11
“We’re still on for tomorrow, right?” Lexie asked as she made her way through the empty photography studio late Friday afternoon. She stopped short as she rounded the corner of Jake’s partition. His cubicle was empty.
“Apparently I’m talking to myself,” she muttered, shaking her head and pulling her phone from her back pocket. Her text conversation with Jake was already open, as it usually was.
Lexie:Hey. Are we still going to the
A door opened directly in front of her, and she jumped, leaving the rest of her message unwritten. Jake stepped out of the old darkroom—now a storage area for unused equipment—with his eyes on the ground. He looked up and startled, clearly surprised to find her waiting for him.
“Hi!” he said. “I didn’t know you were out here.”
“You scared me to death!” she said, one hand pressed over her heart.
Jake laughed softly and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. His eyes darted around, as if checking for witnesses, before he stepped in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. Dating among the interns wasn’t against any office rules, but they didn’t want to make it a big deal if they didn’t have to.
“So, what can I do for you?” he asked.
But Lexie couldn’t answer. Her eyes were glued to the faded wooden door behind him, and heat rushed to her cheeks.
“What?” he asked, his brow furrowing as he glanced over his shoulder, but only Lexie could see the memory playing inside her head.
“N-nothing,” she stuttered, trying and failing to contain the blush she could feel traveling down her neck. She pressed her palms against her cheeks, surprised by how hot her skin had gotten.
“Lex?” Jake closed his hands around her wrists and tugged them away from her face. His voice was full of amusement, and his eyes danced in curiosity as they flicked from her expression to the wall behind him. “Why do you look like somebody just read your diary?”
Lexie felt her chest tighten in embarrassment, and she wished he weren’t so close to the truth.
“Nothing, it’s—it’s nothing. It’s... I just... I had a dream once,” she stammered, looking everywhere except at him.
“Okay?” Jake arched his brows, clearly waiting for her to go on.
“About... that door. And you. You and the d— You know what? It’s not important,” she babbled, her face still hot enough to cook eggs. She tried to tug her arms away, but Jake held on, looking over his shoulder again. Lexie could almost see him fitting the puzzle pieces together.
Finally, he turned back to her with one eyebrow cocked, his face full of interest. The corner of his mouth tugged up in a half smile, and he stepped to one side and turned them both until they had traded places. Lexie’s hip bumped his desk chair as he walked her backwards.
“This dream... it wouldn’t have gone something like this, would it?” he asked, his eyes still on hers.
Lexie’s mouth went dry when her shoulders touched the wood. Jake stepped even closer, pressing her flat against the door until there was barely enough space to breathe. She swallowed, willing herself to answer, but she couldn’t seem to form the words.
A loud cough nearby jolted them apart, and Jake backed into his chair, knocking it against his desk with a bang.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that,” Andy said as he pushed open the door to his office just beyond Jake’s cubicle. He moved inside, and Lexie watched through the doorway as he set a steaming mug of coffee on his desk without looking up. She groaned and wiped her hands over her face, then threw a quick glance at Jake from between her fingers. He stood with one hand curled around the back of his neck and the other shoved deep into the pocket of his jeans. He looked as self-conscious as she felt, and he seemed to be breathing harder than usual.
“Are you guys a thing now? Please tell me you’re a thing now, because I can’t stand to watch him mope anymore,” Andy said, not bothering to come out of his office.
Lexie looked at Jake again, but he simply shrugged and gave her a sheepish smile.
“You have the worst timing,” he said, raising his voice so Andy could hear.
“Actually, I think my timing is pretty good. Any longer and you might have forgotten Chancellor Carmike is coming for publicity shots in, oh, about five minutes,” Andy shot back, and Jake’s eyes jumped to the assignments calendar tacked to the wall near his shoulder. He huffed out a breath and raked his hand back through his hair.
