The Dealers

Chapter 7 - Lena

By the time I reached my truck in the parking lot, I was paranoid. I searched the lot frantically for any signs that someone—anyone—was lurking. I couldn't help but be on edge.
Unlocking the driver's side door, I heard a familiar voice calling me from the entrance of the club. I knew that it was Jacob but for a split second, I hoped that it were Noah.
I hated that I even wanted to give him another chance.
Treating me like I wasn't worth his time still wasn't enough to make me shake these feelings I had for him. After everything that happened in the short time we'd known each other, I still wanted him. I still wanted to get closer to him even though I knew it would only end in a broken heart.
"Lena!" Jacob called again as I shut the driver's door and turned to face him, a fake smile planted on my face.
"Hey!" I said with half-assed enthusiasm.
"I came out to the bar and you were gone!" He said slowly as he stopped at my truck and leaned against the side of it. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
"I'm fine." I lied, trying to evade the entire conversation.
"Are you?" He asked. "That Noah guy is a real piece of work."
"He's not." I said flatly, making Jacob raise his eyebrow at me. "Look, I appreciate the concern but I really am fine! I'm just tired and I want to go home."
This felt like deja vu.
"How do you really know him?" Jacob asked. "I mean, do you really know him?"
I was over Jacob's near obsession with Noah. I understood it. Jacob and I were really good friends and sure, there were underlying feelings there but, we weren't in any position to act on them. Our friendship trumped what could possibly be romantically between us. Still, those feelings were becoming super hard to ignore.
I didn't want to admit that maybe, I had feelings for Noah and that was the reason I was so annoyed by Jacob's overprotectiveness.
Somehow, I felt the need to defend Noah. Jacob's constant criticism was getting old. Sure, I had only known Noah for twenty-four hours and I only knew his first name but there was something about him that had me stumped.
"I know him well enough, okay?" I sighed, trying not to take my frustrations out on Jacob. "You should just believe that he's trustworthy if I say that I trust him."
Jacob's demeanor changed as he examined the expression I tried desperately to hide from my face. I was flustered and upset but not with Jacob, with Noah.
If I let Jacob see that I was upset, he'd immediately blame Noah and cause a scene.
"You're right..." Jacob said as he sighed and let his head fall, "— and if I'm acting like a crazy person, I'm sorry."
My annoyance with Jacob immediately subsided. He was one of my best friends and I had so much love for him. Seeing him unsettled always hit me hard. I never wanted him to be sad or mad—especially because of me or something that I did.
"It's okay..." I lied.
Even though it wasn't okay, I didn't blame Jacob for that. No, my infamous bad luck was actually to blame. Jacob was only trying to be a good friend.
"I just...I don't know about this guy." Jacob said candidly and I would be lying if I said that I didn't understand where he was coming from.
Trying to see things from his side, I thought about if the roles were reversed. Had some  mysterious, modelesque woman with legs for days blown through town suspiciously and shown interest in Jacob, I would be on edge, too. I would be suspicious.
I cared about Jacob the way he cared about me and if I thought, for one second, that he was in danger or caught up in a sketchy situation, I wouldn't hesitate to speak my mind about it. That's all that he was doing and I had to be more understanding.
I already admitted to myself, on multiple occasions, that I didn't really know anything about Noah. Besides the undeniable attraction I felt for him, what did we have? Was I just imagining all of it?
I was overwhelmed thinking that maybe, I was just delusional. I had to believe that Noah felt the same way for me—at least remotely. I couldn't possibly be imagining the connection between us because it was so undeniably strong.
But in the club just then, Noah didn't seem very interested at all.
"I get that." I assured Jacob, putting my hand gently on his forearm that he rested against my truck.
No, but I hoped they would go away eventually.
Time could heal all wounds—or at least that's how the saying went. If Noah truly was just passing through, he would be on his way soon. Aside from the lifers here that have never and would never leave Cedar Falls, this town was rarely the final destination for people. If anything, they passed by on the way to something more.
Eventually, Noah would leave and it wouldn't matter what I felt or what happened between us because everything would eventually fade into an unreliable memory. In time, I'd recall Noah sporadically but chalk it up to a missed connection. I tried to tell myself that eventually, the thought of him not being around wouldn't hurt the way it did then.
Forcing myself to move past that sudden bout of emotion, I turned back to Jacob who was still standing there supportively as I processed the things in my head but remained silent.
"Listen..." Jacob said slowly, averting his eyes to the asphalt as nervousness laced his voice suddenly. "I know the timing suck but, I was thinking..."
No! No, no, no!
This was not about to happen.
