Page 94 of Crave

“I’m not mad at you. Let’s just order.” The waitress comes by and I order the first thing I see, a chicken Caesar salad. Jake orders a steak, and we sit in silence as we wait for our food. He reaches across the table and lays both of his large hands on mine.

“I don’t think you’ve ever been mad at me before.” I arch my eyebrows at him, and he laughs. “Well, not since we got together. I’m sorry, baby.”

“It’s fine, Jake,” I say with a sigh. “I just wish—” I stop mid-sentence and ponder my next words. “Never mind.” I take another sip of my water. This is what I got involved in. I witnessed firsthand the night we met how he deals with his brother and sister-in-law.

But this is different, Sandy. He was defending your relationship.

The second our food arrives and I smell his steak, I regret getting a salad. We eat but I barely taste my food.

“I know you’re not enjoying that salad. I’ll be willing to share my steak with you, but you have to give me a kiss.” He cuts off a juicy piece and holds it to my mouth. When I move to take it, he pulls it back. “Kiss before steak.”

“Fine. If I must.” The minute the word leaves my mouth, he moves to my side of the table. Without any embarrassment, I give him a kiss on the lips. The kiss is chaste by our standards, but it vanquishes the tension we were both feeling.

“Gimme,” I say.

He laughs as he feeds me and ends up ordering a second steak, my salad long forgotten.

“That was good.” I pat my flat stomach, and Jake leans in to whisper in my ear.

“Every time that fork went in your mouth, my dick jumped. You’re sexy when you eat, you know that? You’re sexy doing just about anything.” He runs his hand along my thighs, and my nipples harden immediately.

“Are you sure we can’t go back to your place right now?” He rests his head in the crook of my neck and plants a wet kiss.

“I wish. This damn trip is fucking with my Dee time.”

“Tonight then. If I’m not going to have you for four days, I want tonight to count.”

“Every night counts. Every second I’m with you is everything.” I look up at him, touched by his words and give him a soft peck on the lips.

“I feel the same way.” I excuse myself to run to the ladies’ room, and like the gentleman he is, he stands up as well.

I take my time using the restroom, fixing my hair and reapplying my lipstick before stepping out, ready to forget the bullshit with Rebecca and the hostess. The restrooms are located down a long, dark, secluded hallway away from the main dining room. Instead of taking a left when I stepped out of the bathroom, I mistakenly take a right. I realize my mistake and start to turn around only to spot Jake and Tracy in a heated conversation. I’m too far away to hear, but he’s looking down at her, and whatever she’s saying is not being well received by him. He says a few angry words before walking away in the opposite direction of where I’m standing, leaving Tracy standing there. She sighs a loud exasperated breath, turns and locks eyes with me. Without so much as a fake smile, I turn around and head back to our table, the anger from earlier back.

“Do you want dessert?” he asks, making no mention of his conversation with Tracy.

“No. My headache is back.” He waves the waiter over and hands him his credit card. Within a few minutes, our bill has been settled and we’re walking through the restaurant where I spot Tracy having lunch with a woman about her age.

She says something to her friend, who stops chewing long enough to look our way.

CHAPTER 32

JAKE

Not exactly how I wanted our lunch to go, I slam my car door more forcefully than I usually would. I sneak a peek at Sandy, and she’s stoic, head turned towards the window. I reach over and take her hand in mine and she intertwines our fingers.

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean for our time together to be this tense.”

“It’s fine.” She turns her head and stares out the window as I maneuver my way out of the restaurant parking lot.

It’s not fine. She’s never this quiet.

“You’re not acting like everything is fine. You’re looking out the window in silence and faking a headache.”

She turns her sharp gaze on me at my words, nostrils flaring. I offer her a smile, which she does not return.

“I’mfine.” She emphasizes the word fine and turns back to the window.

“Will you stop saying fine?” I snap, losing my patience. She tries to pull her hand out of mine, but I tighten my grip. “Say what you’re thinking, but stop hiding behind the word fine.”

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