A/N: This is the final version of this chapter. If you've read the draft I accidentally published, I hope you'll read it again without all the errors! 😇
Sometimes, a girl's Knight in Shining Armor shows up wearing a black polo shirt embroidered with a tacky logo consisting of a bright green star and a golden horseshoe, woven together with the words, 'The Lucky Star Ranch', in a hokey rope font.
And instead of waxing poetic about her incomparable beauty and making breathless promises of love everlasting, he says something like:
"This is bullshit. Come on, let's get the fuck out of here."
Jake took my hand and pulled me off the bench. I stumbled at the unexpected movement, but righted myself just as he started walking. "Jake! What are you doing?"
Without answering, he wove a path through the throng of people ahead of us, pulling me behind him.
"Oh my God, she's such a little whore – Lottie, I told you she was fucking him too, I don't know why you wouldn't believe me."
One of these days, I was going to punch Kylie's teeth out. Turning my head, I ignored the baffled New Yorkers and glared at her. Her trademark sneer turner nastier than ever as she whispered furiously into Charlotte's ear. And Charlotte, she almost looked... sad?
Not my problem. I resisted the urge to flip the whole lot of them off, but happily turned my back on them.
Peace out, motherfuckers. I hope those chili cheese fries give y'all diarrhea.
The further we got from them, the easier it became for me to breathe. My muscles relaxed, my head cleared, and I was finally able to focus again. And...
OhmyGod ohmyGod, Jake's holding my hand!
A stupid grin spread across my face as I stared at our hands, his longer fingers wrapped tightly around mine. The tingling that started at my palms traveled all the way up my arm and infused my entire body with a magical warmth that launched me all the way up to Cloud Nine. The Angels sang their heavenly hymns and any minute now, I fully expected Pegasus to come fly-galloping by, winking suggestively at all the possibilities.
Without warning, Jake took a sharp left, busting me out of my psychosis. The world came back into focus, spearheaded by the bright red sign ahead of us.
Exit?
I locked my knees, grinding us to a stop. "Wait! Jake! Where are we going? I can't just leave!"
He took a step back and put his face right up to mine, so close that the tips of our noses nearly touched. "You can do whatever you want," he bit out. "Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."
"But-"
"You can," he reiterated. "What the fuck does he think he's doing?"
"It's not what you think." I considered explaining further, but really, why? It didn't matter. I was done torturing myself over all that.
"Okay, so you want to go back there? To them?"
"No, but I don't want to leave the fair. I have things I need to do."
Without meaning to, my gaze dropped down to stare at my hand, still safely enclosed within his. He looked too.
Layla, you fool. Now he's gonna let go.
But he didn't.
"Then where?" he asked.
I still had an half hour until I was scheduled for the auction block. I looked around us.
Well, well, well, what do we have here?
Smiling, I pointed up.
*****
Jake knew the guy who was running the Ferris wheel so we got to cut the long line. People grumbled and some even shouted in protest, but Jake didn't care a lick about that as he shoved our way to the front of the line. It was really rude of us, but kind of exhilarating at the same time.
We were almost to the front when some guy shoulder checked Jake. Accidentally? On purpose? I didn't know, but Jake whipped around fast and shouldered him back with an aggressiveness that shocked the smile right off my face.
What the hell?
Stopping dead in my tracks, I stared at the back of his head. He froze too, his shoulders tensing up in realization. But a heartbeat later, he turned and grinned in such a way that I melted and forgot all about it.
Our car was bright green and we scrambled in, him after me. I hoped that he would sit beside me, but he took the seat across instead.
With a chipper "Y'all enjoy," the operator shut the door and the machine whirred, lurching us forward.
I was getting kind of jittery and my hands shook a little, but I couldn't tell if it was from the excitement of finally getting on the Ferris wheel, or because of Jake.
Probably Jake.
Contain yourself, we don't want him to think we're childish. We also need to stop referring to ourselves in the Royal "We" because there's nothing royal about us.
Thirty seconds later, we stopped and the next car was filled.
Smoothing my skirts around me, I hummed along to the carnival music and focused on making sure I didn't squeal out loud.