I hated that I knew him so well because right then, I would have given anything to truly be oblivious to what was happening. Jacob was nervous and I never saw him nervous—not like that. The tension went from friendly to palpable instantly.
For two years, Jacob and I had built one of the most genuine friendships. I could count on him for anything and he could count on me the same. Not having a lot of family or friends that I kept in contact with, I held Jacob close to my heart because he truly did mean a lot to me.
But, I wasn't stupid nor was I blind. I could tell that he felt something more than just friendship for me. I could tell that he had so much on his mind that he tried to hide. Just as he knew me well, I knew him and I could tell what he was thinking even when he tried to pretend otherwise.
I started to notice that he may have more than friendship on his mind about six months after I started working at the club. I tried to ignore it at first because he was my boss and then  later because we'd become such good friends.
The quickest way to ruin a solid friendship was to attempt being more than friends. I saw it time and time again. The friendship can't be salvaged once the romance goes south.
That couldn't happen to Jacob and I. I couldn't lose his friendship. I couldn't lose him in my life.
For two years, I did a decent job at keeping that from happening. Whenever I felt that Jacob was going to come right out and say it, I changed the subject. I was sure to let him know that I cared about him and didn't want to lose his friendship.
Jacob was aware that I was desperately trying to cling to that friendship. But, he could tell that deep down, I felt things for him that I wouldn't even admit to myself. He could see the way I looked at him when I thought he wasn't paying attention.
"—I should really get going." I interrupted as I tried desperately to change the subject like I always did.
Jacob, however, wasn't buying it. I knew that it was only a matter of time before he got sick of me avoiding him—avoiding this. But, how was I supposed to give this the proper amount of attention with everything else going on in my life?
"You're going to bail on me?" He smirked, unsure if he should just do it or follow my cue and let it go for now.
"It's been a rough one." I sighed.
Jacob turned to me and his face was serious again. He raised an eyebrow as he observed me closely, searching desperately for a sign that this could be the right time. The intensity of his stare made me stop what I was doing. I stood there, unable to move. There was something in the way he looked at me just then that made my heart flutter in ways I didn't allow before. Now,I could't stop it and I began to panic.
Jacob stepped closer to me and it was evident that he had more on his mind than just talking. Was he actually going to make a move?
"Jacob..." I said breathlessly as I tried to steady the pounding in my chest.
"—no." He said simply, a smirk creeping up the corner of his lip.
That was it. I couldn't run away, I couldn't open my mouth to tell him that this was a bad idea. I just stood there.
Bracing myself for what was coming. I held my breath. My heart pounded in my chest and there was nothing I could do about it.
Jacob was closer than he had ever been. His forearm brushed against mine as he bridged the minuscule space between us.
He smelled like fresh linen and I inhaled him in unexpectedly. Closing by eyes, I let myself stand there motionless as he caressed my arm, from hand to shoulder, with the tip of his index finger.
Goosebumps erupted all over my body as I sucked in air to stifle a moan from escaping my lips.
The days of pretending that there was nothing between Jacob and I were over and there was no going back.
"I'm sorry if this makes it harder to ignore me." Jacob whispered into my ear as he leaned in and brushed my curls to the side.
"I-I don't ignore you." I stuttered, trying not to sound like a complete idiot.
This was maddening!
It would be easy to just give in. It would make forgetting about everything else going on a whole lot easier, too. But just then, customers came out of the club and I pulled back, taking a few steps away from Jacob.
The group dissipated throughout the lot but the mood was officially ruined and I could not be more thankful. I almost made a very big mistake.
"You can't keep avoiding me." Jacob sighed with frustration as I was once again out of arms reach. "You can't keep avoiding this."
I knew that he was right but what did it matter? I needed to get the hell out of there. With Noah still inside of the club and Jacob right there in front of me, I was struggling to keep it all together.
More people exited the club and it took Jacob's demeanor changing for me to look over rand notice that Noah was one of them. The soft, romantic guy that stood beside me turned into someone someone on edge. He stood up tall and I could see the tension in his forehead as he clenched his jaw.
I froze.
Had Jacob and I really been outside for that long? I looked down at my watch and it had been nearly forty minutes since I first left Noah sitting at the bar.
"Well, I'll be..." The tall stranger that looked a lot like Noah smirked as he saw Jacob and I standing near my truck. He looked at Noah and tried to hide the dying laughter brewing on his face. The other guy, that was clearly related to Noah somehow, was also as amused. The only one not laughing amongst them, was Noah.
The emotion on Noah's face was more like pure anger with a tinge of curiosity as he stared Jacob down before turning to me. We locked eyes momentarily before I tried my hardest not to blush by looking away and burying my gaze into the asphalt.
