The room heats up twenty degrees. “You have to leave for the pregame meeting in like 15 minutes?”
His blue eyes darken. “You think I’ll need that long to make you come?”
“No, but I do think the odds of us losing track of time are high and the last thing I want is to be the reason why you get in trouble with your coaches for being late.”
“You’re right. I am pretty irresistible.” He presses a rough kiss to my lips, long enough to leave me breathless, before pulling away. Tracing my bottom lip with his thumb he whispers, “To be continued.”
I lay paralyzed in bed as he heads to the bathroom to get ready. My current state of bliss is ruined by the sound of Jake’s phone ringing. I lean over to silence it when I recognize the number flashing on his screen.What the hell was going on?A pit forms in my stomach as I accept the call. “Mom?”
“Oh, Eliana. I wasn’t expecting you to answer. I’ll call back later.”
I debate just letting it go, but she’s met Jake once andthere’s no way they magically bonded overnight. I know she’ll be annoyed at me for asking about her personal business. Still, I can’t help myself.
“Don’t hang up. When did you get Jake’s number?” My question unintentionally comes out a bit terse.
“We exchanged numbers that day he drove Josie back home following the Christmas trip. I…” She trails off, sounding nervous.
“Oh.” This is so confusing. She had basically told me he was a distraction. I know I encouraged her to get to know him more…but something about this whole situation feels super off.
“Yes. You see...I have to admit, I misjudged him. I was just calling to tell him how much I’ve appreciated his generosity over the last few weeks. It’s rare to find a man who’s willing to help out a single mother without asking for anything in return. That certainly has never been my experience. I was a bit hesitant to accept the money in the first place, but he insisted the two of you had already discussed it and agreed?—"
“Wait, what are you talking about?” She may as well have been speaking in gibberish.
My mom’s silence lasts long enough for me to check whether we got disconnected. “Oh no. You didn’t know, did you?”
“Know what? What do you mean he sent you money? How much did he send you?” My voice rises with each question.
The room starts spinning, and it feels like my lungs have stopped taking in oxygen. So that’s why she didn’t need me anymore. Didn’t need my money. She had found it elsewhere. I suppose that part wasn’t shocking, I had suspected as much. But the fact that it was Jake made my stomach turn.
“Just check in with Jake. And try not to be so hard on him. His heart was in the right place. I have to head to work, but we’ll talk more later. Bye, my love.”
I can’t bring myself to respond, though I am able to pull myself together enough to no longer feel sick and confused. Instead, I just felt angry. Why did Jake go behind my back? Why did he lie and tell my mom that this was also my idea? What was he trying to prove? Did he not think I could handle it on my own?
I had more questions than I could even wrap my brain around, and unfortunately for Jake, by the time he came out of the bathroom, my anger and confusion had only festered.
My emotions must have been written all over my face because he immediately put up his hands in defense, a small smile on his face. “Whatever I did, I would just like to apologize ahead of time and say that you are right about everything and look incredibly beautiful even when you’re angry.”
Normally, his charms would get me to crack ever so slightly, but now I felt like a wall of steel, nearly impenetrable to whatever would get thrown my way. “So how much money do I owe you now?”
“What are you talking about?” Confusion washes over his face.
“You missed a call when you were in the bathroom. From my mom.”
He lets out a sigh. “And what did she say?”
“Oh ya’ know. she just wanted to check in and wish you luck on your game,” I snap. “What do youthinkshe said?”
“I was going to tell you, I promise. I just wanted to find the right time.”
“Now seems like as good a time as any. How long has this been going on?“
“It started a few days after we left your home in Providence. I gave her my phone number and told her I’d be willing to help out financially if she needed it, especially if it meant lessening the burden you were putting on yourself andhelping Josie out too. It just felt like the right thing to do.” He shrugs.
“How much have you given her?”
“20,000 to help pay off the mortgage on her condo. I also offered to pay her a couple thousand dollars monthly for other expenses, but she refused. She just wanted to have her loans paid off and the rest she felt like she could handle.” My skin must have turned pale because he immediately jumped to minimize what he’d done. “I promise it’s fine. Doesn’t even put a dent in my trust fund.”
Jake’s words of reassurance do anything but. They just remind me how different we are. Twenty thousand dollars was life-changing for my family, but for him, it was nothing. “It’s going to take me a really long time to be able to pay you back.”
