Into the Deep - Young Samantha (список книг .txt) 📗

“I’m sorry about my attitude last night,” I told him quietly, handing him the mug. “I know you were just trying to be a good guy.”

Reaching over for the nearest chair, I was about to take a seat in the opposite corner when Jake pulled me onto his lap. It brought me close to him and my nostrils flared slightly at the scent of my perfume lingering on him.

Something primal and possessive rushed through me at the realization.

Jake was mine again.

The breath whooshed right out of me.

“You don’t have to be sorry. No one does. It’s a shitty situation,” he assured me. “But I promise it’s the last time I prioritize her over you. I just … felt I owed her last night. I owed it to be patient and kind with her. I owe you more, though, Charley. I promise it won’t happen again.”

I nodded in understanding. “Does Melissa finally get what’s happening here?”

His eyes dimmed as he nodded. “She’s still pretty broken up. She kept talking around in circles, trying to convince me … I eventually had to just lay it out. I told her I was in love with you and I always would be. I told her I was sorry, but that nothing she said could change my mind.”

I closed my eyes, remembering how awful it was to lose him. “I feel terrible for her.”

He cupped the back of my head, just behind my ear, while his thumb pressed lightly against the pulse in my neck. My eyes popped open as he leaned his face into mine. “You have nothing to feel guilty about, okay? I won’t have that on you.”

A memory of the first time Jake held me like that—on the track at school back home—came to me only to be obliterated by the memory of him holding Melissa like that in the student union.

An ache I thought was gone cut through me and I jerked my head from his grip. “Don’t.”

He frowned, a flicker of unease passing through his eyes. “Don’t what?”

Trying to understand my own reaction, I shook my head. My only guess … I wasn’t quite over what he’d had with Melissa. I’d had a relationship too, so it wasn’t that (although we needed to discuss it and I wasn’t particularly looking forward to telling Jake about the particulars). It was just that I’d never had closeness with anyone but Jake, and Jake … well, he’d definitely been close to Melissa. Despite his declaration of love and my silence on the matter, I realized that deep down, I was worried I was always going to be that little bit more in love with Jake than he’d ever be with me. That didn’t sit well. Not at all.

Shoving the ridiculous notion aside, I shrugged. “I don’t like you holding my nape like that.” I smirked at him, attempting to turn it into a joke. “It’s so alpha male.”

However, Jake didn’t smile. He studied me, growing somewhat grim. “Char—”

The kitchen door swung open, cutting him off. Claudia walked in, chattering to Beck over her shoulder. Beck’s gaze moved to us, drawing Claudia’s attention.

For a moment she just blinked at us and then a sly grin spread across her mouth. “Thanks for the lack of sleep, guys.”

I blushed, groaning into my hand as Jake laughed softly and wrapped an arm around my waist. He gently moved my body where he wanted it to be so I was tucked with my back against his chest, his chin resting on my shoulder.

Claudia shook her head, still smiling. “Look at them, sickeningly cute already.”

I curled a hand around the thigh of Jake’s bent leg, getting comfortable. “For someone who didn’t get much sleep last night, you seem awful cheery.”

She gave Beck a long look and he nodded at her. With a deep breath she turned to me, leaning against the kitchen counter. “I told Beck everything my mom told me about my real dad.”

After the incident with the groupie girl at Milk that first night back, Claudia had cooled off toward Beck, not confiding in him, hanging out with him less. It drove him nuts and he wore her down until she started letting him in again. I didn’t know which one of them I wanted to shake the sense into. All I did know was that I didn’t like the idea of my friend letting a guy—no matter how kind he could be—continually walk all over her feelings. Claudia was a little defensive on the whole subject, so I’d decided to leave her to it and just be there for her when their relationship finally cracked.

Jake stiffened behind me and it suddenly occurred to me he didn’t know anything about Claudia’s family situation. It must’ve struck Claudia too because she informed him far more carelessly than she felt. “Oh, at Christmas my dad dropped the bombshell that he’s not my real dad. Turns out my real dad is this retired artist, Dustin Tweedie. He lives in Barcelona.”

“Shit,” Jake muttered. “Merry fucking Christmas.”

“Exactly,” Claudia replied dryly. “Anyway, I told Beck and he helped me come to a decision. So I called my mom.”

I raised an eyebrow, not knowing where she might be going with this. “Okay?”

She smiled but the smile was shaky, nervous, but excited too. “She’s going to pay for me, you, Beck, and Jake to stay in Barcelona for spring break … so I can meet my real father.”

My mouth dropped open at the news. Jake gave me a reassuring squeeze when he felt my body grow tense against him. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

Claudia nodded jerkily. “I need to do it. Otherwise it’s just going to eat at me. And I’d invite everyone, but I don’t want everyone there. It’s too personal. I just need you guys with me. If you’re willing to come along with me, that is.”

“Of course.” I nodded

“I’m happy to come too,” Jake answered softly as my eyes sought out Beck’s. Not sure this was a good idea at all, I kind of blamed him for encouraging it.

I won’t let anything happen to her, he promised me silently.

I narrowed my eyes. That makes two of us.

“Well,” Claudia heaved a sigh, “that’s good news. And it’ll be fun too. I mean, Barcelona,” she smiled, trying to cut the tension. “It’s still a few months away. Something to look forward to. Your parents will be fine with it, right?”

At the mention of my parents, I tensed again. “Uh … yeah.”

Understanding my sudden discomfort, Claudia’s eyes widened. “Oh, you haven’t told your mom and dad about Jake. That should be fun,” she grimaced.

Jake stilled behind me.

“Fuck,” I murmured.

Jake had asked me a few times in the last month about my family and their reaction to us being back together. I’d been deliberately vague about the whole thing because … well … I hadn’t told them. They knew something was up because I’d been somewhat cagey in our conversations, but I just hadn’t been able to bring myself to discuss Jake with them.

The truth was I didn’t know how to discuss it with them, to make them understand, when I was still trying to work out the whole thing for myself.

By the tightening of Jake’s body against mine, I could tell he wasn’t happy about the news. He’d told his family. Apparently they were delighted for him, for us.

Shit.

“Anyway,” Claudia gave me an apologetic smile before continuing on, “Beck and I were just dropping by to grab my purse before we head to the movies.”

“Movies?” I jumped on the idea, suddenly not wanting to be alone with Jake because I knew he was like a dog with a bone and would interrogate me about my family and then ask me about the whole “nape” thing again until I told him the truth.

Claud frowned. “You want to come?”

“Sure.” I twisted around to smile at Jake. “Movies?”

He studied me carefully, and I knew he didn’t like whatever he saw behind my eyes. But he let it go and nodded slowly.

I crawled out of his lap, ignoring the strain between us. Pulling playfully on his hand, I tugged him up off the seat. We filed out of the kitchen after Beck and Claudia, grabbing our coats as we went. Claudia and Beck stepped out into the building hallway and I was just about to follow when Jake’s hand appeared above my head on the door and he slammed it closed.