Page 57 of Here With Me (Paloma's Edge 2)

“Good thinking,” Mariska said, cocking her head at me. “I can talk to Francine—”

I covered the front of her hand with mine. “Francine and Steve can only handle having you and Tom working there with the regular employees. They have enough on their plate.”

Months ago, Francine and her husband, Steve, the owners of Luigi’s Pizzeria, had informed me that they couldn’t guarantee me a summer job. I’d worked there part-time for three years during high school. Luigi’s had downsized; the major building that Francine and Steve had operated in for years was now half its size, while another business had taken up the other half of the building.

Jake folded his arms and pulled his eyebrows together. “Hmm…if you took that TA position your advisor offered you, you wouldn’t have had to pay for room and board for the summer?” I gave a brisk nod. “And you only woulda had to, uh, feed yourself and get around on your own?”

“Yes,” Mariska answered for me in an irritated tone. “Jake is gonna pick me up from work tonight. We’ll see what your next move should be.”

“You guys don’t have to worry. This is my mess. This”—I motioned my hands to the counter where there was now some basic kitchenware—“is really great. I appreciate that you guys got me what I needed for the kitchen. It’s one less thing for me to think about. I have your support, and that’s what makes this less mortifying.”

Jake gave a sharp shake of his head. “You got nothing to be embarrassed about. Cindy should be ashamed of herself.” He got up to get a paper towel from the counter and pressed it to his forehead. Mariska narrowed her eyes at him, but he just stared at her defiantly. “So it was fine that you put your life on hold to be with her, but her love life couldn’t take a back seat?” His gaze drifted to my suitcases right by the door that I hadn’t unpacked yet.

Mariska shot a droll look at the back of his full head of chestnut brown hair. I started to collect our dishes, but Jake stopped me. She went with me to my room.

***

“THAT WAS HARDER FOR you than I thought it’d be.”

Jacob ran his fingers through his chin-length glossy brown mane after he parked his Explorer. Jake had driven me all around Franklin Parks. Most places were fully staffed. I may have to dip into my funds, and I promised myself that I wouldn’t. Depending on which bills weren’t paid yet, I also realized that I might have stretched out my budget too much when I’d taken Mariska and Jake to Copollas, the only fancy Italian restaurant in Franklin Parks, as an early graduation celebration during my spring break.

Ambling towards the door in the way that made him look like he was gliding towards it, he held the door open to the Franklin Parks Child Development Center, and the women warmly smiled “thank-you.” Of course, he broadened his smile and stood there for a few seconds more than he had to, knowing that they’d look at him when he entered the CDC. Heat scorched their cheeks as they saw that he had expected it. Shamelessly, they gave him another thorough once-over. It probably hadn’t entered their consciousness that their daughters and probably their sons had had crushes on Jake, or still did. Since he was eighteen, I guessed they figured that it was acceptable. It was the same sort of look Mariska had received when she began to really bloom. And that was before she was legal. It seemed like everyone was a victim to a voracious lust these days, and I was out of the loop.

When we were both inside, I rolled my eyes at him, and the corners of his mouth curled up. Sometimes it was hard for me to accept that Jake wasn’t my scrawny friend anymore. Indeed, he had grown and worked out his forty-pound gain into an eye-catching physique.

About twenty children were on the soft mats. Some slept quietly. A couple snored softly.

“Remember when we used to put the mats on top of each other and tried to hide from Mrs. Muldoon so we could sleep longer?”

I nodded. “Nap time was the best part of the day.”

I caught Pete’s rich caramel gaze. He blinked a few times, realizing that we were actually here. He ran over to us. Mariska hadn’t told me that her parents had enrolled him in the summer program. It was a wise choice. Usually one of them, or Mariska, cared for him around the clock during the summer. He was with other children his age and he’d make friends, maybe even long lasting friends like I had.

“Beth!” Pete pulled at my hands and I bent down. Over the past few months he had gotten taller and filled out more. Soon he was going to be the tallest kid in class, just like Mariska had been the tallest from the second grade up until our sophomore year of high school, where she had just been the tallest female.

I placed my finger over my lips and he nodded. Jake edged closer to us and mirrored my position while he ruffled his hands through the Pete’s wavy black mane. “Whadda ya doin’ here?”

“I came to see Mrs. Muldoon,” I told him. “And I was gonna check up on you before I left.” A deep flush crept over his entire face and I had to grip the back of Jake’s shirt before he laughed in Pete’s face. “Are you making friends?”

He covered his face in hands and he shook his head, causing Jake to chuckle. “That’s good, buddy,” Jake encouraged. “I met your sister and Beth here when I was your age.”

I missed seeing his growth. He was always in school, in speech or OT therapy, or asleep when I had been here during my school breaks.

Before Jake could respond, someone trotted in our direction. When I lifted my body up, Suzette Aiken shot me a baleful glance. Anger radiated off of her in waves. This must have been whom Jake had seen last night. Most people in Franklin Parks thought that either Mariska or I were dating Jake, or that one or both of us had dated him at some point. Suzette wasn’t the exception. No one here seemed to understand how two girls could be friends with a guy and not have some carnal benefit. Jake was like a brother to me and he was handsome in a flawless way. And I wasn’t responsive to that.

“Did you ask one of us permission to get up?” Suzette asked Pete in a chiding tone.

He ducked his head in the same way Mariska had when she was little. “No, Miss Aiken.”

“Certainly,” Jake started, and grinned—it was like watching Cindy flirt with one of her boyfriends, “he can be excused for not following the rules this one time, no?” He closed the small distance between them. She visibly shuddered as his breath fluttered over her neck. It was ridiculous. Was that what was shudder-inducing these days?

Suzette’s face relaxed and she seemed to forget that I was here. “Pete always follows the rules.” Jake lifted his broad shoulders and tipped her chin with his index finger. “I mean, how could he not when he’s got you to listen to? I’d be a very good boy if I were in his shoes.”

I rolled my eyes as Suzette gulped. Pete’s tittering slightly broke her away from her spell. She flicked her gaze in Pete’s direction, while the rest of body betrayed her reluctance to pay Pete attention. “Go back to your spot.”

“Yes,

Miss Aiken.”

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