“Hey, sexy;” Joanna purred into the phone. “I was wondering what you were doing tonight, and maybe if you weren’t busy you and I could go for a ride?”
Jake watched Nick take the shot, he had seen him take this shot before and knew very well, he could do it with his eyes close, but he missed. His eyes peered up from the pool table and stared at Sam. Jake shook his head, knowing very well that Nick missed that shot on purpose just to go head to head with Sam again. “Sorry I can’t tonight.” He told Joanna. “Family night.”
“Well, what about when you’re finished with them?” She asked, and Jake looked over his shoulder towards the bar, eyeing Cara.
“Tonight’s not good; rain check?” He asked Joanna.
“Sure, call me tomorrow.” And with that she hung up. Jake sighed and put the phone back in his pocket. Joanna didn’t sound too happy, and Jake didn’t really care, she was a dime a dozen type of girl.
Sam came up next to him and smiled at him. “If you have any kind of love for me, you will make this shot, so I can tell this asshole to kiss it!” She said, nudging her head towards Nick.
“Are you kidding me?” Jake patted his sister’s head, “Sweetheart, he completely blew that shot so you would win.”
Confusion crossed Sam’s face. “Why would he do that?”
“Old habits die hard; he likes this dance the two of you are doing.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t worry. I’ll clobber him, so you can do your victory dance that he’s been waiting for.” He grabbed his pool stick, leaving Sam to nibble on her lower lip and stare at Nick.
Last call, was about an hour ago, the bar had cleared out pretty quickly. Sam and the guys had left about fifteen minutes ago, leaving Cara to finish up her work. Jake had offered to stay behind and walk her out, like he always did, but she insisted she was fine and he should go home with all of them. As she slid the clean glasses into their rightful spot, she wondered about Jake and the latest girl to catch his attention. Joanna was her name, if she remembered correctly.
No matter how nice Cara had been to any of Jake’s girls, they all seemed to dislike her, and once Jake caught wind he cut them loose. She couldn’t help but wonder when the right girl came along, if he would cut her loose. She didn’t want to believe that he would do that to her, but the reality was if he found the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, where would that leave her. For as long as she could remember, Jake had been front and center in her life. Not ready to allow herself; to face that truth, she decided to wrap it up and call it a night. She grabbed her jacket and pocketbook from under the bar. Shrugging the jacket on she glanced at the clock, it was already four thirty in the morning, the sun would be coming up shortly and she would be going to sleep. She shook her head and closed the lights. Once outside, she locked the bar, testing the door to make sure it was in fact locked.
When she turned around and stepped into the parking lot. She stopped short when she saw Jake. He was leaning against his motorcycle which was conveniently blocking her car in. He looked up at her, as he toyed with the helmet in his hand.
“What’re you doing here? I thought you went home with everyone else?” She was surprised by the hoarseness in her voice.
He shrugged his shoulders and pushed off his bike. “Something you said tonight kind of stuck with me.” He straightened his shoulders and stepped closer to her.
“Something I said? Don’t pay attention to me, I just kind of ramble on after a while spewing all sorts of nonsense, you know? Kind of like right now.” She frowned as she realized he of all people knew that when she was nervous or caught off guard she rambled. So right now, even though she was staring down at her shoes, she knew the grin that played upon his lips, knowing very well that she was nervous.
“It wasn’t nonsense. And you weren’t nervously rambling when you said it, either.” He lifted her chin, forcing her to look straight at him. He smiled as he placed his helmet on her head, reaching under her chin, securing the strap. “Hop on; we’re going for a ride.”
She smiled at him. “Really? You’re not worried I’m going to get road rash or something?” She teased and he straddled the bike.
“I’ll just take care of you, like I did the last time. Only this time I’m prepared, I have a first aid kit.” He winked and patted the seat behind him.
She chewed on her lower lip, suppressing the grin that wanted so badly to make an appearance. She hopped on the bike, behind Jake. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her chin on his shoulder. He revved the engine to life, and something awakened inside of her as well. His hands tightened around the handlebars and he looked over his shoulder at her.
“Hold on, and watch for—“, she cut him off.