“No. I have nothing to say.”
“Not even, ‘Thank you, Jake, for giving me three mind-blowing orgasms’?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You are such an asshole.”
“You have to admit it was good.”
“I have very little to compare it with. When I do, I’ll let you know.”
Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed her clothes, dashed into one of the stalls, and locked the door behind her. She dressed slowly in the hope that he’d be gone when she came out. She knew it was a vain hope; Jake always liked to have the last word.
She emerged and found him leaning in the exact same spot. When he saw her, he straightened and waited for her to approach. He spoke when she was a foot away.
“You have sex with Steve, and he’s fired.”
She came to an abrupt halt. “You can’t do that.”
“Watch me.”
She wanted to argue but knew it would just be for the sake of arguing—there was no way she would have anything to do with Steve now. She’d spend the whole time comparing him to Jake, and she suspected he’d be a big disappointment. But she wouldn’t tell Jake that.
She gave a casual shrug. “Steve is safe from me.”
“Good.”
She licked her lips. What she needed was some indication that they could return to their old footing. But he didn’t reassure her and all her doubts loomed. What if he didn’t want to be her friend now? What if she’d crossed some invisible line into the lover category, which would eventually turn into the ex-lover category, and she’d lose him?
“I need a little time to come to terms with this,” she said. “I know it’s not a big deal for you, but for me it’s sort of huge.”
“It’s huge for me, too.”
Before she could ask why, he took the final step, which brought him close enough to touch her. She held herself very still as he reached out and stroked her cheek, then leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. She swayed toward him, but he released her and moved back. “I reckon I’ve given you four years. I can give you a little longer. But don’t make me wait too long, Kimberly, or I will come looking for you.”
“Will this change things between us?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Will you still be my friend?”
“I’ll always be your friend, but we can be so much more.” He bent, and she stood her ground as he lowered his mouth toward hers. She knew how this went now. Her lips parted, and his tongue pushed inside, hot and wet. Warmth stole over her, heating her blood, her skin. And she accepted a moment of defeat. She had no defense against how he made her feel.
But after a minute, he drew back. “There’s something else.”
“There is?”
“I didn’t use a condom.”
For a second, his words made no sense. “What?”
“When we made love, I was…overwhelmed. I didn’t use any protection.”
Her mind struggled to make sense of what he was saying.
“You don’t need to worry about catching anything,” he continued. “It was a first—I’ve never had sex without a condom.”
“Never?”
He shook his head. “But if there are any repercussions—”
“Repercussions?” But even as the word left her mouth, she realized what he meant. Babies.
Not a possibility. Really it wasn’t. Was it?
She worked back to her last period. She should be okay. Shouldn’t she? She’d never given babies any thought. Never. The whole idea seemed unreal.
“You’ll let me know?”
No, she wouldn’t. Because it wasn’t going to happen. The cold lump in her stomach was shock, not fear. “I should be okay.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “If you’re pregnant, we’ll just get married.”
…
Why the fuck had he said that?
Jake stared at the door she’d slammed in his face. He thought about going after her but decided to give her time to calm down.
If he’d ever envisaged proposing in his life, he couldn’t have imagined doing it in a ladies’ changing room, or receiving such an emphatic refusal. Though it hadn’t exactly been a proper proposal. He’d just suggested they get married for the baby’s sake.
But even if he’d gotten down on one knee and handed over the Koh-i-Noor diamond, he doubted he’d have gotten a better reception.
He was quite aware of what she thought about marriage. She wasn’t a big fan. But his brain had been scrambled by what had to be the best sex he’d experienced in his entire life. He knew that was because, for the first time, his emotions were involved.
So involved that he’d forgotten to use a condom.
Fuck.
What he couldn’t work out was—had he done it on purpose?
Was his subconscious trying to force her hand? Had he seriously thought that if he got her pregnant, she would jump at the chance to marry him?