Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
“I can’t do this.” Laurel was standing on a tall, wooden platform, strapped into a harness that was attached to a cable above. Number seven on Skye’s stupid list was zip lining.
“Yes, you can!” Skye called from the ground below. “And you will! Double-shake!”
So not fair pulling out the double-shake reminder again.
“I already did three,” Laurel countered.
Skye had dragged her out to Horseshoe Bend, a little town about thirty miles north of Boise, that had some zip lines. Seven to be exact. Each one getting progressively longer and higher off the ground.
The tour Skye had purchased for them lasted about three hours. That time included an orientation, training, transportation to and from the area where the zip lines were located, gearing up, and then actually riding the zip lines.
The orientation went over the different parts of the zip line, from the cable you rode down on, to the “trolley”—which is what they called the harness—to the brakes, so you could stop before you smashed into a tree, snapped the cable, and plunged to your death. Okay, so maybe they said it kept you from jerking to an abrupt stop, and not having to rely on the backup brakes. Tomayto, tomahto.
After orientation and a few quick instructions, everyone was loaded into a van and driven to the zip line course. Laurel’s group consisted of eight customers and two guides. Unfortunately, Skye had insisted on coming along, so Laurel couldn’t back out, which—let’s be honest—she would have.
The other six people in their group rode first every time, since it took Laurel forever to get up the nerve to actually step off the platform. Skye always went last, like she didn’t trust Laurel to follow through, which she didn’t. It was smart on Skye’s part, but annoying as heck.
Laurel wasn’t afraid of heights, but trusting her life to a thin wire? That was a completely different story. Didn’t matter if the cable was made of galvanized wire rope which supposedly was stronger than stainless steel, according to their guide. “Supposedly” being the operative word.
Laurel had somehow managed to survive the first three zip lines. They’d started with a line that had been twenty-five feet above the ground and two hundred feet long—“about the length of an average suburban yard and the height of a two-story house,” the instructor had informed them.
Rides two and three were higher and longer, but ride four? It was a little over five hundred feet long and seventy-five feet off the ground. She had no clue how she was going to do this one, let alone the next three that culminated in one hundred fifty feet above the ground and eight hundred feet long. The longer the ride, the more time the cables had to break.
“I did three. That’s good,” Laurel insisted.
“Nice try.” Skye cupped her hand over her eyes to block out the shaft of light sifting through the trees. “No weaseling out of the deal.”
“I’m not weaseling out of the deal. I zip lined.”
“ Three, not seven.”
“So what?”
“That doesn’t count.”
“How can that not count?” It totally should count!
“Number seven is zip lining,” Skye said. “The full experience, not just half.”
“Three isn’t half of seven,” Laurel pointed out. She was so used to correcting math problems in her class, it’d become second nature.
Skye huffed out a breath and glared at her.
“Skye, I really don’t want to do this,” Laurel whimpered, laying it on thick.
“Pathetic. Eugene does better puppy dog eyes.”
Eugene was Skye’s cat, and he put the term “cranky cat” to shame. He hated absolutely everyone except Skye. Whenever Laurel would cat-sit, she’d be careful to enter the bus in stealth mode—Skye lived in an old school bus she’d renovated into an RV. The hope was to sneak in and out without Eugene ever noticing. Unfortunately, he always noticed. And aside from being hyper-observant, he was sneaky to a fault. He’d pretend he wanted to be petted, then hiss and take swipes at her if she ever fell for his act, which half the time she did. For the record, though, the cat could win an Oscar.
“Come on, Laur. Deep down you know you want to do it.”
“Um, no, I don’t!”
“Double-shake,” Skye reminded her.
“Stop saying that!”
Scowling, Skye stomped over to the wooden ladder and climbed up to the platform in record time.
“Hey,” the guide protested. “You’re not supposed to be up?—”
“Shut!” Skye ordered, holding a hand in front of his face. “Do you want her to jump or not? Cuz if not, I’ll climb back down, and we’ll be here all day.”
Laurel planted her hands on her hips. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Fine,” the guide conceded. He was probably in his early twenties and wishing he was anywhere but here. “If you can make her jump, go for it.”
Skye flashed him a too sweet smile which instantly disintegrated when she turned to Laurel. “You know you need the push.”
“If you push me, I swear I’ll haunt you!”
“Cool.”
Okay, bad choice in threats. Skye believed in ghosts and was adamant she’d had some paranormal encounters in the past. She’d probably love to meet a ghost in person—er—spirit.
“That would be totally—ohhh, hel-lo! ”
“What?” Laurel asked.
