She pulled her hair back into a sensible braid. It was too hot outside to wear it down and the humidity would turn her into a sweaty mess if she did. Especially since she was meeting Jake at Isabella's, an outdoor café.
She tried not to remind herself that the first rule of dating was not to make yourself seem available. Then she caught herself arguing that she wasn't dating Jake. She was meeting him for lunch. Nothing more. Still, the memory of what had happened in his lab last night was fresh in her mind. She could remember the way he looked just before his lips met hers. His blue eyes had smoldered with desire--something she hadn't seen in a man's eyes in quite a long time. Something that made her heart beat a little bit faster today. And it made her desire not to see him even stronger than it had been last night. What was she getting herself into?
Jake parked across the street from the café. Parking on the ancient narrow street was almost impossible. It was one of the last remaining brick streets in Louisiana and the town thought it was a sacrilege to replace the thing. The result was cramped parking and congested traffic, especially during the tourist season that Carolton was known for.
He immediately spotted Josie waiting for him. She had her hair tied back and was wearing a scrap of fabric that vaguely resembled a dress. He could imagine sliding those spaghetti straps off of her shoulders and...
She looked up and waved at him just as he was trying to picture her naked. He instantly felt ashamed, but not enough to fully give up the vision. She would be stunning naked, he was sure.
"I ordered my drink already," she indicated the glass of iced tea that sat in front of her. "I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all." He eased into the iron chair across from her. Isabella's had a Mediterranean flair, resembling a villa. It was a nice touch even if the chairs weren't exactly comfortable. Especially when you were fighting a raging hard on.
"I didn't know what you would like...." she continued.
You, he wanted to say. A nice tall glass of it, too. "That's okay," he said, noticing that the waiter was making his way toward them. "Iced tea," he said.
"You ready to order yet?" The waiter was mostly speaking to Josie. Jake tried to fight down the wave of jealousy that came over him as the twenty something eyed the very same shoulder he had just been imagining.
"Give us a minute," he said, using his most grown up voice. College towns were always filled with young studs. He knew what Madonna had said about young guys. They may not know what they were doing, but they could do it all night long. Hah! She'd never tangled with a real grown up if she didn't appreciate the older variety of man. He hoped Josie wasn't as intrigued by young men. Judging by her attention to the menu, he guessed that she was oblivious to the attention.
"I haven't been here in a while," she admitted, scanning the menu. Or at least pretending to scan it. She was really trying not to notice how the dark blue of Jake's shirt made his eyes look as dark as midnight. She really had to get a handle on all of this.
"Neither have I." The truth was he hadn't been out much since he'd been back. He stole a glance at her over his menu. She was gorgeous. What had ever made him torment her so? Deep down he knew. Even in third grade he had liked girls. And Josie had been pretty back then. In high school, she had become a knockout. And now ... she made his throat go dry. Where was that waiter with his tea?
They finally ordered. He had a BLT on white and she got the same on wheat. Both had a bag of chips for the side order. He liked the fact that she didn't order a salad like most women seemed to do. That fact alone made him feel those weird sensations again.
This attraction to her was becoming annoying. The solution was right there. He knew what it was. All he had to do was sleep with her once and she'd be out of his system just like the countless others before her. Then he could get back to work and not wonder what would impress her.
"Do you want to go out sometime?" he found himself saying.
"We are out now."
"No. I mean a date. Would you go out on a date with me?"
She was thankful she was sitting. Otherwise her knees would have gone weak. She had always wanted Jake to ask her out in high school in spite of their less than perfect past. And now he was and her stomach was doing flip-flops. Of course, she couldn't go out with him. What would Brian think?
Her flip-flopping stomach dropped. Brian wouldn't think anything. She had to face the fact that Brian was gone and wouldn't be coming back. And she had to move on. But with Jake Moore? No. He couldn't offer more than a fling. His reputation preceded him. And the last thing she needed was a fling.
