Melissa forgot about her throbbing shin as her mouth gaped open. “Pump and dump? It wasn’t like that.”
“What would you call it? He slept with you and then he dumped you.” Paige leaned forward and kept her voice low. “Which wouldn’t be a problem if you were only in it for the sex. But you weren’t. Unlike me, you don’t do casual. Hell, you’re practically in love with the guy.”
Practically in love? Before she could process that, Paige made a move to stand. Melissa shot her hand out, grabbed Paige’s forearm and held on tight. “Do not go over there. I don’t need you fighting my battles for me. Not anymore.”
“Fine.” Paige settled in her chair and shot a stony look in Jake’s direction. “Ass clown,” she muttered under her breath and squinted at him as she took another draw from her bottle.
* * *
Jake picked up the ice-cold bottle of Sam Adams the bartender had just set in front of him and waited for the guy to return to the other end of the bar. “I was surprised to get your text,” he said, in a low voice to the bushy-haired man who sat angled away from him at the corner of the bar.
“Just checking in, bro,” Justin Sawyer replied in an equally hushed tone. “After I got shot, I promised Mom I’d be better about that.”
Although relieved to see his brother alive and well, Jake was smart enough not to ask questions. The only thing he did know was that his brother wasn’t undercover anywhere near Land Park. Justin wouldn’t risk talking to him or anyone else in the family if he was.
“I’ll let the family know you’re okay.” Jake tipped the bottle to his mouth and took a long, satisfying drink. After the shit day he’d had, a beer or two was just what the doctor ordered.
“Anything going on I should know about?” Justin asked in the same quiet tone as he pushed his half-empty bottle to the side and rested his forearms on the bar. Despite his relaxed posture, Jake could almost feel the coiled tension emanating from his brother’s body.
“Not much. Mom and Dad are fine. Josh made it through his freshman year at UCD and has a job at a photography studio this summer. J.T. is having a great season. I’m positive he’ll get picked up as a starter somewhere else next year.”
“What about Angie? Has she forgiven me for being such a dick to her?”
“She’s over it. She knows you were only concerned about J.T.”
Justin shot him a sidelong glance that reflected a hint of concern. “What about you? You don’t look so good.”
“I had a long day.” Jake set his bottle on the bar. From what he’d been told, it was the original bar installed when Timbers was built in the early Fifties. Judging by the nicks and scars marring its oak surface, he found it easy to believe.
Justin reached up to smooth the mustache and beard he’d grown since the last time Jake had seen him. “Well, if you’re looking to unwind, there are two smokin’-hot babes sitting at a table in the far corner. If I wasn’t working, I’d try to get in on some of that action. The brunette with the green eyes is exactly my type.”
“I’m not interested,” Jake said, but then, curious to see exactly what Justin’s type looked like, he craned his head to get a better look in the mirror behind the bar. His breath jammed in his throat when he discovered Melissa and Paige were the “babes” Justin was referring to. Unable to stop himself, he let his gaze linger hungrily on Melissa’s beautiful profile. Unbidden, images of their bodies entwined together on that king-size bed in Monterey filled his brain and his dick reacted accordingly. He shifted on his stool to ease the sudden ache in his groin.
“Judging by that reaction, I gather you know them,” Justin said with amusement.
“You’d be right.” With great reluctance, Jake forced his attention back to his brother. “The blonde is one of my clients. The brunette is her sister.”
“Too bad I can’t stay. I wouldn’t mind getting to know the sister.” Justin gave him a shit-eating grin. “And by know, I mean in the biblical sense.”
Jake let out a short chuckle. “She’s no pushover. I doubt you could get past first base.”
Under his bushy mustache, the corner of Justin’s mouth kicked up. “You know me. I’m always up for a challenge.” He sighed heavily as he reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a well-worn wallet. “But unfortunately, duty calls.” Withdrawing a ten-dollar bill, he set it on the bar, then shoved the wallet back into his pocket. “I’ll be in touch,” he said, then slid off his stool and without a backward glance, left the bar.