“Snacksicle alert, ten o’clock.” Skye grabbed Laurel by the shoulders and turned her forty-five degrees to the right.
A cluster of people was standing at the base of the landing platform of zip line number three, waiting for the last of their group to finish. Two high school-aged boys were horsing around, but they hadn’t warranted Skye stopping mid-sentence. It was the three men standing next to them who’d pulled off that feat.
One guy had on jeans and a hoodie. He had light brown hair with longer bangs he raked out of his face. Standing to his right was a dark-haired guy with glasses wearing a windbreaker with “KISS FM 101.5” emblazoned on the back. That was the local top forty radio station. Maybe he worked for them?
The third guy was blond and wearing a sweatshirt and jeans that, honest to goodness, the manufacturer should be paying him to wear. No wonder Skye was distracted. The scenery around here was beautiful, but those three made for an incredible view.
“Yummy, right?” Skye asked.
The two men facing them started heading their way. Obviously, they were in the group behind Laurel and Skye’s and were next in line for zip line number four.
“They’re heading over,” Skye said. “Do you want them to see you acting like one of your kids?”
Laurel turned to her friend—her possibly ex-friend, if she didn’t let her off this platform. “Get real. Kids are fearless.”
“Oh, would you look who it is?” Skye’s smile was wicked. “Mr. Not Some Guy.”
“What?” Laurel spun around to confirm her worst nightmare. “Oh, no,” she whispered, gripping the harness she wore like it had the power to render her invisible. Unfortunately, it didn’t. Jake smiled and lifted his chin in greeting.
Cranberries! He’d recognized her.
He started her way, only to be stopped by a beautiful blonde who’d descended the ladder behind him. She skipped up to link her arm through his.
Is that his girlfriend?
Laurel’s stomach clenched at the thought of Jake having a girlfriend, but it twisted into a pretzel when it dawned on her that he had a girlfriend, and she’d kissed him. Not once, but twice! Worse than that, he’d kissed her back. Part of her wanted to call him out, but the other part didn’t want to cause a scene. Still, the girl should know her boyfriend was scum. Cheating on someone was lower than low. It was cruel and disrespectful. If you wanted to sleep with someone in the apartment you shared with your fiancée the night before your wedding, fudging have the decency to call it off first!
Closing her eyes, she exhaled a shaky breath. She didn’t miss Ethan, but she did miss feeling like she was enough. He’d taken that from her. She’d slowly been building her confidence back up, and had made a lot of progress, but every once in a while, something would kick her back a notch. Like right now.
Laurel decided she had to tell Jake’s girlfriend. She deserved to know he’d kissed someone else.
You kissed him first.
But, in all fairness, she hadn’t known he had a girlfriend. He, on the other hand, obviously did, but had kissed her anyway.
Despite the fact that thought made her queasy, her mind was made up. She’d tell his girlfriend, but she’d prefer to do it in private. She didn’t want to embarrass the poor woman in front of an audience, and as angry as Laurel was right now, she didn’t trust herself to be tactful if Jake was there.
She needed more time to think of the best way to break the news as kindly as possible, but Jake and his girlfriend were only about twenty feet away.
Not ready to have the conversation yet, Laurel held her breath and jumped. The trolley dug into her butt as she zipped along the cable, the downward angle and her weight speeding up the momentum.
Skye’s excited “Yes, Laur!” echoing behind her, Laurel let out a little shriek when a tree to her left flew past way too close for her liking. Her heart was in her throat. The cable could snap at any moment, but even scarier… how the heck was she going to break the news to that poor, unsuspecting woman?
Laurel was so distracted, she forgot to engage the brake until she saw the guide frantically waving at her. She yanked hard on the handle, causing her legs to jolt forward like a kid on a swing who’d pumped too high. Thankfully, the guide wrapped his arms around her legs, preventing her from swinging higher. Once she was stabilized and standing on the platform, he disconnected the trolley from the cable. She quickly climbed down the ladder and stood behind the support beam of the platform, cautiously peering around it. From this vantage point, she couldn’t see Jake or his girlfriend.
A few moments later, Skye slid down the cable to stop gracefully, the way they’d been taught.
“What was that all about?” Skye asked once she’d descended the ladder.
“What do you mean?” Laurel started walking toward zip line number five. Everyone from their group was impatiently waiting on them, since they couldn’t ride the next line until the second guide showed up... and he’d been waiting on her. Wincing, she mouthed a silent “sorry.”
“The sudden burst of fearlessness,” Skye clarified.