"Josie?" She had been a million miles away and still hadn't answered him.
"What?"
"You didn't answer me."
"Oh. A date. No. No, I don't think that would be a good idea," she shook her head wildly, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. A date with Jake. No way.
"You have two choices, then," he smiled that dangerous smile that always meant he was up to something.
"What's that?" she met his challenge, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Either you go out with me or you listen to my day camp ideas and let me do the seminars." Either way, I'm going to spend time with you, he thought. I'm going to get you into my bed and out of my head.
"I don't have to do either one," she said, taking the last sip of her tea, preparing to stand up and leave him sitting there. She had already tried to pay the bill, and he had snatched it up, placing it in his shirt pocket. The look on his face dared her to go after it. If she weren't so attracted to him she might.
"Wait." He sensed that she was going to walk away from him so he seized the moment and placed a hand over hers. He hadn't expected the wave of electricity that swept over his body at the contact. He almost jerked his hand away the feeling was so intense. He could tell by the flash of light in her eyes that she had felt it, too. She sat stone still, but she didn't move her hand.
"What?" she managed, knowing that her voice was coming from somewhere deep inside of her. Somewhere that had just been awakened.
"I think the kids would like to learn about the snakes." The kids were her weakness. Otherwise, she wouldn't have made those little notes about them on those papers she had sent over.
"You know I hate snakes." She finally pulled her hand away. "I don't think I will be very helpful."
"Then you can just drop them off at the reptile house and pick them up when it's over. They'll never need to know," he suggested, his hand suddenly feeling cold without the contact with her skin.
She didn't want to do this. But it was safer than going out with him. She could barely take being in his presence here in the middle of the day. She would be putty in his hands if she were to go out with him. Last night had taught her that much. "Okay. I'll do it."
"Do you want to hear my plans?"
"No. I trust you. This is your area after all, not mine. So do what you think is appropriate?"
She trusted him? This was worse than she thought. In less than twenty-four hours, he had gone from being on her most wanted list to having her trust? She was losing it. In a very bad way.
She trusted him? Those were words Jake Moore never thought he'd hear from the girl who'd screamed bloody murder in third grade. "I hate you, Jake Moore!" she had yelled. Now she trusted him. Instead of making him feel good, it made him feel even more self-conscious. He couldn't screw this up for her. He'd make her proud. Again, the thought that he wanted to make her proud wriggled its way into his head. He tried to ignore it, but as he watched her stand and walk away, he knew that it would keep him up for the next two nights while he figured out how to teach kids about snakes.
* * * *
Jake went back to the zoo. He had a ton of work to do if he was going to make this bird fly by Monday. Of course, he knew that he didn't need to start the sessions right away. The kids would need a day or two to settle in before Josie brought them over to him. Still, he wanted to be as prepared as possible.
He was famil
iar with the exhibit, of course. He had been familiar with it before this morning. But he hadn't gotten to know all of the critters who lived there enough so that he would know which ones were more docile, which were more aggressive. He had once worked with a garter snake that was a mean little bitch and a Komodo dragon who wouldn't harm a fly.
"Hey, girls," he walked up to the tank of iguanas. "Which one of you wants to meet a group of kids on Monday?" He figured he could start slow. Iguanas were usually easy enough to handle. The kids could become introduced to reptiles and he could whet their curiosity for the remainder of his seminars.
Jake eyed the group of six iguanas. They were all still pretty small. The largest was only about two feet long. It cocked its head to look at Jake, flicking its tongue in and out. Wasn't there some kind of commercial a few years back that used iguanas? Oh, yeah. It was a beer commercial. That wouldn't work.
He reached into the cage, talking softly to the interested lizard. In return, she turned her head. "Just like a woman," he smiled. "When she gets your attention, she turns the other way."
Still, she didn't struggle as he lifted her. "You're a pretty girl, aren't you?"
