‘And how’s it going with Jake?Those horse-riding photos were cute and you two seemed to be getting on better yesterday.’ She smirked.
‘Yeah…’ I paused, thinking how best to phrase my response.‘We’re getting on much better.He’s sweet.’
‘I’m glad you’re hitting it off.’
‘That’s a bit strong, we’re just… friends.’
‘And friends hold hands, do they?’ She cocked an eyebrow.Iknewshe’d seen us.
‘That was just… that didn’t mean anything.’
‘Hmm-hmmm,’ she nodded, clearly not believing a single word.‘Sure, sure.If you say so.I’ve seen the way he looks at you and the way you look at him andnothingabout it is friendly.’
‘How does he look at me?’ I blurted out.
‘Notice how you asked how he looked at you instead of denying it…’ Sammie grinned.I opened my mouth to protest, then closed it again.She’d got me.‘He looks at you like he thinks you’re amazing.And let’s be honest, like he wants to devour you.And from the way that you look at him, the feeling is mutual, right?’
I didn’t even know how to answer that without incriminating myself.
I couldn’t confirm how Jake looked at me, but I’d admit that there had been a few moments lately that I’d wondered whether he did fancy me.
But although something told me that Jake would give me the best sex of my life, I couldn’t go there.I wasn’t here for a hook-up.I could’ve got that in New York.
And after the other thing that had happened to me before, even the idea of having sex again scared me.Doing it with someone like Jake was particularly risky, given the amount of women he’d slept with.
No.I couldn’t deny I was attracted to Jake, but that was all it could ever be: an attraction that I could never act on.The consequences would be catastrophic.I just needed to keep my desire under control.I’d gone without sex for years.Another week and a bit would be a walk in the park.
‘He’s…’
‘You ladies talking about me?’ Jake appeared and I was relieved to see him because it saved me from answering Sammie’s question.
‘How did you guess?’ Sammie said.
‘All good, I hope?’ he replied.
‘You’ll have to ask Halle about that…’ She winked at me.‘Oh!You forgot to collect your photos again.’
‘Yeah.’ Jake slapped his forehead.
I’d remembered at breakfast, but wanted to get back to my room to avoid spending more time with Jake.Ditto for the rest of the day.
‘Here you go.’ She handed the envelope to me.‘There’s some real crackers in there.I reckon you’re gonna love them.Laters!’ Sammie disappeared.
‘So… want to look at them now or after we see stars together?’ I said.
‘You want us to see stars together?’ Jake quirked an eyebrow.‘That can be arranged.’
My face contorted, then I realised what I’d just said.
‘I meant, seethestars, not, seeing stars together as in… you know what I mean!’
‘Oh, but I don’t,’ Jake teased.‘Care to elaborate?’
‘No!’ My cheeks heated.‘Photos first or stargazing through a telescope?’
‘We gotta look at the photos!Seeing you giving me heart eyes in print is becoming my new favourite hobby.’
‘I don’t give you heart eyes!’ I protested.