“What’re you complaining about? You wanted me to go.”
“True,” Skye agreed. “I just wasn’t expecting you to vault off the platform like John McClane jumping off Nakatomi Tower. Plus, kiss number three with Mr. Not Some Guy is back there.” She hooked her thumb over her shoulder in Jake’s direction.
“He has a girlfriend!” Laurel shouted before she remembered their audience. Grabbing Skye by the elbow, she dragged her a few steps away from their group. “A girlfriend,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “He kissed me, and he has a girlfriend. ”
“Who says he has a girlfriend?” Skye asked.
Laurel pinned her with an are-you-serious glare. “The blonde on his arm, that’s who.”
“Well, if she’s his girlfriend, they must be in a threesome because she’s hanging on the other guy now.”
“What?”
“The one without the glasses. They were sucking face.”
“They were?”
“Pretty sure I know what sucking face looks like, Laur.”
“Hey, you guys need to stick with the group.” Their guide was standing at the base of the next zip line, annoyance etched on his face.
“Great bedside manner,” Skye quipped.
“Sorry!” Laurel shouted. “Coming!” She dragged Skye along as she started walking.
“Hey, Laurel, wait up!”
Oh, no!
“Gotta go,” Skye said with an evil grin. She sprinted ahead, tossing Laurel to the wolves—uh—wolf.
That’s it. She was demoting Skye from best friend status.
Laurel started speed walking, but Jake easily caught up.
“Hey.”
She didn’t say anything, nor did she slow her pace. She was too confused. She’d seen the blonde hanging on Jake with her own eyes, but Skye said she was with the other guy. Either Skye was wrong, or Jake wasn’t with the blonde. Laurel didn’t know what to believe.
The easiest thing would be to ask him, but how did she ask him without looking jealous?
If the blonde was his girlfriend, that made him a cheater, and she wouldn’t give a flying fig what he thought of her. But if he was single, how did she save face after basically making herself look desperate?
Avoidance. That was her best plan
“I’ve been meaning to call you,” Jake said.
She automatically looked his way, stumbling when he smiled.
Man, he has a nice smile. And perfect, white teeth. He could star in a toothpaste commercial.
The corners of his eyes crinkled when his smile widened. That’s when she realized she’d stopped walking and had been openly staring at him for who knows how long. Probably while drooling, too.
Ugh.
“I never gave you my number,” she said, back on the move.
I hope I wasn’t drooling!
As discreetly as possible, she reached up to drag the back of a knuckle across her lower lip, just in case.
Keep walking. Do not, I repeat, do not look at him.
“Exactly.” Jake stopped her with a hand on her arm. “We need to remedy that.”
“Why?” she asked, looking up at him.
Gah! I wasn't supposed to look at him!
She quickly looked away.
Subtle.
“Did you forget something in my classroom?” she asked, pretending to check her harness to make sure it was secure. “I don’t remember seeing anything.” When she accidentally pulled the nylon strap belted around her waist harder than intended, it cinched in like a tourniquet. She tried to loosen it, but it was tight. Really tight. So tight, she was having a hard time getting enough slack to be able to push the strap back through the metal buckle in order to loosen it.
“No, I want to ask you…” His words trailed off as he watched her struggling with the strap. “Do you need some help?”
No matter what she did, she couldn’t loosen the darn thing. She was starting to feel like a balloon that had been twisted in half.
Swallowing her pride in favor of restoring blood flow, she confessed, “I’m stuck.”
Jake moved her hands and attempted to loosen the strap for her. “Shit, Princess, how’d you get it so tight?” He slipped one hand between the nylon strap holding her prisoner and her stomach, trying to get a better grip.
Laurel sucked in a sharp breath at the contact, drawing his gaze to hers. Heat sparked in his eyes, before disappearing so quickly, she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it or not.
“Are you trying to cut off your circulation?”
All she could do was shake her head. She didn’t trust herself to speak with the deft movement of his fingers wreaking havoc on her senses.
“Damn.” Jake pushed up her jacket. “Hold this,” he instructed. When she did, he pulled her shirt out from underneath the strap to make more room, then slipped his fingers in between the harness and the bare skin of her stomach.
Arousal zinged through her.
What in bells is wrong with me? He’s barely touching me!
What would happen if he really touched her? Like, intentionally caressed the skin of her stomach… and lower. Her breathing turned shallow at the thought, and her entire body quivered.
Jake’s hands stilled. “Are you okay?”
No, I’m getting turned on by you undoing this stupid belt.
