Chapter 9
Jake
M y six am alarm pierces my ears after an hour of tossing around. Groggily, I open my eyes to the predawn gloom, dragging myself out of bed and into the bathroom, where I splash water on my face. Dressing in my workout clothes, I grab my earbuds before stepping out of the room.
The cabin is quiet. Mia’s been avoiding me, and honestly, I don’t care. I do not miss her sassy self, or her sharp tongue and her fiery glare. Why do I find myself pausing outside her room? No fucking idea.
Shaking my head, I’m about to walk away when a quiet sound breaks the silence, so faint I almost missed. It’s coming from Mia’s home, soft breathy moans of pleasure, freezing me in my step.
Somebody is practicing self care, or is she having a little video session with her boyfriend? The idea of her legs spreading out while he watches shouldn’t bother me, but it does.
Stepping closer to the door, I press my ear against it. My dick begging for me to take it out. The urge to stroke myself to her sweet moans is almost overwhelming. My hand hovers near my waistband, fingers twitching , but I clench them into a fist instead.
I should walk away, removing myself from this situation before I do something reckless, like burst into her room. But my feet are glued to the floor. I run my hand through my hair, tugging a little too hard at the strands.
Her moans grow more desperate telling me that she's close. Fuck, I want to see her pretty face when she reaches her climax. My cock throbs at the thought. How fucking bad is it to want another guy’s girlfriend?
“Mmm,” she moans a little bit louder, the sounds trembling through me . My balls tightens, almost painful, and then, silence.
I adjust my pants, cursing under my breath before quietly making my way downstairs.
Stepping outside, the early morning sun barely seeps through the trees. The only sound is my footsteps hitting the ground. Lost in my thoughts of her that I barely notice where I’m going until the sound of rushing water pulls me back .
Standing here looking at it, it still feels surreal. I’ve been here many times before as a child, and never stumbled across it. I make a mental note to look it up on a map later before heading back.
Back at the house, I head straight to the kitchen and think about grabbing a protein shake from the fridge that I bought yesterday, since the princess warned me not to wake her up before 8 a.m.
But I decide to make a banana shake instead. Fresh protein is so much better. I gather the ingredients, toss everything into the blender, and hit the start button.
That will get her out of bed, not that I want to see her or anything. She can ignore me all she wants.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, I know she’s here without even looking up. Her eyes are burning a hole into my forehead.
“Good morning, princess , did I wake you?” I turn off the blender and meet her wide-eyed glare. She looks furious, her hair tousled, but she looks even prettier.
Oh, she’s pissed okay.
She strides over to me, her short legs moving faster than usual. Thrusting her phone in front of my face, the screen brightly shows 7:02 a.m.
“What part of don’t wake me up before eight was so hard to understand?” Her eyes are blazing as she glares at me.
Are you sure I’m the one who woke you up, princess?
I move closer, and she leans back against the kitchen island, our faces inches apart. “I understood just fine, princess. But following orders is not my best suit.” A smirk plays on my lips. I can smell arousal from her little session.
She grabs the edge of the countertop, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her face turns a shade darker, a storm brewing in those brown eyes. I glance down at her lips before bringing my gaze back to hers.
“I should report you to the booking agency for violating my privacy. You’re not even supposed to be here.”
“Do it then, princess, see if I care.” I run my tongue over the top corner of my lip, and her eyes follow the movement. Her heartbeat is almost audible, matching the rapid pace of my own. She huffs and pushes against my chest. I don’t know what it is, but I love seeing her become this little firecracker.
“Asshole,” she says, loud enough for me to catch every syllable, before storming upstairs.
A chuckle escapes me as I watch her walk away, and of course, she’s wearing those booty shorts and a shirt that says, I’m not moody, I just don’t want to talk to you.
