CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Kitty. Kitty? Wake up.”
But I don’t want to. It’s so nice and cool and quiet with my eyes closed.
“Kitty. Wake up.”
Somebody’s smacking my cheeks.
“Hey,” I whisper, turning my head from one side to the other. “Knock that off.”
“There she is.” Somebody kisses my forehead and laughs. “Open your eyes before I throw you back in the ocean.”
That gets through to me, and my eyes fly open. I hear people laughing softly around me and wonder who the heck they are and why they’re here.
Wait. Where is here?
Right. It takes a second for me to get my bearings, but once I do, it all becomes clear. I’m in Jake’s arms, under a covered shelter on the boardwalk. The people who laughed are nosy spectators who had watched me faint after watching Jake save that kid’s life.
“How is he?” I ask, pushing hair away from my face. My knees hurt; it takes a quick glance at them to show me why. I skinned them a little when I went down.
“He?” Jake asks with a frown, and then the confusion clears. “Oh, he’s fine. A little shaken up, I guess, but his mom took him away someplace. Maybe back to their motel if they’re staying here. I don’t know. I was a little more concerned about you.”
He hands me a bottle of water. “Here. Somebody gave me this when you were out.” He uncaps it and then practically lifts it to my mouth, though I’m already holding it.
“I think I can manage,” I whisper with a faint smile. “But thank you.”
“Sorry. It’s a habit. Taking care of people I care about and all that.”
I can’t shake the memory of that boy. “You saved his life. He was blue, but you saved him.”
“He was choking. It’s a pretty common thing.”
“Yeah, but nobody else thought to do it. Not even his mother.”
“You’d be surprised how rare it is for an immediate family member to get it together in enough time to jump in and help,” he explains. His arm is around my shoulders, which is nice. His touch comforts me. “It’s usually a bystander. We don’t have any skin in the game.”
“There weren’t any bystanders helping either,” I point out.
They just stood there, staring, not helping at all. The way I did.
All this gets me is a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t know what to say. I knew what to do, and I did it. I didn’t think. I acted.”
“That’s really special.”
He shakes his head. “Not really.”
“Yes, really! If we found that kid’s mom right now, I bet she’d tell you exactly how special it was. You saved her son’s life when nobody else did anything. She has him now because of you.” My hand finds his and holds on tight. “I think that’s what made me faint. I was overwhelmed for everybody.”
“How are you feeling now?”
I get the sense that he doesn’t want to keep talking about it. Like it embarrasses him. He doesn’t want me to think of him as a hero. Which is why I let up on the subject.
“Better. I’m still hungry.”
His relief is obvious when he smiles. “Yeah, me too.”
Though before we sit down to eat, he makes it a point to stop at a little store selling various first aid products and picks up antibiotic ointment and bandages for my knees.
Not my most attractive look. Not by a long shot. But how am I supposed to resist when he’s so determined to take care of me?
It’s sort of a challenge for the rest of the day, not staring up at him in awe.
He saved a kid’s life.
He literally saved a kid’s life.
The kid could’ve died right there.
Jake saved him.
I mean, I usually have to stop myself from gaping at him in complete wonder as it is, and that was before he saved somebody’s life in front of me. Only knowing how much he’d hate it stops me.
We spend the rest of the day eating pizza slices as big as our heads, playing Skee-Ball—I beat him handily in eight out of ten rounds; it’s not even close—and walking up and down the boardwalk.
There are all sorts of silly things to do, like dressing up in old-timey clothes and having pictures taken or going on crazy, extreme rides that turn my stomach from just watching other people on them.
“Come on,” he begs, pointing to one of those slingshots that flings people way high up into the air.
“I don’t think so.” I laugh, shaking my head.
“You only live once!”
“I just ate my weight in pizza. Do you really want to be sitting next to me when that thing shoots us into the air, and I hurl up the contents of my stomach?”
“Hmm. Good point.”
“Next time,” I promise, sliding my arm around his as we continue walking.
Yes, I can definitely see there being a next time. I can almost imagine us bringing our kids down during the summer, staying at some kitschy motel—or better yet, a condo—the little ones taking turns riding on Jake’s shoulders as we—
Hold it, Valentine. I can practically hear Hayley’s voice in my head, and somehow, the brilliant late afternoon sunshine dims a little. What are you thinking? You’d better pump the brakes—fast.
I know she—or rather, my subconscious—is right. I know I have to play it smart. We haven’t even slept together or made this thing of ours official, and I’m letting one little lifesaving maneuver seal the deal. I can’t let myself fall in love.
“I have to ask you something.” He stops, bringing me to a halt with him. The fact that he looks serious doesn’t exactly make me feel smiley and confident.
“What is it?” Please, don’t spoil our perfect day. I mean, I fainted and skinned my knees, but it was perfect otherwise.
“Is that whole Heimlich thing going to be in your book?”
I have to laugh until I realize he’s serious. “I haven’t thought about it yet. What, do you think I’m always taking notes for my current project?”
“Aren’t you? I’m not trying to be a jerk. I’m curious. I don’t know how it works.”
“If I went around, taking notes all the time, I could never live in the moment.” I shrug. “That’s as much as I can say. I haven’t thought about my book all day, which I guess is a good thing. Wasn’t I supposed to get my head out of my work and enjoy myself?”
