Give Us a Chance (17 page)

His lips touch mine one last time before he slowly backs away. "Goodnight, Ivy."

We're done? But I want to keep kissing him.

"Goodnight," I say.

He leaves and I get on the elevator, leaning back against the wall because my legs feel weak, probably because of the throbbing sensation between my thighs. Whenever he kisses me, or is even just near me, my body reacts. It wants him. My body wants Jake. Like really, really wants him. But my head says no. Don't do it. I still don't trust him. I want to, but I don't.

The next morning at work, Callie calls. "Hi. I just wanted to call quick to see how last night went."

"It was good." I smile as I say it.

"Good? I thought you broke up with him."

After our lunch yesterday, I told Callie and Jen that I was done dating Jake. That he'd been with too many girls and I couldn't see a future with us. I told them this as the three of us sat in the car in the library parking lot, trying to calm down after hearing those sorority girls talking about our guys. Callie knows Nash would never cheat on her so she calmed down pretty fast. Jen was mostly quiet. She's not dating Bryce, so she can't be mad at him for being with other girls, but she doesn't want to hear about it. As for me, I was going off on Jake, saying how he never should've asked me out just days after sleeping with some other girl. Jen and Callie both tried to convince me to give Jake a chance, but I wouldn't agree to it. I told them I was done with Jake.

"I didn't break up with him," I say. "He came over last night and we talked it out."

"Really? What did he say?"

"That he wants to try being in a relationship. He said he wants to change."

"Wow. He really likes you."

He really does. I wasn't sure before, but after our talk last night, I feel like he really does care about me and has for months. When he listed off all the things he knew about me, I got a little teary-eyed, which I never do. I didn't know he'd paid that much attention to me. And that comment he made about my work, and how important it is to me, and how angry it makes me that I get no credit because I'm a woman, shows how much Jake understands me. Even my dad doesn't know how much it bothers me that the guys at work don't respect me and what I do, because I don't tell my dad. I don't tell
anyone
. I always try to hide how much it bothers me. But Jake knew without me even telling him. And then he said all that other stuff about wanting to be with me, and the way he said it was so sincere and so sweet that I couldn't be mad at him anymore. I was mad at the old Jake, the one who had sex with that sorority girl and couldn't even remember her name. But the Jake I was with last night was someone else. He's the Jake I want to go out with, at least for a little bit longer.

"So did Jake go over and meet your dad?" Callie asks.

"Yeah. They really hit it off. They wouldn't stop talking, and then my dad insisted on taking us to dinner, so we ended up spending the whole night with my dad. But it was good for Jake and my dad to talk, and it's always good to get my dad out of the house."

"How's he doing?"

"I'm not sure. He won't tell me. Last night he was really hunched over and he was walking really slow so I know he was in pain."

"It's too bad they can't do more for him."

I glance out the door and see Nick walking by. "Callie, can we talk later? I shouldn't be on the phone during work hours."

She laughs. "I know your boss. Trust me, you won't get in trouble. But yeah, we can talk later."

"Okay. Bye." I end the call and put my phone down.

"Talking to your boyfriend?" Nick comes into the room. He must've been lingering in the hall.

"I was talking to Callie." Why did I tell him that? It's none of his business.

"Nash's girlfriend?"

"Yeah," I mutter as I pretend to search for something in my toolbox, hoping Nick will get the hint that I'm busy and go away.

"I saw you guys going to lunch yesterday," Nick says.

"You were spying on me?" I find a sharp tool and hold it in my hand.

"I was outside taking a smoke and saw you and Callie and that other girl leaving. Then I saw you come back when I was out dumping the garbage. Nash gives you an hour lunch now, huh?"

"Are you making a point here?" I ask, glaring at him. "Because I need to get back to work."

"Did you think about my offer?"

"I don't need to. I told you, I'm not interested."

"Then how do you plan to pay your bills when this job ends?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I already have a job lined up."

My next job is at a museum. It's Nash's project and he already asked me to work on it. I hope he didn't ask Tom and Nick to work on it too.

"Who's the job with?" Nick asks.
 

