He stares at me thinking today over. “Do one thing for me and I won’t tell anyone about this…today.” His eyes linger on my exposed chest.
My cheeks flush realizing I just had my naked, wet body pressed against Jake. Oh my damn, he was pressing his hands against my exposed chest. I’ve never been shy about my body, so I don’t understand why Jake seeing me nude bothers me, but it does.
I raise my brow seeing him go red in the face and swallowing hard. “What do you want Jake?”
“Go on this tour with us. Get out of this damn dress, it’s really fucking depressing.” He smiles and helps me up from the floor, slowly. He reaches me a town as my ruined gown puddles at my feet in a heaping wet mound.
“You only said one thing, that’s two,” I tease. “Pinky promise that this stays between the two of us.”
He takes my pinky hooking it with his. “I promise, Penny.”
After I change, Jake helps me clean the shattered glass from my bedroom floor and dispose of the mirror frame, well what is left of it. He doesn’t ask any question or press me for further explanation about the state he’s found me in. I’m grateful. If it were anyone else they would’ve panicked and called an ambulance, but Jake knew exactly what to do.
It’s just odd, we’ve never been close or what you would call friends really. Jake and I haven’t talked much. But I am strangely comforted by his presence today.
I fetch Percy from the backyard, I am sure the little mean ass cat is hungry, he’s always hungry. I ended up having to bring him back home with me because Khloe—Kai’s niece is allergic to him.
“Start packing,” Jake orders me.
“Um, I can’t go. I have to stay here and take care of Percy,” I tell him smugly crossing my arms.
“Penny, I wasn’t asking sweetheart. I am sure you would prefer to take some clothes with you but if you want to go around naked, that’s good with me.” He winks and takes a seat on my couch with Percy snuggled in his lap. Mean ass cat, he never snuggles in my lap. He hates me, and I even make sure to get him the good catnip.
“What about Percy?”
“We can take him to my place and leave him there. I will put into the lease on the house that Percy is a package deal.”
“I can’t just take off and leave everything to go with you guys. I have to work and go to school.”
“You dropped your classes and your parents have been paying your bills. Anything else,” he says with an all-knowing shit-eating grin.
I’m really going to have a word with Katie, seems she tells my business to the guys.
“Fine,” I grumble at him, rolling my eyes.
“I knew you’d see things my way.” Cocky shit.
After I begrudgingly place a call to my parents, that I am going to Europe after all, I go through my townhome, I used to share with Katie, and make sure I unplug what I can. My mom is coming over to
take care of anything I miss, like cleaning out the refrigerator of leftover Chinese takeout.
My mom has been awesome about making sure I never want for anything. I’ve always had the best of everything. Katie was always envious of my nice clothes and nice home, but material things mean nothing if you have no one to share them with.
“Yo, space cadet,” Jake teases. “Get the lead out, I need to get on the road.”
I kept hoping if I took too long to get ready he’d grow annoyed and leave. Obviously not the case.
Reluctantly I pack a few key items. If I need anything more I can pick it up as I go. My head still feels a bit swimmy and I can’t rightly concentrate on much other than walking to the car.
My feet stumble over themselves a few times and Jake catches me before I face-plant in the driveway.
“I’m taking you to get checked out, Penny. I think you have a concussion.”
I feel too ill to put up a fight.
Once Jake helps me into the car, I lay my head back against the seat and try not to fall asleep. The whole way to Urgent Care, an afterhours clinic, Jake keeps the windows down and the music blaring loud. He keeps asking me questions, to keep me awake.
“So that Bradly dude, you really wanted to marry him?”