“Your chariot awaits, milady,” he says, winking.
As Jake settles into the driver’s seat, his knee starts bouncing up and down. He keeps glancing my way, and I don’t know what to make of it. Is he stressed about where we’re headed—what we're about to do? Or…something else?
Why do I even care? I ineffectively attempt to squash my treacherous heart.
Tonight is going to be excruciating, and not because of Weston.
As Jake pulls away from the curb, I try to fill the space. “I apologize in advance. This is going to be a really boring event. But at least you’ll meet my friend Isabelle.”
“That’s okay. Tell me about her.” He sends me a reassuring smile that’s like a bear hug to my soul.
Heart kicking up in response, I’m trying to remember what I was going to say because Jake makes me forget everything but him. “Isabelle is a total sweetheart, a huge romance buff, and the most artistic person I know. You should see her crazy craft room! By the way, Iz is aware that we’re fake dating, so we can relax a little around her.”
More sentences tumble out, like a dam that’s been released. “Oh! I should tell you about my other best friends too, Amelia and Zoe. They’re opting out of this snooze fest, which was super smart of them. Amelia is like the mom of our group—she organizes everything and gives the best advice. And Zoe?” I laugh a little self-consciously. “She’s totally badass; she takes no prisoners. After you meet her once, you’ll know what I mean. Annnnnd I just realized I don’t know anything aboutyourfriends.”
Just wow. Can someone just put a piece of duct tape over my mouth and call it a day?
Jake laughs as I suppress the urge to sink down into my seat. “Well, wearecramming a lifetime of information into one week. I have two really good friends in the area. One is Luke Barrett, who I met in college. He just recently started as bar manager at TNT. The other is Trix Winstead, who is a high school friend. She’s brilliant and works on developing medical apps.”
My eyes widen at the mention of a female best friend. Does Jake have a romantic history with Trix? He clearly thinks the world of her, and she certainly sounds impressive. Jealousy strikes me in the gut.
But all I say out loud is, “Okay, Trix and Luke. Got it.”
Jake’s mention of TNT reminds me that I’d love to see him play. Maybe changing the subject will keep my mind off of the strange pulse of envy I’m experiencing. “TNT sounds like a lot of fun. Do you think my friends and I might be able to swing by one night when you’re playing? At the bare minimum, it probably makes sense for you to know what they look like. And if Weston expresses any doubt about our relationship, we can even say I’m going to watch you perform there soon.”
Jake nods, tapping his fingers on the wheel. “I’d love for you and your friends to come. I stopped playing for a few months because of my new job at Blackwell ER, but I’m about to pick up regular shifts again. In fact, I’m playing this Saturday night, if you’re available then?”
I pick up my phone, flushing at the thought of seeing him perform, and glance at the excel spreadsheet of our shifts. “Yes! That works. I’ll ask the girls if they’re available too.”
“Luke might be there. I’ll point him out if he’s working the bar. He still takes bartending shifts sometimes.”
As we approach the Hilton parking lot, I remember a question I was going to ask Jake. “Oh! You told me you had two brothers, but we only talked about Sterling last time.”
Jake snorts. “My other brother is Wyatt, and he’d be pissed I forgot to tell my fake girlfriend about him. He’s a lawyer and works way too much, so I rarely see him. Since I don’t go to family dinners anymore, the number of those interactions has dropped even further. That said, he’s still probably the person in my family I’m closest to.”
The mention of me being his girlfriend sends tingles down my spine, but I remind myself there was a “fake” attached to it. “And your mom? You haven’t really talked about her,” I say, trying to regain my equilibrium.
Jake sighs. “Yeah…we’re not that close, but I don’t have the same issues with her as I do my dad and Sterling. I should probably call her more than I do.”
And with that, we’re in the parking lot, and I’m so not prepared for this.
As if Jake can hear my thoughts, he turns to me. “Ready?”
Nope.
And out loud: “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
When we approach the Hilton’s entrance, Jake glances down at me.
“Um, should we hold hands?” he asks. “I'll do whatever you’re comfortable with.”
The idea of walking into the event hand in hand with Jake sounds better than just nice…it’s scarily too close towhat I want. And yet, I’m also quite aware that by doing so I’m sinking steadily into a pit of my own making.
But that’s not enough for me to say no. I have no self-preservation instincts after all.
I’m unable to speak, so I merely nod. Jake intertwines his fingers with mine, like we’ve done it a million times before. All of my nerves are going haywire with the sheer sensation of skin on skin.
“You’re right,” I say, my voice barely audible. “No one will believe we’re dating if we’re five feet apart. You have my permission to stand close and touch me like a real boyfriend would.”
