Chapter 25
Jake
Today is Everly’s last shift at Catch 21. Ironically, she originally put in her two weeks’ notice to come work for me, but that isn’t going to happen now. Instead, she’s moving back to Brookmont with Birdie.
My heart is already broken, and they haven’t even left yet. I’ve grown so used to seeing them every day; the thought of there being hundreds of miles between us is gut-wrenching. I’ve been up every night this week, unable to sleep, trying to come up with a way that the three of us can be together in the same city, but I’ve come up short.
I finally found someone I want a future with, it seems so unfair that we can’t just be together. Everly is smart, beautiful, thoughtful, and a good mother. She loves fiercely and gives her all in everything she does. I want a life with her and Birdie, and I hate the idea of going even one day without them. How I fell for the two of them so quickly, I don’t know.
I’m getting dinner started when there is a knock at the door. I open it to find Everly standing there in a workout bra and leggings, her duffle bag on her shoulder. My mouth waters. I’m ready to scrap the pasta I’m making and take her to my bed and ravage her.
There’s a smile on her beautiful face when she steps inside, and I pull her into my arms. “Last shift. It’s official,” I say, my heart squeezing with every word.
“Yup.” She pulls back from my embrace, her long lashes fluttering.
“I wish it meant you were coming to work with me.”
“It’s probably for the best, Jake.”
“How so?” I ask, surprised.
“I’ve never slept with my boss, but I mean, I’m sure it’s grounds for an HR violation.”
I chuckle before kissing her chastely. “I’d never tell. Now come on, let me feed you so I can get to the good part.”
Everly giggles as I run my lips over the soft skin of her neck. “I’m going to go out on a limb and assume the good part is me?”
“It is.” My hands drop to her ass. “I will be having you for dessert.”
I suck on her neck before dragging her into the house with me. She has a quick shower while the pasta cooks.
Fifteen minutes later, we’ve fallen into a comfortable silence, working in the kitchen together. I finish off the pasta while she sets the table. It feels nice, being with someone who doesn’t always need to make idle conversation. When we sit down together at the table we slip into an easy conversation, both of us avoiding the subject of her leaving. We have the night to ourselves—Birdie is at her mom’s—and I think we both want to make the most of it.
After dinner, Everly and I are finishing off the dishes when we hear a knock at the door. “Expecting someone?” she asks, tossing the tea towel over her shoulder. I shake my head, then kiss her quickly before heading for the door. “Whoever it is, I’ll get rid of them. I haven’t forgotten about dessert.”
I’m smiling when I pull open the front door. Then my jaw drops.
Jade.What. The. Fuck.
I blink once, then twice, thinking it can’t be her.
I’ve dreamt of this day for so long. I’ve imagined exactly how it would play out, down to the last detail. It always ended with me taking her back. Every single time.
My heart pounds. Jade and I both stand in my doorway, silent, staring at each other. It feels as though time has stopped.
She looks a little different than she did the last time I saw her. Her hair is a little shorter, and her skin is a little more tanned. But her ice-blue eyes are exactly as I remember them. Her pillowy pink lips. Long, dark eyelashes. The freckle under her left eye that for some reason, always captivated me. She’s as beautiful as she was the day she left me. That was two years and seven months ago. I think. I stopped counting.
“Hi, Jake. It’s been a while.” The moment I hear her voice, my pulse begins to race. I’ve dreamt of that voice. I’ve tried not to forget that voice. I open my mouth, but no words come.
I’m speechless. There was a time when I thought I would spend my life with this girl, and then she disappeared. Now here she is, standing in front of me with something that resembles hope in her eyes.
“I’m back.”
“I see that,” I manage to get out.
“How are you?”
“I’m fine.” I shrug, wishing I had time to prepare for this. “You should have called.”
“I should have done a lot of things differently,” she says, shifting her gaze to the ground. The familiar vanilla scent of her perfume hangs in the air.
“This isn’t a good time, Jade.”
She cocks her head slightly, looking over my shoulder. I turn to see Everly standing in the doorway of the kitchen, looking from me to Jade and back again. She looks upset; angry, even. Is that how I looked when I saw Grant with Everly? I know that’s how I felt.
Before I can think of what to say, she beats me to it. “I… um… I’ll just be in your bedroom, Jake. I’m going to call Birdie.” Everly crosses the entry way, quickly disappearing down the hall.
Once Everly is gone, Jade stares at me for a long moment, eyes wide. It’s hard to believe that only four months ago I was counting the days she had been gone, keeping a mental tally. I’d have done anything to have her show up on my doorstep.
Looking at her now, I know without a doubt that I have finally moved on. I’m falling in love with Everly. Nothing about seeing Jade again—nothing she could possibly say— can change that.
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“Yes.” I nod my head.
“And… it’s serious?” she asks quietly.
“Yeah, it is. She’s the one,” I say to the woman that I once loved, needing her to know that there is nothing left between us. Everly and I have enough problems to deal with without adding my ex-girlfriend to the mix. “Why are you here, Jade?”
“I guess it doesn’t matter now.” Her expression turns icy, and she squares her shoulders. “It’s good to see you again. You look good. I didn’t know you were seeing someone, otherwise I never would have come here. I hope you’re happy, Jake.”
Jade studies me for a minute, her expression uncertain. “I guess I’d better go.”
“Yeah, I guess you should. Bye, Jade,” I say, raising my hand to the door.
“Jake, wait.” She looks at me, taking a deep breath. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that I hurt you.”
“It’s fine. It’s forgotten. See you around, Jade.”
And with that she walks away, and I shut the door behind her.
I stand there for a moment, trying to process what just happened. Then I walk down the hall to my bedroom. I really need to talk to Everly.
