again, feeling safe for the first time in a long time.