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JESSICA WALKED ALONG the boardwalk with Michelle and Amy a few days later, giggling at the silly tee shirts for sale. “These are so ridiculous,” she said with a laugh, stopping to look at a few.
“I dare you to buy one and wear it to school,” Michelle said, pulling out her cell phone to take a few pictures of the shirts.
“Yeah right,” Jessica countered. “Only if I’m looking to get fired.”
Michelle giggled, tucking her phone back into her purse. “I just sent a picture of that one to Ryker.”
Jessica raised her eyebrows. “Fiesta, siesta, tequila, repeat?”
“I’m saving the dirty one to show him later tonight.”
She shook her head, trying not to smile. “Is he coming by later? I thought the guys were busy with training all day before they went out tonight.”
“He comes over late most nights,” Michelle said with a shrug. “We’ll figure it out.”
They passed an ice cream shop near a playground and paused for a moment to watch the children running around shrieking in excitement. “Anchors is just up there,” Amy said, pointing. “Want to go in and grab drinks?”
Jessica looked at the bar a block away. “Sure, why not? Maybe Taylor is working tonight. We can say hi and see if she’ll introduce you to any hot military guys.”
“Yes, please!” Amy joked. “I never hear the end of you two talking about Ryker and Jacob.”
“Sorry, hun,” Jessica said.
The women kept walking, and Jessica smiled to herself. It had been a few days since she’d last seen Jacob, but they’d talked on the phone every night and made plans for the following weekend. He didn’t have any more days off, so she’d resigned herself to waiting for Friday night to roll around.
“He texted me earlier,” she said. “I think the guys are going out to unwind later on. He mentioned some pool hall nearby.”
“We should totally crash that party,” Michelle said.
“I think it’s just guy time tonight. You know, to chill out and have a few beers after all that training they’re doing. Jacob and I are planning on dinner Friday night, and then I’ll see him again this weekend.”
“Oh my God, they’re here!” Michelle suddenly shrieked. “Perfect timing.”
“Who’s here?” Jessica asked, glancing over where Michelle was pointing.
“The guys. I thought they were going out to shoot some pool, but that looks like Mason walking into Anchors. Maybe they came here for drinks first.”
“He might’ve stopped by to see Taylor,” Jessica said with a shrug. She pushed a strand of her hair back from her face, and the three women walked inside the crowded bar.
Music blared from the speakers, groups of men and women stood around chatting, and glasses clinked together. Waitresses darted between tables, and Jessica glanced around, looking for Taylor. “Is she working tonight? I don’t see her anywhere.”
“Look, the guys are in the back!” Michelle said. She waggled her fingers, grinning, and started sashaying toward the back of the restaurant.
“All right, let’s go see who else is here,” Jessica said, glancing at Amy. “I thought they’d be over at the pool hall all night.”
The two women began walking to the back, listening to the roar of laughter from a group of rowdy guys near them.
Uneasiness began to fill the pit of her stomach as they got closer. If Jacob was here, would he want her randomly showing up? It had sounded like he was looking forward to some down time with his buddies. They might not want the women crashing their little get together. Then again, why’d he say they’d be at the pool hall if they were coming here?
Her gaze swept over the group seated around the back table: Michelle was already nestled on Ryker’s lap, Mason was laughing with Taylor, Noah was sitting there with his arms crossed, his standard aviators perched atop his head, and Colton was standing beside them, beer in hand.
She didn’t see Hunter anywhere, and then her heart stopped as she spotted the back of Jacob’s head. He was laughing with his buddies, a pretty blonde at his side. For a flash, she thought it was Bailey, but the woman glanced her way, and she realized it wasn’t her at all.
Hesitantly, she took another step forward.
Was she...the waitress? Someone they all knew who’d stopped by to say hi?
The blonde reached out, running her hand over Jacob’s cropped haircut, her pink manicured nails standing out against his dark hair.
She threw her head back, laughing at something, but teasingly ran her hand over his head again.
Jacob turned toward the blonde, clearly comfortable with the woman standing beside him. “I’ll see you next time, hun,” he said in his deep voice.
“You better be back soon,” she teased, ducking down and planting a kiss on his cheek with her glossy pink lips.
Hurt seeped through her, and she felt bile rise in the back of her throat. He lightly grabbed the blonde woman’s arm before she left, his muscular fingers wrapping around her forearm as he told her something, and Jessica turned, hurrying back toward the front entrance.