How the heck would she react if he was loosening his own belt?
Locking her knees at the sudden wave of dizziness, Laurel gave a choppy nod, knowing she probably looked like a crazed hyena—or Skye if you got between her and Britt’s chocolate torte—so basically the same expression.
Jake studied her for another few seconds, before going back to working on the belt.
Not his belt! Not his belt!
Coleslaw, trashcans, public bathrooms…
Distracting herself with things she thought were gross actually paid off, allowing her to stand still long enough for him to finally succeed in loosening the cinch around her middle.
“There ya go,” he said, sliding his hand back and forth between the strap and her stomach, checking to make sure it was loose enough.
Goodness, was there anything this man did that wouldn’t make her melt?
When he slid his hand across her stomach once more, she grabbed his wrist, forcing him to stop. “It’s good,” she assured him, extricating his hand. “All better.” She tugged her shirt and jacket back down and wrapped her arms protectively around her waist. “Thanks.”
He grinned. “No problem. Now, back to that number.”
“I don’t think your girlfriend would appreciate you asking for it,” she forced out.
There. I said it.
“She probably wouldn’t,” he agreed.
Wow. He’d just admitted he had a girlfriend, but was still trying to ask her out?
“If I had one.”
“What?”
He tilted his head and studied her. “Why do you think I have a girlfriend?”
Fudge. Now what do I say?
“Laurel?”
“Um...” Nervously, she glanced behind them.
“Wait. Do you mean the blonde?” When she remained silent, Jake started laughing. “That’s my sister, Jessa.”
Laurel huffed out a breath, eyes narrowing in response to the lamest excuse on the planet.
It could be the truth.
“No, really,” he insisted. “She is.”
She had to admit, he looked sincere. Either that or he had the best poker face in the world.
Crystal blue eyes sparkling with mirth, Jake called to the guy in the hoodie. “Yo, Chase! Who’s Jess to me?”
Chase hiked a brow. “Are you finally losing it?” he asked. “Surprised it took so long.”
“Humor me.” Jake nodded toward Laurel.
“Jess is the one who got the beauty and brains,” Chase said, then added with a smirk, "You're the disappointment in the family.”
Jake hit Laurel with a megawatt smile that nearly buckled her knees.
“She really is your sister?”
He pushed a stray strand of hair that’d escaped her helmet out of her eyes. The move was so intimate, she wasn’t sure how to react. Her body did, however. Heat pooled low in her belly, and her nipples hardened. She prayed with everything in her that the light jacket she was wearing would keep him from noticing.
“I told you she was. But it’s cute you’re jealous.”
“I’m not jealous,” she said, avoiding his eyes. That’s when she saw the beautiful blonde sidle up to Chase and kiss him on the cheek. He wrapped his arm around her and claimed a proper kiss.
“My mistake.” The amusement in Jake’s voice was palpable.
Kill me now.
“Like Chase said,” he continued, thankfully letting the jealousy comment slide. “She’s the beauty in the family. I’m the brains.”
“That’s not what he said,” she corrected, trying not to smile.
“He’s in love with her.” Jake dismissed her statement. “It’s hard for him to see the truth through the hearts in his eyes.”
Laurel glanced back at the couple walking toward them. His arm was still around her, and she was leaning against him, hand on his chest, head resting on his shoulder. From the look of it, she was in love with him too.
“So… number?” Jake asked again.
Should I give it to him?
He might not be a cheater, but there was a definite cocky air about him, and she still hadn’t talked to Amy to see what the exchange in her classroom was all about. Plus, with that swagger, he could be a player.
Or he might not be.
Okay, that was fair. Maybe he was just confident. Scratch that. He was definitely confident. It was a turn-on for a guy to be so sure of himself. And she had been wrong about the cheating, but…
“Laurel?”
Did she really want to give him her number? A guy like him had never asked her out. With the way his sweatshirt pulled across his broad shoulders, and his jeans molded to his powerful thighs like a second skin, he could be in one of those bare-chested, pose-with-puppies fireman calendars. It was intimidating.
“208-986-5353,” Skye piped up from a few feet behind them, obviously eavesdropping.
Laurel whirled around. “Skye!”
“What was that?” Jake asked, pulling out his phone.
“If you want to take her out badly enough,” Skye said, hooking Laurel by the elbow and dragging her toward the next zip line, “you’ll remember it.”
Jake laughed while Laurel turned every shade of red on the color wheel.
“Skye, what’re you doing? I never said to?—”
“I’ll remember it,” Jake promised. “Talk to you soon, Princess.”