Chapter 49
forty-nine
The sliver of sun coming through the curtains slowly wakes me after the most incredible night of my life. All because of Jake.
True to his word, it didn’t take long after our first time until he was on his knees for me again, quickly making me come on his tongue.
Then he had me on my hands and knees as he pounded into me from behind.
Fuck. My pussy clenches at the memory of how empowering it felt when my orgasm sparked his release.
So much of what happened last night was new for me. The way he worked my body with his hands and tongue. The various positions he had me in. Yet, none of it felt awkward. Instead, I felt safe.
Desired.
Wanted.
Cherished.
One night with Jake has completely overhauled my thoughts about sex. And I’m already craving to feel him inside me again. To chase the high only he can coax out of my body.
I wiggle my butt against his groin, immediately drawing a moan from his lips. He pulls me in tighter, lowering his hand between my thighs.
“Fuck. You’re already wet,” he murmurs, grinding his erection into my backside. “You, naked in my bed, soaking wet, and ready for me, is my new favorite way to wake up. Perhaps I’ll start off with breakfast in bed.”
“I’m not hungry,” I whisper.
“But I’m starving,” he says, flipping me onto my back in one quick motion. His body cages me in as he looks at me like I’m the most delicious thing he’s ever seen. “And I wasn’t talking about food.”
My mouth falls open, and my breath catches. “Oh…I wouldn’t mind if you had breakfast in bed.”
“Good girl,” he says, pressing a deep kiss to my lips that I feel in my toes. “Now, lie back and let me eat.”
It’s been a glorious week since Jake and I had sex for the first time. Even the chaos of work and my mom’s thinly veiled insults can’t bring me down from the high I’m on.
During the day, we carry on like everything is normal, trying to keep my mom in the dark about us for as long as possible.
At night, I spend hours at Jake’s house as we worship every inch of each other’s bodies.
The only downside is the sadness we feel when I head back to my mom’s.
Staying the night with him after our date was easy enough to explain, claiming we lost track of time talking, and I fell asleep on his couch.
Trying to find an excuse for staying over there every night is a bridge too far.
“Katherine, did you hear me?” my mom asks from across the dinner table, pulling me out of my mini-daydream about a future when I fall asleep next to Jake every night.
“Sorry. I was distracted.” I focus my attention on her, avoiding eye contact with Jake so I can’t be any further turned on by the eye fucking he’s giving me at the dinner table.
He loves to walk the thin line between playing it safe in front of my mom and getting me so hot and bothered that I’m practically dripping for him when I come over after dinner. “What did you say?”
“As much as I have appreciated your help over the past few months, I believe it’s time for both of you to get back to your lives,” my mom says, her face devoid of any emotion as she glances from me to Jake.
“I’m getting around well with the use of my walker, and the physical therapist cleared me to drive, starting today. ”
“They did what?” My head jerks in Jake’s direction, surprised by this news because he didn’t mention it after he brought her home from therapy this afternoon.
“Is this why you made me sit in the waiting room instead of watching today?” Jake asks, eyeing my mom suspiciously. “Did you pester the therapist until he agreed you could drive?”
My mom waves her hand, dismissing the idea that she could bully anyone into doing something they didn’t want to do.
As if she hasn’t been doing just that to almost every medical professional since her accident.
“He agreed it was time. As do I. I’ve loved having both of you around, but I’m ready to have my independence back.
” She takes a long drink of her water, watching me, trying to gauge my reaction.
“Having you monitor what I do and provide me with constant reminders of how I need to take it easy or not do something is getting a bit old,” she says in a serious tone.
Is she fucking kidding? The woman known for providing daily critiques of my life finds us to be stifling. Just when I think she can’t shock me anymore, she says something like this.
And I’m not the only one confused by her declaration. Jake starts coughing violently, choking on his water, thanks to her last comment. He arches his eyebrows at me and quickly mouths, “What the fuck?” before my mom notices.
There are two ways I can play this: express my true emotions about how I can’t wait to go back to Chicago and sleep in my own bed, or pretend to be saddened that she no longer needs my help because I’ll miss spending every day with her.
It’s a delicate balancing act. One wrong word or eyebrow raised too high could result in a lengthy tirade that I don’t have the energy to deal with.
“We’re pleased you’re doing well enough to be on your own, Mom.
We don’t want to be a further intrusion on your life, but we also want to make sure you’re able to manage everything before we leave.
Your health is our top priority,” I say, hoping my response shows that I agree with her while also demonstrating that I’m not racing to pack my bags immediately, even though I’m mentally calculating how quickly I can get out of here.
“How much longer would you like us to stay?”
“Jake’s welcome to leave anytime. I know he has numerous responsibilities he’s missing by being here,” my mom replies.
She takes a tiny bite of her salad before saying, “I’d like you to stay through the rest of the week and head home on Friday.
You can help me clean the house and do another large grocery store run before you go.
I’ll plan on driving myself to therapy starting tomorrow. ”
It’s finally happening. I have a timetable for returning to my real life.
Being able to control my day-to-day. Having access to my entire closet.
Cook in my kitchen and eat whatever I want.
