I looked between Jedd and Drew, sensing they were having one of those silent conversations that said far more than words could ever do, and exponentially faster. BeforeI’d even attempted an interpretation, Jedd nodded and backed out of the door, one last raised eyebrow and chuckle in our direction as he did.
“You have to go,” I said, already voicing what Drew was about to. “And no, I can’t come.”
His hand pushed the stray hairs away from my forehead before he spoke. “I don’t have to go, but there’s some punk speaking badly about my girlfriend in the middle of my town, so, you know, I want to.” He paused, taking a second to search my eyes. “I take it this is the ex-boyfriend who was making you uncomfortable earlier?”
I nodded and leaned in to his touch. I wasn’t going to stop him from doing what he needed to do, but at the same time, I knew Jacob, and I had a feeling I knew what was about to go down.
“He’s going to bait you. He’s going to bring up shit from my past, from our relationship, and rub your nose in it.” I paused and took a deep breath. “I’m not telling you how to handle this. All I ask is that you take it outside.”
“Then come with me,” he whispered.
“Really?” I asked, my voice just as low and filled with surprise.
“Really.” His eyes lit up with amusement. “You should have the right to defend yourself if you want to, like you’ve just explained to me quite intimately. Just don’t get all preachy if I knock the prick down on his ass and then crush a few bones while he squeals like a pig. I can handle it if you can.” He smirked.
I ran a hand over Drew’s shoulder and smiled up at him. “No preaching, but can I convince you to teach me how to throw a punch without hurting myself?”
“You can try, but not today.” He dropped a kiss to my nose before he pushed up on his arms and started to pull away, his voice strained as he spoke. “You can hit him with your wit, and I’ll do the other shit if I need to. Though something tells me you’re going to handle him for the both of us, Hanagan.”
“You gonna defend my honor, Mr. Tucker?” I grinned.
He offered me his hand as he stood, waiting for me to take it so he could pull me up. “You’re mine, remember? I’ll defend you ‘til the death.”
I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet, my bare chest pressing against his as I gazed up at him in absolute adoration. “Yours.”
My arms tightened around Drew’s waist as he took the corner, the rumble of his bike making my aching thighs flare to life below me. It seemed wrong to be thinking how he and I had spent the last hour together when we—and a trail of a half dozen bikes behind us—were headed out to confront a guy I hadn’t spent more than five minutes thinking about in the last five years.
I let my chin rest on Drew’s shoulder as he straightened out and gunned the bike down the home stretch to Rusty’s diner. Jacob was still there, his giantChevysitting in the lot, right outside the front doors of the diner like he owned the place. He’d gone so far as to park at an angle over the disabled parking spot, which just made my hackles rise even further. I knew this situation had the potential to get out of hand. In fact, I would say it was inevitable at this point. Jacob would have nothing nice to say. I would have even less nice to share, andit would piss off every guy on a bike, and that went double for the guy I had my arms wrapped around.
Drew slowed and pulled up next to the truck, not enough to give Jacob a chance to run over theHarleywith his truck, but close enough to jump on and give chase if it came to that. My stomach knotted when I glanced in the front windows and saw that cocky slouch of Jacob’s as he sat at the bar and held court there. That was my home. That was my job. He didn’t belong there anymore.
Before I could climb off the back of the bike, Drew laid a hand on my knee.
“Anything I need to know before I go in?” he asked.
“He’s a pretentious bastard that I thought I used to love. He’s arrogant, confrontational, and loves to push buttons. If you react, he knows he has you and will press harder. He’s going to use the fact we used to have sex against you. He may try to call Sutton in so he can witness you hitting him first. That’s what he’s known for. He’s banned from some of the casinos in Louisiana because he’s pulled that on the security there. I don’t care about him. I don’t respect him, and I hope he gets the clap.”
“Remind me never to cross you,” Drew said through a smile, giving my thigh a squeeze. “Let’s go and deal with this.”
I nodded once and swung off the bike, leaving my helmet on my seat. Not waiting for the guys to follow, I headed to the doors and pushed inside, losing confidence with every step. I wasn’t scared of Jacob. I wasn’t afraid of what he might say. I just hated that he had the power to twist everything. He’d always been good with words, and he might have played the repentant ex when it had just been he and I on the side of theroad, but with an audience? I was about to be painted as the town whore who spread her legs for anyone.
Thank God Drew knew me better than that.
“—can’t say I’m surprised,” Jacob said, turning his stool to face me with cocky assurance painted on his face. “Talking about trash.”
I continued in, reaching behind me to squeeze Drew’s hand while the others fanned out and took up some of the empty tables and booths around the diner. I eased forward and slid behind the counter, kissing a scowling Janette on the cheek.
“Sorry about this,” I stage whispered.
“Why the hell are you apologizing?” Jacob asked, leaning forward on his stool and resting his elbows on the counter. “For bringing in the piece of shit club everyone hates?”
I laughed humorlessly and shook my head. “That the best you got, Jake? How long have you been gone now? Oh, that’s right, you skipped out the moment life got hard, and my parents died. Then you spread rumors at school that I’d had to drop out because I’d contracted an STD when I’d cheated on you. Then you broke up with me in a fucking email after one of my friends called to tell me. You’re the scum of the Earth, and you don’t know anything about this town or the people in it, so maybe you should just go home, do whatever the fuck you’re here for, go back to the hole you crawled out of, and leave us in peace.”
“You’re still booty hurt I broke up with you, beautiful. I get that, but youknowI’ve got better to give than that,” Jacob said suggestively, flashing his grin my way.
Standing there in front of him, I wondered what I—and half our class—had seen in him. The boy I’d once knownwas still visible, he just wasn’t attractive by any stretch of my imagination anymore. He still wore his ball cap, but the thick hair that used to curl under the edges was thinning. His bright green eyes now looked more like an evil glow from a child’s movie, and his skin looked ashen and pitted. There was nothing attractive about him. There was no nostalgia buried deep inside of me, just an intense dislike and exasperation at having to share oxygen with him for any length of time.
“Do I?” I asked sardonically. “I’m having a hard time remembering with all your bullshit piled on top.”
