JakeJake walked to his truck, his hand rubbing absently at the old wound on his left shoulder, his football days rough and still wearing on him years later. He hated that he'd never actually made it by the newspaper earlier, the day getting far too busy due to a few fights and having to talk with the fire department guys about taking his on-call shift on Saturday and Sunday. Getting in his truck, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a moment.The sudden rapping of knuckles on his window caused him to jump. He smiled and started the truck, rolling down the window to talk with the pretty fifth grade math teacher who'd just joined them."Hi, coach. Sorry to bother you. A few of us were going to grab a drink and I thought maybe you'd like to join us?" The hopeful look in her eyes almost made him flinch, but he just smiled and shook his head."I wish I could. I have to deal with a few rental properties and then need to get to the gym sometime this week." He looked past her at t
JakeOf all the people in the world to expect to see at his favorite rental house, Kari Martin wasn't one of them. When she opened the door he almost stumbled backwards, her long hair pulled up in a girlish ponytail, her clothes relaxed and feet bare. He'd played it cool the entire time, his voice in his own head constantly reminding him of the danger, forever beating him up at the idea of trying again.He looked up at her, a little surprised by her question. Did she want to know about a missus because she was interested, or because she was concerned about how long she'd get to stay in the rental? The look on her pretty face said she was interested, but he had to shut it down. She was a heartbreaker, no doubt. Successful and creative, voluptuous and sexy, like a kitten.Trouble. “Oh,” was all she said to his comment about a wife. He concentrated on moving various pieces of the swing into piles, counting screws and trying not to look up at her. The pose she stood in accentuated the li
KariKari pressed her back against the front door, her heart beating furiously in her chest as she tried to catch her breath. He was everything she might imagine finding if she could construct the perfect man. Devilishly good looking, dark hair and big muscles, and tanned skin. He was a firefighter for god sakes and a coach to little kids. Teacher of the year and he read instructions? She slid down to the floor, her arms wrapping around her legs as she beat her forehead against her knees. She was going to fall in love with him if she saw him too many more times.Something about him was so right and yet... how many other women had fallen for him? He had to be a player, had to use women by the dozen. His looks alone demanded it and he was from Texas. Weren't guys in the South known for making their women cook and clean and ride horses and shit? She shook her head, chuckling sardonically to herself."Run away from this." Sighing, she lifted her head, the door pushing open and shoving her
JakeJake walked into his small townhouse, the smell of spring flowers filling the air. He smiled at the sound of his brothers making fun of his cleaning habits somewhere in the recess of his memory. He needed to take a trip back to Texas soon. It had been three or four years, and though he talked to his mother and father every Sunday, he needed to see them. It was Bethany's fault... or maybe it was time to move past that. He pulled his shirt over his head and held it until he walked into his room, jumping and shooting it into the clothes hamper like a basketball."And the crowd goes wild... ahhhhhhh." He laughed and kicked off his shoes, bending over to grab them and throw them in the closet. He planned to go to the gym, but his mowing gig was only supposed to take an hour, and yet he'd been with Kari almost two. The gym would have to wait. Stopping in front of the mirror, he twisted, his muscles contracting. He ran his hands over his chest and yawned loudly."Getting soft, Isaac." H
KariKari swirled the long noodles around her plate, the butter separating from the cream in her sauce and reminding her quickly how bad the meal was for her waistline. She looked up at her friends and her brother, the only person missing at the table being Jake. She smiled at the thought and stirred the contents of her plate again, swirling a noodle on her plate and lifting it to suck it down as her brother stared at her."Why you so quiet down there?" He nodded at her.Sicily and Lisa stopped talking about killing off the only baker in town and looked down at her as she slowly chewed her pasta. Picking up the glass of red wine in front of her, she took a quick sip."I'm just thinking. This is really good, by the way. Your mad cooking skills have done it again." Kari smiled at Sicily."Stop diverting. You've barely said two words this whole meal. What's up?" Lisa asked, her own glass of wine half gone for the third time as it wobbled in her hand. Marc reached over and took the glass,
KariKari's dream stayed with her as she got ready for another day of trying to figure out life while living it at the same time. She dressed in a pair of gray slacks and a silky blue shirt, taking the time to fix her hair and makeup just perfectly. She needed an excuse to stop by and see Jake because chances of them running into each other were slim to none - or were they?Her friends joked and laughed in the kitchen, her brother's grumble causing her to smile. She walked in and grabbed a mug of coffee to go, talking for a minute and then heading out. Kari sat in her car for a few minutes, digging through her camera bag to make sure she had everything she needed. Her new assignment at the paper was to take a few photos for a large centennial festival that would happen in late April. They wanted to show the historical parts of the town and feature the new growth in the last fifty years or so."Where is my lens cap?" She moved everything out of her camera bag and sighed. Not having the
KariKari felt like crap stopping by Judy's Bakery, but she needed something to take with her and had reconciled the fact that Sicily's shop wasn't opened yet, and Sicily had asked her to - sort of. She got out of the car and walked quickly to the door, turning to make sure the coast was clear before slipping into the small bakery.The smell of sticky goodness rose up around her and she breathed in deeply, her stomach rumbling from lack of sustenance. An older woman her grandmother's age looked up from behind the counter as the large bell on the door above her jingled. Every door in town must have a bell. Kari smiled at the thought."Hello, dear. How can I help you this fine morning?"Kari walked toward the large glass case, the pastries filling her gaze and making her decision all the more difficult. She had the worst sort of sweet tooth - one that demanded a fix more often than not. She smiled at the woman, a little confused at the conflicting information she'd received about 'Judy
JakeJake watched her walk away, her reaction to his hesitation stabbing him in the chest. He hadn't meant for it to come out like that. He was interested. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to learn every inch of her body, steal her heart, hear her call out his name in need or pleasure or love... He sighed and brushed his hands across his face.Fear shut him down and he had stumbled."Fuck," he muttered and walked toward the kids, looking over as she sped off much too fast from the small school parking lot. She was hurt. It had looked like rejection, but it wasn't - was it? Hell if he knew. He wanted her to move back, to leave him alone until he could heal, and yet life didn't work like that. His heart and mind wanted two different things, and yet every time he'd listened to his heart, he'd ended up emotionally jacked for months, not sleeping for weeks, not wanting to eat.Love sucked so badly, and even still, he ached to get in his truck and go after her. He looked up