On my way upstairs, I lingered to appreciate how cute everything looked. Now? All I see are the tears of humiliation as I’m blinking them back.
“Emily!” Ruby yells as she races down the stairs to catch up with me. She grabs my arm and spins me around. “Give me a second, and I’ll grab my stuff.”
“Don’t.” I shake my head as my stomach heaves. “Stay. Don’t leave because I acted like a toddler throwing a tantrum. You and Bella need to stay.”
“I’m not staying.” Her eyes flash as she stands straighter. “Not when you’re hurting.”
Xavier steps into the upstairs hallway and then darts back inside. I don’t know where Jake ran off to, and I don’t want to know.
My hands shake. He said the exact same words today as he did that day in my mom’s kitchen. It would be impossible for him to make it any clearer that he can’t stand me. And this time….
This time, I deserved the words. I took the joke too far.
Of course, he didn’t become a police officer to control people or to pick up women. He doesn’t need to. And everyone knew Chad Whitlock was a bully. Despite never hearing this story before, I believe it. The Jake I was obsessed with in school would be the one to step in.
“Stay.” I clutch her upper arms. “I’m sorry I acted out of line.” I lick my lips. “When I saw Jake hanging on you, I lost it. It was a childish response. You have the right to date whoever you want. Just as he does. So, if you–”
“Stop.” Her eyes are dark as she glares. “I’m not interested in Jake, and he’s not interested in me. We’re friends. That’s it.”She shrugs. “More like neighbors than friends, even so, stop with this nonsense.”
I inhale, taking air deep into my lungs. “I appreciate the pep talk, but I’m serious, you need to stay. I’m going home, so there’s no need for you to leave. You two go ahead and help as we intended.’
“You should–”
“Please.” I roll my eyes and laugh harshly before she can say I should stick around and offer my assistance. “You heard Jake. He doesn’t want me here, and I don’t blame him.” I shake my head. “I can’t believe I said that stuff anyway. I don’t even want to be around me right now.”
I squeeze her arms and drop my hands to my sides. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay.” She lurches forward and embraces me in an exuberant hug. “It’s been a lot seeing Jake again after all these years. Give yourself some grace.” Her words are low so that no one else can hear what she’s saying.
“I don’t deserve it.” I let go of her and catch Jake’s gaze. He’s standing in the kitchen threshold. I swallow hard and disappear out the front door before he can tell me to leave again.
The late afternoon sunlight blocks my view as the door snaps shut behind me. If they were giving out awards for assholes at the Academy Awards, the host would hand me the biggest one under the spotlight in front of a sea of jeering spectators.
“Emily.” Jake’s mom steps in front of me. Fuck. This day keeps getting better. Her blue eyes scan me up and down. It’slike looking into Jake’s eyes but with only mild disapproval sizing me up rather than disgust. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Yeah.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. Jake and my mom were friends for years, but after Jake and I had our argument at the café, she rarely acknowledged me.
“I stopped by with Bella and Ruby to drop off food for the guys. They’re helping Jake with his bedroom renovation.” That’s stupid. She probably knows that already. I lick my lips and swallow hard over the lump in my throat.
“I see.” Her eyes continue to rake over me as if she’s analyzing me. After a second, her features soften. “Are you okay?”
“No, not really.” I twist my head toward the closed door. “It’s nothing. I should go.” If Jake knew I was still standing in his front yard, he’d call the police to physically remove me. Hell, he is the police. “I need to go.”
Simone clasps my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.” Please, he’s going to tell his mother everything that happened. As I exhale, my shoulders sag. I clear my throat. Here goes. “I said something rude to Jake. It was meant as a joke, but he didn’t take it that way.” I groan at my own stupidity. “Which he had every right to take offense to. He called me on it and told me to leave.”
“What?” Her eyes are round with shock as she drops her arm to her side. “He was raised better than that. And if my son hurt you, we’re going to address it.”
“No.” Tears sting my eyes. “It’s my fault. I insinuated that he was using his job to get women because….” You’ve dug your grave deep enough. Don’t go any further and tell her that you said it out of jealousy. “It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“But you did.” The hard features of her expression are back as she gives me that disapproving mom look. She’s better at it than my mom is.
“Yeah….” Heat floods my face as I cringe. “Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“I….” I gnaw on my bottom lip as she waits. And waits. “Jake was always a bit of a player.” I shrug. “Going from girl to girl. So, I assumed being a police officer helped him get the girls. And….” The heat on my face intensifies until I’m not sure there’s any blood left in my body. “I might have implied that he uses his handcuffs for….”