* * *
Not two minutes after the scraggly haired man left the bar, another customer entered Timbers, causing Paige’s expression to brighten considerably.
“Nate.” As Paige called out to the new arrival and waved him over, Melissa took the opportunity to take a sidelong glance at Jake, who was still sitting at the bar and hadn’t given any indication he was aware she and Paige were sitting in the dimly lit corner.
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Nate said smoothly to Paige, and with an affable grin, he pulled a chair from a nearby table, dragged it over and sat down between them. As he leaned back in his chair, Nate turned his attention to Melissa and gave her a quick but thorough once-over. A wolfish gleam lit his dark brown eyes. “I almost didn’t recognize you, Melissa,” he said, with more than a passing glance at her breasts. “You’re looking good. Real good.”
“Thank you,” Melissa said politely and fought off an eye-roll. Before she’d lost weight, Nate barely acknowledged her, yet at this moment he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. It seemed she now met his lofty standards. Too bad he didn’t meet hers. Nate Simmons was one of those guys who knew how hot he was and always found some way to use it to his advantage. He and Paige had dated a few years ago for about fifteen minutes. That’s how long it had taken her sister to discover that, although Nate was one of the hottest guys in Sacramento, he was about as shallow as a puddle of water.
That fact didn’t prevent Paige from hanging out with Nate at Timbers though. When it came to darts, Paige wasn’t particular who she played with as long as they were as skilled as she was and didn’t think letting her win would get them laid.
“You up for a game?” Paige inclined her head toward the back room, where a sign over the door frame proclaimed it to be the entrance to the “game room.”
“Only if your sister agrees to join us,” Nate said, barely glancing at Paige. Melissa’s skin crawled as he looked her over with lascivious intent.
“I’m not very good,” she said quickly.
“Oh you’re not that bad,” Paige said, with a wave of her hand. “We could play killers.”
“Killers? What’s that?”
Nate leaned toward her and flashed a roguish grin Melissa suspected had charmed the panties off more than a few women. “It’s a darts game for three or more players.”
Melissa shot another quick glance at the bar. Jake was still sitting there, staring up at the television, seemingly engrossed in baseball highlights. By sheer luck he hadn’t noticed her yet, and she wanted to keep it that way. She wasn’t ready to face him. Not now, and not in public. Disappearing into the back room seemed like an excellent way to make her escape.
“What do you say?” Nate slipped his arm around the back of her chair and didn’t bother to hide his continued interest in her chest. Suddenly, Melissa needed a shower and not because he was making her hot. “Shall we make it a threesome?”
An hour later, while Nate used the restroom, Melissa stood next to Paige and helped her pull their darts from the round dartboard. “Can we go now?”
“It’s still early,” Paige said, then turned toward her with a puzzled expression. “Aren’t you having fun?”
Melissa rolled her eyes. “If you call having tall, dark and douchey constantly staring at my breasts fun, then yeah, I’m having a blast.”
“I hate to break it to you, but that’s what men do. It’s in their genes, or something,” Paige said, with a dry smile.
“Maybe. But Nate is being obvious about it. It’s making me uncomfortable.” Melissa glanced at the clock hanging on the wall just beyond the pool table where two guys who’d walked in about fifteen minutes earlier were engaged in a game of eight-ball. “It’s almost ten. I have to be up early for work. And so do you.”
“Actually, I don’t. My shift starts at two tomorrow. I’ve been assigned to the domestic wares department because they’re short staffed.” Paige let out a derisive snort. “Can you see me selling cookware or comforters? I can barely boil water and my idea of a comforter is that old afghan Nana made for me when I was fourteen. I’m the most domestically challenged person I know.” She sighed as they moved toward a round table near the darts area. “I hope I pass the recruit test and get into the academy. I’m tired of working retail.”
As Paige began to sort the darts by color, Melissa put her handful on the table on followed suit. “Don’t worry. You’ll get in and soon, working at the mall will be a distant memory.”