"Dude, you need to get out more," Paul laughed, seeing his friend nuzzling the iguana.
"I'm practicing," he said, still using his gentle voice.
"So, she talked you into it, did she?" he leaned against the doorway of the reptile house. Pretty spiffy joint here, but he preferred his alligator habitat. It had both an indoor and outdoor segment. This reptile one was all indoors so the temperatures could be better regulated.
"Actually, I talked her into it." He wasn't sure why he needed Paul to know that, probably to wipe that smile off his face.
"I'll bet. You use that Moore charm of yours? You ain't James Bond, you know."
"Never claimed to be. And, no. I just pointed out why the program needed me."
"It seemed to need you just fine last night without you having to do any convincing. What happened?"
Paul was too perceptive for his own good. "She just decided that snakes aren't her thing."
He laughed. "She really went for the gators, though. Plans on bringing the kids by first thing so they can watch 'em eat. You know I have those new chutes hooked up. I plan on letting them send the food down themselves." He was really proud of himself, if that smile was any indication.
"Good for you." He placed the iguana back into the cage. She still seemed uninterested in him. She would make a perfect specimen.
"So what is your plan?"
"I'm still working on it," he admitted. "I'm trying to figure out which ones of these guys will work well with kids."
"Not to mention which ones won't scare the pants off of the lady in charge. That is, unless you want to scare her pants off."
Jake knew the challenge in Paul's eyes. He wanted to know what was going on. He knew that Paul had seen them leave together last night and this was his way of asking without asking. Jake wasn't going to give in. "There will be no scaring off of the pants," he assured him. "I just want everyone to be comfortable."
"I'll bet. She tell you her story?"
"I know her story." He moved on to the cage of tiny newts. They weren't hands-on, but they would be fun to watch. They were more active than most of the lizards.
"You think you do, tough guy," Paul followed him to the newt cage, goading him. He had seen the sparks fly last night. Not many people had missed them. Sarah and her ever-perceptive matchmaking self had made it a point to watch. "I mean her real story."
"I went to school with Josie," he admitted, hoping Paul would give up soon.
"I know. I figured you two had. I mean, seeing as how you're from here, and she's from here. Only one high school in the area and I figured her for about twenty-nine."
"Thirty," Jake corrected. "She's thirty."
"You know all about Brian, then?"
"I've heard a few stories," he finally gave up. He folded his arms and leaned against one of the cages. "What's your point?"
"What have you heard? Have you heard that she hasn't dated since him?" He tapped on the glass cage that housed the only cobra in the exhibit.
"Don't do that," Jake warned.
"I just want to see her stirred up."
"Are you an animal lover or not? She'll hurt herself."
"Naw. Cindy Lou here never gets wound up, do you, darlin'?" he asked the black snake that was curled up in a corner of the cage.
"Cindy Lou?" Jake cringed. "Who named these things?"
"You want the tour? Dr. Richards' kids named most of the older ones. The newer ones got named by the summer time crew. School kids."
"I can only imagine," he rolled his eyes.
"It's worse than that. The male cobra we had was Puff Daddy. This boa here is Alice, after Mr. Cooper."
"Shouldn't the constrictor be Alice?"
"Naw. He's Marilyn. After Mr. Manson," Paul laughed. "There was a goth chick here a few summers ago. Alice had been here for five years at that point, so Marilyn seemed to fit. Or something," he scratched his head. He'd never quite gotten the shock rock thing.
"Marilyn and Alice. Boys or girls?"
"Both female. And aggressive as hell. The ball pythons are much more laid-back," he indicated the small tank that held three two foot long pythons. "Larry, Moe and Curly."
"Males?" Jake raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. The three garters here are Blossom, Bubbles and...."
"Buttercup," Jake finished for him with a laugh. "I watch TV," he defended.
"Yeah, but Cartoon Network?"
"What about the iguanas?"
"The one you were holding is female. This batch was named by one of Dr. Richards' daughters one summer when she was here. That one is, are you ready for this?"
