Some Like It Wild (4 page)

SEVEN:
Laney

S
unday morning, and I’ve never been happier to hear the pianist start the first hymn. Here I thought I’d have to worry about sinful thoughts of Jake during church. Little did I know today’s torture would be about Shane instead.

I’m already tired of all the good-natured, well-meaning questions about his absence. I can’t remember the last time I came home and went to church and Shane
wasn’t
with me. Evidently everyone else noticed that, too. One of the major downsides of small-town life is everyone knowing your business. It hasn’t yet hit the gossip mill that we aren’t together anymore, but it’s sure to spread like wildfire now.

I exhale in relief when Mom slides into the pew beside me. The grilling is over. For the moment, anyway.

As the choir fills, the banging of the door at the back of the church turns nearly every head in the building. My blood boils when I see Tori, my
ex
best friend, duck and walk quickly down the aisle toward the front. Toward me.

Surely to God she doesn’t have the audacity to come sit with me!

And yet, she does. My mother shifts her legs to the side to allow Tori to pass. I do not. I keep my back straight, my feet planted, and my eyes trained straight ahead.

When she sits down beside me, I scoot a fraction of an inch toward my mother. I hear Tori’s sigh, and I grit my teeth.

“Really? This is how you’re going to act? In
church
?” Tori whispers.

As much as I’d like to say to her, as much as I’d like to blister her ears, I keep my mouth shut and ignore her.

“Nice. Real Christian of you, Laney.”

I turn my blazing eyes on her. “
You
are telling
me
what’s Christian?” My laugh, though soft, is discernibly bitter. “Oh, okay.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You won’t even give me a chance to explain. You’re judging me without knowing all the facts.”

I whip my head back around to look at her. “I don’t need an explanation, Tori. I found you in bed with my fiancé. Unless you have a twin that I don’t know about, I’m not interested in your explanation.”

“It’s not what you think, Laney,” Tori says, her eyes pleading with me.

“I might be the preacher’s daughter and I might be tame by
some people’s
standards, but I’m not an idiot. I know what I walked in on.”

“You
think
you know what you walked in on,” Tori replies.

Suddenly, I’m tired. Tired of feeling hurt. Tired of feeling betrayed. Tired of trying to figure out the why of it all. Tired of feeling . . . less. Shane wanted a wild girl. He found one. End of story.

It just sucks that it was my very best friend in the whole world.

“It’s done, Tori. I’m over it. Over Shane. Over you.” I turn my attention back to the choir. I school my features to look politely interested, something I learned to do years ago so my father wouldn’t fuss at me for misbehaving in church. But inside, there’s a hole in my heart. I don’t know if she can hear me, and I don’t really care when I add, “It’s time to fill my life with different people. People who don’t lie.”

Despite the fact that I’m still aching over what my best friend and my fiancé did to me, the first person to pop into my head is Jake Theopolis. He doesn’t lie about who or what he is. What you see is what you get. Plain and simple. He’s a bad boy, yes. But he’s also a breath of fresh air. And my stagnant life feels very much in need of just that.

* * *

I’m glad I drove to church. This way, I can escape just after Daddy closes the service. I can get away before anyone else asks me about Shane, and before Tori can catch me.

I drive through town, not really thinking of where I’m going. I only know two things: I don’t want to be at church and I don’t want to go home. But what does that leave? As I drive aimlessly up and down the streets, through a town full of people I’ve known most of my life, I feel completely and utterly alone.

After half an hour of wasting gas, I hear the
ding
of the low-gas alarm, signaling that I have five miles left before I’m empty. I pull into the parking lot of Big A Grocery and turn around, heading back down route sixty, the way I’d come.

As I pass the fire station, a familiar Jeep catches my eye.

Jake.

My heart speeds up. How did I miss that before?

Several guys are standing just inside the huge, open bay door, gathered beside a bright red fire truck. I crane my neck to see if one of them is Jake, but I pass too fast to get a good look.

I glance in my rearview mirror, hoping to get a glimpse of him, but I don’t, and within a few seconds, they’re too far away for me to discern much, anyway.

