The Summer of Jake (7 page)

Now, there’s a question.
I nodded.

“Lie down on your stomach.”

I did as instructed but turned to face him. “Jake, don’t we need waves to learn to surf?”

“Waves? What for?” He grinned as he treaded water.

Perhaps I’d been too quick to hand over my trust. “And I’m sure when I’ve seen people learn to surf, they’ve started out on the sand.”

“Miss Farley, this is a
personalized
class. You should be pleased, having one with the owner of the business.”

His teasing tone was irresistible, and I felt myself slipping under his spell. Caution raised its head, ready to pull me back, but I doused it. After the news about Mindy, I felt like being a little reckless.

I gave him a look of mock-deliberation. “You might be the owner of the business, but are you as good as the other teachers?”

“Absolutely. For one thing, I’m dedicated to customer satisfaction.” His eyes twinkled.

Looking into those dark pools of temptation, I was glad I’d just banished caution, as it may have stopped me at that point.

I narrowed my eyes, probably with minimal effect since I was already squinting at the water’s glare. “Hmm. So, this is a personalized class to learn what, exactly?”

“You’ll see. Just remember, we said it was more for recreation than anything. Put your head down and close your eyes for a minute.”

“Okay.” Despite my misgivings, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. The board was gently rocking with the movements of the water and I tried to let it lull me into relaxing. Instead, I was still focused on Jake, on where he was and the small issue of him looking at me. Was this my good side? I could never remember which one that was.

I could hear him moving in the water, then stop when he drew level with my face.

When he spoke, it was in a low, hypnotic tone. “Keep your eyes closed and just let yourself listen to the sounds of the ocean.”

Determined to at least give it a try, I relaxed and allowed myself to hear, and, little by little, I became more aware of the sounds of the sea.

The waves crashing closer to shore, the water lapping at the sides of the board, and seagulls calling out in the distance.

“Just hear the sounds and don’t let anything else distract you.”

Easy for him to say.
He distracted me at the best of times, but with his half-naked body with all its muscles and tanned skin and only inches from my face, there wasn’t a lot of hope of remaining focused. But I decided I should try to get into the spirit of the exercise.

The more I listened, the more I could discern. I became aware of small rippling waves close by, and the sound of Jake’s breath.

“Taste the salt on your lips,” Jake continued. I ran my tongue over my lips and tasted the salt water that had dried there. It was biting, yet strangely soothing. Even while I was thinking about the salt, part of my mind was aware that Jake was probably watching my lips and had seen my tongue move over them. If I’d been watching him do that, it would have made my pulse spike.

I wanted to open my eyes to see his reaction, but forced myself to keep them closed and refocus on the tang of the sea.

“Smell the ocean, Annalise.” Jake’s low, quiet voice seemed to flow over me. I took in a deep breath, and at first could only recognize the wax of the surfboard but soon caught a hint of something else. Salt on the air, maybe with a touch of seaweed. I hadn’t expected it to be sensual.

Perhaps it seemed that way because it reminded me of Jake? I’d always associated the fragrance of the beach with him, but he had his own distinctive smell—part beach and part him. He must be close enough to smell now, but it was impossible to distinguish anything apart from the strong scent of the water. Next time I had a chance, I’d allow myself the luxury of soaking up his Jake-fragrance.

“Feel the sensations of the ocean.” His voice sounded dreamy, like he was tasting and feeling the ocean himself. Letting another breath out, I turned my attention to what I could feel.

The breeze danced across my skin, lifting the edges of my hair, and I could feel the sun’s warmth through my shirt. I could also feel the internal heat of arousal flowing through my body, making my breasts tingle against the pressure of the surf board and the rest of me call out for him. The intimacy of Jake’s voice, in the low, husky tone was enough; but added to this awareness of my body that he was encouraging, I had no hope. This was fast becoming pure torture.

“Now,” he continued, “imagine yourself becoming one with the ocean.”

Oh, dear God in heaven. There was only one thing I wanted to become one with at the moment and it wasn’t the ocean. What I really wanted was to taste him—his skin, his mouth—and feel him pressed flush against me, and to have him taste and feel me. The two of us together…

Crap, I had to do something.

My eyes snapped open. “Jake, I think I’m getting a bit hot in the sun. I might just jump in the water and cool down.”

I slid down into the refreshing coolness, heart racing, still with the awareness of all my senses. I could feel the water moving my hair around my head and hear the unmistakable sounds of being underwater. After staying under as long as my breath would hold, I slowly resurfaced beside Jake and treaded water.

“You okay?” he asked. There was something strange yet intense in his eyes—he must’ve been worried when I bailed out.