“Perfect,” he mumbled, closing his eyes. Lexie turned to go, but Jake stopped her with a light hand on her wrist. He tugged her closer before taking a step back into the far corner of his workspace. His eyes darted toward Andy’s office, as if making sure they were hidden from view. Jake pressed a hard kiss against her mouth, and she could sense his reluctance when he let her go.
“I’ll pick you up at five tomorrow,” he said.
“Okay,” she said as she finally caught her breath. She turned and slipped out of his cubicle without another word. When she reached the hall, she heard the sound of male voices drifting through the door to the stairwell. Chancellor Carmike was among them—on his way up for new pictures.
Andy really did have good timing.
“Try the black one again.”
“The shirt or the tie?” Jake asked, angling his phone so his sister, Ashlyn, could give her opinion.
“The shirt,” she said.
“No, not the black shirt! He doesn’t need to look like Zorro,” Brooklyn argued. Jake could see her in the background, sitting on Ashlyn’s bed back in Copper Hill.
“Okay, guys, can you just make up your minds?” he said, huffing impatiently as he undid his tie for the third time. The gray striped pattern had been rejected by the girls, who were being as picky about his clothes as they usually were about their own.
“First of all, we’re not guys,” Ashlyn corrected, holding up one finger as she leaned closer to her camera. “That’s why you called us, right? Otherwise, you’d be downstairs modeling for Noah and Conner, and you’d end up wearing a Led Zeppelin T-shirt and Crocs. Secondly, do you want to look like you have some idea of how to dress yourself?”
“I dress myself for church every week, thank you very much,” Jake grumbled, furrowing his brow. Maybe he should have done this without them. He would have been finished half an hour ago.
“Are you wearing a sport coat?” Brooklyn asked.
Jake paused. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. He was still just trying to choose a shirt.
“You should wear a coat,” Ashlyn interjected, nodding quickly. “She might get cold, and you can give it to her.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet!” Brooklyn gushed. “Jake, we’re going to make you the most eligible bachelor alive.”
Jake rolled his eyes and tossed the rejected tie onto his bed.
“So, am I changing this shirt or not?” he asked, holding his arms straight out from his sides, waiting for a decision.
The girls looked at each other as though silently conferring.
“You’ve got a gray jacket, right? Like charcoal?” Ashlyn asked after a moment.
Jake glanced back at his closet, thinking. “Uh, I have black. Like a light black.”
Now it was Brooklyn’s turn to roll her eyes. “Boys think there are only six colors in the whole world, don’t they? Okay, I’ve got it!” she said, clapping her hands together. “Get the light black jacket and those gray slacks you wore at Hannah’s wedding.”
“Ooh,” Ashlyn said, her face lighting up in approval. “I love a man in gray dress pants. Tommy has a pair, and his—”
“Okay!” Jake interrupted, not wanting to hear anything about what his sister thought of her boyfriend’s pants. “Let’s stay focused here. I’ve got the jacket and the slacks,” he said as he pulled both from his closet and held them up. “Now what?”
His sister and cousin looked at each other again, their eyes narrowed.
“White shirt, green tie,” they said in unison, and Jake blinked. Had they actually just agreed on something?
“Okay. White shirt, green tie,” he repeated, fishing for both in the mess that was currently his bedroom. He didn’t actually own that many pieces of dress clothing, but apparently he had just enough options to make his head hurt. Stepping out of the camera frame, he started to unbutton the maroon shirt he was wearing so he could replace it with the new selection.
“Just be careful!” Ashlyn warned. “You’re my brother. I don’t want to accidentally see anything I can’t un-see.”
Jake rolled his eyes and ignored her.
“Jake has nothing to be ashamed of in that department, actually,” Brooklyn said, not even bothering to lower her voice.
Jake glanced toward where his phone was propped against a pile of textbooks on his desk and bit back a retort. Just because they couldn’t see him from this angle didn’t mean he wasn’t still part of the conversation. He shrugged out of his shirt and reached for the new one.
“How would you know?” Ashlyn asked.