Jake slouched in his seat with his legs splayed, his fingers tapping on the side rails. Clearly bored. Me, I just stared at him from beneath my eyelashes and thought he looked extra dreamy tonight with the red and green and blue and yellow neon shadows cast upon his face.
The third time we jerked to a stop, he looked at me and lifted an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
I giggled.
"What's the fucking point of this ride? Why are people waiting in that ridiculous line to get on this thing?"
Shrugging, I grabbed onto the rails and looked down. We were still low enough to the ground that I could make out Peyton's silhouette. He and Alice were huddled together in an alley between the lemonade and corn dog stands, talking. Good, she looked calmer.
Jake leaned over to see what I was looking at. "Is Bishop gonna bid?"
"No, I told him not to. I don't want to make a spectacle. Really, it doesn't matter who bids for me, it's just a stupid kiss."
He snorted. "Look at you, making it sound like you've kissed all the boys in the world, like it's no big thing."
I frowned at him.
He leaned forward in his seat, pretty green eyes shining. "You've kissed two people in your whole life. Him and me," he said, counting them off on his fingers. "In that order."
Scoffing, I adjusted an imaginary wrinkle on my dress. "You don't know that."
"Sure I do. You know what else I know? You've probably only kissed him once. Twice, max. How do I know? Because you're terrible at it." He grinned.
Heat burned on my cheeks. "I should slap you for that Jake Waites, but you're not worth the effort!"
He chuckled and settled back into his seat.
Ugh. He was such a dick sometimes. Good mood? Gone. Pissed as hell, I set my jaw, turned my face away from him and stared into the sky. I was immediately annoyed at the way the the still- remaining pink of the sunset prevented the stars from shining properly. The music I'd been enjoying seemed overly cheerful and fake, the bright lights gaudy and jarring.
"You want me to bid?"
I narrowed my eyes at him and stuck my nose in the air. "Why would you want to waste your money on my worthless kisses?" I turned away again and continued to brood, wishing I was anywhere but here.
"I'm being serious," he said. "If you want me to bid, I will." A pause. "I'll do it on behalf of your daddy, and I won't collect."
At the mention of my daddy, the tears I'd been holding stung at my eyes again.
If only he were here. Everything would be so different. I would be so different.
Jake's eyes went wide. "Aw shit, no. Please don't cry, not with me trapped in here with you. If you do, I'll have to jump out and I'm pretty sure I can't fly."
I giggled and wiped at my eyes. "No Jake, I don't want you to bid for me, can you imagine the gossip? That'd be worse than Peyton bidding. It's seriously not a big deal. I'm sure someone will do it."
He considered that. "I'll ask Chase to bid on behalf of me then... on behalf of your daddy."
That was actually a really good idea, except... "I don't wanna kiss Chase." Chase was kind of gross.
He rolled his eyes. "Garrett then."
"I don't want to kiss him either."
"Layla, beggars can't be choosers."
I pouted and he sighed.
"Who, then?" he asked.
You. Just you.
"How about Miguel?" I asked.
He groaned. "Not you too. Why are all the girls nursing secret crushes on him? I just don't get it, I'm so much cuter than he is."
I giggled some more, my bad mood reversing once again. I swear, he was driving me nuts, running hot then cold at the drop of of his hat.
"I mean, he is really handsome. And a little intimidating in that moody broody way. It's sexy. You know it's sexy."
I was trying to make him jealous, but if he was bothered by my words, he didn't show it.
"I'll ask him, but I can't make any promises. He's not very happy with either of us right now."
Truth was, Miguel would hate kissing me just as much as I would hate being kissed by a random. And you know what they say, misery loves company. If it were Miguel, I wouldn't feel molested or like I was being taken advantage of. We would just be two unfortunate people being forced to do something neither wanted, because, reasons.
Okay, so it didn't necessarily hurt that he was easy on the eyes. "Do you think he'll do it? People will think it's weird."
Jake scoffed. "He doesn't give a fuck about what anyone thinks."
