28. Lacey

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

lacey

W e pull into my driveway at the end of another date, my hand in Jacob's, my head resting on his shoulder. It's late and I'm tired, but I'm not ready to say goodbye. We've been dating for about a month now, and no matter how much time we spend together, it never feels like enough.

Jacob pulls his truck in next to mine and turns down the radio. We sit quietly for a moment, neither of us wanting to move. I look up at him and fight the desire to reach up and kiss him. Not that he would mind, but damn, how does he turn me to butter? Every. Single. Time.

"Do I have to go home? If I go home, I'll go to bed. And if I go to bed, the morning will come. In the morning, I have to be responsible and go to work," I ramble.

"You don't like working with my mom?" Jacob teases. He knows I adore her. He pokes at my side, and I giggle and grab his finger to keep it away.

"I love your mom. She's awesome, but it is somewhat awkward now working next to her while I daydream about her boy."

We've slowly made it up on the deck, and I'm stalling in front of the camper door.

"So you daydream about me, huh?" Jacob teases, leaning more in my direction.

"You wish," I say, realizing my slip of the tongue. "Do you daydream about me?" I ask breathlessly.

I raise my head to look at him now. Jacob locks eyes with me and continues to inch closer until our foreheads touch, and his arms wrap around me.

"All of the time," he says and brushes his lips across mine.

He pulls me closer still and deepens the kiss. My arms slide up his body and around his neck, my fingertips playing in his hair. Jacob leaves a trail of kisses down my neck where he nips and teases at a sensitive spot. I'm practically purring for him but somehow find the strength to pull away.

"Would you like to come in for a minute?" I ask, not wanting him to leave.

"You talked me into it," Jacob says.

He follows me inside, and I remember my camper doesn't have the space for entertaining. The only seating is the bench.

"Sorry. I need to replace this bench with something more comfortable," I say.

"It's fine." Jacob takes a seat.

I slowly approach him, feeling awkward and shy. Jacob reaches for me, taking my hands and pulling me closer. I take a seat on his lap, straddling him, and rest a hand on the side of his stubbled face. Jacob tugs me into him again and takes possession of my lips, this time nudging my mouth open with his tongue. His hands slide up the sides of my legs until his arms are around my hips, pulling me into him.

I turn my mouth away, and he makes a tantalizing trail of kisses back down my neck, the scratchiness of his stubble heightening my anticipation. Lost in the spine-tingling sensations he makes me feel, I arch into him and let out a soft moan.

My phone buzzes in my back pocket, interrupting us. Jacob pulls it out, turning it to see who is calling.

"It's an eight-two-eight number," he says.

I know the number on the phone. It's a number I've dialed countless times since high school. The heat that has been coursing through my body turns instantly to ice as I stare down at Ben's number on the phone screen. My stomach churns, and I think I might be sick. I push myself up off Jacob's lap and straighten my clothes. My breathing is heavy, and I wrap my arms tightly around myself and step back to give Jacob room to rise from his seat. His expression is wracked with confusion, but he follows my lead without question. He stands and adjusts the stiff appendage in his jeans.

"Thanks for tonight," I say without making eye contact. "But it's late, and I need to get to bed."

"Lacey, are you okay?" Jacob asks, reaching for me. I step back out of his reach, still unable to look at him. He opens the door and steps onto the deck to leave but turns back again. "Did I do something?"

"No. Good night. Please let me know that you made it home safe," I say and promptly close the door in his face.

I know he is standing on the other side of the door debating whether to knock because I don't hear any footsteps. I stare down at my phone, now sitting on the counter. It's no longer ringing, but the phone buzzes again, signaling the arrival of a voicemail. After a moment, footsteps fading outside tell me Jacob has finally left.

I move to the sink and splash cold water over my face. With my breathing normal again, I pick up the phone, and with shaky hands, I click on the voicemail and raise the phone to my ear.

"Lacey, I hope you're waiting for me. Tell me where you are. We need to talk."

I delete the message and set the phone back down, leaving it on the counter while I change for bed. There's no way in hell I'm calling him back. The phone buzzes again, making me jump. I grab for it. This time a text message shows on the screen.

Jacob: Made it home. Sleep well. I'll check on you tomorrow.

Me: Good night.

I plug in my phone and straighten the books that have fallen over on my shelf. Anxiety still fills my belly from the voicemail. His voice, his words. What does he mean, he hopes that I'm waiting for him? Waiting for him to appear? Or he hopes I haven't moved on from him?

I pull my phone back out and send Billy a message. They're two hours ahead of us here in Montana, but it's not too late for Billy.

Me: How did Ben get my number?

Billy: Shit, Lace, I don't know. Did he call you?

Me: Left me a voicemail. Please tell me he's still in town.

Billy: I saw him at the diner tonight.

Me: He doesn't know where I am does he?

Billy: I don't know.

I toss my phone. I can't do this. Climbing back off the bed, I go straight to the camper door to make sure it is secure and locked. Pacing back and forth, I try to figure out what to do. Should I leave? I don't want to. Knowing Billy saw Ben in the diner tonight calms my nerves slightly. He hasn't figured out where I am. He wouldn't have given me a heads up by calling first. I go back to my bed, lay my head on my pillow, and do my best to fall asleep. It's pointless though. I can't escape him, not even in my dreams.

"Gosh, it feels good to be back out here again," Jalynn said.

We were sitting side by side on the tailgate of George's pickup, down by the river. George and Ben were fishing about fifteen yards down the riverbank.

"We haven't been down here since the summer before we went to college," Jalynn added to fill the silence.

"Yeah, Ben and I never really come down here anymore, even though we're living back in town. We mostly just stay at the house."

"Are y'all doing alright? You seem really down."

Jalynn could always tell when something was on my mind.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just still bummed from a fight Ben and I had last night."

With my thumb and forefinger, I flicked a bug as it crawled across the tailgate between us.

"What did y'all fight about?"

"He wants me to sell Grammy's house."

"What? Why? Don't you own it outright?" Jalynn asked.

"Yep. But we've been staying with his mom, trying to help her out, and he says there's no point in keeping it and paying taxes on it every year. That's where I grew up, though, Jay. I know it's not much, but I love that little house."

The boys began walking back up toward us, finished trying to catch any fish. Ben never was much of a fisherman. George loaded the fishing gear behind us in the bed of the truck, and Ben came over and stood next to me. He rested a possessive hand on my thigh, and I prayed Jalynn wouldn't say anything about Grammy's house in front of him.

With his free hand, he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and dropped it to the ground. He smothered it with the toe of his boot, like he always smothered my ideas.

I watched as George leaned in and kissed Jalynn on the cheek, envious of his tenderness toward her.

"Did Jalynn tell you the news?" George asked me.

"No, I don't guess she did."

I tried to put a smile back on my face. I saw Jalynn try to discretely signal George that right now was not the time, but he must have missed it.

"We're engaged!" he said proudly. "We're getting married next month."

"No way!" I leaned over and hugged Jalynn to buy myself a few more seconds to respond. "That quick? But that's amazing! I'm so happy for you two."

"Thanks, Lacey. I was hoping you'd be my maid of honor," Jalynn said. "Sorry about the timing," she added in a whisper.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. You deserve to be happy. I would love to be your maid of honor!" I said, doing my best to emanate the happiness I was lacking.