Page 61 of Fight for Me
“Yeah,” she echoed, clearing her throat as a rise of unexpected emotion threatened to cut her off. “Every last bit.”
Jake smiled, his dark eyes glinting in the light from the nearest lantern, and he climbed onto the tailgate beside her. They crawled toward the back wall of the cab and settled in among the pillows he’d arranged there. Several more meteors hurtled across the sky, their flaming tails visible behind Lexie’s eyelids even after the fire itself was gone.
“So, what are we going to do for the next few hours?” she asked, leaning her head on Jake’s shoulder.
“Well, we can talk, make wishes and just... be,” he finished, trailing off. “Honestly, I didn’t plan that part.”
Lexie smiled contentedly, tipping her face toward the sky.
“That’s the most perfect plan I’ve ever heard,” she said. And she meant every word.
“What did youwish for?” Lexie asked, watching the blaze of another meteor vanish into the night. They’d turned off the lanterns long ago and were sitting in the dark, but Lexie could make out Jake’s profile as he watched the sky.
“I’m still not going to tell you,” he insisted.
“Why not?” Lexie whined, poking him in the ribs.
“Because I don’t want to, and you can’t make me,” he said as he squirmed away.
“Oh, really?” She poked him again, just to see, and again, he jumped. Lexie’s face twisted into an evil grin.
“Don’t even think about it,” he growled.
“What? Surely you’re not ticklish. Not a big, strong college boy like you,” she taunted, but Jake grabbed both her wrists as she reached toward him.
“That is not a good idea.”
“Why?” she asked, trying to push past his defenses, but he held her at bay.
“Because like it or not, sweetheart, you are seriously outgunned,” he said, and Lexie suddenly found herself flat on her back, her arms pinned above her head as Jake leaned over her. She wriggled and squirmed, but he held her tight, visibly amused by her efforts.
“If you don’t—” she started, but she didn’t finish. Instead, she heard something rustling nearby. “Do you hear that?” she asked, twisting her head to one side.
“Oh, you’re not getting out of this that easily.”
“Shh!” She listened hard, straining to hear through the darkness. Something definitely seemed to be moving. “There’s something on the ground,” she said, a shiver of fear making its way up her neck.
“Probably just an animal. A bear, or maybe a mountain lion,” Jake said, relaxing his grip and letting her slip free.
“A bear or a mountain lion?!” Lexie blurted, jerking back to a sitting position.
Jake shook with silent laughter.
“I’m kidding, Lex. There are no bears or mountain lions out here, I promise.” She could hear the humor in his voice as he settled his arm around her waist. “It’s probably a raccoon. Or maybe a skunk.”
“A skunk? That’s hardly any better.”
“A skunk isn’t better than a bear?” he asked incredulously. “I’ll take a skunk over a bear any day.”
“But what if it sprays us?” she asked, dropping her voice to a whisper. She relaxed against his side without intending to, taking automatic comfort from his calm.
“Well, if you stay in the truck and don’t throw anything at it, it won’t have a reason to do that. It’ll find whatever it’s looking for and move on,” he said, his voice low and reasonable against the buzz of adrenaline that had flooded her veins.
“But what if it climbs up here with us?”
This time Jake’s laughter rolled out as he dropped his forehead against her temple.
“It won’t.”