Pressing on the accelerator, I try to put my curious desire to see Jake again out of my mind. But it’s no use. Within a mile or so, I’m hanging a U-turn in front of the Stop-N-Shop convenience store and heading back toward the fire station to make one more pass.

This time when I go by, the guys are dispersing. I slow down a bit and watch two men back toward some cars parked in the right side of the front lot. My stomach does a little flip when I see Jake step around the corner at the mouth of the bay and yell something to one of the guys leaving. They all laugh, and the man nearest Jake jabs him in the ribs with his elbow.

I don’t realize that I’ve slowed almost to a stop to stare at Jake’s gorgeous, laughing face until he turns and his eyes meet mine through the open passenger window of my car. My cheeks go up in flames.

Busted!

Quickly, I turn to stare straight ahead as I punch the gas pedal. The car takes off, but then with a chug-chug-chug, it comes to a stop just a little way past the fire station.

Mortified, bedazzled, and totally confused, I pump the gas and turn the key in the ignition. I glance around helplessly, unable to think of anything else to do. My brain isn’t working right and it only worsens matters when I hear the velvety voice rumble through the quiet interior of my car.

“Car problems?”

Leaning down at the passenger side window, looking inordinately pleased and ridiculously handsome, is Jake.

Of course it’s Jake! He’s ever-present when there’s humiliation to be witnessed.

“Uhhh, car problems?” I repeat, still feeling scatterbrained after seeing Jake laughing with his friends like that. I’ve never been more physically attracted to someone. Ever. “I guess. I mean, I don’t . . .”

Then it hits me. And my embarrassment triples.

I freakin’ drove back to stare at freakin’ Jake Theopolis and let my freakin’ car run out of freakin’ gas!

Dear God, just let me die!

I close my eyes and lean forward to rest my forehead on the steering wheel. For one fleeting moment in time, I think,
Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be back in church when I open my eyes
, and that none of this is real. That I didn’t just run my car out of gas to gawk at a guy. And then get discovered doing it.

But, alas, I’m not so fortunate. When I crack my lids and look straight ahead at my dash, I see the needle of accusation pointing to the E of humiliation on my gas gauge.

In the absence of any kind of intelligible speech on my part, Jake leans into the car and takes a look at the dials, too. He smells like soap and cinnamon, and I notice that he’s chewing a toothpick again.

He turns his head toward me, catching me looking at him. His amber eyes flash and his lips spread into a grin as he wiggles the toothpick between them.

“I’ve never had a girl run out of gas just to get my attention before.”

My face burns and my mouth works itself open and closed like that of a fish out of water as I try to deny it. But the words won’t come, mainly because they’re only half-truths. It wasn’t purposeful, but still, I let myself run out of gas because of Jake Theopolis. There’s just no getting around it. “That’s ridiculous!” I finally manage.

“Is it now?” Up close, I can count every long, black lash that surrounds his warm eyes, and all coherent thought goes right out the window. “Either way, you’re mine now, so let’s get this car out of the road.” Before I can argue, Jake backs away and puts his shoulder against the frame of the window. “Put it in neutral,” he shouts. I do as he says, not really having much choice.

With a grunt, Jake pushes until the car starts to roll. “Steer it to the curb,” he instructs, which I do. In no time, he has used his admittedly impressive strength to get the car out of the road. He walks around the front of the car and opens my door. “Set your emergency brake and roll up the windows.” When I’ve done both, he reaches into the car and takes my hand. “Now, come with me.”

I grab my purse and let Jake tow me back toward the fire station. “I didn’t lock the doors,” I tell him.

Jake grins down at me. “You’re worried about that in
this
town? No one would dare vandalize the preacher’s daughter’s car. They’d be afraid of getting struck by lightning.”

“What if they don’t know it’s my car?” I ask, ignoring his teasing.

