“Of course. I work out too. We should go together.”
I opened my mouth to say no but as soon as I looked up into his warm, eager eyes, I melted. “Okay.”
I was such an idiot.
Seconds after I threw the door open and saw Jake standing there, I burst out laughing, delighted at what he was wearing. “You didn’t!”
He grinned back at me. “You said you were going as a cop.”
I giggled as he reached out and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me against his body so he could duck his head and kiss me. My hands automatically wrapped around his neck and my lips parted to let his tongue dance with mine. We came up for air at the sound of a throat clearing. I tensed as I turned to find my dad in the doorway, glaring at Jake.
“Have her back by ten.”
Uh, I didn’t think so. “Dad, we’re going to Hub’s after the dance. A whole group of us.”
Dad’s mouth pressed tight as I begged him with my eyes. “Fine,” he sighed heavily. “Eleven.”
I was going to protest this as well, but Jake squeezed my waist to silence me and answered respectfully, “Eleven it is, Mr. Redford.”
Dad gave him a wary nod before his eyes flickered back to me. He took in my costume and grimaced. Feeling another argument coming on, I pulled out of Jake’s arms and gave my dad a quick kiss on the cheek. “Tell Mom I said goodnight.”
My dad’s expression softened and he brushed my jaw affectionately. “Have a good time, sweetheart.” His focus sharpened on Jake. “But not too good a time.”
“Dad, I’m going with Jake … I’ll have an awful time.”
Jake grunted behind me but I made Dad smile, so it was worth it. I said another goodbye and then Dad closed the door behind us. Jake held my hand as we walked to his truck.
“So, if you’re going to have such an awful time with me … why are we going?” Jake teased.
Glancing up at him from under my lashes, I checked him out in his tight, black, long-sleeved top, black jeans, black boots, and the black cloth with eyeholes cut out tied around his upper face. “I said that to loosen up my dad. If I told him the truth, he’d lock me up until I’m thirty.” I got into Hendrix as he held the door open.
“And what’s the truth?” he asked and then hurried to get into the driver’s side.
“That I’m even more smitten with my boyfriend since he dressed up as a robber to go with my cop costume.”
Jake chuckled. “Smitten?”
“It’s a good word.”
“It’s a little tame.”
“It’s too early in the night for anything racier.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “But you were thinking something racy?”
“Let’s just say I like your costume. A lot.”
As Jake slowed at a red light, he turned to look at me, his eyes drifting down my body and back up again. “I like your costume a lot too.”
After speaking to Lacey and Rose about costumes for the Halloween dance, I knew my cop costume was nowhere near as revealing as what they planned to wear, but my girlie cop costume was tight, so tight my dad nearly had an apoplectic fit. There was a point I didn’t think he’d let me out the door, but my mom managed to talk him around. I didn’t see what the problem was—I wasn’t showing any cleavage or leg. Okay, so maybe the pants fit like a second skin and I was wearing a padded bra under the snug blue shirt, but other than that, it was perfectly acceptable attire.
“Lukas is dressed like a robber too.”
I smiled. “Why?”
“Because it was an easy costume.”
“That’s really why you chose it, right?”
“Nope.” He smiled boyishly. “I chose it to increase the possibility of you using those cuffs on me later.”
Sometimes I wondered if he was trying to fluster me when he said stuff like that, but he really should know better by now. I patted the cuffs clipped to my belt. “Well, if you play your cards right …”
Unfortunately, Jake was hard to catch off guard. Rather than choke and get all turned on like any normal sixteen-year-old boy would, he just smiled like I amused him. “Baby, we ever really use cuffs, I won’t be the one in them.”
Now I was the one making strangled noises. “Jake!”
“What?”
“We’re sixteen!”
He laughed as he pulled into the school parking lot. “So?”
“It’s one thing to joke about it but another to actually ... you’re like a thirty-year-old trapped in a teenage boy’s body.”
“Wow.” Jake stopped the engine and turned to me. “I did it. I finally got you ruffled. Over handcuffs.” He winked at me. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He got out of the truck before I could punch him in the arm.
