I can feel the tension thick in the air, and I know we should probably address the elephant in the room, but I don’t think he’s going to be the one to do it, so I take a deep breath and take charge of the situation.
“We should probably talk about that,” I say carefully. “PDA. Sex. Ground rules. Backstory and all that. For our roles, of course.”
Jacob is quiet for a moment, looking out the window.
“I’ll save you the trouble,” he says carefully. “PDA, fine. Kissing, touching, nothing R rated in front of the fam.” He shrugs. “Sex…”
I don’t miss the faint shaky breath he lets out.
“Off the table,” he says solidly.
A mixture of relief and disappointment course through me at his words. Not that I expected him to have sex with me on this trip or anything, given his reaction yesterday morning, but…
Knowing he’s drawing a line in the sand still kind of hurts. But I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it.
“Okay,” I say sternly. “But um… can I make an addendum to that?”
Jacob shoots me a glare as he raises an eyebrow.
“That depends. What is youraddendum?”
I pull up to a red light, looking at him for a moment, noting the sparkle in his eyes.
Interesting.
“No sex unless you ask for it.”
He crosses his arms. “I’m not going to ask for it, so fine. If that makes you feel better.”
I smirk.We’ll see about that, little prince. Challenge accepted.
“It does.” I smile as the light turns green. He shakes his head.
“Okay, so PG-13 PDA in front of the fam, no sex unless Iaskfor it,” he drawls sarcastically. “Anything else I should know?”
“Yeah,” I say carefully, knowing the next bit of info I give him is going to add to the pressure, but he needs to know.
“My sort-of ex is going to be there and he’s one of the candidates my dad’s looking at for the job.”
Jacob’s body shifts, and he sits up straighter.
“You didn’t mention yourexbeing a part of this trip.”
“It’s not an issue,” I say. “He’s just… a bit of an asshole. So, if he gives you any shit, tell me and I’ll take care of it.”
Jacob sighs deeply. “I can take asshole men. I’m not some damsel in distress, Aaron.”
I smirk at that. “I’m sure you can.”
“I’m serious.” Jacob crosses his arms tight against his chest as Taylor croons on about summer being cruel again, and I feel the truth in that.
“I believe you!” I say, my voice defensive at his tone.
There’s a strange tension in the air before he says, “I dealt with my fair share of assholes when I used to work atThe Anchor.”
I blink at that admission.The Anchoris well known for being a dive bar strip club. I’ve never been there, but I know plenty of guys who have. Like Garrett.
“You used to be a stripper?” I ask, my voice not betraying my surprise.
