Jake Undone (7 page)

That’s not—”

I bit my bottom lip and nodded with a smile. “It is.”

“Bananas Foster? Bananas fucking Foster?”

“Yup. I made it for you, as a thank you for helping me last night.” I burst into laughter at his reaction as

his eyes bugged out of his head.

Jake said nothing, just sat down, took a huge bite, dipping his head back in ecstasy and moaned.

I’ve heard that moan before
. I shook my head to get the disturbing thought of Jake with another woman out of my mind.

His mouth was full. “Ugh. Mmmmmm. Oh my God. You know this is like my wet dream, right?”

There’s an analogy: What Bananas Foster is to Jake…Jake is to Nina.

“I figured you’d like it.”

“Like it…Nina…I fucking
love
it,” he said before taking another huge bite. He ate in silence for a few

minutes with his eyes closed half of the time. “Where did you learn to make this?”

“I actually took a dessert-making class back home once. It’s actually not that hard to make. It’s just butter, sugar, rum, vanilla, cinnamon, ice cream and of course, bananas.”

He continued to devour the entire batch until the plate was bone dry. I sat across from the table with my

chin in my hands just watching it happen like a spectator sport.

He ran his finger repeatedly across the plate licking the last remnants, which caused my insides to tingle.

I suddenly wished I were wearing the plate.

When there was nothing left, he closed his eyes one last time, slowly opened them wide, shook his head

and said, “Mmm…mmm…mmm. Promise me you’ll make that again for me.”

I laughed at how serious he was actually being. “That can be arranged.”

“I don’t think you understand. That was the best thing I have ever tasted in my entire life. No one has

ever made anything for me like that. My mother couldn’t cook for shit growing up. She worked hard and

all, especially after my father died but never cooked, never baked. That’s why I started eating so many damn bananas in the first place.”

That was the first moment Jake ever shared anything important about himself with me.

“How old were you when your father died?”

He seemed caught off guard by the question but answered looking down at the plate. “I was five, almost

six.”

My heart broke for him. “I’m sorry, Jake.”

“Yeah, me too.” He coughed and quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, you’re making this again,

okay?

“Well, I did make it as a thank you, but I have to admit…there may have been an ulterior motive.”

He wiped his mouth with a napkin, crumpled it and threw it at me jokingly. “Oh?”

“Yes. I was actually hoping that maybe you would go easy on me if it turns out I didn’t get an A…

maybe let me have some say in how far I’m willing to go with this punishment thing.”

He threw his head back in laughter, and I could see his tongue ring. He scratched his chin, pretending to

think about it and then said, “Um…no.”

“Jake…” I whined.

He mocked me in the same tone. “Nina…”

“I am so screwed.”

“Oh, Ye of little faith. Did you even get your grade yet?”

“I am pretty sure they’re up. I just have to go online and check if they’re posted on Hernandez’s website.”

He walked down the hall and returned with his laptop, placing it on the counter. “Check it.”

I nervously keyed in the web address as he leaned in over me. I could smell the bananas and rum on

his breath and could feel him breathing on my shoulder, which made me fidgety as I typed in the password.

The first thing I noticed was Alistair’s grade:
Alistair York: 100.

Scrolling down, I looked for mine, and there it was:
Nina Kennedy: 78.

My chest constricted with mixed emotions. I had gotten a C+, which was better than I could have ever

hoped for but far from what I needed to avoid having to pass Jake’s test.

Jake and I turned to each other at the same time, and the gleam in his eyes told me I was in for it.

CHAPTER 7

Thursday afternoon, I was cleaning the kitchen when I received a text from Jake.

I am getting off of work early and should be home around 3:30. I’ll meet you at the house. Then we’ll

leave together. Be ready.

A few minutes later, he texted again.

Stop freaking out, Nina.

And so, the ruminations began. I had no idea what he had in store for me, and he specifically gave me

no hints, so that I wouldn’t “freak out.” Well, the not knowing made me freak out even more.

I took a shower to pass the time and could not for the life of me decide what to wear. What does one

wear to a date with disaster? Regardless of where we ended up tonight, I was going to be one sweaty,

panicky, white-knuckled mess.

I finally settled on a pair of jeans and a fitted black t-shirt. I might as well be comfortable and honestly,

why would I need to dress up? It’s not like Jake is going to notice how cute my ass is when I am keeled

over on the ground hyperventilating.

At 3:15, I decided to sit and wait in the living area, attempting to distract myself by watching the
Katie

show. The topic was about close encounters with death. I shut it off because it was a trigger for my anxiety.

The door opened, and Jake walked in with a couple of paper shopping bags, grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey, little miss sunshine! Are you excited about our date?”

That suddenly made me nauseous, and I couldn’t tell if it was because he called it a date or because I

was about to make a fool of myself tonight. “I didn’t realize it was a date.”

“It’s a date with destiny. Freedom awaits you once you can get past all of this shit you are doing to

yourself.”

Thanks for clarifying the date thing, jackass
.

The fact that he looked scorching hot right now in a red plaid shirt that opened up to a fitted black t-

shirt underneath wasn’t helping my confused state.

I raised my neck to peek into the bags. “What did you buy?”

He shooed me away. “Just some supplies we’ll need.”

“Great,” I said sarcastically.

Jake took the bags to his room while I waited on the couch. He reemerged with a large black backpack.

“Let’s go, Nina. You ready?”

I got up and swallowed. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Another wave of nausea came when we hit the pavement of the sidewalk, and I knew there was no

turning back.

To make matters worse, Mrs. Ballsworthy was at the window watching us, and when I looked up at her,

she gave me the dirtiest look before shutting it. That was all I needed right now. Jake hadn’t noticed, so I

didn’t mention it.