“The last time the boys were all home, they were out in the yard with their shirts off. I couldn’t help noticing,” Brooklyn answered matter-of-factly. “Drew has the best abs, for sure, but he does work on the farm every day, so he has an unfair advantage. Jake’s are a solid four out of five, though—definitely would recommend.”
“You know I can still hear you, right?” Jake shouted from the far side of the room where he was pulling on the pants they’d chosen.
“Yeah. And?”
“And you’re my cousin!” he said emphatically. He slid a black belt through the loops of his slacks and then tucked in his dress shirt.
“I’m not saying I want to go out with you myself,” Brooklyn argued. “But I certainly wouldn’t feel bad about setting you up with a friend.”
“All your friends are seventeen,” Jake pointed out, looping his tie around his neck and starting on the knot.
“It’s a compliment, Jake! Just take it and run,” Brooklyn said, clearly exasperated.
“Where are you taking her again? To a concert?” Ashlyn asked. Jake could hear a loud crinkling noise, like the girls might be opening a bag of chips.
“Yeah, the Hampton Symphony. It’s just a small-town sort of thing, but I think she’ll like it.” He shrugged his sport coat over his shoulders and checked his watch. He only had about twenty minutes before Lexie was expecting him at her apartment. He walked back to his desk and into the camera frame.
“Okay, so this has to be the last one. I’m out of time,” he said, backing up until his whole body was in the picture. “Am I presentable?”
The girls peered at him for a moment before breaking into identical grins. Ashlyn reached out and touched something on her phone screen, and Jake heard music start up on her end of the line.
“Seriously? How long have you had that waiting?” he asked, listening as the chorus of ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” came blaring through his speakers.
“Since the second outfit,” Ashlyn admitted. She nodded in approval. “You look good, big brother. Go knock her dead.”
“Actually, no, don’t knock her dead because we want to meet her!” Brooklyn said, nudging Ashlyn out of the frame. “When do we get to meet her?”
“I don’t know. We’re not that far yet,” Jake said as he tucked his keys and wallet into his pockets and tugged on a pair of black dress boots. “I’ve gotta go. Thanks for all your help!” He reached out to end the call, but Brooklyn shouted before he could press the button.
“Wait!”
“What?” he huffed, starting to get anxious.
“Let us know what she thinks of your abs.”
The girls cackled as Jake felt his face heat, and he hung up without bothering to respond.
Hampton’s Riverwater Playhouse wasn’t Carnegie Hall by any means, but the warm light and soft music that spilled from its soaring Gothic windows gave the distinct impression of timeless elegance. Jake was pleased to see Lexie’s eyes light up in excitement as he helped her down from his truck.
“This is gorgeous!” she exclaimed, tipping her head back to follow the spires toward the darkening sky.
“So are you,” he answered, leaning in quickly to kiss her temple.
“Wow, you think you’re slick, don’t you?” Lexie teased as she let him steer her toward the wide front stairs.
Jake’s face split into a self-satisfied grin.
“I have my moments,” he admitted, and he loved the way her soft laughter rolled out and wrapped around him like a favorite blanket.
They soon joined a chattering crowd in the spacious lobby, and Jake couldn’t help but notice the wide array of concertgoers in attendance—from college students in jeans and sweatshirts to elderly couples dressed to the nines. He and Lexie fell somewhere in the middle, blending in with other young couples who were clearly enjoying a night on the town.
Jake looked down at Lexie, still somewhat in awe of the fact that she was actually there with him. She stood surveying the room with her hand nestled casually into the crook of his arm, her head held high and her shoulders back. Several long, golden curls tumbled out of a complicated-looking twist, and a diamond-shaped cutout in the back of her turquoise dress exposed a soft expanse of skin. Jake could imagine putting his hand there and trailing his thumb along the ridges of her spine.
Someone nearby cleared their throat, and Jake was startled to find that he and Lexie had drifted forward with the crowd while he was lost in a daze. An usher in black pants and a playhouse T-shirt stood with his hand held out, palm up, and an amused smile on his face.
