I knew Jake was angry and also feeling inexplicably guilty. That pissed me off and as I chewed on my delicious burger, I grew annoyed that my senses were too distracted to enjoy it to the fullest. The muscle ticking in Jake’s jaw told me he was pissed.
“Whatever they’re doing behind my back, ignore them.”
“They’re just staring, trying to intimidate me.”
I frowned. “Not Alex, though, right?”
Jake shook his head. “As always, that douchebag looks uncomfortable.”
“He’s not a douchebag.”
“He’s best friends with a douchebag and as such is a douchebag by association.”
“Jake—”
“Don’t even,” he warned. “You know I don’t like that crowd. They’re bullies, baby.”
I agreed that Brett and some of the others were bullies, but Alex and his senior friends weren’t. Still, I didn’t want to argue about it with an audience.
His voice was hushed as he continued. “Now they’ve got your two best friends turning against you and why? Because of me.”
“Babe, as much as they want it to be, this is not the O.K. Corral. Ignore them.”
“And Lacey and Rose?”
“Ignore them too. From the moment Lacey turned fourteen, she’s been desperate to be popular. When Alex and I broke up, she was plotting to fix me up with every jock who walked by just so she could be a part of this high school fantasy she created in her head. She met you and thought you were it, Mr. Popular, and since you weren’t interested in her, she wanted you to meet me. She talked about it all summer when I called home. Unfortunately, you and I failed in that endeavor, so she’s hooking herself to another star. Do you really think I’m that upset over someone so disloyal?”
“What about Rose? I thought she was a nice girl,” Jake said, his eyes dim with disappointment. “I hate that me being with you has caused this.”
“It’s high school drama, Jake. Rose has always done whatever Lacey tells her to do. Even if she feels bad about it, she still does it. If it hadn’t been you shaking things up, it would’ve been something else. Lucky for me it was you, and just so you know, I’d choose you over them in a heartbeat every single time.”
The right side of his mouth quirked up in a little smile and he nodded, chewing on his fries.
I grinned. “You know, since you got here you’ve looked everywhere but at Stacy. Your aversion to Hub’s and your behavior right now is proof that you slept with her.”
Seeming stunned that I’d had the balls to bring it up, and so abruptly at that, Jake said, “You want to talk about this here? Now?”
“No. I just think you should know that I actually prefer knowing who you’ve slept with so I don’t feel like a total chump when I’m in the room with them.”
“And that’s it? You’re not … jealous?” He eyed me warily.
I shrugged. “I’ll always be jealous of any girl who’s had that part of you, but I’m not worried about it. If you wanted her, you’d be with her. But you’re not. You’re with me. A sound choice, I might add.” I smirked suggestively.
Jake threw his head back in laughter. “God, my girl is cocky.”
“Pot, meet Kettle.”
“Good thing we’re both attracted to cocky, then, huh?”
“Good thing.”
We smiled intimately at one another before turning our attention back to our food. Over the last few weeks, our relationship had grown pretty intense. It was already intense before so that was saying something. People were right when they said sex changes things. For Jake and me, it had brought us closer but had also added this edge of possessiveness that I wasn’t expecting. On both sides. If I saw him laughing with another girl, I’d feel a pang in my chest I didn’t like and I had to remind myself that Jake loved me. It became pretty clear, however, that Jake was as susceptible to those emotions as I was. Case in point, his attitude toward Alex. I still talked to Alex at school and two weeks ago when Jake came upon us laughing at my locker, he’d made it clear on the ride home that he hadn’t liked it. We argued. There was shouting and yelling and even some growling. My intention had been to jump out of Hendrix angry and without saying goodbye, but Jake hadn’t liked that, either—proving so by yanking me across the cab and practically into his lap so he could kiss the anger right out of me.
I talked to my mom about our arguments but she said she’d been the same with Dad when they were just starting out. They butted heads quite a bit and their “discussions” could get heated, but it was all in passion, not volatility. They were just trying to figure each other out.
They still butted heads and were still crazy about each other, so I wasn’t going to worry about petty clashes between Jake and me.
It was far better putting my thoughts toward the next time and place we could use to be alone. Sneaking around to have sex was not easy when both sets of parents took preventing that very seriously. However, it wasn’t quite impossible. Since our first time six weeks ago, we’d had sex seven times. Yes, I was counting. We managed to find alone time at least once a week, but since the sex just kept getting better and (oh my God) better, it was difficult to focus on anything other than sex with Jake.
Andie had come home from Dublin for Christmas break, taken one look at Jake and me together, and knew. I’d gotten the safe-sex talk from her and now she was urging me to go on the pill, something I knew Jake wanted me to do too. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to—it was just that in a small town like Lanton, these things had a way of getting back to parents.
The thought of having to discuss my sex life with my parents?
They may call me Supergirl, but I wasn’t that brave.
I’d have to do it sometime soon, though. I knew that.
Fun.
“Did you tell your mom and dad about Edinburgh?” Jake asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin. I knew that satisfied look on his face. He was such a liar when he said he didn’t like Hub’s food.
“Yeah? Did you?” Just before Christmas I’d told Jake that I wanted to spend my third year of college abroad. Andie was having such an amazing time in Dublin and she promised me that it was an experience that would change me and help me grow up a little. I’d always wanted to travel, so a year abroad sounded awesome. My aunt Cecilia had visited Scotland years ago and when she came back, she showed us all her fantastic photographs. The ones of Edinburgh and its awe-inspiring castle resonated with me and I’d never let go of the idea of visiting someday. Why not for a study abroad? The University of Edinburgh had a fantastic reputation as an international school and Cecilia’s money was sitting in the trust fund waiting for me to spend it.