I can be an asshole if you want me to, princess. My gaze unintentionally follows the way her ass moves in those snug shorts. The need to fuck the sassiness out of her screams through me, pelting my body like an unforgiving rain, drenching me in desire. I close my eyes, imagining for a second how she would feel underneath me. My hands grabbing her ass, my fingers sliding through her hair. I wonder if they’re as soft as they seem.
“Damn it.” I run a hand through my hair, reminding myself she has a boyfriend. We’re sharing a cabin; sleeping with her would make things complicated.
This is going to be a fucking long summer.
Once I finish my shake and tidy up, I go upstairs for a quick shower before meeting Sergio at the hotel to review the budget. We might need to cut some hours of some employees even if I don’t want to. Alex is also meeting me there.
Driving there, my mind keeps circling back to the waterfall. “Hey Siri, take me to a waterfall nearby.” I want to see how far this waterfall is on the map.
“I found a waterfall 50 miles from here. Do you want that one?”
“No!” This waterfall should be less than 5 miles from here. I’ll look more into it when I get to the hotel.
Walking into the lobby, a cheerful girl walks up to me, probably recognizing me from Instagram. “OMG, it’s you.” Her eyes light up with excitement. I offer her a polite nod instead of my usual flirty grin I reserved for moments like this. My mind is elsewhere, on the woman back at the cabin, getting on my last nerve.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, her tone flirty. Normally, I’d be all for this kind of interaction. She’s attractive, exactly my type, well every woman is my type as long she's over eighteen, but I’m not into it right now.
Just then, Alex calls out to me, and I’m almost grateful for the interruption. “Hey, Jake, over here.”
“Sorry, I gotta go.” I turn around, heading towards Alex. He’s sitting on a couch in the lobby which is beautiful with high ceilings. It has historical charm, but needs some renovations. The mansion was built in the early 1800s and has been passed down through generations in my family. It’s right below the mountains, and in the middle of the forest that leads all the way to the glass cabin.
“Can you tell me why we are meeting here and not at the cabin?” He leans in his chair, his expression a mix of amusement which tells me he already knows the answer to his question.
I take a seat across from him, leaning back casually. “I have some things to take care of here, so it’s convenient.”
Alex’s eyes narrow as he studies me, a knowing smirk forming on his lips. “Oh, shit, someone is still pissed at you, huh? Guess she’s not falling for your charm.” He chuckles. There’s nothing funny about it. I was just worried about her.
I brush his comment off and focus on the other mystery occupying my mind.
“Do you remember having a waterfall around here?” I watch his face for any sign of recognition.
His brows wrinkle in thought. “Not that I remember. I think the closest waterfall is like 50 miles from here. Why?”
I shrug. “Nothing,” I say, deciding to keep my thoughts about the mysterious waterfall to myself for now. After all, Mia saw it too, so I know I’m not imagining things.
“Wanna join me for some rock climbing sometime next week?” I change the subject. It’s been a while since we climbed together.
“You already know the answer is yes, man, but go easy on me. I haven’t climbed in a while and I’m not a professional like you.” Well, he’s right, I am a pro and have won multiple gold medals.
“No promises,” I laugh.
We talk a bit more, talking about old times before Alex checks his phone. “I’ve got to meet Sarah, catch you later?”
“You two act like you don’t see each other when y’all live in the same city.”
“We don’t hang out much.” He straightens himself up in his seat.
“Why not?” I glance at some girls giggling and staring at us before looking back at Alex.
“We’re both very busy, and every time we hang out, the boyfriend is there and I don’t like him that much.”
“What did he do?” Do I need to drive to LA to break someone's jaw?
“Nothing that I know of. I just don’t like him. She deserves so much better.”
I laugh.
“What?” He narrows his gray eyes at me.
“You’re jealous.”
“I’m not jealous? She’s like a sister to me.” He scoffs.
“Exactly, you’re acting like a protective older brother.” I notice the frown on his face.
“Well I care about her.”
“I know,” I say. We both do, and I’ll hurt anyone who hurts her.