Jake smiled at the face Paul made. "Yeah."
"Erica. The three little ones are Brooke, Liza and Myrtle. The two medium sized ones are Tad and Adam," he laughed.
"Why is this funny? I mean, they are awful names for iguanas, but...."
"All My Children. The soap opera. She named them after soap opera characters."
"Oh."
"Her daughter, who's now four, named the cobra and two of the turtles." He lead Jake to the turtle pond. "Meet Yertyl and Horton."
"Dr. Seuss," he laughed.
"Yeah. There are themes here. We got four new scorpions last summer. They are Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly. After the...."
"Osbournes," he finished, laughing.
"Yep. And we also have a collection named after Pokemon. Spiders of all things. Spinda, Spider Master, Ariados and Spinark."
Jake was holding his sides, laughing hysterically. "Pokemon. God help me. I would have thought super heroes."
"The sea turtles are the super heroes. Hulk, Spidey, Bruce, you get the picture. The group of newts was named after Disney princesses. You know, Jasmine, Cinderella, Belle, etc. And of course there's the anaconda. Sir Mix-A-Lot."
Jake laughed, "Let me guess."
They sang in unison, "My anaconda don't want none unless you got buns, hon."
"This is more like a circus than a zoo."
"Well how'd you name your guys?"
"I did it quite seriously," he laughed.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. They're all named after characters in the only novel in English Lit that I could stand. Dracula. All but Killer, and he's on loan."
"If you ask me, they need new names," Paul shrugged. "Mine are the typical gator names. You know, Al, Allie. I used to have a Puff Daddy, too, but he's P. Diddy now. And there's Tupak, Biggie and the white gator, Eminem."
"That's it!" Jake stopped laughing, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes.
"What's it? Naming them all after rappers?"
"How long before you have to get back to the gators?"
Paul looked at his watch, "I don't have to be back 'til four. I've gotta help move Al. That's it, though. You know, I run the exhibit, I don't live there."
"Think you can tell
me who's who? You know, the sex of the critters and everything?"
"All that stuff is in Dr. Richards' notes. He kept careful notes of who was named what or what was named who. Whichever." He showed Jake the cabinet where the information was kept.
Jake found the leather bound notebook. More leather in a sea of reptiles. He thought it was strange that someone could attest to loving these creatures and then make stuff out of them. "Thanks, man."
"No problem. And remind me to finish this talk about Brian sometime, okay? I think it'll explain a lot."
Jake's head was already buried in the notebook as Paul left the exhibit. He planned to get the kids involved with the animals. The first step was to let them name the creatures. They could "adopt" a pet for the summer and beyond. It would be a great way to encourage participation and respect. First, he would find out which names he could change and which ones he couldn't.
He was thankful that Paul knew so much about the animals here. That was the advantage to going to school at Carolton U and interning here. Plus, Paul was a vet rather than a herpetologist, so he didn't specialize as much as Jake did. Still, his help today had been extremely valuable.
Armed with a new idea and finally with a sense of value to this day camp, Jake was ready to start naming animals.
Chapter Five
Jake hadn't been prepared for the group of ten kids that came in on Wednesday. Eight o'clock was early for him and the bustling group reminded him of why he hadn't settled down yet and had kids of his own. This first group was the five and six year olds.
He watched Susan lead them in. She was one of Josie's counselors. He had hoped to see Josie today since he hadn't seen her at all this week, but she had sent someone else instead. It was for the best, he figured, since he was extremely nervous already.
He had come in last night and made the final preparations for today, part of which had been to cover all of the cages and tanks with black cloth to keep curious eyes out until he was ready for them. The other part was to place labels on each cage that not only told the sex of the animals inside but also told distinguishing features and their names. He left out enough animals so that each kid could choose one and leave him with enough leftovers to be sure everyone was happy. In all, it seemed like a good plan.
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