He stops suddenly and turns toward me. “I guarantee you that everyone in this town knows. You make people notice you whether you intend to or not.” His eyes rake me from head to toe. “You just can’t help it. You have this touch-me-not quality about you that makes people want to touch. Even dressed like this. I’ve never found church clothes to be attractive until right this minute.” He leans in to whisper in my ear, “I’ve never wanted to peel them off someone before, either.”

Chills shoot down my arms and chest, making me glad I wore layers, even though they’re light ones. I can feel my nipples pucker into pebbles and I’d hate for him to notice something like that.

“You really have no shame, do you?” I ask.

Jake’s grin returns, more wicked than ever. “Not one bit.”

He tugs me forward and on to his Jeep. “Where are we going?” I ask as I climb inside. It smells like him. Soap and man. Clean, yet dirty. Sexy.

He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he yells to the men gathered at the door, watching the spectacle. “See you assholes tomorrow. I’m taking her to get some gas.”

I wait until Jake is situated behind the wheel and the motor is running before I speak. “Assholes? Friends of yours, I presume?”

“Nah.”

“They’re not? Then what are you doing here?”

“I’m going to be working here.”

“Working here? Doing what?”

“Fighting fires. I’m a fireman.”

Oh precious God! He’s a fireman.

Big, long hoses and sweaty skin flash through my mind.

With a wink that says he knows exactly what I’m thinking, Jake backs out of the parking lot. “So if you have any fires that need to be . . . put out, just let me know.”

I resist the urge to fan my hot face as we turn onto the main road. I make no reply to his comment; I just focus on the road ahead.

I’m counting the seconds until we get to the gas station when Jake surprises me by stopping right in the middle of the road. I turn my puzzled gaze to him just as the car behind us honks. “What are you doing?” I ask.

Jake doesn’t respond; he just watches me. His golden eyes are narrowed on me, turning my bones to warm liquid goo.

“Come to the Blue Hole with me. You look like you could use a little fun.”

“I-I don’t think—I mean, I don’t think I should—”

“I’m not inviting you to an orgy, Laney,” Jake interrupts. “It’s just a few locals getting together for some hot dogs and beer, and some music. One of my high school buddies will be there. He plays with Saltwater Creek.”

Saltwater Creek is a local band. I know this because my father has disapproved of them for the last decade.

“That doesn’t sound like—”

Before I can finish, he butts in again.

“Rather than put so much energy into making excuses, why don’t you just come with me? It’ll do you good. I promise.”

Years of my father’s warnings and my mother’s advice, coupled with a lifetime of knowing exactly who and what I want give me pause. But before I can turn him down, something else bubbles up. Some part of me that is inexplicably drawn to Jake, to the freedom he represents. He’s nothing like what I’ve ever thought I wanted or needed in my life, yet, at the same time, he feels like everything I want and need in my life
right now
.

If I go back to my car, there is only the drive back to my parents’ house awaiting me. That and possibly another run-in with Tori, which is not something I really want to tackle right now. But if I go with Jake . . .

Before I can think better of it, I find myself agreeing. “Okay. I’ll go. But if I need to leave, you have to promise to bring me back to my car.”

“Damn, it sounds like you think I’m going to kidnap you.”

The thought of being held by Jake, of being restrained and at his mercy sends an unexpected thrill down my spine. Throwing caution to the wind and going out with someone like him only intensifies it.

Pushing all troubling thoughts aside in favor of letting go of it all for once, I smile and lean my head back against the headrest, closing my eyes. “Maybe today I want to be kidnapped.”

Even over the revving of the engine as Jake takes off down the road, I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “I’ll see what I can do.”

EIGHT:
Jake

I
glance at Laney where she sits in the passenger seat. I’m sure this is her version of relaxed—hands folded demurely in her lap, spine ramrod straight, head tilted back, eyes closed. Something tells me that not only does she not kick back and
really
relax very often, but that today she needs it more than ever. She seems . . . troubled. A little more agreeable to leave care behind her. And I’m just the guy to drive her away from all her hang-ups. Whatever it is she’s running from, I can take her mind off it. I’ll give her something much more enjoyable to think about if she’ll let me.

And she will.

