Then again, he tightened his arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple.Maybe he was just overthinking it.
“Do you want to watch a movie when we get back?”he asked.
“Do you have anything in mind?”
He lifted a shoulder.“I’m sure we can find something.Do you have any favorites?”
He relaxed a bit more when she chuckled and said, “I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that I loveThe Fast and the Furious.”
That reminded him of one of the many things he loved about her.Yes, she was hot, and she was gorgeous — and more than that, she was attractive in so many ways.But she also had so much more to her.It felt like they connected as friends, and that wasn’t something he was used to with a girl.She wasn’t just any old friend, either, but one who could not only talk cars with him, but also fix them just as well as he could.
He tightened his arm around her when she gasped and startled at a sound behind them.Holding her close to him, he spun around, but there was nothing there.
She gave a shaky little laugh.“Sorry.I’m just jumpy, I guess.”
He laughed with her, feeling stupid — that he was so on edge about how she was feeling that he was jumpy, too.Maybe they both just needed to relax.
“I heard it too, must have been a cat or something.”
By the time they got back to the house, he felt like they somehow needed to recapture the mood from dinner that had felt so easy and right, but the walk home had somehow changed that.
He let them inside and went straight to the fridge.“Do you want a drink?”
He wasn’t a big drinker, but maybe it would help him relax again.It seemed like she felt the same way when Savannah said, “I’d love one.What do you have?”
He hesitated before opening the freezer — not sure that she’d want, or even approve of… He went for the fridge door instead.“There are a couple of beers in here.”
She made a face.“I don’t think I could manage another beer.I can get water or something.”
He opened the freezer and took out the bottle.“Jägermeister?”he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Her eyes grew wide.“Isn’t that stuff kind of lethal?”
He shook his head with a smile.“Nah.It’s an acquired taste, I guess, but you might like it.You can just sip it — you don’t have to knock it back like a shot.And it tastes kind of smooth fresh out of the freezer.”
She didn’t look convinced.
“Try it and see.Although… you’re probably thinking about Jägerbombs.Trust me, Savvie — we’re not doing Jägerbombs.I was young and dumb once; I don’t need to be young and dumb again.”
She relaxed a little at that.“Okay, then.I’ll give it a try.”
~ ~ ~
They went and sat in the living room, and Savannah did her best to relax.She’d freaked out on the walk back here, convinced that Rick was following them.But she wasn’t even freaked out about what he might do to her.Not when Jake was right there with her.
What bothered her was that she still hadn’t told Jake that he was back in town.She’d promised him that she’d be honest, and so far she hadn’t, and she hated it.
She gripped the glass he’d given her, with the weird-smelling liquor in it.She rarely drank anything other than beer, and she didn’t drink a lot of that.But right now, she felt like she needed something to calm her nerves.And if she had any sense, she’d use it for Dutch courage and use the moment to tell Jake about Rick.
She still didn’t want to.The last thing she wanted to do was let that damn man spoil this wonderful evening.But if she didn’t say anything, she was in danger of spoiling it herself.She could tell that Jake was wondering what was going on with her on the way home.He’d been so sweet — and she’d only been half listening because she was so freaked out about Rick.
She startled again when Jake put his hand on her shoulder and asked, “If you really don’t like the idea of it, you don’t have to drink it.But there’s no need to look at it like that.It’s not going to bite you or anything.”
She let out a little laugh, but he didn’t laugh with her.The moment felt tense — almost as if he was pulling away, and she’d hate that.She brought the glass to her lips and took a sip, wrinkling her nose as the strange liquid touched her tongue and slid down her throat.
“Well, what do you think?”
She pressed her lips together, trying to figure out what shedidthink.After a moment, she said, “It’s kind of like… like licorice and herbs and—” she gave him a small smile, “—and trouble mixed together.”
