“She doesn’t usually get like this.” Jake threw him a quick feeling like he had to explain his behavior.
Nick simply nodded, drinking his beer. He put his mug on a table beside the pool table. He sauntered around the table, figuring his next shot. He crouched down and eyed the ball, but glanced up at Jake. “So, she usually doesn’t flirt with guys, is what you’re saying?” The pool stick connected with the ball and it rolled into the pocket.
Jake flinched for two reasons, first one being Nick hadn’t missed a shot yet, and second his words made him feel ridiculous. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say he sounded like a jealous fool. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.” But it was. “She doesn’t usually drink and she doesn’t like to tangle with the guys in the bar.” When one of the guys took her hand, Jake clutched his beer tighter.
Nick walked up behind him. He could’ve cracked a bottle over his head and he wouldn’t have even flinched. “Why watch from the sidelines?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jake asked, acknowledging he was behind him.
Nick shrugged, choosing his words. “You joke about me and Sam, dancing around each other, when it’s exactly what you’re doing with Cara.”
“No, it’s not. Me and Cara…, we’re different. She does her thing and I do mine. I’d cut off my left nut for her, but we’d never work.” He forced himself to turn around and look at Nick.
“Why’s that?” It was a simple question, a valid one at that, but he didn’t have an answer. For as long as he could remember, when anyone questions why he and Cara had never made a go for it, they had one answer. It would never work. The four words had seemed like the perfect answer, and it shut people up for a while, but Jake had no idea why they actually wouldn’t.
“What the fuck are you Dr. Phil or something?” He looked at Nick. “I’d be a pile of shit if Cara wasn’t in my life. She’s my voice of reason, take that away from me, and all hell breaks loose.” That was the best he could come up with, and it wasn’t a lie. If things went sour with them and she wasn’t in his life, he’d be a fucking mess.
“Ever wonder what happens when she meets someone, gets married, and has a family?” Nick asked curiously. What the fuck was with this guy and his questions? Jake wanted to punch him, for the mere fact he was asking all the questions that Jake often wondered when he was by himself. The questions he dreaded knowing the answers too.
“I’ll be Uncle Jake.” Unless, of course, in five years they found themselves in a little chapel, going through with their contingency plan, but he wasn’t about to fill Nick in on that, he’d think he was really a goner then.
“She won’t be there all the time to be your voice of reason, if she has a family to put first.”
Jake shook his head. “You’re killing my buzz, Nick.” He raked his gaze over Cara, who was looking back at him. Their eyes met for a moment, before she glanced back at the dart board. “Fuck this.” He threw his pool stick down onto the felt table and looked back at Nick. “I’m getting out of here.” Figuring he’d get the hell out of there before things turned ugly for him and Cara. He just needed some space to cool his heels. Whatever game Cara was playing she’d have to play alone. “Tell the girls I said goodbye.” And with not so much as a glance their way he left Nick alone, holding his pool stick.
Cara watched out of the corner of her eye as Jake rushed out of the bar, she felt her shoulders slump and the frown threaten her face. She didn’t know what bothered her more, the fact that he left without saying goodbye, or that he hadn’t been affected by her not so subtle attempt to find a bed buddy. She didn’t know why she was surprised he never really reacted when she was with another guy. Even when she had a date, he never asked how it went. He only knew of a few of the men she had dated, and never said anything until the relationships were over, assuring her they weren’t good enough for her. She blew out a breath when one of the guys wrapped their arms around her waist. She had no desire to play nice anymore, and unraveled herself from him before walking back towards the bar.
Chapter Six
Jake had canceled his clients for the day. He couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed, he was just physically and mentally shot. He wasn’t sure that staying in bed all day would be the remedy for his troubles. Sure he was able to sleep here and there when his mind permitted. The last few days said mind, had taken on a life of its own and it revolved around a certain raven haired beauty that was on a mission these days to find herself a mate.