She’s already mine, whether she realizes it or not. We can be the perfect distraction for each other while we’re in town. Then we’ll go our separate ways. Her to the quiet, predictable life she’s no doubt always dreamed of, and me to the next rush. It’s the ideal arrangement—a short-term, no-strings romp with a girl that offers a little bit of a challenge. I’m all but licking my lips just thinking about it.

“So, you gonna tell me what it is that you’re trying to escape?”

In my peripheral vision, I see Laney’s eyes pop open, but she doesn’t raise her head. “What makes you thinking I’m trying to escape something?”

“Oh, come on. A girl like you—gorgeous, great job, bright future—comes back to
this place
to take a random assignment and move back in with her parents. That’s got ‘running’ written all over it.”

I hear her sigh as she turns her head on the rest to stare out the window.

“Just trying to figure out what to do with my life. That’s all.”

“Seems to me like you’ve got everything going for you. What’s there to figure out?”

“You’d be surprised,” she says softly.

I get the feeling there’s a lot she’s not saying and doesn’t want to talk about, which is fine. I’m not really the kind of guy that likes to get that involved, anyway. I’m more curious than anything. I’ve never met a woman quite like Laney. She intrigues me. But beyond that, I just want her. Plain and simple. Nothing more. Just her in my bed, warm and soft and moaning my name. Yep. That’s it.

And I’d prefer it sooner rather than later.

“Well, lucky for you, you’re in the company of the one man who can make you forget all your worries. Just leave it to me.”

* * *

The Blue Hole is actually a deep spot in the river that happened to coincide with a brief widening, so it’s like a private cove, surrounded by trees. There’s a beach area between two big boulders, one of which is flat at the very top, making it the perfect platform for diving. There’s also a tire swing that flings you right out into the deepest part of the hole. I mean what the hell kind of country hangout would it be without a tire swing? All in all, it’s a damn cool place to chill out with friends.

Or work your charms on a goody-goody preacher’s daughter.

It takes about an hour to get there. Neither of us has said much, and that’s fine with me. I’m not one of those people who feels the need to fill every silence with small talk. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’d rather people keep their mouth shut unless they have something to say. Don’t talk just for the sake of talking. That’s one thing that ninety-nine percent of the women I’ve been involved with (however briefly) have done to irritate the shit out of me—talk too much.

But not this one. Laney seems content to stare out the window and keep her thoughts to herself. I must admit it makes me wonder what she’s thinking about, though. Is it possible that she’s daydreaming about me pulling off the road and shutting off the engine? About me dragging her out of the Jeep and walking her into the woods? About me raising up her chaste little skirt and feeling her wet panties? About me tearing them off and putting my fingers inside her? About sliding her hot, tight little body down over my cock until she loses her breath?

Damn, I hope that’s what she’s thinking about!

Just in time to save me from getting a raging hard-on, I see the line of cars that leads up to the turn off the main road. I bypass all of them in favor of exercising my fully equipped four-wheel drive and taking to the woods to park right up next to the edge of the cove. When I cut the engine, I can hear the music before I even open the door.

I glance over at Laney. “Ready to have some fun?”

She gives me a small, doubtful smile and nods once.

I walk around to open the passenger door and help Laney out. For one thing, my Jeep is pretty high and she’s pretty tiny, but more than that, my mother taught me better. Even though I was young when she died, there are some things that stuck. This is one of them.

I take her hand in mine and lead her through the trees to the waterfront. There is a total of about thirty people in attendance, I’d guess. Some are in the water playing chicken, some are lined up to try out their acrobatic skills on the tire swing that hangs from a tree, and some are lounging on beach towels in the dappled sun.

I see lots of tan skin revealed by lots of skimpy bikinis, which is just the way I like it. Makes me wish Laney had something else to put on.

I glance at the three guys sitting on a fallen log at one end of the beach. Two are playing guitar and one is thumping his leg in time with the music as he sings backup to the lead guitarist. He’s the drummer. Drum-less, of course.

