Page 12

Danielle

“W hat the hell, Jake?” I seethe as I open the door and he stumbles inside. “Seriously? What are you doing? Have you been drinking?” The last question is rhetorical. I can tell by the way he’s struggling to keep his balance, and I can smell the liquor on him. Even in his current state, Jake immediately notices Mike standing in the hall a few feet behind me.

“He’s here?” Jake whines. “I heard you ditched me for one of the baseball players, but I didn’t actually believe it. I told everyone you would never do that to me. But it’s true?”

“How are you even in North Bay right now?”

“I told you I’d be home this week. I drove back this afternoon, but when I got here there was a green truck in your driveway. I’ve been waiting for hours to talk to you. Letting you walk away after that kiss was a mistake.” He squeezes his eyes shut like the overhead light in this room is too much. Mike clears his throat, claiming space in this conversation without saying a word.

This is ridiculous. I refuse to be the prize in some pissing contest between the two of them.

“I want both of you to hear this right now.” I point my finger at Jake first, then at Mike. “Nobody ‘lets’ me do anything. Got it?” Mike smirks, seeming almost amused by my fiery side, while Jake huffs. “As for you, Jake, we both knew right away that kiss wasn’t going to lead to anything more. We talked about it. Mike happened to be there that night, and yes, we drove home together. But my leaving the gala had nothing to do with him.” The last part of my argument feels weak, even as I’m making it.

I appreciate how Mike is standing back, and so far he’s letting me handle this. Although, he’s a big dude, so just by standing at the edge of the foyer he is still making his presence known. Jake is glaring at him, and I can see how much Mike being here is getting to my intoxicated about-to-be-former best friend. Mike barely moves, except to cross his arms and take steady breaths through his nostrils. Jake is not small, but Mike is a professional athlete so he’s even taller and more muscular. A drunken Jake stands no chance against him if this turns into a fight. I hope it doesn’t get that far. Mike doesn’t speak, even when Jake points at him and starts hurling accusations.

“You followed her.”

Mike only nods at him once.

“Jake. It’s none of your business who I spend my time with. For the last time, why are you here? What do you want?”

He scoffs. “Isn’t that obvious? I want you, Dan-Dan. It’s only been three days since you were in my bed.” He’s standing so close that little droplets of spittle hit my face as he talks. “We shouldn’t have left it like that.” Jake is speaking to me, but he is staring straight at the other man in my house. He’s doing this on purpose. He wants Mike to think I slept with him. My eyes dart to Mike, too. He doesn’t react. His body is still not moving, and the expression on his face is neutral.

I let out a heavy sigh, thankful that Mike doesn’t respond. He knows that Jake and I were on a date at that gala, and even if he didn’t see the kiss, he definitely knows about it now.

While there is a part of me that will always love Jake, I have never been more irritated with him than I am at this moment. It’s becoming more and more obvious that I made the right decision when I walked away on Saturday night. Whatever small part of me that might have still been harboring a crush or any kind of hope that there could be something between us has been thoroughly squelched by this outburst.

“Let’s talk about this in the morning. You need to leave. Go home and go to bed,” I order Jake, then turn to Mike to explain. “This is Jake, the one who took me to the gala, although I’m sure you figured that out. His parents live right across the street. He can walk.” I try to push Jake toward the door, but he is too big for me to move by myself.

“Mmm,” Mike hums a non-committal noise.

“Can you just help me get him home? His dad is going to be so pissed.”

Jake groans at that.

Mike sighs before he speaks.

“No.”

I take a step back from him, surprised. Maybe Jake’s words did upset him. “Okay. I’ll handle him then, but that means our night is over.”

“Sorry,” he says quickly. “I wasn’t blowing you off. I meant no, I don’t think he should go home. Look, we can talk more about it later, but I’ve been there. Nothing good is going to come out of letting his parents see him like this. I’ll take him home with me.” Mike sounds resigned.

“What? Like, to murder him?” Because I kind of want to.

Mike lets out a loud laugh. “How many times do I need to promise you I’m not a murderer? And why do you always think that I would be so bad at it? If I planned to murder him, I wouldn’t tell you I was taking him home with me. Have you never seen a single crime show? That’s like rule number one. How about I just let him crash on my couch instead?” He shakes his head at me, but now he’s smiling.

I’m still baffled by his suggestion. “You don’t even know Jake. He just busted in and interrupted our first, or fourth, or whatever date. You want to do him a favor?”

Jake’s my best friend and I don’t even want to deal with him right now.

“Exactly. He’s your friend. He’s important to you, and you’re important to me. Besides, I know him better than you think.” Mike looks at the floor.