"Why do you care?"

"I'm just curious. Is it one of Jake's projects? I heard you two are dating."

How did he know that? I don't want him, or anyone else here, knowing I'm dating Jake.

"We're not dating. Whoever told you that is wrong."

"Lance said he saw you and Jake getting cozy on the dance floor at Rodeo Freddy's the other night." Lance is Nick's friend. He's a plumber, and was working here when the project started but finished up a few weeks ago. "He said Callie and Nash were there too. Sucking up to the whole Wheeler family, huh?" Nick shrugs. "I guess you do whatever you have to do to get work, even if that means doing the owner's son." He laughs.

"You're disgusting, you know that?" I point to the door. "Get the fuck out of here and don't talk to me anymore."

"That's bad language from such a pretty girl." He smirks. "Guess you're not as sweet and innocent as you look."

"Everything okay in here?" Nash walks in. He probably heard me raise my voice. I didn't mean to, but I was so freaking angry I couldn't help it.

"I'm trying to work and Nick won't leave," I say, not giving a shit if Nick gets mad at me later for saying it. He can go to hell. I only have a few weeks left on this project anyway.

Nash nods toward the door. "Nick, get back to work."

"Sure thing, boss." He grins at Nash and saunters out the door, like a cocky SOB.

"What happened?" Nash asks, shutting the door.

"Nick was just being his usual asshole self. You didn't hire him and Tom for the museum, did you?"

"No, I have someone else lined up. So what did Nick say to you?"

"Never mind. It's not worth repeating."

"Ivy, I need to know. Did he harass you? Come on to you?"

"No. He was just making comments about me being friends with Callie and going out with Jake. He accused me of trying to get close to your family in order to get more work."

Nash shakes his head. "He seriously said that?"

"Yeah. That's why I told him to get out of here."

"How does he know you're friends with Callie?"

"He saw us go to lunch together. And Lance saw me with Jake at Rodeo Freddy's the other night. Nash, please don't make a big deal out of this. It'll just make things harder for me. This job is almost over and then I won't have to deal with Nick anymore. Until then, I'll just ignore him and not talk to him."

"Okay, but if he bothers you again, you let me know."

"I will."

"So uh...you and Jake. Callie said you two aren't going out anymore?"

"We're still going out." I smile. "Talk to your girlfriend. She'll fill you in."

"Will do." He chuckles. "She always knows things about my family before I do." He pauses. "I know you don't fully trust Jake yet, but he's not someone who would cheat. If that's what you're worried about, he wouldn't do that to you. My ex-girlfriend cheated on me last year, before I met Callie, and Jake saw the hell I went through after that. He knows what it does to someone and he'd never put someone through that."

"He told me that last night. I just...it's hard when he's never really dated anyone before."

"Which is all the more reason not to assume how he'll act in a relationship. He doesn't have a history in this area and I don't think it's fair for any of us to give him one by making assumptions. Jake's a good guy, Ivy. He really is. He's a good brother and he'll help most anyone who needs it. Just something to keep in mind." He walks to the door. "I'll let you get back to work."

"Yeah. See ya."

I agree that Jake's a good guy, but that doesn't mean he'll be a good boyfriend. I guess only time will tell.

That night, Jake shows up at my apartment around six, wearing jeans and a black and gray plaid shirt in the softest flannel I've ever felt. I know it's soft because I had my hands all over his chest as he kissed me. It was another intense, lost-in-the-moment type of kiss that started at the front door and ended on my couch when Jake instinctively slipped his hand under my sweater but then caught himself and yanked his hand away and stood up.

When I told Jake I wouldn't have sex with him, I didn't think he'd take that to mean we couldn't do anything else. I mean, come on, this is Jake Wheeler. Mr. One-Night-Stand, and here it's our fourth date and all we've done is kiss.

"Where are we going?" I ask Jake as he drives out of the parking lot. We just had dinner at a Mexican restaurant where I had one too many margaritas. I'm hoping the taco platter I ate will soak up some of the alcohol because it's making me really sleepy. I close my eyes and lean back against the headrest.