Since they’re in the middle of a song, I steer Laney toward the table set up at the edge of the trees.

“You hungry?” I ask as we approach.

She nods.

“Somebody always brings a shitload of food to these things so everyone can help themselves.”

“Should we have brought something?”

“Nah. He who throws it feeds it,” I tell her as I walk up behind the “chef” and tap him on the shoulder. “Can I get two hot dogs, man?”

When he turns around, I see a face that looks vaguely familiar, but like most of my life here in Greenfield, I’ve tried (and have mostly succeeded in) blocking it out.

“Sure thing, Jake,” he answers. He starts to turn around, but does a double take when he sees who’s at my side. “Holy shit! Laney Holt. I never thought I’d see the day . . .”

I watch the guy’s eyes slide slowly over Laney from the top of her shiny head to the pink-painted toes peeking out of her shoes.

“See what day? When she’d take her chances on a guy like me?” I ask amicably.

The guy’s eyes flicker back to me and widen for a second before his cheeks turn bright red and he starts fumbling through an apology. “No, that’s not what I meant. I meant to say . . . um . . . what I really meant was . . .”

“It’s all right, Marshall,” Laney jumps in, sweetly rescuing the poor bastard before he makes things worse. “I knew what you meant. I guess we all grow up and start living our own lives after a while, right?”

Marshall, who I can almost remember but really don’t want to, laughs uncomfortably. His eyes dart over to me a few times before he finally just gives up and turns around to stab us each a fat, blistered hot dog.

I grab a couple of plates and buns, and hand one to Laney. We walk along the table, putting condiments on our dogs and taking a handful of chips before we make our way back past Marshall whatever-the-hell-his-last-name-is.

“What’s to drink, Emeril?”

“Beer on tap in the barrel over there and purple people eater in the cooler right beside it. Take your pick.”

I nod my thanks, snag two cups, and lead Laney over to the drinks.

“What’s your poison?” I ask as I set my plate down to fix our drinks.

“Uh, what’s a purple people eater?”

“Pure grain, grape pop, and fruit.”

“Mmm, that sounds good. I think I’ll have that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, why?”

I shrug. “No reason.” I think she has no idea what pure grain is.

I fill her glass and then pour myself a cup of beer from the tap. We head to a grassy spot in the shade, right at the edge of the sand and sit down to eat.

By the time Laney delicately picks her way through her hot dog and chips, I’ve already gone back for seconds and thirds. When she finally wipes her mouth with her napkin, I ask, “Done?”

“Yes.”

“Good?”

She grins. “Yes.”

“More?”

“No, thank you.”

“More to drink?” I ask, eyeing her empty cup. She debates for a second before she agrees.

“Yeah, I think I’ll have one more glass.”

She comes to her feet and we take our plates to the trash bag and get refills on our drinks.

“Hell, if it ain’t Jake Theopolis,” I hear someone say loudly from behind us. I turn to see Jet Blevins making his way toward us. He’s an old high school buddy, as well as the lead guitarist and singer of Saltwater Creek.

“Damn, you look scruffier every time I see you, man,” I say to him when he stops in front of us. He looks like a typical band member with his pierced brow and various visible tattoos. God knows what we
can’t
see.

He grins and playfully punches my shoulder.

“And you get sturdier. What the hell are you eatin’, bro? Steroids? You know that shit’ll turn your balls into raisins, right?”

“Are you kidding me? The only juice that goes into this body is right here,” I say, indicating my beer. “Nectar of the gods.”

“You got that right,” he says, clasping my hand and pulling me in for a bear hug. “Good to see you, man. Where you been?”

“Oh, you know, dragging bodies out of burning buildings, saving lives, playing hero. Same ol’, same ol’.”

Jet turns to look at Laney. “I think your humble date here forgot leaping tall buildings in a single bound.”

I laugh, but Laney doesn’t. “Um, he’s not my date. We actually work together.”

“Hot damn, you’re a fireman, too?”

That makes her smile. “No, I’m a paralegal. I’m working on Jake’s family’s estate. Laney Holt.”