“That was the general point.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, letting his fingertips linger on my cheek before bending down for a kiss that pretty much melts me.
“Careful,” I whisper once he lets me come up for air. “I’ll end up fainting again.”
“I’ll catch you this time,” he promises with a smile before leaning down for another kiss.
There’s only one thing that could ruin the mood as we reach Manhattan, parking in a lot not far from my building and walking up to my floor. Only one thing could take what’s been a virtually perfect day, which is clearly leading into a perfect night, and turn it on its head.
“Oh, hi.” Matt’s just coming out with Phoebe as I approach my door with Jake’s hand in mine.
Don’t you dare. Don’t you stinking dare. I will straight-up kill you if you ruin this.
Can he hear my thoughts? Of course he can’t, but that doesn’t mean he can’t smirk like he knows exactly where the night’s about to go.
I would really like to know what gives him the right.
I truly would. Do I ever smirk at the skanks he parades in and out?
No. Okay, sure, I played marching band music that one time when he was in the middle of sex, but at least he took the hint—or seemed to.
There hasn’t been nearly as much moaning and screaming coming from his apartment since then.
Jake, ever the good guy, immediately crouches to greet Phoebe. “What a beauty.” He smiles as he scratches her behind the ears.
“Thank you.” Why is it that pet owners take compliments like that personally? He didn’t give birth to the dog. “You a dog owner?”
“I have a pair of huskies who’d love to make her acquaintance.” Jake leans in like he’s telling Phoebe a secret. “They’re fixed, so you wouldn’t have to worry about it.”
“So is she.” Matt laughs.
So, he can put the nice guy act on for a stranger. How great for him.
He looks us both over. “You’ve been at the beach today, huh?”
Wow. What a genius. I’m carrying a tote bag with sand stuck to it.
“Yeah, it was beautiful out there.” Jake beams. “Just perfect. You get out to the beach much?”
Why are we standing here, talking to Matt? Why, when there are other things we could—and most certainly should—be doing? If only Jake knew what a dick Matt’s been lately—and how he assumed Jake only went to Grandmother’s party so he could get in my pants.
I didn’t tell him about that—of course because I am a mature, rational person and not a tattletale. Yes, I know how stupid that sounds.
It’s just that I’ve never been a fan of two-faced people, and that’s how Matt strikes me right now. He’s all smiles and laughs to Jake’s face, but I know what he’s said behind Jake’s back. How can he even look at me right now, knowing that I know?
“You okay?” Jake asks.
Terrific. Put the spotlight on me. I’ve never been good at hiding my feelings behind a happy face.
He turns to Matt. “She went out on me for a few minutes today. Too much sun maybe.”
“You fainted?” Matt asks with a frown.
“I’m okay, really. I think I was overwhelmed.” I nudge Jake with my elbow. “I had never watched somebody being brought back from the brink of death before.”
“What?” Now, Matt’s truly lost.
“A kid was choking, and I helped him. No big deal,” Jake insists. Maybe it’s the amount of sun he got today, but he looks a little red-faced.
“I see,” Matt muses with his eyes on me. “I guess watching somebody being so heroic would make a girl swoon.”
“We’ve gotta go, and I’m sure Phoebe does too.” I have the door open and the two of us inside the apartment before I even finish speaking, calling out, “Have a good night!” as I close and lock the door between us.
“What was that about?” Jake whispers, snickering. “I remember the two of you bickering when I first saw you in the ER.”
“Yeah, he’s a pest,” I sigh.
And I sincerely hope Jake can forget about him.
Only he can’t, not right away. “He strikes me as being protective of you. Like a brother.”
“You think so?” I truly wish we could stop talking about him.
Was this how Jake felt when I wanted to talk about his Glamazon of an ex-girlfriend? Now, I feel bad for not letting the subject drop when he asked me to.
Though Matt’s not an ex. He’s hardly even a friend. Friends aren’t mean the way he is or so critical. It’s one thing for Hayley to be that way. We’ve been friends for years, like sisters.
“Yeah. You didn’t sense him sizing me up?” Jake chuckles, good-natured. “I guess that’s nice. You live across the hall from somebody who cares whether you’re happy.”
“I don’t know if I’d go that far. But as neighbors go, I could do worse.”
It occurs to me that I have no idea what to do next. We’re here, in my apartment which I cleaned from top to bottom in preparation, hoping this moment would come soon.
Only now that the moment is here, I don’t know how to move things along. It was one thing to jump him on his sofa, but starting from square one after Matt put a damper on my spirits is proving to be a challenge.
In short, I don’t feel sexy. At all.
Does he sense it? Does he feel it when he comes to me, looping his arms around my waist?
“We had a long day,” he murmurs. “It’s only seven o’clock, and I’m wrung out.”
“I think I am too,” I admit. Sure, let him think it’s only fatigue and too much sun and not my sudden loss of confidence.
“Maybe we should rest for a while,” he suggests. “If that’s not too forward of me.”
“Not at all.”
No, it’s perfect. Absolutely perfect. Once again, he saves the day.
And when we wake up—preferably in my bed, preferably all wrapped up in each other—it’s on. It’s so on.
I am going to rock his world.