Paige’s hand stilled, but she didn’t look at her. “Do you really mean that? Or do you secretly think this is one more thing I’ll lose interest in?”
Melissa put a comforting arm around her sister. Always the stronger twin, Paige rarely let her insecurities show. But after many different career attempts that had gone nowhere, the question was a valid one. “I’ve never seen you work harder for anything in my life. Sometimes it takes a while to find what you’re passionate about. If I’m surprised at anything, I guess it’s that it took you so long to figure it out.”
Paige leaned her head against Melissa’s shoulder. “I want this so much,” she said, in an unusually vulnerable tone. “If I fail, I’m not sure what I’ll do.”
“You won’t fail,” Melissa said confidently. “And I’ll be sitting in the first row at your graduation. I’m sure of it.”
Paige chuckled and eased away from her. Wiping at the corner of her eyes with one hand she smiled broadly, reached into the pocket of her white jeans and pulled out her key chain. “Just for that, I hereby grant you a reprieve from the next round. You can take my car home.”
Melissa took the keys from her sister’s fingers. “What about you?”
“Nate can give me a ride.” Her vulnerability now gone, Paige’s eyes sparkled with humor. “And if he’s lucky, maybe I’ll give him one.”
“Ewwww.” Melissa scrunched her face at the thought of anyone riding Nate. “Really?”
Paige grinned. “Hey, I broke up with him because he’s dumber than dirt, not because he isn’t good in the sack. Sometimes that’s all a girl needs.”
Melissa laughed and reached for her purse. “I guess I can’t argue with that.”
After she’d endured an annoyingly long hug from Nate, Melissa bade him and Paige good-night and let out a relieved breath as she walked through the bar. Jake had vacated the premises. Talk about dodging a bullet. Yeah, she’d have to face him eventually, but when she did, she wanted it to be on her terms.
There were days she wished she was more like Paige. But that was like wishing for money to grow on trees. Paige was a free spirit and rarely opened her heart to the men she slept with. Which was fine and dandy for Paige, but Melissa wasn’t wired that way. She’d figured that much out when she’d dated Brad. She’d slept with him more out of curiosity than anything, and now, after being with Jake, she knew there was a wealth of difference between making love with someone you had mild feelings for and someone you were in love with.
Wait. What? Melissa stopped short just outside Timbers as the wooden door closed behind her. The warm evening air scented with a faint smell of fried food from a nearby fast food restaurant wafted over her. Her heart pounded and for a moment she felt faint.
Love?
“No,” she whispered under her breath and put a hand to her chest to calm her suddenly pounding heart. But even as she tried to deny it, she couldn’t. Not anymore. Somewhere along the way, she’d fallen for Jake.
Shaken by the realization, she turned to her left and rounded the building. The parking lot, usually lit by two nearby streetlights, was dimmer than she remembered. She looked up. One of the lights had burnt out. Although the neighborhood was safe, frissons of apprehension tip-toed up her spine as she crossed the lot. These days, even the safest of neighborhoods experienced random crimes. The soles of her sandals crunched on the loose gravel as she hurried toward Paige’s dark blue Mazda. In her haste, she failed to notice the man leaning against the dark SUV parked next to Paige’s car until she was upon him. Fear twisted in Melissa’s stomach as he wrapped his fingers around her arm and pulled her to a halt. The scream died in her throat as the faint beams from the lone streetlight danced across his face and she recognized him.
“So,” Jake’s voice was taut with anger. “This was more important than our training session?”
Chapter Fourteen
Melissa jerked her arm from Jake’s grasp and met his angry gaze with a mutinous one of her own. “What I do is none of your business. And as I recall, we agreed I could cancel a session without having to pay if I gave you at least twelve hours’ notice. Which I did. Each time.”
“I don’t give a shit about the money,” Jake replied irritably. “What I do care about is you making a damn fool of yourself with that asshole Nate Simmons.”
