Page 105 of The Choices I've Made
Maybe that was why I never left home.
“So, besides showing everyone my dick, how was your day?” Jake asked, a devilish grin plastered across his face. There were several days’ worth of stubble along his chin and jaw. He’d in fact found his long lost Green Day shirt and was proudly wearing it, reminding me of the boy I’d once known. The one who used to hold my hand between classes and kiss me good night.
“I did not show it to everyone!” I laughed. “And, thankfully, they were pretty gracious about it after I explained you were my boyfriend and it wasn’t some run-of-the-mill Internet porn. The husband waved it off, saying they’d done the same when they were dating. The wife nodded although she looked kind of sad.”
“Sad?” he asked.
“I think it had to do with the past tense he’d used. As in it was something they had done.”
Jake nodded. “But don’t anymore. That is sad. There should always be room for dick pics in a relationship.”
I laughed once again. “Do you ever take anything seriously?”
He smiled as Billy brought us our drinks. A pinot noir for me and a beer for him.
“Of course I do. I’m just in a good mood today. Can’t remember why though.” Leaning forward, he grabbed ahold of his beer and gave me a wink.
I couldn’t help but smile back. I liked this side of Jake. The levity. The casual happiness. The sexy texts. Everything had been so moody and emotional since he arrived, and it was like a whole new world, sitting across the table from him tonight.
No discussions about the future or what any of this meant.
Just him and me and a view to die for.
So, of course, it all had to come crashing down.
I immediately noticed when Jake tensed. His laid-back posture vanished as he sat upright in his seat. His eyes narrowed, glaring toward the entrance of the patio.
I turned my head and found the source.
Macon Green.
Didn’t that man know there were other restaurants to bother?
Dressed plainly tonight in jeans and a loose-fitting plaid shirt, he still carried all the swagger and dominance of his station.
Ever since we were kids, he’d wanted to make something of himself.
Something powerful.
He’d found it in the police force and continually abused his authority on locals and tourists equally. Surrounded by a few of his buddies, the group took a table close by, seeing Jake and me from across the deck.
Please don’t come over, I chanted silently to myself.
I looked up at Jake, who was deadlocked in some sort of testosterone-fueled eye war with Macon.
Great.
They’d never been the best of friends in high school, but they had always managed to stay away from each other. Mostly due to my urging. Jake had had so much going for him. I hadn’t wanted to see him throw it all away over a petty fight with the town bully.
The same could be said now.
My focus shifted from Jake to Macon. A sly Cheshire cat grin spread across his face as he saw me staring. He rose from the table and sauntered our way.
My heart beat wildly. I wasn’t sure why.
Surely, we were all adults now.
This mini feud between them had to be done and over. Right?
