Her head relaxes against my chest. “Did you hear everything I was saying?”
Her body goes rigid as she waits for my answer. I did hear everything about her sister, but I want her to tell me when she is ready. “No, I missed most of it. Whenever you’re ready, we can talk about it.”
I kiss the top of her head as she breathes a sigh of relief and closes her eyes.
I know she is scared because she thinks she is too broken for me to love her.
I’m going to show her how wrong she is.
Chapter Nine
Nina
The timer begins to beep, and I jolt awake. I look up to see Jake’s eyes trained on me. I can’t believe I fell asleep. Even more, I can’t believe I let him in. Yes, I have hugged him before but lying here with him and letting him see me in a vulnerable state. That is something that is so out of my comfort zone. I feel so uneasy right now, I have no idea how to act. I’ve never been in a serious relationship and haven’t even been on a date since high school. I feel like I am totally going to suck at this.
I sit up, and Jake follows my lead. Once I turn the timer off, I turn to face him. “So, now what?” I need to know what he expects of me, that way I could at least try my best not to disappoint him.
“Now? We do whatever you want to. This isn’t as hard as you think, I promise.” He stands up and walks over to me. “Just relax and be yourself. I have something I need to do. Can I meet you at your place in an hour?”
I nod. He places a soft kiss on my lips before leaving. I take a moment to gather my thoughts before I grab my purse and head home. I feel gross in my work stuff, and have an overwhelming smell of lotion, so I decide to shower.
As the water rains down on me, I try to let my fear and hesitation roll off of me. He’s right, I just need to relax. Carly, send me a sign, please. Let me know I’m on the right path. I need some reassurance. I keep thinking of all the things that could go wrong. All the ways I could break him, or how much worse he could break me.
As I stand in front of my closet, I am stressing over what to wear for the first time in forever. I settle on comfortable over stylish and throw on a pair of leggings and a flowy shirt. I don’t think we are going out, at least Jake didn’t mention it.
A knock sounds at my front door and I open it to find Jake and a little girl. A kid? He has a kid? Isn’t that something that normally comes up pretty quickly? I’m utterly shocked and have no idea what to do at this point.
“Can we come in?” Jake is looking at me with furrowed brows not understanding my confusion. I move to the side, and the two of them walk past me. I shut the door and face them. “Nina, this is Grace. Grace, this is my friend, Nina.
“She’s pretty, Unkey Jake” The little blond headed girl beams at me, before running away and plopping on the couch. I look at Jake in confusion waiting for him to explain to me what is going on.
“Hey, sorry about the little surprise. Grace is my friend Mason’s daughter, and he got caught up in traffic. I told him I would grab her from school and watch her ‘til he gets home.” Thank God she isn’t his kid. Don’t get me wrong she is cute and all, but I am so not down to play Mommy Dearest.
“No problem. I don’t know that I have much to keep her entertained, though.” He crooks his head at me before nodding his head over to the couch. Grace has already found some princess show and is sufficiently mesmerized by it. “Okay, never mind.” He takes my hand and walks us into the kitchen. There are a few grocery bags on the counter. I didn’t even notice them, I must have been distracted by the possible Maury episode that walked through my door. He is NOT the father; I laugh to myself and Jake looks over at me. “What’s in the bag?”
“I picked up some things to make dinner. I figure showing you I can cook is just another way I can hook you even more.”
“Even more? Who says you hooked me at all?” I turn around to make a sassy exit when his hands grab my hips. He turns me toward him, his lips softly pressing against mine.
“I’ve had you hooked since my indecent exposure.” He winks at me before starting to search through my cabinets. I’m about to offer him help when he lifts some pots and pans onto the counter. “Now get out of here so I can start on my panty dropping pasta sauce.”
My eyes widen as I cough choking on my sip of water. “Your what?”
“My perfect pasta sauce. What did you think I said? You might need to get your hearing checked, Sparky.” He laughs before turning away from me and taking ingredients out of the bag.
I have my work cut out with him. I shuffle uncomfortably into the living room and sit down near Grace. I have no idea what to say. Hey, any new drama in Barbie land?
“That’s Sofia. She’s a pincess.” I smile the way she says the words.
“That’s cool. Princesses are awesome.” I’m so awkward. I notice a doll she has in her hand it has long blond hair just like mine. “What is your doll’s name?”
“This is Carly; she’s my best friend.” I stand up and almost run into the bathroom. Her doll’s name is Carly. I lean against the cool tile and look up toward the sky. Is this a sign, Car? Are you telling me it’s okay?
A knock at the door makes me jump. “Nina, you okay?”
“Yeah, just an emergency.” Real smooth. Now he probably thinks I’m in here dropping bombs.
“Um, okay, just wanted to make sure you were okay.” I hear footsteps walk away.
How embarrassing! I look in the mirror, and my face is beet red. This night could not get any worse, I swear to God. I peel myself off the wall and decide to brave going outside. I try to walk into the kitchen like I didn’t just tell him I was taking a huge shit, and then I eat shit. My foot catches on the lip of the kitchen and I fly face first onto the floor. Fuck my life.
“Nina!” Jake is sitting on the floor next to me, helping me sit up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” No. I’m not okay. My face hurts so bad, but I’m trying to keep from crying like a little bitch on top of all the other embarrassing shit.
“Shit, it looks like you hit your face good, that might leave a mark.”
Of course, it will.
Chapter Ten
Nina
It looks like an elephant stomped on my face. I stare at my reflection in absolute horror. The entire left side of my face is bright red and already starting to turn all sorts of funky colors. I really can’t win. I take a deep breath and walk back out to check on Jake, this time making sure not to break my face, again.
“So, anything I can help with?”
“Um, I don’t know that letting you near knives or the stove is a good idea right now.” He laughs. Yeah, it’s damn funny. Fine. Grace makes better company anyway. I walk into the living where she is still watching her princesses. “How is Sofia doing?”
“Her bunny is silly!” Grace laughs and then looks over at me. “What happen to your face?” Thanks, kid.
“I uh, I fell.”
“Were your eyes closed? Oh, Daddy says you should always watch where you walk.” I just got schooled by a three year old. Awesome.
There is a knock at the door, so I head over to answer it. When I open it, the most intimidating guy I have ever seen is standing there. He is dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, both of which are filthy. “Hey, we had that leak fixed last week. I called the super and told him.” I move to close the door when his hand reaches out to stop it. My heart starts to race. “Jake!” I don’t know what the hell this guy wants, but I need some backup.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I hear him say as he approaches. “Grace, Daddy’s here!” Daddy? Shit, this is Jake’s friend. I look like a total bitch.