Melissa widened her eyes. “You know Nate?” Before Jake could answer, the latter part of his comment sunk in and the implication irritated the hell out of her. “Wait. What do you mean making a fool of myself?”
“Everyone in this part of town knows Nate. I went to high school with him, and even then he bragged about having to buy condoms in bulk because of all the pussy he was getting.”
“What does that have to do with me? I barely know the guy.”
“It looked like more than that to me.”
“Were you spying on me?” She propped her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Did you follow me here?”
“No. Justin texted me and asked me to meet him here so he could check in. I had no idea you were here until I sat down at the bar and saw that drinking and playing darts with Nate was the something—” he paused to make air quotes with his fingers, “—more important than your training session.” A scowl darkened his expression as he lowered his hands. “I’m disappointed in you, Melissa. I thought your training was more important to you than that.”
“Are you serious?” she exclaimed hotly. How dare he question her commitment to her health. “You know how dedicated I’ve been since I started training with you. Even though I haven’t been at the gym, I’ve run three or more miles almost every evening since we got back from Monterey, so don’t think for a second I’m slacking off. I—” She broke off and took a steadying breath. “I needed a break from...from you. I’m not like you, Jake. I can’t turn my feelings off as easily as you can.”
“Who said I turned off my feelings?” Jake’s brows pinched together in a frown. “I didn’t say that.”
“I said it. And it’s true. You want everything to be like it was before Monterey. I thought I could be friends with you, but as it turns out I can’t. I know you’re a guy and sex is just,” she made a helpless gesture with her hands, “sex. But I want more than that. I deserve more than that.”
“I know you do.” He ran an agitated hand through his short hair. “But I can’t give it to you.”
“Right. Because of your rule. Your stupid messed-up rule.”
“Messed up? After what I told you about Denise, and after what she did at the reception. How can you believe it’s not valid?”
“I’m not saying it isn’t valid. I understand why you’d be leery of getting involved with one of your clients. But it’s not against the law, and it’s not like we’d flaunt our relationship while we’re at the gym.” She pointed a finger at him. “And you know I’m not like Denise. I’d never stalk you, or file some phony charge against you if it didn’t work out.” As Jake remained silent, Melissa gasped and put her hand on her chest in horror. H
er heart beat like a drum against her palm. “Oh my God. Please tell me you know I’m not like Denise.”
“Of course you’re not like her.”
“But it doesn’t matter, does it?” she asked, as her relief gave way to resignation.
“My reputation is what matters to me. I don’t want to be perceived as either a hypocrite or a liar.”
Melissa gave a futile shrug of her shoulders. “Then I guess there’s nothing left to say,” she said, knowing anything more on her part would reek of desperation. Not an attractive quality in anyone.
“No. There isn’t.” Jake shook his head. “But I hope you’ll come back to the gym, and that you’ll consider resuming our training schedule. Your friendship is important to me.”
Melissa closed her eyes and imagined that scenario. Considering she’d fallen in love with Jake and being so close to him when he didn’t feel the same way would be the worst form of torture, there was only one thing she could do. It would be as painful as cutting off a limb, but it had to be done or she would never stop hoping for him to change his mind. She refused to be the pathetic woman secretly in love with the guy friend she could never have.
She opened her eyes and met Jake’s intense stare. For a moment she thought there was a glimpse of tenderness in his eyes, but then it was gone. If it was there at all. Not likely. Odds were it was nothing more than wishful thinking on her part. She’d done a lot of that in her life and recognized the signs. “I won’t be coming back to the gym.” Melissa straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. It was time to be the strong, confident woman she’d set out to be almost a year ago. “Or more specifically, your gym.”
“I see.” Jake compressed his lips into a tight line. Silence reigned between them for several seconds. “Will you be looking for another personal trainer?” he finally asked.
“Nate suggested a few that work out of the gym he goes to, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”
Breaking His Rules (Feeling the Heat #4) Page 18