“Yes.” I smiled to reassure him, determined to ignore the fluttering from the direction of my heart at the intensity of his gaze. “Why did we do that?”

“I wanted you to experience the ocean the way I experience it.” He ran a hand along the surfboard he was still holding. “Riding the waves is only half of it. The rest is being out here and feeling a connection with the water. There’s nothing else like it.”

“I think I understand.” It was obvious this was important to him, and I was touched he’d shared that part of himself. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“I wanted to do it.” He smiled, and I felt a sense of connection between us before he turned and patted the surfboard. “Here, hop back on, and I’ll take you in to the shallows to work on your surfing.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d rather swim in. I could do with the exercise.” And with getting rid of some of the adrenaline and hormones that were coursing through my body, giving me inappropriate suggestions about accidentally bumping into him under the water, then wrapping my legs around him.

I spent an hour learning where to put my feet and how to get from lying down to standing in a fluid movement. Jake was patient and encouraging, coaxing me into trying again each time I fell off.

After one magnificent fall, I laughed and asked, “Do you think I’ll ever be ready for water deeper than my ankles?”

“We all had to risk the deep water some time.” His eyes met mine and held, as if by magnetic force, then he splashed me and grinned. “You’ll be fine. Maybe not today, but one day.”

I grinned back, imagining the unlikely event of me surfing big waves the way I’d seen Jake do it. “You were right, this is fun.”

“But I think you’ve had enough for today. You’re using muscles that aren’t used to it, and, if we do much more, you’ll be too sore to visit Kelly and Mum on Saturday.”

And there was no way I was going to miss that. “Okay, let’s go.”

Chapter Seven

Annalise

I awoke early on Saturday. After a quick breakfast, I started to clean my apartment, needing to give my nervous energy something to do. Rover helped by sniffing everything I threw in the bin, looking behind furniture I moved for lost toys, and hiding under the bed when I vacuumed. By ten o’clock, I had to face that there was nothing left to clean and Jake wasn’t picking me up for another two hours.

I hadn’t seen him the day before, though he’d called to let me know the arrangements he’d made with his family. I’d certainly thought about him, though. And not the schoolgirl thoughts I’d had during my crush. These thoughts definitely had adult content. They involved mouths and hands and nakedness.

Even in my dreams at night, he’d appear, draped across my bed wearing nothing but that smile that drove me crazy. Or he’d be slowly undressing me in his living room with the breeze from the ocean drifting across my newly exposed skin. I gave my head an abrupt shake. This was not a mind-frame I wanted to be in when he arrived. It’d be like putting a picture of a chocolate brownie on the fridge door.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of my mind, I showered, dressed, and picked up my keys. Rover stood on her back legs, pawing her leash.

“
Rrrreht
,” she kitty-barked.

I smiled indulgently. “Okay, you can have a quick ride.”

She turned a circle on her back legs in delight. I clipped the leash to her collar and led her down the steps to the Volvo. I did a quick lap of our block, Rover with her head almost out the window, sniffing the breeze, before dropping her home and heading out again to my favorite bottle shop.

After quickly browsing through the racks, I picked out an assortment of white wines to run past Jake. Maybe we could do that after we’d seen his family. That’d be nice, sitting back on a Saturday night with Jake, a glass of white each.

I stopped myself. I had to remember that the only reason he was doing this, the only reason he was even seeing me, was to get the attention of another woman.

Blond Scarlett.

Groaning, I took the wine to the counter.

The cashier packed the bottles into bags and raised his eyebrows. “Big night?”

“Unfortunately, no.” I picked up the bags and walked back to the Volvo.

Once I got home, with my nervous energy gone and replaced by a hollow sadness, I dropped onto my bed. Rover bounced up and down on the mattress, trying to get me to play.

“Sorry, girl. I just need a moment.”

Not to be beaten, she rolled onto her back and twisted from side to side, trying to catch the tip of her tail. Smiling, I watched her upside-down quest. She had such simple needs—no castles in the air for Rover. And the result? Happiness. Rover was happy most of the time. Her goals were achievable: food, walks, affection and toys. Jake, on the other hand, was practically the quintessential Unachievable Goal—my very own castle in the air.

I cast a glance at my dream collage on the closet door. Maybe I needed to add some more achievable goals?

Like Kelly and Eden. Why hadn’t I thought of them before? Of course they should be on there. Jumping up, I rummaged through my drawers till I found a photo of them—all three of us, arms around each other on my sixteenth birthday.

A sense of joy unfurled in my chest. These people definitely should be on my dream collage. After finding some glue, I added them, right at the top of the page. I couldn’t wait to see them again.

Perfect. Now I needed to think of other more achievable things that made me happy. Be realistic. No pipedreams.

