Page 435 of Seasons of Love
My hand froze mid-wiping the board, and I turned around.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he was so excited to work here, and I know you guys get along. But he’s not been home much, and sometimes I worry about him. Do you think maybe he’s seeing a new boy?”
Frank referring to Jake as young enough to date boys didn’t feel right, and the thought that Jake could be out there meeting other men felt even worse, despite me knowing it wasn’t true.
“Jake’s a grownup, Frank. Maybe he’s just having fun. He’s a very responsible person and has done a wonderful job. I’m not worried about my position here, so I can tell you this, he’s talented and hardworking, and I couldn’t have picked anyone better to work with.”
“It’s not his work ethic that I’m worried about. It’s his heart.” Frank went over to the window facing the gardens and the beach beyond. “I loved my sister dearly, but Jake deserved better than her. He’s always been such a good boy. I’m proud to have raised him as my son, but…I’d hate to see him with his heart broken again.”
I wasn’t sure what Frank meant, but if it was something personal and important, I hoped that one day Jake felt comfortable enough with Griff and me that he would open up and share it.
How could I reassure Frank that Jake was okay without giving us away?
“Frank, um…Jake has been staying with us. I mean, I don’t know everything he does, but we’ve been working closely, and he’s become a friend to Griff and me. When we’ve worked late, he’s stayed at our house.”
He looked at me. His brows were a little furrowed, but he nodded and then smiled.
“Okay, if he’s with you, then he’s okay. Thank you.”
I nodded.
My head was still all over the place when Jake met me in the staff parking lot later.
“Hey, everything okay?” he asked. I saw his hand move to touch me, but he stopped himself in time. We were in plain sight, and it wouldn’t be smart to show any kind of affection.
“Yeah, we’ll talk about it when we get home.”
“Okay.”
As soon as we were outside the resort, I grabbed Jake’s hand and laced our fingers together before resting our hands on my leg. Jake sighed, and when I looked at him, he was more relaxed.
“I missed Griff today. Wouldn’t it be nice if he worked at the resort too?” Jake said.
I laughed out loud.
“No. I’d never get any work done, and I’d be sporting wood all day. It’s bad enough as it is. Do you know what it does to me when you walk past smelling of our shower soap and Griff’s aftershave? It’s like a multisensory explosion goes off inside of me.”
He chuckled.
“And if you’re not careful, I’ll have to fire you,” I threatened.
“Oh yeah? And what kinds of things would I have to do to get fired?” he asked, leaning over the console to get closer to me. “Should I do this?” He ran his other hand from my shoulder all the way down to rest on my crotch.
“Jake,” I warned.
“Well, tell me then. How naughty would I have to be?”
He was so lucky that we were pulling into the driveway, and it wasn’t overlooked, so as soon as I put the car in park, I pulled him to me and slammed my mouth onto his.
Our tongues swirled around each other with the desperation of someone on the edge of life.
“Wow,” Jake said. “It’s a good thing we didn’t do this earlier because I’d have fainted.”
I gave him another, smaller kiss and said, “Come on, let’s see if we can get dirty before dinner.”
He was by the front door with his keys ready before I even locked the car.