Alex stands. “Alright, see you later,” he says, and we do our bros handshake before he walks away.
Walking towards Dad’s office, I take a deep breath before stepping inside. I haven’t been here since he died. The room is the same, yet everything has changed.
I head toward the safe and key in the code and it unlocks. I guess he still kept it the same. Inside I find some old notebooks. I reach for them, putting them in my bag when I hear footsteps, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look up to see Sergio walking into the room.
His blue eyes meeting mine, and salt and pepper hair. Still in his early forties. He and my dad went way back.
“Need any help?” he asks.
I review the new budget and employee hours with Sergio. Renovations will start in a couple of weeks once the bank loan comes through. Fortunately, I won’t have to worry about disturbing our guests, as we have very few at the moment.
“Your dad would have been proud of you, taking over the family business,” he says, giving me a reassuring pat on the back.
I nod.
Maybe he would’ve been if things had been different, but I can’t shake off the bitterness.
His pride is something lost to me long before he passed, especially after our fight five years ago.
Checking my watch, it’s already 4 p.m. I need something to clear my mind. There’s an amazing outdoor climbing spot not far from here, which is exactly what I need.
I gather my stuff before stepping out of the office.
“See you later.” I let him know. I head to my jeep and drive back to the cabin.
I pull into the driveway and head upstairs, passing her room on the way to mine. I change into my climbing clothes and grab my gears.
Once I get everything, I walk out, still no sign of her. Princess is planning to stay in her room forever. I shouldn’t care that she’s ignoring me. Everything is turning out the way I wanted it to. That’s what I keep telling myself. But a little part of me does.
Stepping outside, I’m met with a gray, cloudy sky. Rain begins to fall, drenching the ground. “Great,” I grumble. Just my luck. I guess indoor wall climbing is gonna have to do it.
I get into my car and drive to the local indoor climbing center. As I pull into the parking lot, the rain stops, the clouds parting like some cosmic joke at my expense. Stepping out of the car, the ground’s barely wet, as if the rain decided to mess with me and then bail. Typical, but hey, climbing is climbing, and I’m here to conquer some walls, rain or shine.
Inside the climbing center, I’m immediately drawn to the complexity of the routes ahead.Climbing demands my full attention, pushing me to focus on the next hold, regulate my breath, and let go of all distractions. Among the physical challenges, I discovered my Zen; a pure focus where the climb is all that exists.
As I begin, the world outside of these walls disappear. My fingers find their grip, pulling upwards. My forearm screams as I grip the hold tighter. My feet search for a solid foundation as the tension shifts to my calves and thighs, aching as I push my body upwards. Beads of sweat form on my forehead, then trail down my spine, as the burn in my muscles grow with each move.
The rhythm of climbing consumes me—reach, grip, step, breathe.
Once I reach the top, I take a few seconds to inhale and exhale before propelling down.
I sit on the floor, taking a moment to catch my breath. This girl recognizes me and approaches, her expression brightening with admiration. “That was impressive.” Her face lights up.
“Thank you,” I say, then smile back. I’m not in the mood for conversation after my climb; I just want to go home. Unless she’s interested in another kind of climb . But Mia is at the house, and I’m not comfortable with the idea of fucking another girl while she’s next door. This is the longest I’ve gone without having sex since high school.
Leaving the climbing center, the weather picks up the closer I get home, even though there’s barely any rain before I left. Heavy rains thumping against my car loudly. The wind is stronger, making the trees outside move wildly .Lightning flashes across the sky, illuminating the surrounding buildings for a second or two.
When I get home, the rain has doubled down on its intensity. After a quick shower, I changed into some shorts and tanks. I sit at my desk, needing to concentrate on the hotel renovation budget, but the storm continues to rage, making it hard to focus. It’s so in tune with the chaos I’m feeling inside, neither wanting to be the first to quiet down. That’s when I hear a loud scream and the power goes out. Mia.