I pictured Miguel's cool, unsmiling face, his quiet strength and his unwavering confidence. No, I couldn't imagine that he would. Oh, people would gossip about it for a long time after, but if it were him, I wouldn't have to worry about it. He was more than strong enough for me to lean on, if just for a little while. The knot in my stomach slowly unclenched. "Okay," I said. "Thank you."
"Just try not to look so pretty standing up there. I'm not made of the kind of money he is." Jake nodded sideways, referring to Peyton below us.
I smiled. I loved the way he talked, his drawl, the way he moved, his slow southern style. It was soothing and relaxing, it was familiar, it was home. He was my people.
The night turned beautiful again as we creaked up toward the top, and I basked in it, all of it. The calm breeze on my skin, Jake's nearness, his kindness. With him beside me, everything seemed a little easier.
But then his phone beeped.
By the way he grinned at the screen, I just knew it was a girl. Biting back a smile, he texted back.
I clenched my teeth.
Yes, yes, fair was fair, I was the one who wanted to be friends and all that jazz, but tell that to the green eyed monster rearing her ugly head. This? This right here was unacceptable.
I knew what I wanted to do and I would do it. After all, he was the one who told me I could do anything that I wanted.
"Hey, Jake."
He grunted without looking up. Whoever was on the other side of that damned phone had texted back and his fingers were moving over the screen at lightening speed, responding.
"You still want to kiss me," I said. "Even if you think I'm the worst kisser in the universe, you'd still do anything in the world to get me to kiss you again."
Phone? Gone. Jake scooted to the edge of his seat and leaned forward. "Don't get me all worked up if you're not gonna deliver."
I did what I did, because I could. I laughed. And I felt invincible, young, careless, reckless. I looked down my nose at him, loving the way he kept leaning closer and closer into me. Me, reeling him in. "I can do whatever I want and you'd still take whatever scraps I toss at you."
He grinned. "Don't I know it."
Principal Sims and his daughter Imani were in the car beneath us. "Okay, I'll kiss you once but wait until we reach the top so they don't see us."
He slid off his seat onto the floor, taking place among the loose popcorn kernels, discarded candy wrappers, and lost prize tickets.
"What are you doing?"
"You don't want them to see us? They can't see us if we sit down here."
I wrinkled my nose. "No way, I'm not sitting on the floor, my dress'll get dirty."
"So don't sit on the floor." He gave his denim clad thighs a slap. "Come on."
I couldn't back out now even if I wanted to, which I didn't. The only question was, sidesaddle or astride? I tried to scrounge up the courage to straddle him, because that seemed like the sexier thing to do, but try as I did, I simply didn't have the balls.
Sidesaddle it is, then.
But Jake put his hands on my knees, one on each side. Before I could react, he slowly pulled them apart, wider, really, than was appropriate, not that this was appropriate in any way, shape or form. Startled, I quickly pushed my skirt down in between my thighs to cover the essentials.
He grinned. "Just to get you thinking about the possibility."
Hokay, then. Now I was nervous as all hell. Serves me right, I guess. Mess with the best, die like the rest.
He hooked his hands behind my knees and tugged me down onto the middle of his thighs.
"Bible distance," he said, now him, reeling me in with his eyes. "Still plenty of room for the Holy Spirit between us."
I was pretty sure none of that mattered when his hands were up my skirt, running up and down the outside of my thi- okay nope, he was touching the insides too. The sensation that caused made my vision blur.
Oh no, Jesus wouldn't approve.
I was about to tell him so, but he removed his hands and clasped them behind his head. "Go on, do what you will, I'm yours for the taking."
Frowning, I shifted my weight and plucked at my lower lip with my fingers. "Now I'm all self-conscious."
"Don't be. There's no one in the world I'd rather kiss."
I smiled, pleased as punch at his words. "You sure do know how to talk so pretty."
"Enough talking," he said. "I'm just gonna sit here all quiet-like and you can do whatever you want to me, with me, for me, whatever you want, it's yours."
The last time I tried kissing him was still seared into the forefront of my brain.
Let's not repeat past mistakes. Take it easy, don't be over-eager. Keep your tongue in your mouth. You got this.