I got out after him. “You’re not funny.”
“I’m hilarious.” He pulled me into his side, letting go of my hand so he could wrap his arm around my waist.
Approaching school we saw a bunch of freshman hanging out at the main entrance. A tall kid dressed head to toe in black turned and I recognized him instantly. Lukas. Jake and I had been dating for almost two months and had each been to the other’s house for dinner. This meant I’d spent some time with his brother only to discover that Lukas was a younger version of Jake, brimming over with cocky charm and charisma.
As we drew to a stop in front of him, Lukas gave me a body scan as he whistled. “Looking hot, Charlotte.”
“Luke, eyes up or I’ll detach your retinas,” Jake warned.
Lukas grinned mischievously. “Not my fault your girlfriend is hot.”
“Lukas, stop checking me out. It’s weird. You’re a fetus.”
Looking affronted, Lukas held his hands to his chest. “Moi? I’ll have you know I’ve been sweeping women off their feet since I was five. I have a wealth of experience, baby. Ditch the old guy and I’ll show you the time of your life.”
“You need to stop spending time with your brother.” I glanced up at Jake, glaring at him. “He needs to stop spending time with you.”
Jake’s body shook against mine as he laughed quietly. “This,” he gestured to Lukas, “has nothing to do with me. If this is how I act, shoot me, shoot me now.”
“Pfft.” Lukas made a face. “You wish you had my game.”
Jake closed his eyes as if in pain. “It hurts, it physically hurts.”
I laughed and tugged on Jake’s waist. “C’mon. Let’s leave the player to play.”
Throwing me a wink scarily like the one Jake had given me in the car, Lukas turned back to his friends and my boyfriend led me into the dance. Lacey and Rose hurried over as we strolled into the darkened gymnasium, avoiding black and orange streamers, string, and fake webs. A paper spider fluttered into my face, almost scratching my cornea. I batted it away, tripping over Jake’s foot.
“Someone overdid it on the decorations,” I grumbled as Jake righted me.
“What are you wearing?” Lacey screeched and I turned in Jake’s arms with wide eyes.
“Ow!” I shook my ear out pointedly.
Lacey winced. “Sorry. But what are you wearing?”
“My cop costume. I told you.”
“But … I thought it would be like a skirt version. A short skirt version.” She gestured meaningfully to her and Rose’s costumes. Lacey was wearing a sexy vampire outfit, her dress a good few inches above her knees, while Rose was wearing a very short sexy nurse costume. Both were also showing off a lot of cleavage. It was a wonder they’d gotten past the chaperones, but as I studied the room, I saw there were quite a few sexy outfits and a lot of uncomfortable-looking male teachers. “The tight pants are hot, I’ll grant you, but a skirt would’ve been hotter.”
“I think she looks great,” Jake interjected.
Lacey rolled her eyes. “Of course you do.” She grabbed Rose’s hand and dragged her away. Rose, who hadn’t even gotten the chance to say hi, gave me a weak wave and followed Lacey through the crowd.
“Hey, Jake,” a senior girl cooed
as she walked past. She was wearing the same sexy nurse costume as Rose.
“Hey,” he gave her a small nod but turned back to me.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “You are good.”
“Good, how?”
“She just gave you ‘the nod’ while wearing a naughty nurse costume and you barely batted an eyelash. I appreciate the effort that must’ve taken.” I squeezed his hand.
Jake didn’t laugh, however. Instead he ducked his head, his lips grazing my ear as he replied, “I’ve got the most beautiful girl in the room on my arm. Why would I look elsewhere?”
I shivered and leaned closer into him as he grazed his lips across my neck.
“Dance with me?”
I nodded my throat clogged with emotion and the sharp realization that it took very little for Jake to turn me on. When I’d been dating Alex, I’d barely felt a thing. It was like Jake had flipped the switch on my hormones.