Learn from Rover.

I looked down at my watch and realized I only had twenty minutes until Jake would be there. Pleased I’d made progress, I left the collage and rushed to get ready, only just making it when Jake knocked at my door.

“Hey, you look nice,” he greeted me. “Are you ready to go?”

I
looked nice? He was filling out his old faithful jeans and a white shirt in all the right places. I wanted to grab him by the belt and drag him back into my bedroom to see how the real life version of him sprawled naked on my bed compared to the dream version. Anyone who thought there was anything that needed changing about Jake Maxwell was deluded. He was perfect. And not meant for me. The hollow sadness in my chest returned and multiplied ten-fold.

In the car, I told him about the wine I’d bought. “So, if you’re free tonight, I thought we could try them out.”

He looked over with an expression I couldn’t read and said, “I’d like that.”

Involuntarily, an analysis of Jake’s expression and words began to tick over in my mind before I hit the mental brakes. I needed emotional distance. I focused on Kelly instead. A realistic relationship.

By the time we arrived, my earlier sadness had seeped away and been replaced by excitement. Kelly came running out of the house and hugged me as soon as I stepped out of the car.

I returned the hug as tightly as I could. “I’ve missed you!”

“Not half as much as I’ve missed you.” She pulled back a little to wipe her face with her hand. “Oh, look, you’ve made me cry.”

“Do I get a hug?” An amused voice interrupted us, and I looked over to see Jake leaning a hip against the hood of his Jeep.

Kelly obliged, admiring his new haircut, then turned to look back at me, still with her arms around Jake. “Jake, I’m so happy for you both. I can’t imagine anything more perfect. Lisey, who’d have thought all those years ago your crush on my silly brother would turn out like this? Especially with me married to Adam.”

It took a moment for me to comprehend what was being said—and that it wasn’t a dream—before I could interrupt.
Damage control required,
my brain screamed. “We’re not—”

But Kelly was too excited to be interrupted. “All that time we spent mooning over these two and here we are. Didn’t everything work out beautifully?”

My eyes shot to Jake as I snapped, “Kelly!”

Kelly stopped, and I noticed two things. First, Jake was surprised by the information. Second, he was pleased by it. His grin was from ear to ear.

“Kelly, Jake and I are not together.”

“Oh. Then what are you doing here with him?” She looked from me to her brother, forehead creased in confusion.

Jake finally found his voice. “Annalise has been helping me with something, and I suggested she come to catch up with you and Mum.”

Kelly’s face drained of color as we all turned toward a voice from the house. “Oh my God, I’m
so
sorry. Um, that’s Adam calling me, I’ll see you in there.”

I watched Kelly’s retreating back, trying to make my lungs work. Now the initial crisis of gagging Kelly was over, my body had fallen into a strangely familiar state of shock. Third time in a week. Apparently, Jake Maxwell was not only bad for my emotional well-being, but also bad for my health.

Maybe I should leave? Yes, I’d leave. Except I’d come with Jake. Hmmm. I could walk. Yes, I’d walk home. Except my body had stopped obeying my commands. Hmmm. I could melt into the ground, in the fashion of the witch from
The Wizard of Oz
. Yes, melt. Good idea.

“You had a crush on me?” Dark eyes dancing, Jake was clearly trying to restrain a laugh.

He was laughing at me! All vestiges of shock instantly evaporated, and I was suffused with an anger born of humiliation.

“Let’s get one thing straight, Jake. I was sixteen. A lot has changed since then, including both you and me. I am definitely over you.” I turned and followed Kelly, trying to look composed and confident as I did, because that was one of the biggest lies I’d ever told.

…

Jake

I stood, leaning against the Jeep for several minutes after Annalise left. How much more stupid could I have been? Normally I was good around women, but laughing and teasing when she was emotional? Giant fail, Maxwell.

Then she’d left before I could make things right again. Though, in all honesty, I didn’t have the first clue about how to do that.

Hell
.

I scrubbed my hands over my face. She’d had a crush on me.

Let’s get one thing straight, Jake. I was sixteen. A lot has changed since then, including both you and me. I am definitely over you.

But she’d seemed pretty upset as she’d said it, which had made it seem like she was protesting a little too much.

What if she was still into me, even a little…? Sure, my genes were stacked against me, but there was something about Annalise. Maybe we could be good together? A slow smile spread across my face, and I took my first real breath since Annalise had left.

I pushed off the Jeep and made my way into my mother’s house to see Annalise engulfed by my family. My mother had her in a tight hug, and Kelly had arms around them both.

Adam was hovering nearby as if not sure whether to join in or not. Seeing me in the doorway seemed to make up his mind, and he moved quickly to my side.

