Falling In (15 page)

“Did you just call me Evangeline?” she asks, looking over her shoulder in disbelief.

I did.

“Shit. Becky. I—” I trail off, not knowing what the fuck to say. I pull out of her and sit down.

“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I didn’t see it. The way you looked at her at the party. And Jesus, the hurt and confusion in her eyes when I told her you’d asked me out. Are you guys having an affair? Oh my God!” she exclaims, covering her mouth and looking horrified.

“No! No, we’re not having
anything
. She hasn’t done anything. And neither have I. Nor will we ever, okay? It’s a simple crush. Infatuation. Wanting something you can’t have or whatever. Okay? Please don’t say anything. It’s honestly nothing.” I pray that I sound convincing enough. I can’t let word get out about this. Evangeline doesn’t need or deserve rumors spread about her, nor does her family.
Especially when they aren’t even true
.

“But you do like her? I mean, obviously you do, if you’re picturing yourself fucking her while you’re fucking
me
.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Becky. That was shitty as hell. You were amazing. Really.” She looks away, ego clearly bruised.
Shit, I’m an asshole
. I turn her face back toward me. “Honestly, you were great. I’m just messed up in the head right now. I do—like her. A lot. But it’ll never happen, because she has Cole and they’re, you know— ”

“
Perfect
.” She provides, rolling her eyes.

I laugh. “Yeah, and with a perfect family and a perfect life. I’d be an even bigger asshole than I already am if I fuck that up for her. As much as I want to, I just can’t, which is where you came in. It doesn’t mean I didn’t want you though, because I did. Look at you. I just can’t get
her
out of my head.”

“You think I could get another shot at it?” she asks as she stands up, pushing her clothes down her body until they hit the floor. She steps out of them, kicking them away, baring her naked body to me. My dick goes hard again at the sight. Her eyes lower, and she licks her lips seductively. She kneels down in front of me, pushing my legs apart, and with her eyes never leaving mine, she takes off the condom, ties it, and tosses it aside. Then she dips her head down, licking my cock like a Popsicle, sucking any leftover come she can find clean off of it. After she gets every last drop, she grabs ahold of my cock, places the head inside her warm mouth, and slowly moves down until I hit her tonsils, then comes back up again. She continues this slow torture while working my balls in one hand. I come hard in her mouth before too long, grasping her hair. I didn’t say Evangeline’s name this time, but I didn’t scream out Becky’s, either.

Yeah, I’m all kinds of fucked.

After my happy ending, we get dressed, and we end up talking for another two hours. She actually isn’t a daft as I thought she was. She told me about her divorce, while I filled her in more about this thing with Evangeline. She was surprisingly non-judgmental, and promised not to say anything, which was a relief. It’s still pretty early, about ten o’clock, when I decide it’s time to go. I give her a kiss on the cheek and say goodbye, telling her I will call her again soon as I open the door to leave. After I walk through the doorway, she stops me.

“Hey, Jake!” I turn around. “About this thing with Evie—be careful, okay? No matter what the outcome, someone is bound to get hurt. Be prepared for that someone to be you.”

I nod once before turning back around and getting into my car. I put the keys into the ignition and start it up. The Black Keys’ soulful sound replaces the silence, and I head back home.

Back to her.

***

Evangeline

I wanted to tell him not to go. That was one reason why I went over there early. I imagined this whole scenario of us taking the kids to get ice cream together, playing board games, and then after they went to bed, we’d stay up and talk and drink wine and just go from there. But once he opened that door, that dream faded pretty quickly. I had no right to ask him to cancel. And then there was the obvious issue—Cole.
How messed up in the head am I right now?
He goes away for one night kicking ass at coaching baseball, and I’m thinking of having another man over.

Jesus.

So after all of that logical thinking I did earlier, why the hell am I outside, pacing back and forth with my third glass of Merlot, waiting to see if Jake will pull up to his house?

I blame the wine.

As each hour passes, I get more and more worked up. It’s 10:30. The kids have been asleep for over two hours.
Maybe he’s not coming home tonight. Goodness, of course he isn’t—he’s with Becky Lewis, for fuck’s sake
.
What was I thinking, not asking him to stay?
I don’t care anymore that he isn’t mine. He shouldn’t be hers, or anyone else’s, either. Yes, I know I’m being beyond unfair and completely irrational. But that’s what three and a half glasses of wine will do to a girl. All this pacing is starting to make my head spin.

I sit down on the porch and down the last half of my wine.
Okay, ten minutes.
I’m going to wait ten more minutes, then call it quits. 

It only takes five minutes to pass by before I see Jake’s car pulling into his driveway. I let out a huge sigh of relief that he didn’t stay over. But my fists are still clenched at my sides as my mind, body, and all of the alcohol that is swimming in it thrum with frustration, screaming at me, telling me that he slept with her. I stand up and lean against the beam for support, watching him get out of that sexy ass car. He obviously saw me sitting here when he pulled in, so he walks over to me slowly, cautiously. Uncertain. He stops before the bottom step.

“Hey. What are you doing out here, Evangeline?” he says with apprehension.

“Did you fuck her?”

“Wait. What?” He’s so taken aback he literally takes a step backward as if I pushed him.

“Did. You. Fuck.
Her
? I ask, taking a step forward with each word, landing right in front of him. He looks at me like he’s never seen me before. And he hasn’t.
Not this version, at least
. The Latina fire has been lit, and I’m ready to play. “Well, did you? Answer me, God damn it!”

“Yes. I fucked her!” he seethes out, grabbing my waist and pushing me back against the porch railing. His face is mere centimeters from mine. His furious lips are so close, I could press mine against his by just tilting my head. “Is that what you want to hear? Huh? That I fucked her? That I fucked her with my mouth against her front door, making her come in minutes. Then I carried her to her couch and fucked her hard from behind, ramming into her sweet pussy over and over. And after that, she sucked my cock until I was dry. Is that what you want to hear, Evangeline? Is that enough information, or do you need me to break it down a little more for you?” His breathing is heavy, and his eyes are filled with fury.