“Tickets, sir?” he asked, clearly not for the first time.
Jake felt himself flush as he pulled the papers from his jacket and handed them over. If Lexie had noticed him staring, she didn’t show it.
“Right this way, then,” the usher said after checking their seat numbers. He led them through a set of doors to the second tier, then gestured along a row near the railing. “Here you are—seats five and six.”
“Thank you,” Lexie said. The man nodded and turned back the way they’d come. Once he was gone, Lexie turned to Jake, her face full of concern as she laid her hand against his arm. “Are you going to be okay this close to the railing?”
Jake furrowed his brow, confused.
“I mean, I’d hate for your eyes to finish falling out of your head and roll straight down to the first floor,” Lexie finished, a teasing smile sneaking across her face.
Jake pursed his lips and shook his head sheepishly. “Very funny,” he muttered, inching down the row toward their seats.
“I knew you’d like this dress, but I really thought you were civilized enough not to drool,” she quipped, and Jake bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He didn’t need to add fuel to this fire.
When they reached their seats, he sank slowly into the chair, and Lexie reached out to touch the side of his face.
“Thank you for bringing me to this,” she said, her voice full of sincerity as a hundred conversations continued around them. She pulled him in for a kiss that he felt was entirely too short and then broke away as the houselights dimmed. An expectant hush fell over the wide room, and Jake draped his arm across the back of Lexie’s chair and played with a curl that fell just within reach of his fingers. She glanced at him mischievously, the stage lights reflecting in her eyes. A single spotlight illuminated a speaker who introduced the evening’s program as “Classic Rock in Classical Style.”
Jake leaned close to Lexie until his mouth hovered near her ear. “It’s not Vivaldi, but maybe it’ll do,” he whispered. He heard her take a sharp breath, and he tried not to feel too triumphant about the goose bumps that popped up along her neck.
“I love it,” she assured him, her eyes fixed straight ahead. “Now, behave,” she ordered, gently pushing him back a respectable distance.
Jake held in a chuckle as the curtain opened and the local symphony orchestra came into view. He listened respectfully, recognizing some covers and not others, but mostly, he watched Lexie. She sat in rapt attention, following every movement of the musicians below them. When the orchestra began a slow song, Jake reached for her hand.
She didn’t look up when his fingertips grazed along the inside of her arm, but he felt her muscles tense beneath her skin. He traced long, lazy trails from her wrist to her elbow, watching her from the corner of his eye. It wasn’t until the fourth or fifth pass that she started to squirm.
“That’s not behaving,” she whispered, and Jake couldn’t help but smile. She captured his wrist and held it tightly, but he only raised the back of her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against her knuckles.
“I can’t help it,” he whispered back. “It’s the dress.”
Lexie pursed her lips as though trying not to humor him, but he’d gotten what he wanted. Later, she leaned toward him when the lights came up for intermission, her index finger waving menacingly even though her face was playful.
“I can’t take you anywhere, can I?” she asked.
“Apparently not,” he quipped, grabbing the threatening finger where it hovered in front of his face. He kissed the tip of it, earning himself another of her beautiful smiles.
Lexie rolled her eyes good-naturedly, taking her hand back.
“I’m going to the restroom. If you get into trouble while I’m gone, you’ll just have to wait in the truck,” she said.
He scrambled to stand and let her by, brushing his hand across that tempting space on her back as she passed. When he’d lowered himself back into his chair, he felt a soft touch against his shoulder from the row behind him.
“Hang on to her, son,” said an older gentleman, the skin around his eyes wrinkled from years of laughter. He glanced at the elegant woman beside him, who looked on indulgently. “You remind me of us so long ago. We’re celebrating sixty years this weekend!”
Jake smiled, watching as the man took his wife’s hand and brought it slowly to his lips in much the same way Jake had just done.
“Congratulations, sir,” he said. “And I‘ll do my best.”
