Chapter 19
Once I surface, I look around to find Jake standing there with his arms crossed.
“Are you comin’ or what?”
Before I have time to process, Jake removes his t-shirt in one swift motion. Hot-oh-mighty. With all the time we’ve been together, I can honestly say this is the first time I’ve seen him shirtless. God sure knew what He was doing when He created that boy. But, Jake doesn’t stop there; next, he removes his boots and his jeans. Quickly, I try to gather my inner self because Jake Bryant is standing there in nothing but a pair of plaid boxers. This isn’t how I expected this to go down. Smiling my direction, he grabs the rope swing and jumps straight for me while I duck under the water to avoid the splash.
Arriving at the surface, our eyes meet and it’s unlike what I felt a few minutes ago, or even that night in Tulsa that I refuse to acknowledge most days. Jake moves closer, wraps his arm around me, and pulls me to his body. The line we’ve had drawn has now been erased. The question is, what will happen next? My heart begins to beat out of my chest as his eyes pierce mine.
“You promise me that there’s nothing going on with you and Chase?”
“I promise.”
That’s all the reassurance that Jake needs as his lips get within inches of mine.
“You know this will change things. Don’t you, Jake?”
“I’m ready for a change, Belle,” he says as his lips crash into mine. They are more perfect than I imagined and as his tongue grazes my bottom lip, I sigh. Our lips continue to dance as the rest of my body reacts to his body near mine.
Jake begins to pull me closer to the bank without letting our lips part. Once we are at the bank, his hands roam my body with a hunger that I’ve never felt before. Everything inside me is saying this is a great idea, but my head is screaming for us to stop. I battle the decision in my mind for a matter of seconds. Screw it; I’ll clean up this mess later.
My hands run through his short brown hair and I forget about where I am and only think about what I’m doing.
Jake
Having her lips on mine is better than I imagined. My mind is in overdrive and I'm not thinking when I let my hands skim the base of her tank top before beginning to raise it slowly. She falters.
“Um, Jake. I think we need to slow down. I mean, I don’t know. This is happening so fast, and I don’t want you to think that this is all I want.”
Jake takes my hair and places it behind my ear as he gazes into my eyes. He smiles and moves in to graze my lips again.
“Belle, this was bound to happen. We fit and make sense. I’m glad it happened here instead of out on the road. This place feels real, just like you,” I brush my hand along her jawline.
“But you know this isn’t a good idea.”
“I’m willing to pay the price if you’re willing to go along for the ride.”
“Jake Bryant, you better not hurt me. Do you understand?”
There’s no way I’d hurt her. Instead of answering, I reassure her with my lips and the deal is sealed. As our kiss slows, we make our way out of the water.