“Immune to superman’s charms, huh?” he asks Laney as he reaches for her hand, his eyes taking her in like he didn’t really see her before. And like he’s hungry for what he missed.

With longish black hair and pale blue eyes, Jet isn’t a bad-looking guy. I’ve never really paid much attention. He’s got a decent personality. Again, nothing I’ve ever given much thought. Until now, when he decides to flirt with Laney. And for some reason, that irritates the shit out of me, making it harder to play nice.

“I haven’t even begun to charm her yet, so back off, man,” I say, lightheartedly cutting off his handshake. I temper my words with a smile, but there’s still a bite to them. He’d be wise to take note of that.

“Wait, Holt. As in Graham Holt, the preacher?”

Laney all but sighs. “Yes.”

Jet throws back his head and lets out a howl of laughter before he sobers and looks back to me. Appreciation is in his eyes. He holds up his fist. “Dude! Nice!” I bump my curled fingers against his and then he turns his attention back to Laney. “Well, the pleasure is all mine, Laney Holt, preacher’s daughter. I’m Jet Blevins, singer, guitarist, damn fine man.”

“I see I’m not the only ‘humble’ one,” I mutter.

“Gotta let her know her options,” he teases, giving Laney a wink. I make a point to keep my fingers relaxed, even though I want to ball them up into a fist and punch Jet right in his shit-talking mouth.

“Laney Holt! Ohmigod!”

The shrill voice saves Jet from getting himself into trouble. Or at least that’s the way I see it.

We all turn to see a curvy redhead making her way toward us. She’s wearing a string bikini that shows off her ample cleavage to perfection. Her face isn’t bad, either.

“You probably don’t remember me. We met at Shane’s apartment last year. I was dating his cousin, Rod.”

I watch expressions flit across Laney’s face as she digs for the memory. “No, no, I
do
remember you. Hannah, right?”

“Yes. Ohmigod, you
do
remember!” The girl seems overly pleased. Good God, what’s the big deal?

Women.

“So nice to see you again.”

“You, too,” Hannah says. “I didn’t think I’d know anybody here. Shane was supposed to be coming, but he couldn’t make it. So now it’s just me and my friend, Lisa. She’s a freshman in college this year, but she grew up here in Greenfield. Shane knows her, but I doubt you would. I think she’s a few years younger than you. “

“Of course Shane knows her,” Laney mumbles.

“Pardon?” Hannah asks.

“You’re probably right,” Laney says, glossing over her comment. Hannah might not have heard her, but I sure did. “Greenfield is small, but I’m sure I don’t know everyone.”

“So, are you gonna swim? The water feels great. This is such a cool little spot.” Hannah giggles. She’s very enthusiastic. And bubbly. And she makes my head feel like it’s about to explode. I’m about thirty seconds from excusing myself to go jump in said water and not come back out until she’s gone.

“No, I didn’t bring a suit. This was an . . . impromptu trip.”

“No worries. I can loan you something. When I heard this was a swimming hole, I brought a suit and some shorts, too. Just in case. I mean, you never know. You’re welcome to the shorts.”

“No, thank you. I’ll just—”

I perk up at her offer, even if Laney doesn’t. “Oh, come on, Laney. Didn’t you hear? The water’s great. And everyone needs to ride the swing at least once,” I add, glad that I didn’t leave the girls to their conversation and miss this turn of events. Laney. In shorts. Wet. This is definitely heading in the right direction.

“I’d really better not.”

“Today’s about fun, remember? And I’m not in the habit of taking no for an answer.”

She wants to argue. I can tell. But she’s too polite. Southern girl all the way to the bone.

I turn to Hannah. “Go get them. I’ll talk her into it.”

Hannah grins, happy to be a part of the pile-on. “I’ve got an even better idea. Come with me, Laney. You can change in my car.”

The smile Laney gives her is almost as tight as her ass. “Okay.”

“Here,” I say before she walks off, pushing her refilled cup into her hand. “Seems like you need it.”

She gives me a frosty glare and stalks off with Hannah.