“Jess, hey, wait up!” Amy said, rushing after her through the doors. “I’m sure that’s not what it seems like. She must know Jacob or something.”
“She just kissed him!”
And he’d reached out and taken hold of the blonde woman’s arm like he didn’t want her to go. He’d touched her with those muscular hands—caressed her breasts. Run his hands all over her entire body. Kissed her intimately.
And for him to go out and flirt with a random woman while he was out with his friends? It was insulting to say the least. Tears smarted her eyes, and she hastily called goodbye to Amy. Brushing past a few people on the boardwalk, she swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks.
She was being ridiculous. There had to be a perfectly good explanation for what she’d just seen. Why was she running, then? She hadn’t confronted him. She hadn’t gone over and introduced herself like nothing was wrong. She’d turned around and fled.
What did that say about their relationship if she couldn’t even talk to him about it? If she wasn’t even willing to fight for it?
“Jess, hey Jess!” a deep voice shouted, and she felt Jacob’s presence as he ran up behind her. Taking a shaky breath, she turned, and her heart clenched as she saw the look of surprise cross his face.
“What’s wrong, angel? Why’d you leave?”
He gazed down at her with concern in his brown eyes, and she looked at him in surprise. Did he really not know? “I saw you with that blonde woman.”
Jacob crinkled his eyes in confusion. “Are you talking about Lily? She’s a masseuse. I saw her last year when I threw my back out. She came over to say hi to me and the guys.”
“But she was here with you.”
“She was there with some of her girlfriends. Noah was seeing her last year—strictly for massages—and recommended her to me. I made a few appointments with her until I was as good as new.”
Jessica stared at him in disbelief, her mouth open in surprise. “But she was running her hand over your head. Touching you. She kissed you!”
“Sweetheart,” Jacob said, reaching out to her.
“I just—I feel like I can’t trust you. You didn’t tell her to stop. I mean, what if I hadn’t been there? Would something else have happened?”
“I did tell her to stop. Angel, she’s a flirt. And a masseuse—when I threw my back out, she gave me a deep-tissue massage. There was absolutely nothing more to it than that, and it was an entire year ago. I told her I have a girlfriend now the second she kissed me—ask the other guys. And it was a quick peck on the cheek. As soon as she did it, I told her I was seeing you.”
“Jacob—I just—”
Tears filled her eyes again, and she took another shaky breath. “Look, you know what? When I saw you with her, it made me think. This just isn’t going to work out anyway. I’m leaving at the end of the summer and then—what? We’ll just break up then? It’s better to just end things now.”
“End things now? Is this because of tonight?” he asked, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “I told her right away that I’m not single. And if you’re having second thoughts because of this past weekend together, I promise you there’s no pressure. I don’t need to spend the night if it’s too much, too soon. We’ll take things slowly.”
“No, I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of days. It’s not just what happened tonight—it’s everything. It’s just going to hurt even more to break up later. Why prolong the inevitable?”
“Damn it, Jess,” he said, looking frustrated. “You’re going to throw us away because of what might happen in a couple of months? Don’t give up on us so easily.”
“I just—can’t,” she said, fresh tears falling. “It hurt when I saw you with her now. Even if it really did mean nothing, it made me realize it will hurt even more if I let things continue between us. I’ll go back to Blacksburg, and you’ll just end up with some other woman.”
“Hell, angel, don’t cry,” he murmured, taking a step closer to her.
“I should go.”
“Now? Didn’t you come here with your friends? You can’t walk the entire way home. It’s like twenty blocks until the end of the boardwalk. And then you still have to walk all the way to your house along the beach. At least let me give you a ride. We can talk.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, her voice shaking.
“Please,” he said, his voice gruff. “I’m sorry that you’re upset. Let me at least take you home. We should talk about this.”
“Jacob,” she pleaded.
Michelle and Amy came hurrying over to her, worried looks on both of their faces. “Jess, are you okay?” Michelle asked. “Ryker said they all know that chick and that she’s a big flirt. And Jacob told her about you—she just kept flirting with him anyway.”
“I just want to leave,” Jessica said. “Let’s go home.”
“Okay,” Amy agreed quickly, casting a quick glance at Jacob. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t do this, angel,” he said, his voice gruff. “Let’s at least talk about it. I’ll give you a ride, and we can work things out.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, fresh tears beginning to fall.
She turned, letting Amy wrap her arm around her shoulders, and then they were leaving. Walking away with Jacob standing there on the boardwalk, looking like she’d just broken his heart.