“Hi, Jake. Annalise, hey?”

Adam’s raised eyebrows annoyed me. I’d hurt her outside and still had to somehow make things right. The last thing I needed was Adam having a similar reaction to the first one I’d had outside.

“There’s nothing there,” I told him. “Just doing a good deed and reuniting people who’ve drifted.”

Adam looked me over and nodded once. “Good.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, outraged. Was he saying there was something wrong with Annalise? She was gorgeous and sweet and fun. Any guy would be lucky to have her by his side.

He crossed his arms over his chest and watched the reunion going on in front of us as he spoke. “Kel and your mum would kill you when you broke her heart.”

Oh. Good.

But…he’d said
when
.
When you broke her heart.
It was the same thing I’d been telling myself, but hearing it from someone else stung. Especially from someone who’d known me fifteen years and whom I respected.

I rounded on him, wanting his full attention on this subject. “What makes you think I would?”

“We’re different when it comes to women.” He shrugged. “I was always a one woman man—it’s never been anyone but Kel for me. You like playing the field.”

His tone was matter of fact, not seeing this as an insult, but still I winced. Adam didn’t know that I’d tried once and had been turned down flat. Much as it had burned at the time, though, she’d been right to do it…which, I guess, just proved Adam’s point.

I shifted my weight to my other leg. “I wouldn’t say I like it.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “Well, how about we say Annalise is the settling down kind, and you’re not.”

“Maybe.” For a few sweet minutes, I’d let myself entertain the thought that Annalise and I could be good together. But I knew he was right, that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

You’re no better than me.

And now it seemed there was consensus from everyone who knew me well—I wasn’t the settling down kind.

Getting involved with Annalise was a bad idea. The worst idea. Even if the jerk living inside me still wanted to explore it. I rubbed a hand around the tense muscles at the back of my neck.

“Jake, come here.” My mother was beaming so brightly I almost needed sunglasses—at least it was a good day for someone.

Joining them, I hugged her, careful to avoid touching Annalise.

“Thank you, Jake, for bringing Annalise over.” Mum flashed a watery smile. “Although she should’ve brought herself sooner.” She waggled a finger at Annalise, who giggled.

My breath caught in my throat. She’d giggled! At that moment, Annalise looked sixteen again. If only I could go back to nineteen. Had I known then about her crush? If I was honest, I’d suspected it. But she’d just been Kelly’s little friend.

Stupid.

I’d been monumentally stupid. If I could go back to nineteen right now, I’d whisk sixteen-year-old Annalise outside for a heavy make-out session in the back of my old van. A grin spread across my face. Oh, yeah, that wasn’t a bad idea at all.

At that moment, Annalise looked up. Far from appearing a willing participant in my old van fantasy, she turned away, blushing.
She must still be embarrassed
.
Crap
.

“Now let me have a look at this new hairstyle.” Mum pushed gently on my chest. “Mmm, I like it. Much more grown up. What do you think, Annalise?”

Annalise’s gaze flicked to meet mine, then dropped to the floor. We both knew my mother wouldn’t let her get away without some sort of comment. “Definitely more grown up,” she murmured.

Kelly moved closer and ruffled my hair. “I love it,” she pronounced.

“Thanks, kiddo.” Draping an arm around her shoulders, I watched Mum march Annalise into the kitchen, demanding to know all her news.

“Jake…” Kelly’s voice wavered slightly.

“Mmm?”

“I’m sorry about what I said outside.”

I looked down at her upturned face. “Doesn’t worry me, but I think Annalise is upset.”

“I know. I’ve apologized already, but I’ll tell her again.” She tried to move away, but I nudged her closer again.

“Kel…was it a big crush?” I used a deliberately casual tone.

Kelly’s gaze trailed to the kitchen before she answered. “The biggest. Same as mine on Adam. But please, Jake, don’t tease her about it.”

“I won’t.” On impulse, I hugged her and dropped a kiss on her head.

We wandered into the kitchen, and Kelly left to make coffee. Leaning against the doorframe, I watched Annalise and Mum talking intimately, still holding hands. I was so engrossed, I didn’t hear Adam behind me until he spoke.

“Jealous?”

I half-turned, but my eyes didn’t leave the scene. “Of which one?”

“You tell me.”

I held back a sigh. Adam might have been my best friend, but no way did I want to talk to him about this. “Nope,” I said, deciding that deflecting was the best form of defense. “They’ve always been close. I think Mum helped her through the teen years the way Gerry helped us. You know, we were pretty lucky with him for a coach.”

“Yep. They’re both good people, Gerry and your mother. I probably would’ve gone off the rails when my mum died if they hadn’t been around. They deserve a medal.”