Chapter 19 #2
It was impossible not to feel small under the open sky. She was merely a speck on the map in the grand scheme of things, but there was something freeing about it, too. Under the mountains, she was only another person staring at the moon.
It seemed paradoxical. She should feel insignificant, but if anything, she felt the opposite. The weight of the world didn’t feel as heavy. While people recognized her as a celebrity, it wasn’t the only thing they talked about. If anything, people asked about her as if they cared.
When Diem and Alina came in for dinner, they’d asked for her number so they could plan a girls’ night.
A girls’ night. With me.
It was such a normal ask, but had she ever been invited to a girls’ night before? One that didn’t involve alcohol or drugs, or rubbing elbows with someone who could advance her career?
The answer was no. This innocuous question felt monumental for her. Though she hadn’t agreed on the spot, always leery of handing out her phone number to strangers, she was considering it.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Zings of awareness danced down her spine at Jake’s low timbre.
Gia flicked her gaze up at Jake’s looming presence. Half of his face was hidden in shadows, lending a mysterious air to him. All this time she’d been back, she hadn’t once bothered to get to know the new Jake.
“I’m a terrible friend to you, aren’t I?”
This time, when the corner of his lip inched up, she didn’t have the irrational urge to smack him. Worst of all, she felt an unmistakable churning in her stomach that most definitely was not gas. She was familiar with this sensation, and it hadn’t ended well for her last time.
“You’re not a terrible friend, Gia.” Jake bumped lightly against her arm.
“And you’re a terrible liar.” She smiled warmly. It felt reminiscent of their easy camaraderie and the way she fell in love with him so easily when they were younger.
“Not all of us are meant for Hollywood, darling.”
Heat colored her cheeks at the term of endearment.
They fell silent, walking side by side down Main Street.
Jake occasionally nodded to passersby as they greeted him.
His easygoing nature was a stark contrast to her prickly one.
She tried to ignore the way goosebumps erupted on her skin with every brush of his arm.
Would it be so bad to let Jake back in?
Under the soft glow of the street lamp, Jake stopped and turned toward her.
Glancing up, his eyes glowed like neon lights peering into her soul.
She wrapped her arms around herself defensively.
Jake raised a hand and cupped her jaw, his heated touch against her cool skin causing lightning to arc beneath her skin.
“You have always been more to me than just a friend, Gia.”
Her lips parted, blood thundering through her veins.
She reached up to touch his hand where he held her, feeling the gravity of his confession in her marrow—but before she could respond in kind, a burst of noise interrupted the moment, causing Gia to jump backward.
She’d been so lost in the moment she hadn’t realized they’d stopped in front of Crystal Hollow Grill.
Jake’s hand dropped back to his side as a passing couple greeted him. He held her gaze for a beat longer than polite before turning to address the newcomers.
“Are you coming in for dinner, Jake?” the woman asked, one arm wrapped around the bicep of her partner.
“Actually, yes, we are.” A warm hand rested on the small of her back. Her stomach clenched at the gesture.
“And who is your date?” Dark brown eyes met hers.
“Oh, no, this isn’t a da—” she stammered.
“This is Gia, my date for the evening.” He shot her a conspiratorial wink.
“Oh my God, and you didn’t tell us you’re dating someone? So rude!” The petite woman turned to face Gia fully. “Hi, I’m Quynh, and this grumpy bear is my husband, Griffin.”
Griffin? As in Griffin’s Auto Body?
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you.” Gia stretched out a hand but was shocked when the smaller woman stepped forward with both arms wide open.
“I’m a hugger. Can I hug you?”
“Oh, sure. Yeah.” Though Gia was at least half a foot taller than the other woman, somehow it worked. Quynh wrapped her arms around Gia as if they were longtime friends reuniting. And was it her imagination, or it was one of the best hugs she’d ever had?
“Come on, let’s get dinner together!”
“Oh, we couldn’t intrude on your plans,” Gia protested.
“Nonsense. It’s so rare for me to get out of the house, and even rarer that this grump comes with me.
You don’t mind, do you, honey bear?” Griffin grunted a response, but Gia didn’t miss the way his eyes softened when Quynh glanced up at him.
“Besides, I’m having a bout of writer’s block, and I need a distraction! ”
Quynh didn’t wait for a response as she turned and dragged Griffin to the door. He held the door and nodded to Gia to enter. Behind her, she heard the men greet each other in the way men do, with that handshake, chest-bump, half-hug thing.
