Free Burned by Amity Hope

manners to invite me,” Jake said. “They probably thought I’d reciprocate the good manners by declining. Clearly, I did not.”
    “Clearly,” I said with a smile. “Are you glad you came?”
    He nodded. “I am. I’m tired of being snubbed by everyone. I don’t want to be part of this crowd again, but I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing I was edged out of it against my will.”
    “Then let’s just try to enjoy the rest of the evening,” I said.
    We continued to sway to the music. Jake held me so close we were touching. I had no complaints. If anything, I wanted to press even more tightly against him. It felt good to have his arms around me.
    My fingers toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck. His eyes involuntarily fluttered closed for a second. When he opened them again…I thought just maybe he was feeling a little bit of what I was feeling.
    Or maybe he wasn’t.
    I really had no idea.
    I knew who I was invoking some emotion from.
    Darby, chest heaving, eyes narrowed, gaze zeroed in on Jake, was clearly fuming on the other side of the pavilion.
    “Someone is not a happy girl,” I said sarcastically. I tried to take a step away from Jake, just in case that was what he wanted but didn’t feel comfortable pushing me away. He didn’t let me put space between us. He kept his arms looped tightly around my waist.
    Jake cast a quick glance toward his ex.
    “Do you still feel something for her?”
    He scoffed. “Oh, when I see her, I feel a whole lot. Not one of those feelings is good. Not after what she did to me. Not after I figured out what kind of person she really is.”
    “Considering that she’s the one that ended things, she sure doesn’t look like she likes seeing you with someone else,” I said.
    “Too bad for her that I don’t care what she thinks.”
    “I kind of care what she thinks,” I said.
    He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Why?”
    “Because I don’t like her.”
    “You don’t know her.” He wasn’t scolding, simply reminding.
    “I dislike her on principal,” I decided. “I don’t like her because of what she did to you. And so maybe I want to make her just a little bit miserable. It would be a nice payback.”
    He huffed out a quiet laugh. “Kinda sounds like you want to defend my honor.”
    “Damn right,” I said as I grinned back.
    He lowered his face so his lips were close to my ear. His voice was barely above a whisper when he asked, “Just how are you going to do that?”
    I answered by sliding my hand up from the back of his neck to the back of his head. I turned my face so that my lips brushed against his. In an instant, they were no longer just brushing, casually kissing. Jake kissed me like it was something we had been doing for years. He kissed me until I was relieved that he had kept his hands around my waist. It helped me keep my balance when my knees felt like they were going to give way.
    When he finally broke the kiss, he gave me a sheepish grin. I was so entranced by him I didn’t even glance around to see if Darby had noticed.
    “I shouldn’t have done that,” Jake said.
    I winced. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s not very classy to be making out on the dance floor. With your pretend date.”
    He brushed his fingers against my cheek. “That’s not it at all. I was hoping that when I kissed you, it would be for our benefit. No one else’s.”
    “Oh,” I said somewhat breathlessly. “I guess there’s always next time.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 8
    The next morning I woke up with my heart pounding chaotically and my ear drums feeling ready to shatter. My room was filled with a deafening, cacophonous noise that made my head want to implode.
    I blinked hard as I looked around my familiar bedroom.
    Though I was wide awake I was disoriented.
    I flew out of bed, not taking the time to unwrap myself from my bedding. I stumbled, barely able to keep myself from crashing onto the floor. I