him and Evie and the memory of him kissing me in his backyard.
I think he sensed that my mood changed, but he didn’t let go of my hand.
“Jessie, I had a good day with you. I forgot about how fun it was.”
Who needed one whole hour? Mission accomplished in five minutes! I was so the champion!
I looked at our hands in my lap, and then felt him move in closer to me. My heart started pounding. Was he going to kiss me again? Kisses at nighttime when nobody was looking was one thing, but kisses in daytime in public were quite another! For a split second I thought of Will and how I’d have to tell him our date for the dance was off.
And then the moment was broken before it could start, because we suddenly heard someone shouting, “Jake? Jake?”
Jake dropped my hand and quickly put distance between us. Evie stood in the doorway. Her hair was shiny and styled, and her eyes were bright as she scanned the room. When she finally saw us, she smiled broadly and marched over to the couch.
“Hey! Were you skiing?” she asked, and I thought that it was the dumbest question ever. I also thought that she looked a little too brown.
“Were you tanning?” I asked, topping her dumb question with one of my own.
“Oh! Yes! I was supposed to get a massage, but I ditched it for this fun little tanning booth in town. The old woman at the front desk suggested it.” Evie plopped herself down in between us, and reached for Jake’s hot chocolate. “Is this yours?” she asked him with no time for him to answer before she took a long drink from it.
Mean Agnes struck again! She sent Evie to her sister’s tanning salon and robbed me of an hour of kissing Jake in front of the fire!
Evie began to babble about the town and how quaint it was (God, I hated that description) while I cursed Mean Agnes mentally, even though I should’ve been cursing Evie. Actually, scratch that. I should have been cursing Jake. How dare he be holding my hand when he had this other girl wandering around the town, thinking they were boyfriend and girlfriend? Erin’s voice echoed in my head, I think Jake will kiss whoever’s in front of him. I drowned it out by gritting my teeth.
My head started to pound. I reached for my hot chocolate and felt Jake’s eyes on me. I caught them and he didn’t look away. His face was so earnest, he couldn’t possibly have been thinking about Evie and what she was talking about. Who knew there was this much to say about tanning beds?
Then Evie said, “So, I found this cute little diner. Why don’t we go there for our double date?”
Jake choked on his hot chocolate. “Double date?”
“Yes, silly, didn’t I tell you? We’re going on a double date. I thought it’d be fun.”
Jake looked at me, panicked. And this for some reason made me happy. He deserved to be a little panicky.
“Yup. Tons of fun, right, Jakey ?” I asked.
He squinted his eyes at me. I smiled brighter.
“So, Jessie, can you and Will do it tomorrow night? At that diner place?”
“You and Will?” Jake asked.
“Oh, of course!” I exclaimed brightly. “You mean the Mountain Diner. Will and I love that place.”
“Yes! The Mountain Diner! Sooo cute !” I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Like there weren’t diners in Boise.
But one thing I had learned from my day, I couldn’t just give up. Jake was on the fence. He’d forgotten how much fun we could have together, but today had reminded him. Now, by my calculation, one good dose of jealousy, and I’d get him back.
I decided to quit while I was ahead. I told the two of them that I’d see them later, that I was meeting Will. (I flat-out lied. This whole situation was making me a bad person!)
I walked away and blew Jake a kiss when Evie wasn’t looking. Then I ran down the path, wondering how in the world I was going to talk Will Parker into going on another date with me.
Chapter 10
“ H
ave you seen Will?”
Erin stood at the front desk in the Mount Crow hotel
I think he sensed that my mood changed, but he didn’t let go of my hand.
“Jessie, I had a good day with you. I forgot about how fun it was.”
Who needed one whole hour? Mission accomplished in five minutes! I was so the champion!
I looked at our hands in my lap, and then felt him move in closer to me. My heart started pounding. Was he going to kiss me again? Kisses at nighttime when nobody was looking was one thing, but kisses in daytime in public were quite another! For a split second I thought of Will and how I’d have to tell him our date for the dance was off.
And then the moment was broken before it could start, because we suddenly heard someone shouting, “Jake? Jake?”
Jake dropped my hand and quickly put distance between us. Evie stood in the doorway. Her hair was shiny and styled, and her eyes were bright as she scanned the room. When she finally saw us, she smiled broadly and marched over to the couch.
“Hey! Were you skiing?” she asked, and I thought that it was the dumbest question ever. I also thought that she looked a little too brown.
“Were you tanning?” I asked, topping her dumb question with one of my own.
“Oh! Yes! I was supposed to get a massage, but I ditched it for this fun little tanning booth in town. The old woman at the front desk suggested it.” Evie plopped herself down in between us, and reached for Jake’s hot chocolate. “Is this yours?” she asked him with no time for him to answer before she took a long drink from it.
Mean Agnes struck again! She sent Evie to her sister’s tanning salon and robbed me of an hour of kissing Jake in front of the fire!
Evie began to babble about the town and how quaint it was (God, I hated that description) while I cursed Mean Agnes mentally, even though I should’ve been cursing Evie. Actually, scratch that. I should have been cursing Jake. How dare he be holding my hand when he had this other girl wandering around the town, thinking they were boyfriend and girlfriend? Erin’s voice echoed in my head, I think Jake will kiss whoever’s in front of him. I drowned it out by gritting my teeth.
My head started to pound. I reached for my hot chocolate and felt Jake’s eyes on me. I caught them and he didn’t look away. His face was so earnest, he couldn’t possibly have been thinking about Evie and what she was talking about. Who knew there was this much to say about tanning beds?
Then Evie said, “So, I found this cute little diner. Why don’t we go there for our double date?”
Jake choked on his hot chocolate. “Double date?”
“Yes, silly, didn’t I tell you? We’re going on a double date. I thought it’d be fun.”
Jake looked at me, panicked. And this for some reason made me happy. He deserved to be a little panicky.
“Yup. Tons of fun, right, Jakey ?” I asked.
He squinted his eyes at me. I smiled brighter.
“So, Jessie, can you and Will do it tomorrow night? At that diner place?”
“You and Will?” Jake asked.
“Oh, of course!” I exclaimed brightly. “You mean the Mountain Diner. Will and I love that place.”
“Yes! The Mountain Diner! Sooo cute !” I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Like there weren’t diners in Boise.
But one thing I had learned from my day, I couldn’t just give up. Jake was on the fence. He’d forgotten how much fun we could have together, but today had reminded him. Now, by my calculation, one good dose of jealousy, and I’d get him back.
I decided to quit while I was ahead. I told the two of them that I’d see them later, that I was meeting Will. (I flat-out lied. This whole situation was making me a bad person!)
I walked away and blew Jake a kiss when Evie wasn’t looking. Then I ran down the path, wondering how in the world I was going to talk Will Parker into going on another date with me.
Chapter 10
“ H
ave you seen Will?”
Erin stood at the front desk in the Mount Crow hotel
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