He sat back and casually crossed his legs, stretching his arms across the back of the couch. “I’m not so sure we should be getting rid of him, Eva. We have to talk about this.”
“No! You have to, Jace. You have to! It won’t work. He’ll either find out, or think I need to be placed in a psych ward once he spends a little time with me.”
I slammed down to my knees in front of him, propping my hands together in the begging position. “Please, Jace. Pretty please, with sugar on top.” I batted my eyelashes, trying to persuade him.
He jumped off the couch. “Girl, get it together now. You’re acting crazy. And get up off your knees. That look does nothing for me.” He grabbed me by the shoulders and yanked me to my feet. “I can’t believe how you’re carrying on.” He held me still so I’d have no choice but to focus on him. “Listen to me. This might just be a blessing in disguise. You need to start moving on, and I can’t think of a better distraction.”
“Are you insane?” My voice squeaked. “You’ve actually lost your mind. It’s happened.” I tried to pull away, but he held me tighter.
“I’m serious. I’m not doing this for you. Not yet, anyway. Let’s see where this goes. Just trust me. Have I ever done anything to hurt you?”
My shoulders sagged in defeat. “No.”
“Okay, well I’m not about to start now. Have a little faith, huh?”
“Ugh, whatever,” I huffed and yanked myself away. “I hope you know what you’re asking. You’re throwing me into the lion’s den here, and I’m the steak.”
“Oh, please.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m the dramatic one in this relationship, honey. Take it down a notch. You’re gonna throw us off kilter. Now get your shit together. You’re sleeping with me tonight, and you can tell me all about McDreamy. I need to keep my eyes on you.”
“Yes, master.” I reluctantly dragged myself down the hall to change into my pajamas.
Back at his apartment, Jace safely tucked me beneath the covers. I told him all about my time with Blake in explicit detail; he wouldn’t have it any other way. Amid the oohs and aahs, he expressed over and over how hot Blake was. I had to be careful, or he might just go after him for himself. He’d been known to turn a few to the other team.
Yawning, he looked over and grew serious. “Just be careful, all right? I’m being hard on you because I want you to move on and try your hand at a regular life, but I know what this means for you and that you won’t have an easy road ahead. Do not keep anything from me. You feel something, tell me. You’re scared, tell me. He hurts you, you better fucking tell me.”
“I will, if I even go through with this. For now, I’ll just let him be my friend. He’s not asking for more than that anyway.”
“Okay, it’s a start.” He tucked me into his side. “Love you, mama.”
“Love you too, crazy.”
“Now, get some sleep. You look like shit.”
Jessie dropped her lunch tray on the cafeteria table and sat across from me. “So, I talked to Rick. He says you can come tonight to meet him, and if it works out, you can stay and train.” She was super excited. “Did I do good?”
I looked up from my cell phone. “Um, yeah!” I smiled. “Thank you. I’m slacking. I was supposed to be all over getting a job and studying, and I’ve done nothing. I needed a push in the right direction.”
I was struggling so bad to keep my head on straight lately, I was starting to question whether coming here was even going to help. So far, I wasn’t any different from before, except for the ease I felt knowing I was alone and safe.
“Well, here’s your first nudge.” She beamed with pride. “Glad I could be of assistance. Rick’s a great guy and, shall we say, easy on the eyes.” Her demeanor turned from bubbly to scandalous. “Speaking of incredibly good looking men, who was that smokin’ piece of male specimen that swept you off your feet yesterday? I almost fainted. The way he was holding onto you and looking at you, I swear I thought my clothes were going to disintegrate off my body. I actually stopped breathing for a second. Not to mention the cold shower I had to take when I got home. I get the chills just thinking about it.” She made a show of shivering and fanning herself.
“Oh, yeah. That’s Blake. He’s just a friend.” I shrugged, trying to portray indifference.
She waved her fork around. “Friend, shmend. He likes you, Eva, and I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous in my life. He seems really sweet, too.”
And oh how he is, damn him. “Yeah, well I’m taken, so he’s out of luck.”
Her mouth dropped open, displaying salad fragments and all. “You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack. And close your mouth.” I wrinkled my nose.
“Well, step aside then, sista. I wouldn’t mind taking a ride on that express train.” She wiggled her eyebrows, forking another bite.