I’m important to him . We will so be circling back to that later. But about the second thing he said…

“What does that mean?” I can feel my forehead wrinkle in confusion. Balancing my relationships with these men is giving me a headache.

Jake slumps against the wall. His eyes are droopy. “I don’t feel so great, you guys.”

I ignore him and keep my attention on Mike. “How do you know Jake?” I don’t think they’ve met before tonight, other than briefly seeing each other at the gala the other day.

Mike shakes his head again, more slowly this time. “I just meant we have a lot in common.”

Jake wobbles and I move to prop him up with my body, pulling his arm around my shoulder while I continue the conversation. “How so?”

This seems important. Mike slides himself under Jake’s other arm, taking the weight from me. He crouches down so he is at my level and we can guide Jake together. I try to ignore the fact that Mike smells like spices and fresh laundry, which is much more pleasant than the sour smell coming from my inebriated friend.

“It’s really something we should talk about another time. If you want to help me get Jake in my truck, I’ll take him back to my place tonight to sleep it off. Is this a regular thing for him? I saw how hard he hit the bar at the gala.”

“I honestly don’t know.”

This was not at all how I expected the night to end. One minute I’m making out with Mike on the couch, and the next he’s leaving for a sleepover with the guy who took me on a date last weekend? This feels so weird, but Mike’s right. The Gibsons will be devastated to see Jake like this. Mr. Gibson gave us so many lectures growing up about the dangers of drugs and alcohol that he’s still the voice in my head scolding me if I even think about over-indulging. If Mike is offering his couch, it might be a better idea than trying to sneak Jake back into his parents’ house, but Jake is going to be so pissed when he sobers up and realizes what happened. He will not like the idea of me avoiding him and sending him off with my date, and he will like the idea of letting Mike play the hero even less.

But if Mike is offering to help, then Jake can go right ahead and be pissed off about it. Jake’s the one going around interrupting other people’s dates. He had his chance with me last weekend and he spent Friday night with a bottle in his hand and ignoring me.

Once Jake is in the truck, I slam the door shut and wipe my hand down my face, frustrated with the memories from last weekend. Mike approaches me slowly with both arms extended, like I’m a racoon he found in the garage and he’s not sure if I’m going to attack.

“I’ll take care of him, I promise,” Mike tells me. He puts his hands on my shoulders.

“You shouldn’t have to.” I have half a mind to stomp my feet like a toddler. I don’t like the whiny tone taking over my voice, but I can’t control it. “This is ridiculous. Why is Jake doing this? This is the second time he’s ruined an evening for me in less than a week. It’s not like him. He’s always been a good friend. I’m so sorry.”

I sniffle as my eyes start to well up, which only makes me angrier. I hate that I cry when I’m mad. People have always treated me like either I’m too weak to deal with the situation or I am trying to manipulate them with my tears. Mike doesn’t seem to think either of those things. He just continues the conversation as if my eyes are not leaking.

“Don’t apologize. Only Jake can answer for his behavior. And he will. We all do.” Mike’s expression is solemn and he sounds lost in thought. “I’m sure he is not trying to hurt you, but you still have every right to feel upset. I haven’t spent much time around Jake, and I know you say he is a good friend, but the way he’s been treating you this week is shitty.” His words make me feel seen and validated.

I sniff again and wipe my nose on my sleeve. Through the window of the truck, it looks like Jake has already fallen asleep. His head is back, eyes closed, and his mouth is gaping open. Mike closes the distance between us and wraps me in a tight hug. Welcoming the comfort, I reach my arms up and link my hands around the back of his neck.

“I had a lot of fun with you tonight. We’ll get that tea soon,” he tells me, pulling his torso back just a bit. His arms are still hooked around my waist and my legs are pressing against his.

I want to tug him back into me, but instead I bring my hands down and pat his chest. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“Good. I hope you do.” He leans down to rub his nose back and forth on mine and whispers, “Can I give you a goodnight kiss?” As soon as I nod, he brushes his lips against mine so softly that I can barely feel it. It’s over too soon. Resting my head on his chest, my eyes are still closed and I can feel the rumble of his deep voice resonate as he says, “I’m sorry I have to go, but I’ll handle this. I’ll text you an update later, but don’t wait up. Try to get some rest. If you’re here when I bring Jake back in the morning, maybe I can give you a ride to pick up your car from the shop. We can grab that latte then?”

“I’d like that.”

“Me, too.”

Goodnight.”

“Night.”

After a final squeeze, he gets into the truck and raises one hand to wave goodbye. I stand and shiver in the night air as my best friend is driven out of sight by the guy who came out of left field to steal my heart. I just met him a week ago, but I think I’m already falling hard for Mike Miller.