"You tired?" Jake asks. I feel his hand wrap around mine.

"The margaritas made me sleepy. I'll be fine in a few minutes." I realize he didn't answer my question, so I ask again. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there. Until then, go ahead and take a nap."

I doze off, and wake up to the feel of Jake's lips on mine and cold air rushing all around me. "We're here."

I open my eyes and see Jake standing next to me, my door held open. He offers me his hand and helps me out. Off in the distance, I see a string of colorful lights glowing in the darkness.

"Where are we?" I ask.

"At the outdoor ice rink. You know how to skate?"

"I went skating a few times as a kid but I'm not very good."

"You'll do fine. It's like riding a bike. You never forget how to do it." He wraps his arm around my shoulder and we walk toward the ticket booth.

"When I was in junior high, the guys would take us girls ice skating so they could put their hands all over us, but then pretend they were only doing it to make sure we didn't fall." I smile at him. "Is that why you took me here?"

He chuckles. "First of all, I'm not in junior high. And second, I don't think I need to take you ice skating in order to touch you."

"Hey." I playfully punch him. "Don't be making assumptions."

"I'm not," he says, a sexy grin on his face.

Is it that obvious how much I want him to touch me? How did this happen? I started the week wanting to keep Jake away from me and now I'm practically begging him to touch me. I swear, Jake puts some kind of spell over women in which we can't get enough of him. He's sex on a stick and we all want a taste.

"Two, please," Jake says to the girl at the counter. We give her our shoe sizes and she hands us our skates, then we go to a bench to put them on.

"I've never been here before," I say, looking out at the rink which has colorful lights strung around it.

"I haven't either, but I heard an ad for it on the radio and thought, what the hell? It's something to do."

For someone who's never dated, Jake's doing a good job. He actually puts thought into our dates, unlike the other guys I've dated who just want to go drinking, then go home and have sex.

"Ready?" Jake is standing on his skates, his hands held out to me.

I take his hand and attempt to stand but I feel wobbly. "Are you any good at this?"
 

"My brothers and I used to play hockey all the time so yeah, I'm good on skates."

"Did you guys play every sport?" I ask as he helps me to the rink.

"Pretty much. We had a lot of energy to burn, and my dad played a lot of sports growing up so he encouraged us." He steps onto the ice, keeping hold of my hand.

"I can't do this. I'm going to fall."

"Then I'll catch you. Come on."

I carefully step onto the ice, one foot at a time. I shouldn't be such a baby about this. There are little kids and old people here. If they can do it, I can.

"We'll start slow." Jake pushes off the ice, pulling me along.

I'm able to keep up with him without falling by keeping my eyes focused on the girl in front of me, trying to replicate her foot movement, taking long strides instead of choppy ones. I remember that from when I was a kid. My mom would tell me to use long, fluid strides to keep from falling.

"You're doing good," Jake says, showing off that perfect smile of his. God, he's gorgeous. That dark hair. Those deep blue eyes. That chiseled jawline. That perfect smile.

The girl in front of me rounds the corner and spots Jake and smiles at him. This happens everywhere we go. Girls are always smiling at him. It happened at the restaurant, and when he stopped to fill up with gas, and now here.

Jake is oblivious to all the attention. He's either so used to it he doesn't notice it anymore or he's purposely ignoring it to be respectful to me.

"You want to try going faster?" he asks.

"Not yet. I'm still getting used to the skates."

"Keep your body relaxed. It helps. If you tense up, you're more likely to fall."

Jake is effortless on the skates, like he doesn't even have to try. He seems like one of those people who's good at everything he does. Like last fall, when he did all those TV interviews, he'd had no experience being on camera yet you'd think he'd been doing it for years. He said all the right things and wasn't nervous, or if he was, he hid it well.

We make a few loops around the rink, music from the Forties and Fifties playing in the background. A Frank Sinatra song comes on and Jake gets in front of me and plants his hands around my waist. He skates backwards as fluidly as he does going forward.

"Show off," I say, keeping my arms at my sides for balance.

"We're supposed to be couples skating. I'm just following the announcer's instructions."