Dancing with my cheek on Jake’s shoulder, my body enfolded against his, I saw Alex across the room. He had his jock friends around him and they all seemed to be having a good time, but Alex was staring a little forlornly at me and Jake, hitting my guilt button big time. He’d gotten more and more distant these last two months and Brett had become an even bigger douchebag, making snide remarks to me and Jake in class and out. We were doing a good job of ignoring it, knowing Brett was deliberately trying to provoke Jake into a fight. Jake wasn’t easily provoked, especially since it was him I was making out with on a daily basis. The only time he’d gotten close to losing it was when Brett had made some sexual remarks about me. I’d had to pull Jake away and take him into the library to cool off.
Jake’s family still hadn’t been having the easiest time of it in Lanton. Whether it was Trenton or Brett or a loyal sheep from either posse, someone had been making prank calls to the Caplin house, Logan’s car tires had been slashed at Hub’s, and worse, Jake’s mom’s cat had gone missing five days ago. We didn’t know if it was foul play but my mom said she wouldn’t put anything past Trenton Thomas.
It wasn’t a surprise to me that an hour later when Jake wandered off to the punch table to get us a couple of drinks, I saw Brett corner Lukas and his friend in the back of the gymnasium. I narrowed my eyes, not liking the sight of Brett and Damien Nixon towering over the freshmen. Where the hell was Alex? He was usually the one that reined in their behavior.
When Brett shoved Lukas and Lukas got in his face, my stomach churned.
Brett was really a big enough asshole to target Jake’s little brother?
I jerked my head around to make sure Jake hadn’t seen it yet and was relieved to find Amanda Reyes talking to him, keeping him distracted. Anger fueling me, I strode toward Brett ready to kick his ass, only to be abruptly stopped by Alex.
He did not look amused.
“Don’t, Charley. I’ll handle Brett.” He turned on his heel, followed by two more of his buddies, both of them seniors and on the football team. Lukas saw them coming and I saw a flicker of fear in his eyes that I hated. He clearly thought Alex was there to create more hassle. I was so relieved when Alex grabbed Brett by the neck, dominating him. Whatever he said made Brett blanch and nod. Alex let him go and Brett’s face darkened with humiliation. He nodded at Damien and they backed away from Lukas.
While Brett and Damien followed the seniors to the other side of the room, Alex made his way back to me.
“Thank you,” I said as soon as he reached me.
Alex nodded. “I told Brett to back off. I’m not happy with him lately. I’ll try to keep him off your back.” His eyes softened. “You know I don’t want to cause you trouble, Charley.”
“I know that. And I really appreciate you helping out Lukas.”
“No problem. Maybe save me a dance later?”
I felt heat at my back and then Jake asked, “What’s going on?”
I looked up at him over my shoulder and smiled a little weakly. “Nothing.”
When Jake’s eyes hardened, the atmosphere between us thickened. Sensing it, Alex gave him a tough guy chin nod and shot me an appreciative look before heading across the gym to his friends.
“I know when you’re lying, Charley.”
“It was nothing. Brett was giving Lukas a hard time. I was going over there to sort it out but Alex saw it happening and dealt with it.”
Watching the muscle tick in Jake’s jaw, I realized maybe honesty in this instance might not have been the best policy.
“That’s it. I’m done with this shit. He and I are having it out.”
Definitely not the best policy.
“No.” I grabbed his arms, pulling him closer to me. “Alex warned him off and he’s his teammate, so he has sway over him. He’s also friends with the seniors and if Alex asks them to, the seniors on the team won’t have Brett’s back. And if they don’t have his back, Brett is effed.”
Jake ducked his head to meet my gaze as he cupped the back of my neck. “It shouldn’t be up to Alex to deal with someone who is hassling my girl and bullying my brother.”
“Jake, you know Brett is looking for an excuse to fight you. Don’t give it to him. That’s drama we don’t need.”
His grip on me tightened. “You suggesting I’d get hurt in a fight with Brett?”
Giving him my “what the fuck?” face, I answered, “Did I say that? Were those the words that came out of my mouth?”
He stared at me a moment before shaking his head. “Whatever, smart-ass.” Jake sighed but my body relaxed as I realized he was giving in. He released his hold on my nape only to place his hands on my hips. .
“Where are our drinks?”