I don’t say anything. There are no words. My eyes fill up with tears, spilling over and down my face as I begin to sob uncontrollably.

I mean, I become a complete, blubbering mess.

“Shit, Evangeline.” Jake says quietly, pulling me into a hug. His eyes soften, anger dissipating.

“I’m
ssssorrry
. I
sssshouldn’t
have
asssked
you that.” I stutter out while I continue to weep like a little girl who just got scolded for eating a cookie before dinner. Jake holds me tighter, trying to wipe away all of my fallen tears, but fails miserably at the task.

               “No, Evangeline. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m a fucking asshole. God, please stop crying, baby. I don’t ever want to make you cry.” He begs, giving me a kiss on the forehead. He pulls back, looking absolutely crushed. But then a smile spreads slowly across his face. “I think I can tell you something that happened tonight that actually might make you feel better.”

I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand, the sobs dwindling into sniffles. “Unless you can tell me it was like throwing a hotdog down a dark and cold hallway, then it’s very doubtful.”

“Oh shit, Evangeline.” He bursts out laughing that perfect laugh that sends a million butterflies fluttering all around inside my tummy. I reluctantly give him a small smile back. But the smile drops when he moves in even closer, pressing his body into mine. My breathing becomes stilted, and my body heats up, going into overdrive. He tilts my chin up so our eyes meet. Then he runs his hands down my cheeks, then my neck, my eyes closing instinctively. When he runs his fingers over the tops of my breasts and down my stomach until he lands on my hips, gripping them tightly, I think I might have stopped breathing altogether. His self-assured smirk proves that to be true.

Asshole
.

“Tonight when I was fucking her,” he stops when he hears me suck in a breath and close my eyes tightly. He pulls me into another hug, resting his chin on my head. “I was thinking of you the whole time. I pretended I was fucking you, doing those things to you—tasting you, hearing you scream my name, feeling you from the inside. All
you
. So much so that when I came, I didn’t call out ‘Becky.’ I screamed ‘Evangeline.’” 

I pop my head up so fast, I collide with Jake’s jaw. “Oh shit.”

“Shit, Evangeline.”

He takes a few steps back, holding his jaw in pain. I walk over to him, cradling his face in my hands. “You really said my name?” I ask, unable to contain my smile.

“Yeah, I did.”

I absentmindedly jump into his arms, knocking him completely off balance. We fall onto the cold, damp grass with a harmonized chorus of curse words. As we land, my body rolls off him and we’re both holding our stomachs, and laughing our asses off.

As our fits of giggles begin to wane, he moves closer to me. My head resting on his shoulder. We stare up at the clear night sky, shining stars scattered above us.

“Poor Becky.” I say quietly, almost feeling bad for her.
Almost
.

“Nah, she handled it pretty well. To be honest, I think she kinda knew my mind was on someone else,” he says, turning his head to me. I can feel his eyes burning a hole into the side of my face, but I don’t turn toward him, terrified of what I would do if I did.
I don’t trust myself around this man
. I let out a deep breath.

“What is this, Jake?”

“I don’t know.”

“I love him.”

“I know.”

I finally turn to face him, our eyes connecting instantaneously. We don’t say anything more for a while, both of us stuck in our own heads. We just stare at each other, studying every line, memorizing each freckle. He has three in the shape of a triangle on the side of his left eye. I trace them softly with my finger before I break the silence.

“I should go back inside before we do something we’ll regret.”

With a reluctant nod, he stands up, holding his hands out for me to take and pulls me up against him. I let him hold me in his arms one more time. He moves his nose into my unruly hair, inhaling the scent.

“God, I love the way your hair smells.” I can hear the smile in his voice.

“Perv.” I say with a smile of my own.

He chuckles in my hair. “Not gonna deny that one. So I’ll see you tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah, I’ll text you when the kids get up. If you’re a good boy, there might even be pancakes!” I say as I pull away from him, wiggling my eyebrows.

“
Hmm
, pancakes. Yes. But breakfast with you and Cole? I don’t know.” He says, wincing like it would be physically painful.

“It won’t be that bad. I’ll be there.”

“Yes. And so will Cole. And if I have to watch him kiss you or even touch you in any way, I’ll most likely be fucking stabbing someone with a fork.”

I laugh. He doesn’t. He’s straight up serious.

“You’re coming, and I’m pretty sure we still have some baby forks you can use. No stabbing, unless it’s your delicious and badass pancakes that this lady will be making you.”

He gives me an unsure look and shakes his head.
Time to pull out the big guns
. I jut out my lip. His eyes instantly narrow, and as if he can’t help himself, he rubs his thumb across it. I move my tongue across my lip, licking his thumb in the process. He hisses and drops his head back.

“Jesus, Evangeline.”

“So I’ll see you for breakfast, then?” We both smirk.

“Yeah, I’ll see you for breakfast.”

I take a step back, needing the space for a minute. I swear, he’s like a drug that I just can’t kick.

“Goodnight, Jake.”

“Goodnight, Evangeline. Oh hey, give Ben a kiss for me, okay? He was good for you, right?”

“He was an angel, although we might have to keep an eye out for him and Cady. They’re becoming awfully close.” I say with a smile, remembering how cute they were earlier, sitting next to each other any chance they got, never keeping their eyes off each other, in complete and total puppy love.

“I don’t blame him—you Moreno girls are hard to resist.” He says with a cheesy grin on his face. I shake my head and walk backwards to the porch, never keeping my own eyes off of him.