Drink wine and gossip with my best friend.
A surge of excitement builds within me until I look at Jake, and my enthusiasm for going back to Chicago dissipates.
Going home means leaving Jake.
The two of us will no longer be in the same city.
Separated by seven hours, assuming he’s not traveling.
Although we’ve discussed how to make a long-distance relationship work, the reality of it happening suddenly has me more on edge than I anticipated.
I thought we’d have more time together before this day would come.
“I’ll plan on leaving when Kate does,” Jake says, his eyes locked on my mom. “I want to make sure both of you have what you need before I leave. Plus, it’ll give me time to finish the few outstanding projects needed to get the house on the market.”
The rest of dinner goes by in a blur as my mom chats about the latest town gossip and her plans for the summer. I occasionally smile or throw in a comment to act like I’m listening when my mind is spiraling about what this means for Jake and me.
As soon as my mom gets up from the table to put her dishes in the sink, Jake makes eye contact with me. He mouths, “We’ll be okay,” with a tentative smile.
I nod silently back at him, hoping he’s right.
“What are we going to do, Jake?” I ask as soon as I walk into his house and find him sitting on the living room couch.
It took longer than normal before my mom called it a night, leaving me stewing for two hours after dinner as I fought to keep my emotions bottled up.
And now they’re ready to come pouring out.
Pretty sure I looked panic-stricken and ready to burst into tears the moment I walked through the front door.
Jake gets up from the couch and pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly. “It’s going to be okay, Kate. We knew this was coming. It’s just happening earlier than we planned,” he murmurs, rubbing his hand on my back in a soothing motion. “I’ve already made some calls and have a couple of ideas.”
I choke out a small sob, my chest heaving as the tears I’ve held back for hours finally break free.
I’ve felt more like myself in the past two weeks than I have in my entire life, and the thought of losing that feeling—losing him—even if it’s temporary and only physical, makes my heart ache in a way I didn’t know possible.
Jake takes my hand, guiding me over to the couch. He wipes away my tears, staring deeply into my eyes with such strength and conviction. “Do you want to talk about how you’re feeling?”
I shake my head, knowing that expressing the fears I have won’t make them go away. The best solution is to make actions to combat them. Ways to prove to myself that we can make it through this separation. That all the pain will be worth it in the end.
“Okay,” he replies, cupping my face and pressing a sweet kiss to my lips.
“I’ve been waiting all night to kiss you.
To hold you in my arms and reassure you that we’ll get through this together.
Because now that I have you, Kate…I’m never letting you go.
” He kisses me again, his tongue swiping inside my mouth, fueling the constant burning desire I have for him.
I could spend hours kissing him and it wouldn’t be enough. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough.
He breaks away and drops his forehead to mine as our chests heave against one another.
I want nothing more than to crawl into bed with him and let him worship my body until I forget what’s about to happen.
Effectively erasing tonight’s dinner conversation from my mind. But that won’t solve our problems.
“What are we going to do, Jake?”
He blows out a deep breath, lightly kisses my forehead, and sits back on the couch to look at me.
“Your mom took me by surprise today. I knew we were getting closer, but I thought we would at least have a few more weeks.” He runs one of his hands through his tousled hair, messing up the strands in a way that makes it look even better than it did a couple of minutes ago.
“Same,” I reply, wiping away my remaining tears with the sleeve of my oversized sweatshirt. “I thought we’d have more time to spend together before…”
“Me, too,” he agrees, dragging a hand over his face and exhaling.
“After dinner, I made some calls to see what flexibility I have in my schedule and what arrangements might be possible. Jason was pretty adamant that he needed me back two months ago, but eventually calmed down to be somewhat reasonable. At least, for him.”
A small chuckle escapes my lips. Everything Jake has told me about Jason paints him as a workaholic with unrealistic expectations—the polar opposite of Jake. It’s hard to fathom how they’ve worked together for so long without driving each other insane.
“Although this won’t be a long-term solution, I’d like to go to Chicago with you, if that’s okay,” he says with a hint of trepidation in his voice. He takes my hand in his, rubbing his thumb in gentle circles on my palm. “Would that be okay? I can probably stay for a month or two.”
“Are you kidding me? It would be amazing!” I shout, practically leaping on top of him until I’m straddling him on the couch.
“Glad to see you like the idea,” he replies, running his hands up my thighs. “Max is finding us a few rental options to consider. I’m not ready to share you with anyone yet, not even Chelsi.”
I shake my head and laugh. The feeling is definitely mutual. I want all the privacy in the world right now. For us to explore each other’s bodies and figure out what this could become.
He drags a fingertip along the waistband of my leggings, dipping underneath ever so slightly, instantly setting my core ablaze.
“Now that we’ve dealt with tonight’s unexpected drama, I’d like to get back on track with my original plan.
” He leans forward, brushing his lips along the side of my face and nipping at my earlobe.
“Taking you to my bed and showing you exactly how good we are together.”
“Yes, please,” I whimper, arching into his touch.
He stands and takes my hand, leading me toward his bedroom. And then it hits me.
I’ve completely fallen for this man, and I don’t want to ever let him go.