He shrugged. “I kind of left them when I saw you talking to Alex.”
Of course he did.
Sensing my annoyance at his obvious jealousy, he pulled me closer. “I like your costume.”
“You already said that.”
“I meant it.”
He kissed me.
My irritation melted and I sank against him, opening my mouth and kissing him back, deepening it. I loved the way his fingers tightened on my hips, almost bruising as they flexed with need.
“Ahem.”
A loud clearing of the throat once again drew us apart and I pulled back to stare at a smirking Lacey. “We’re bored and Alex is having a party at the gazebo again. You coming?”
That sounded just wonderful. Not. “We’ll catch up with you.”
Satisfied, Lacey and Rose took off.
Looking back at Jake, I found him scowling at me. “We’ll catch up with you?”
I shrugged. “If I said we weren’t going, she would’ve argued with me until I’d have no choice but to slay her.” I wrapped my fist around my invisible stake and demonstrated by hitting it softly against his heart. “My little white lie got rid of Vampyra peacefully instead.”
Jake’s expression cleared and he smiled as he wrapped both hands around my fist and drew my body against his. “What are we doing, then?”
I answered immediately, “Brenton Fields.”
Jake had to wait for Brett to leave the dance before he’d leave Lukas alone there. Mr. Caplin was picking Lukas up, so at least we didn’t need to worry about him getting home. We drove out of town and pulled into our usual spot. Jake left the radio and the lights on, spread out a blanket in Hendrix’s bed, and pulled me up onto it.
We lay side by side, staring up at the stars, but it wasn’t long until I was shivering in my not-so-warm costume.
I snuggled into Jake’s side and he immediately draped an arm around me so I could rest my head against his chest.
“If you’re cold, we can leave,” he murmured softly against my hair.
No way. If I was cold, I could think of a far better way to deal with that problem. Feeling the familiar tingling only Jake seemed to incite, I turned my head a little and whispered, “Do you think the girls you slept with are sluts?”
Jake tensed under me. At first I didn’t think he was going to answer, but then
he finally replied, “Firstly, with me it’s more that I started out young than that I’ve slept with lots of girls. Me and my friends back in Chicago… we moved fast with this stuff, but there haven’t been as many girls as people say. Okay? And secondly, no. Why would you think that?”
“Because they were obviously eager and they gave it up easy. And you didn’t give them the time of day afterward. I don’t think they’re sluts. I think if boys can do it, girls should be able to too. But I don’t know how you feel about it. I mean, I made you work for a kiss and here you are.”
His chest rumbled underneath my cheek as he chuckled. “I’m here because you crack me up. You never bore me. You surprise me. That’s why. Not because you made me work for it.” He caressed my arm softly as he asked, “Where is this coming from?”
Butterflies suddenly appeared, their wings fluttering against my stomach in anticipation. “I just … you’ve been taking things slow with me and I don’t know if … I wasn’t sure if you would think I was a slut if I said I wanted to speed things up a bit.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “I don’t think a girl is a slut for wanting sex, Charley. That would make me a slut, and frankly, I’m a little offended by the word,” he teased, his voice hoarse from my meaning. When I didn’t say anything, Jake trailed his fingers down my waist and he asked thickly, “Speed things up how?”
Wanting to face him when I said this, I pulled up, one hand flat against the truck bed, the other still resting on his chest. “I don’t think I’m ready for sex … but I do want more from you.”
Jake’s eyes darkened, his lids lowering slightly as his gaze dipped to my mouth. “More how?”
I bent my head, bringing my lips close to his. “What comes before sex?”
“A lot.”
I tipped my head to the side, smiling to cover the fact that I was nervous. I was nervous, but I was also sure. “Then show me a lot.”
The words registered with Jake two seconds before he rolled me under him, his mouth hard on mine. My arms slid around him and I opened my legs to let him fall deeper against me. At the feel of Jake’s erection nudging between my legs, I gasped into his mouth and my fingers tightened in his hair. His groan reverberated through me and I tilted my hips, liking the waves of pleasure rocking through me as he rubbed against me there.