Heart beating in my throat, I took his face between my hands and brought his mouth to mine, lips pursed, mouth closed. And I just kind of rubbed my lips against his. I don't know. But I kept my eyes open and so did he, neither of us willing to look away.
"Close your eyes," he murmured against my lips. "All I see is one giant blue eyeball and it's starting to creep me the fuck out."
"You close your eyes then. I want to watch."
"Watch what?" he asked.
"You."
He swallowed.
"Jacob Waites," I teased, "Am I making you nervous?"
"Among other things."
Encouraged, I parted my mouth and took his lower lip between my teeth. And bit down. Not hard, but hard enough to make him jerk in surprise. "That's for sassing me."
"And this," I said, running my tongue over the same spot, "is for being so sweet to me about everything else."
"Okay, it's on." He shifted his knees up, sliding me down his thighs until I was flush against his body, no more space for anything between us now.
I couldn't think of much more after that because he didn't sit there all quiet-like. God no, he was all over me, his fingers in my hair, kissing me like his whole existence depended on it.
And I loved every moment of it.
Until he started getting all grabby with my breasts.
"No! Stop! Jake, stop it!" I cried, tearing my mouth away from his and slapping his hands off me.
"Yup, yeah, okay, I know, I know. Sorry." He dropped his hands and deflated, but he'd expected it.
"You're gonna wrinkle my dress." Then, with a wicked smile, I unzipped the back of it and slid the straps down, letting the top half of puddle around my waist. I didn't have to bother with the bra because I wasn't wearing one.
"Are you fucking serious right now?" The next sentence, he spoke directly to my breasts. "Oh my God Layla, why are you so perfect?"
I smiled. "Do you like them?"
I considered bouncing up and down a little to make them jiggle because that's what I did for fun in front of the mirror at home after I showered, but figured it was a little tasteless.
"More than you'll ever know."
I didn't know what I liked more, the feel of his hands and mouth on my breasts or watching him enjoy them so much, lost in his teenage boy heaven.
All I knew was that it was thrilling. He was thrilling. I was thrilling. We were thrilling. He made me feel like I was on top of the world, like I could do anything and do it well.
"You taste like cigarettes," I said between kisses.
"I'll quit if you promise to keep kissing me."
I pulled away so I could see his face. "Really?"
"I swear." He grinned. "Now kiss me some more."
***
"Easy, easy, stop, stop stop stop." Jake put his hands on either side of my head and pushed my lips off his.
"What? Why? No! I don't want to stop!" I cried, my breath ragged against his face. As far as I was concerned, I could sit here and kiss this boy forever while the rest of the world turned.
He grinned. "That's good. That's real good. But we're almost to the bottom and I'm gonna need a few minutes or I'm not gonna be able to get off this ride without everyone knowing what we were up to."
I wiggled my hips against his. "What, this?"
So I'd made a new friend. His name was Boner. At first I thought it was the fly of his jeans, but then it started to grow sideways. It was a little confusing because I'd always thought it pointed up, but I guess when it's smashed into denim, it goes wherever it can. When it had twitched against my thigh, I finally had my Aha moment.
Layla, meet Boner. Boner, Layla.
When I experimented by pushing up against it, Jake's fingers dug into my thighs, pulling me down harder against himself, his hips surging up on their own accord, like he had no control over it. It was fascinating, definitely something worthy of further investigation.
I couldn't wait to see it.
Jake grabbed my hips and forced me to still. "Quit that. And you're gonna want to fix your hair. Its all over the place."
Pulling up my dress, I slid back up onto the seat and reached for my ponytail.
"Hang on," he said, getting on his knees in front of me. "One more kiss."
I leaned forward to offer my lips, but he looked up at me and grinned. Slowly, he pulled my dress back down and dragged his tongue over my breast.
I gasped. "You're so bad."
"No worse than you are."
We agreed that he would go one way and me the other when we reached the bottom. Right before he opened the door, he turned to me. "I'm coming over tonight, wait up for me."
He didn't wait for an answer before he walked away.
Because we both knew that I would.
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