Jake’s headlights swept across the quiet lot as he parked in front of Lexie’s apartment hours later. She pulled the lapels of his jacket closer around herself, still floating on whatever cloud she’d been riding since the concert.
“So, are you not an Aerosmith fan? I noticed you weren’t paying much attention during that part,” he said, turning toward her as he unfastened his seat belt.
Lexie snorted. “That’s because somebody was distracting me,” she said.
“Oh? Well, you’ll have to tell whoever that was to behave himself next time.”
“I did! It didn’t work.”
“It doesn’t sound like you tried very hard,” Jake teased, and he opened his door and jumped from the cab.
Lexie shrugged out of his jacket and folded it neatly, laying it on the seat beside her while he made his way around the front of the truck. He opened her door with a flourish and held out his hand.
“Can I walk you up?” he asked, steadying her as she climbed to the ground.
The happy glow in Lexie’s chest vanished, replaced by uncertainty. She glanced toward her unit’s assigned parking spaces. The spot where Olivia’s Mustang usually sat was vacant, which meant the apartment was empty.
“Yeah, sure,” she answered, though her thoughts weren’t as simple as her words. In her experience, relationships were always transactional; men expected certain things in exchange for the time and attention she craved. Jake had always given those things freely, even when he couldn’t ask for anything in return.
But now that he could, would he?
And what would she say if he did?
She knew how easy it could be for a single stone to become a rockslide, hurtling out of control until she lost sight of herself in the wreckage. She’d let it happen before, and she didn’t want to make the same mistake again. She wanted someone to stay for more than what she could give behind closed doors. She wanted to be special, to be important, to be treasured... and as comfortable as she was with Jake, she wasn’t ready to give up that much of herself.
Not yet.
Lexie was so lost in thought she didn’t realize they’d climbed the stairs and reached her apartment until Jake stopped walking.
“You okay in there?” he asked, his soft eyes searching her face, and Lexie swallowed hard.
“Yeah, I’m just thinking,” she said, unsure how to put her concerns into words. She didn’t want to disappoint him.
“I can’t come in,” he said, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other. “I mean, if that’s what you were thinking about.”
Her eyes snapped up to his.
“Oh.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just... probably not a good idea,” he added, casting his eyes around like he was looking for just the right words.
“Oh,” she said again. An odd rush of relief washed over her.
“Everything about tonight was perfect,” he said. His hand drifted up to cradle her jaw. The rough pad of his thumb swept across her cheek like she was a fine piece of china—delicate and priceless. It wasn’t perfunctory, like a ticket punched before the main event. It wasn’t a hoop to jump through on the way to something better. It was everything she wanted, without strings attached, which made it feel like so much more.
Lexie nodded in silent agreement, not quite trusting her voice as he gazed down at her with that look that said she meant the world to him—an expression she still found baffling. He settled his mouth over hers in a goodnight kiss that was soft and sweet, so different from the demanding insistence she’d experienced in front of other doors on other nights.
Lexie snaked her arms around his neck as he trailed kisses along her jaw, and her breath caught in her throat when his lips brushed over a place just below her ear. Jake froze, like it had been an accident, but when he did it again, it was definitely on purpose. She tipped her head to the side, giving him more room to explore, and her eyes drifted closed as his other hand trailed up her spine, pulling her against his chest. She felt herself start to melt, suddenly rethinking her earlier hesitation. Inviting him inside seemed less and less like a risk and more like an inevitability.
But all at once, Jake ripped his lips from her skin with a sharp breath as if he’d been forgetting to breathe at all.
“Yeah, not a good idea,” he gasped, dropping his hands and stepping back, though the heat in his eyes was almost painful. “Can we talk tomorrow?”
“Yeah, tomorrow,” she said breathlessly, her mind now spinning for a completely different reason. Lexie watched him walk quickly to the staircase and thunder down it before reappearing at the bottom and climbing into his truck. He rolled down his window and waved up to her, like he couldn’t stand not to see her one more time, and Lexie felt a smile bloom across her face.
This time, things would be different. She could feel it.