She could have sworn she heard Jake mutter, “Sorry to crash your date,” but she couldn’t be sure over the noise of the dinner crowd.
A long wraparound bar sat in the center of the room, while booths were stationed along the wall.
High-top tables were spread out throughout the space.
Gold and brown accents enhanced the dark green wall, giving it a rustic, vintage vibe with timeless charm.
Gia followed Quynh as she pranced to a booth in the window, saying hi to guests who greeted her.
Between Quynh and Jake, it was like they knew every single person in town. Gia noticed she and Griffin seemed to have more in common than their prospective partners.
I guess opposites really do attract.
Quynh climbed into the booth, and Gia sat across from her.
The smile Quynh beamed at her husband could melt an iceberg, but he only rolled his eyes half-heartedly before trying to squeeze his enormous frame into the booth next to her.
When Quynh rested her head on his shoulder, the tension left Griffin instantly.
Jake lowered himself gracefully onto the seat next to Gia, leaving at least a foot of space between their bodies.
Despite the distance, the air felt charged between them.
She became aware of every move he made, every time he shifted in his seat.
He stretched out an arm and settled it along the back of the booth, fingertips curling into her hair like it was the most natural thing to do.
Between Jake and Quynh, conversation flowed smoothly. Griffin grunted out appropriate responses while Gia tried not to hurl herself through the window to get away from Jake’s touch.
When Griffin excused himself to go to the restroom, Jake placed a hand on her thigh and brought his lips to her ear. His heated breath against her skin made her quiver with alertness.
“You okay, Kitten?”
She turned her head, their noses nearly touching. Her eyes zoned in on his full lips, quirked in the irritating smirk she’d come to love. She licked her lips, throat suddenly dry, a thrill of satisfaction drumming through her at the way his eyes tracked her movement.
Out of the corner of her eye, she knew Quynh was pretending to look at something on her phone.
“Yes,” she croaked, clearing her throat and meeting his eyes. “Yes, I’m fine.”
He held her gaze, the din of the dining room fading away. Time stood still as she lost herself in the arctic depths of his eyes.
A loud thump made her jump nearly out of her skin.
“Drinks are on me.” Griffin handed Quynh and Gia a glass of red wine, which Gia accepted and placed on the table in front of her. He gave a beer to Jake, and the two clinked glasses before taking a swig.
Quynh raised her glass to Gia, who responded by clinking their glasses together—but instead of taking a sip, she placed it back down. Being around people who drank didn’t bother her like she thought it would, but it had been a while since she’d drank, and she wasn’t ready to test that boundary yet.
“So, Gia, tell me about yourself,” Quynh said after taking a sip of her red wine.
Oh, God, here we go.
“There’s really not that much to tell…”
“She’s lying.” Jake tossed her a droll look. “My darling Gia here is from Willowbrook. She used to be the town’s troublemaker.”
“I was not!”
“There are papers written about you.”
“One. There is one paper.” Gia held up a finger for emphasis.
“Oh my God, what did you do, Gia?” Quynh swung her wide eyes to Gia.
“It was a stupid prank.” She sank lower in her seat, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
“She broke into the high school pool and filled it with a few hundred rubber ducks.”
“How did you get so many?”
“It took her months to get that many delivered out here.”
“But how did you get them inside the pool?”
“I stole my parents’ car and broke into the gym overnight.”
“You should have seen the car. It was stuffed full of rubber ducks!” Jake laughed.
“How did they know it was you?”
Jake and Gia looked at each other and winced.
“I kind of crashed my parents’ car when I was leaving and had to get it towed.”
“Ouch.”
“Yep.”
“She wouldn’t let me drive back.”
“I didn’t want you to get in trouble for something I did.”
Quynh smiled. “Was it worth it?”
“Yep.”
The rest of the night carried on without a hitch. Gia found herself enjoying her time. It felt less like an impromptu double date and more like she had always been a part of the conversation.
When conversation turned to what she did for work, Jake smoothly redirected the conversation away from Gia, something she was thankful for, since she wasn’t quite ready to tackle that topic.
She liked that people didn’t look at her as a celebrity they could get something out of. For tonight, she was just Gia, the girl who was back in town visiting her parents.
She felt normal.