EVERLY
I’m sittingon Jake’s bed with Birdie on Facetime when the door opens. Jake smiles when he sees me, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He seems anxious and upset—his energy is palpable and makes my pulse race a little faster.
I wasn’t sure what to do when I saw Jade at the door. I knew immediately who it was. Should I have left, and let the two of them have time to talk? That would have meant walking right past her out the door, and I couldn’t bring myself to do that. Instead, I hid out in Jake’s bedroom, where I paced the floor, playing the moment over in my head. Jade is beautiful. She’s also a lot younger than me. And she’s the first girl he ever loved. How am I supposed to compete with that?
When my heart finally stopped beating a mile a minute, I pulled out my phone to call Birdie to say goodnight.
A lump forms in my throat as Jake comes and sits down on the bed next to me. What is he thinking? Is he happy she’s back? And what does this mean for us?
Breathe, I tell myself. He told me that he hasn’t thought about her since he met me. But maybe that’s changed now that she’s back.
Birdie spots Jake next to me and asks if she can see him, so I hold out my phone, noticing the way his green eyes soften when he sees her smiling face. “How’s my Birdie-girl?”
“I’m good! Gramma painted my nails pink while Grandpa went to the bakery to get us donuts. I wish you were here to try one. They were the best donuts I’ve ever had.”
“I wish I was too,” he tells her.
“Are you coming to pick me up tomorrow or Mom?”
“We’ll both be there. I can’t wait to see you. I miss you just as much as your mom does.”
“Okay, good. I gotta go. Grandpa says he’s gonna water the garden without me.”
I end the call with a tremble in my hands. I want to look at Jake, to see if I can read anything in his eyes, but I can’t breathe, let alone speak. Suddenly the bedroom feels small. He turns me by my shoulders to face him.
Jake’s expression softens as his hands move to my face, and I will his palms to stay there. “She means nothing to me, Ev. Nothing at all. It’s only you that I want. I’m in love with you.”
I’m in love with you.
I. Am. In. Love. With. You.
My heart thrashes inside my chest then it skips as my skin begins to tingle.
“Say it again, Jake.”
I hold my breath as he gets off the bed and kneels on the floor between my legs, lacing my hands in his. His eyes meet mine. “I’m in love with you, Everly Billings. I love you so damn much.”
My eyes flood with tears. I can’t stop them from falling. Jake wipes them away with his thumb.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he teases.
“I’m happy, Jake.” I sniffle. “These are happy tears.” I untangle our hands, reaching for his face. “I just wasn’t expecting that. My heart is still racing,” I confess, covering my heart with my palm.
“I should probably kiss you.”
“You should… but first…” I murmur, my lips an inch from his. “I am in love with you too.”
Then I crush my lips to his, holding his face in my hands, tears streaming down my face. His tongue slips inside, finding mine as I open for him. And I melt into the kiss. Jake has never kissed me like this before. The kiss is sweet, possessive, demanding and full of lust. I savor every second, wanting a lifetime of his kisses, wanting a lifetime with Jake.
Jake wraps my arms around his neck as he rises to his feet, my legs wrapping around his waist. We don’t break the kiss. Then we’re a mess of busy hands and frantic kisses, stripping each other out of our clothes.
“My God, I love you,” he says, backing me up against the bed until the back of my knees hit the mattress and his strong body is hovering over me, his hard cock trapped between us. “Feel how hard you make me.”
He shifts to his side when my hand wraps around his erection, stroking his length.
“Fuck.” He moans, closing his eyes when my hand roams lower, cupping his balls. “Baby, that feels so good.”
I squeal when he suddenly sits, picking me up and setting me down on his lap. “I want your eyes on me when I fuck you. I want you to see how much I love you.”
I nod, reaching my hands around his neck, my fingers sinking into his soft hair. Then he’s lining his erection up with my wet entrance and thrusting inside of me until I’m fully seated on his lap. His hands roam my skin, finding my breasts and pinching my nipples before rolling the stiff peaks between his thumb and finger.
He fills me so perfectly; I have to force myself to keep my eyes open and locked on his.
“Jake… oh God… baby… harder.”
“I’ve got you, baby. I know what you like.” Jake lies me down on the bed, never letting me go. He kisses me before taking his cock in his hand. I want him. I want him so badly.
“You know me so well. I’m so happy I met you. I can’t imagine what my life would look like without you.”
Jake kisses my shoulder, then my jaw, before gently sucking on my bottom lip. “I’m here, Ev. I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers against my neck.
Then he’s sinking into me again and there are no more words. I close my eyes as he begins to move, slower and sweeter this time, dropping his forehead to mine. My body begins to tremble, my heart pounding inside of my chest until my body shakes and I’m coming hard.
“That’s it. You’re such a good girl. You’re going to make me come.” Jake comes on a groan, pouring inside of me, before collapsing on top of me and burying his face into my neck. We both catch our breath as he falls to the mattress next to me.
I curl into Jake’s chest, loving the warm feeling of his skin against mine. He brushes the hair from my face and then kisses my forehead. “I’ve never tried so hard to get a girl to go on a date with me. I have never thought about anyone as much as I think about you. I know you and Birdie have to go, but I promise you, I am yours. I’m not going anywhere.”
“We’re going to find a way, right?”
Jake smiles a lopsided grin. “You are mine. We’ll figure it out. We just need time. But until then, I’m going to visit you ever chance I get.”
He gently lifts my chin in his hand and presses the sweetest kiss to my lips. Every moment I have with him, I find myself falling even harder.
“I love being like this with you.”
“Like what?” I whisper.
“Like this. Holding you in my arms.”
I press a kiss to his pec then I lay my head back down, listening to the steady beat of his heart. I close my eyes, never wanting this feeling to end. Never wanting to let him go.