I could feel him looking at me as I stared down at the ground while we walked together, our steps in

synch. At one point, he stopped walking, and I turned around to face him.

“Why did you stop? I asked.

He approached me and put both of his hands on my shoulders. I shivered at the unexpected contact, and

as we stood on the street corner, he looked into my eyes intently.

“Nina, I can tell you’re going through all these little scenarios in your head right now. It’s not helping.

The only thing that is ever happening to you is what is happening in the moment, not all of the disastrous

possibilities in your mind. So, cut the shit, okay? I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

While I didn’t like the tone of his voice, the last part gave me some comfort.

We continued walking until we came across what I believed was our destination: DeKalb Avenue

subway station. I was honestly relieved that he had chosen the subway as my exercise, since it was the

lesser of the evils. Nevertheless, I wanted to stall.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He lifted his arms and smiled. “Manhattan, baby!”

“That’s it? How long is the ride?”

“Not long, but I didn’t calculate it.” Jake walked a few steps down into the station as I stood on the

sidewalk above. He turned around and stared up at me.

My pulse quickened, and I closed my eyes unsure of what to do next. My mind flashed images of being

stuck like a sardine in that tin can. When I opened my eyes, he was still standing in the same spot. His large

green eyes lit up from the darkness of the stairwell.

He was so beautiful.
I just couldn’t move, though.

He stood there patiently on the steps waiting for me to come down. I was frozen. Finally, he lifted his

hand toward me and silently urged me with his steady gaze to walk down and take it
.

“Nina, come on. I’ve got you,” he finally said.

At that moment, something clicked, and I moved toward him. His warm hand enveloped mine, and our

fingers intertwined. His thumb ring pressed against my skin as he held my hand tightly and led me down the

stairwell, which smelled of urine.

If I weren’t so terrified of acting like a complete lunatic on the train, this moment would have been epic.

It was a mixed bag of emotions with fear and lust shining above all. My body was trembling in confusion.

I felt a sudden coldness as Jake let go of my hand to pay for our subway cards.

He thanked the subway worker and surprised me when he grabbed my hand again. The butterflies in

my stomach were now doing somersaults as he led me through the turnstiles.

We sat down on a bench as we waited for the train to arrive. Disappointingly, he let go of my hand.

Then, he patted my back. “You’re doing okay so far.”

“Yeah,” I managed to say as I continued to breathe heavily. I kept nodding for no reason and wished the

train would just hurry up and get there.

The B train finally approached and grinded to a screeching halt. He took my hand again and led me onto

the crowded train car, which was bustling with evening commuters.

There were no seats, which didn’t matter to me. I preferred to stand, since that made for an easier exit if

I ever had to leap out at the next stop.

When the train doors closed, the panic really began to set in. I felt completely trapped and began to

shake uncontrollably.

Jake put both of his hands on my trembling arms causing my conflicting emotions to assault one

another. Lust was winning by a thread. “It’s okay to feel nervous, Nina. You’re not supposed to be

comfortable. Stop trying to fight it and just let those feelings be there.”

When he let go of me, my body craved the return of his touch. I just wanted him to hold me until this

disastrous feeling passed or until we got out of that train car. Trying to calm myself, I focused on a baby

who was sitting on her mother. If she could do this, I could. She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

He was looking at me, but my shame kept me from making eye contact. I was still shivering while

holding onto a pole. It was difficult to accept the uncomfortable feelings instead of fighting them. The train

swayed, and I couldn’t tell if it was the normal movement of the vessel or my skewed perception due to

nerves.

I jumped when Jake grabbed my chin forcing my eyes on his. “How are you doing?”

“Fine. I just want this to be over.”

“Our stop is next.” He smiled.

Immediate relief washed over me upon hearing that, and the last few minutes of the ride were

somewhat bearable because there was now a light at the end of the tunnel.

When the train stopped at the 8th Avenue station, I followed Jake out of the car. My breathing

immediately slowed, and I felt on top of the world. I was free.

Turning to me on the platform, he smiled and said, “You’re still with us. Was that so bad?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “It was about what I expected, but I am glad it’s over. Can we take a cab

home now?”

He stared at me silently for several seconds before leading me through the turnstiles and up the stairs to

the streets of Manhattan. The noise and smells of the city were a stark contrast to the dark subway station. I

hoped, at least, he was taking me somewhere fun.

“Jake? Where are we going?”

He stopped short in front of a Chinese restaurant. The scent of roasting chickens and MSG was

nauseating. He turned around to me as swarms of people rushing home from work brushed past us.

“Nina…”

Then, I had a light bulb moment, looking at the large backpack he said contained supplies and my heart

sank.

“The subway. That wasn’t the exercise…it was just a means to get here. You’re taking me somewhere

now, aren’t you?”

Jake nodded. “You need to trust me, okay?”

Panic started to build all over again. The sounds of car horns from the street seemed to get louder as my

nerves became sensitized.

I licked my lips nervously as we walked side by side through the sidewalks of New York.

I turned my head to him as we continued walking at a fast pace. “Where are you taking me, Jake? Tell

me!”

“If I tell you, you are gonna overreact. Just wait until we get there, and remember what I said. I

wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“What if I can’t do it?”

“You always have a choice. But if you choose to back away from this, our deal is off. In the end, you

know you’d only be letting yourself down.”

As we walked in silence for about three more blocks, he stopped in front of a high-rise apartment

building. “Here we are.”

I hesitated before following him into the front door. A friendly-looking heavyset man greeted us and

smacked hands with Jake.

“Jake, my man, how goes it?” He smiled.

“Good, good, Vinny. This is my friend, Nina.”