"We should go, brother." The taller of the three coughed as he punched Noah playfully in the shoulder.
Brothers.
Well, I was right, they were related. The three of them were brothers. Their resemblance was too uncanny for them not to be related somehow.
Without another taunt, the two brothers left Noah standing there awkwardly as he continued to shoot daggers at Jacob. Noah didn't even acknowledge that his brothers were leaving, he just stood there with a tense look on his face.
"You should get back to the bar." Noah said to Jacob after this brothers drove off in an obnoxious Hummer. "It's a madhouse in there."
Instinctively, Jacob took a step towards Noah but Noah didn't flinch. He stood there, ready to fight if it came down to it.
But, it wouldn't come down to that because there was noway in hell that I would let it.
"Jacob!" I warned softly. "The bar..."
I knew that Jacob wouldn't leave me alone with Noah but he had to get back inside and behind the bar. Jacob looked at Noah and then back at me with uncertainty.
"Come with me." Jacob pleaded, grabbing my hand into his like a dog marking a fire hydrant. "Come hang out for a bit and then we can get back to what we were—discussing."
Jacob was growing agitated standing on the sideline and I knew that I was running out of time to defuse this situation.
"I've had a long day." I admitted, still slightly buzzed from the tequila. "I'm going to call it a night. It's late and I have class tomorrow."
Jacob looked at his watch and sighed but he had no choice. He had to make sure the place wasn't being run into the ground since he'd been gone.
"We'll talk later, okay?" I added and that was enough to get Jacob begrudgingly back into the club.
Slowly, he left my side and hesitantly walked back into the club but not before he took one last glance at Noah and I standing there in the parking lot. Eventually, he disappeared through the front doors.
I turned back to Noah who stood there, staring blankly at the ground. His hands were in his front jean pockets.
"Have a good night." I said flatly, tired of the awkwardness still lingering between us and since he obviously had nothing to say, I wasn't going to waste my time.
Sliding into the driver's seat, I reached to close the car door but suddenly, Noah was right beside me.
"Wait..." He said cautiously, surprised at his own actions.
He stared at me as I just sat there, not sure what to do next.
"What?" I sighed, nearly out of strength to continue this stupid game we were playing.
Either, he felt the same way that I did or he didn't. Either he wanted to spend time with me or he didn't. I was exhausted trying to figure out which.
It was then that I realized it didn't matter what he wanted because nothing could come from this—from whatever this was. We truly were a lost cause and I couldn't believe I was exerting so much effort for something that would never come to pass.
"Don't go..." Noah said finally, running his hand through the thick of his hair in frustration. "At least let me...I don't know...explain?"
Explain what?
Sitting there, I was disappointed in myself for even entertaining the idea. I hated the fact that despite everything, I still wanted to talk to him. I wanted a do-over from earlier and I felt incredibly stupid for that.
"You don't have anything to explain." I shrugged my shoulders. "We met last night and I just wanted to say thanks for what you did for me. So, thanks...again."
"That's not all you have to say to me." He said sharply, a cockiness returning to his demeanor as he leaned in close, reaching his muscular arms wrapped in his tight black t-shirt above his head to rest on the roof of my truck. "And even if it were, that's not all that I want to say to you."
I was caught off guard by the shift in his attitude as he stood there at my truck door. Something changed in him and the shy, unsure guy that had exited the club with his brothers was gone. Standing there instead was someone who had all the confidence in the world and a tinge of lust in his eyes.
"Jump in then." I narrowed my eyes at him, challenging him in return.
We stayed there momentarily, I was unsure if I actually meant what I said and he wasn't sure if he should get into my truck.
"I'll drive." He said finally, gesturing to the sleek black Mustang parked not far away.
"I think I probably shouldn't get into a stranger man's car." I smirked, biting my lip unintentionally.
Noah reacted instantly to my own shift in demeanor. I was matching the fire that he was radiating now and I knew that playing with fire, we would both eventually get burned.
"But by all means, let the strange man get into yours?" Noah smiled sarcastically as he backed up slowly and closed the truck door gently for me. Walking around to the other side, he let himself into the passenger's door and settled into the seat beside me.
An older truck, I bought this baby with the last of my money shortly after getting to Cedar Falls after my junker kicked the bucket. That truck had been my old faithful ever since.
"So, where are you taking me?" Noah teased as he leaned back into the torn leather seat of my truck and turned his head to look over at me.
He was so fucking charming and I cursed that fact in my head as I stared back at him. Trying to stay focused and not get sucked into that chiseled jaw or those deep, sharp eyes.
"You'll see." I scoffed playfully as I started up the truck and headed away from the club.
This was definitely a bad idea.