“Love Shack” by The B-52s plays as I open the door to Roxy’s, feeling upbeat and excited for my senior year to begin. Looking around the eighties-themed diner, I spot the dirty blond—that’s two shades darker than mine—with broad shoulders sitting in a two-person booth toward the back of the restaurant.
I smile at the sight of one of my besties. The sound of my short stilettos clicking against the black-and-white checkered floor draws his attention as his hazel eyes meet mine, and a grin spreads across his stupidly pretty face.
“Em, babes!” Jake stands for a hug, and I sneer at him for calling me babes.
“Jakey,” I say back, and he frowns at the nickname, pulling away.
“You know I hate it when you call me that,” he grumbles and sits in the booth.
A smirk lifts my lips. “Ditto,babes.”
He rolls his eyes. “All right, I get it. Let’s order our milkshakes so I can catch you up on some of my adventures from the summer.”
I snort, knowingadventuresis Jake’s code for “any interesting stories that involve sex.” Jake waves over a waitress and orders me a strawberry-and-vanilla shake with extra whipped cream and a chocolate malt for himself.
The waitress leaves, and Jake folds his hands together. “Since I’m feeling extra generous today, I’ll give you the option of choosing which story to hear first.”
“Is that really necessary?—”
“A field, the roof of a museum, or the unfinished threesome.”
Tilting my head, I wonder how Jake manages it. He always has an interesting story to share after a vacation with a girl, or in this case, multiple. Granted, I’ve known him long enough to realize he’s far from being a saint, and he’s always bringing a different girl along to our events or just disappears with a new one while we’re at a party.
But he knows me too, and he’s highly aware of my stupid curiosity.
“Can we just start with a simple ‘How was your summer?’”
Jake lifts a corner of his mouth, his crisp, expensive shirt wrinkling as he moves. “Come on, we both know you’re going to ask about one of them eventually.”
I shake my head. “Nope.” I hesitate, but I’m determined to carry this challenge out. “How about you tell me about all the boring parties you went to in England that I missed?” Jake may have been in England as well, but our schedules and parties never coincided. His events were more business, while mine were more social.
Our milkshakes arrive, and we both thank the waitress.
Jake shrugs. “Fine, whatever you say.” He blows out a breath. “My parents did the usual, trying to set me up with women who come from ‘good breeding,’” he quotes directly about what his rich, snobbish family says about women. My grandparentsmight suck, but his parents are terrible people from newer money than my family’s, yet they’ve managed to dominate most of the media industry in the country. “Of course,” he continues, “they were all the same. Boring, rude, and only wanted me for the inheritance they know I’m going to get once I’m married.” As I nod my head and tap my foot, he repeats the same stories our friends and I hear every year. Boring events, setups, snotty gossip I already know about, and the one nice girl he meets every year, but has nothing in common with.
“I can’t take it anymore!” I shriek. “Just tell me about the damn field.”
Jake chuckles and checks his phone. “Fifteen minutes. A new record—shit,” he hisses, and he eyes me with an annoyed expression crossing his features. “Um, ow.”
I smile at his reaction to the kick I sent his way under the table. “Oops.” Grabbing the straw, I sip the cold milkshake and turn on the puppy dog eyes.
He points at me. “You’re not getting my story anymore.”
Scoffing, I kick him again. “That’s so not fair!”
“Lower your damn voice and stop kicking me, God. I’m wearing my good jeans.” He bends down to dust his pants, and I sip more of my milkshake. That’s another thing Jake and I have in common: expensive clothes.
Swallowing, I tap my fingers on the table. “Since I had a boring summer, let’s talk about the gang.”
Jake shakes his head and tsks. “You’re not getting out of this so easily, Haywood. Who didyoumeet this summer?”
At the question, memories of the sexy man in the suit, pressing me against the wall with his fingers in me, invade my mind— “Aha!” Jake says loudly. “So, you did meet someone.”
My eyes widen for a fraction of a second before I compose myself. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. Kamila and Levi may not notice it, but this is the first time I’ve seen that kind of spark in your eyes. As your friend, I need to know if this guy is going to treatyou right.” My stomach dips at the thought of the man I met almost a month ago—an experience where I left happy, yet sad, but with no bad memories at all, with a man I’d known for only a couple of hours.
Jake sighs, bringing me back to the present. “I know I’m a very private person, and I usually mind my own business, but if you truly like the guy you met, I prefer to know about it now instead of you keeping it a secret like all of our friends have done with their significant others in the past.”
