Page 28 of Fight for Me
Lexie buried her face in his shoulder, not wanting him to see her fall apart even though it was inevitable. Jake’s thumb swept across the base of her neck in a soothing motion that only made her cry harder. Her father would have told her to pull herself together, and Colt would have said she was embarrassing him. But Jake simply held her while her gasping sobs ran their course, letting her tears soak through the cotton of his shirt until it stuck to his skin.
Her body drank in the pressure of his arms, drawing comfort from his presence. Everything about him was solid, from the shoulder she cried on to the way he took her weight when she could barely stand. Finally, her heart began to slow, and she matched her breathing to the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath her hands. She quieted enough to notice the way the clean, crisp scent of soap and detergent mixed with something that was uniquely Jake, though she couldn’t identify any specific elements within it. He smelled... safe.
That was the only word that came to mind as Lexie breathed him in, feeling herself relax in a way she hadn’t in a long time.
“Better?” he asked at last, and Lexie felt the word rumble through him as he spoke.
She made an affirmative sort of noise but didn’t move, letting herself revel in the way his hand had drifted into the hair at the nape of her neck. He was warm in the chilling evening air, and she wanted nothing more than to sink into him and tell him everything. It had been so long since someone had held her like this—like she was precious and protected. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it.
The girl from the pool hall was lucky.
Lexie felt a sharp stab of guilt at the base of her heart. That girl was probably waiting for Jake to get back, and here Lexie was, smearing makeup all over him. He’d probably even smell like her perfume when he got home. She wiped her fingers beneath her eyes, knowing she probably had mascara everywhere, and took a step back. Jake’s hold broke reluctantly, like he wasn’t quite ready to let her go, and when she looked up, the depth of emotion on his face took her by surprise. There was a single frozen second where they stood there, neither one daring to breathe. But then he blinked, and the moment shattered.
“I’m sorry,” she said with an embarrassed laugh. “I’m such a mess.”
He shook his head, his eyes never leaving hers. “Don’t be sorry, Lexie.”
His voice was rougher than usual, and his hands balled into fists at his sides, as if he were fighting to control them. He continued to stare for a moment, his jaw clenched tight, and Lexie’s chest contracted again—this time for an entirely different reason. She opened her mouth, not quite sure what she planned to say, but Jake turned toward his truck before whatever it was could come out.
He rummaged around in the passenger’s side of the cab before flipping on his headlights and returning with several tools she only vaguely recognized.
“So, this is an easy swap, just on and off,” he explained, suddenly all business. Just moments ago, he’d done nothing but stare; now, he didn’t seem able to meet her eyes.
Lexie nodded mutely, still steadying herself as he knelt in the dust beside her fender. She felt like if she took a single step, she was going to throw herself at his feet and do something mortifying, like beg him to hold her again.
As if she hadn’t already embarrassed herself enough.
“You’re lucky you didn’t lose control of the car,” he said, fitting a tool onto the bolts holding the old tire. He leaned his weight against what Lexie guessed was a tire iron and forced it to turn. Glancing up, he caught her watching, and she saw his throat work as he swallowed hard.
“Nobody ever taught you to do this?” he asked.
Lexie felt heat in her cheeks again as she shook her head, and Jake gave a decisive nod.
“Alright then. Come here.”
Lexie was caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, but she did as she was told, closing the gap between them and lowering herself to the ground at his side. She kept her attention firmly on the tool he put into her hands, trying to ignore how close he actually was.
“This is a tire iron,” he said, and she caught a trace of humor in his tone. Obviously, he was starting at theverybeginning. “You have to loosen the lug nuts before you raise the car so the tire has resistance against the ground,” he explained. “You move in a star pattern to keep everything balanced. I did this one, so you’ll start here,” he said, pointing.
Lexie put the tire iron where he indicated and pushed. When it didn’t move, she rose up on her knees for better leverage, but the lug nut still wouldn’t budge. He’d made it look so easy.
“You’ll need to put your full weight into it. You’re so tiny,” he said, and she paused. “Tiny, but mighty,” he amended quickly, and this time, he definitely sounded amused.
“I don’t think I can do this,” Lexie said as she tried again, her arms shaking with the effort.
“Here, let me help.”
Jake rose to his knees and placed his hands carefully beside hers, though he made sure not to touch her. This time, the nut moved easily, though Lexie knew without a doubt it wasn’t her doing.
“You loosened it,” he said.
Lexie turned her head and caught him smiling—the same way he always had before—and it made her heart stutter. If she’d had any more tears, they would have flowed out in relief.
Maybe she and Jake would be okay after all.
He helped her with one nut after another, and Lexie stopped trying to avoid bumping into him as they worked side by side. Nothing else mattered right then. It was just her and Jake and that busted tire—them against the world. For once, she wasn’t worried about how she looked or how she carried herself; she wasn’t worried about impressing anyone or living up to someone else’s expectations; she wasn’t worried about not being enough. She justwas.
It was a feeling she never had with Colt.
