Page 27 of Such A Dirty Girl (Hot Creeps #6)
TWENTY-SEVEN
DREW
H is taxi was there when we pulled up.
Jake threw his bag into the car boot. Not angry. He just looked defeated.
My stomach dropped.
If he got in that car, he wasn’t just going to Australia. He would be gone for good.
From me. From us. From everything .
‘Jake!’ Sarah jumped out of my car at a run, darting across the street toward him.
Jake turned. There wasn’t a flicker of warmth on his face. I followed, his bloodshot eyes on me.
‘What are you doing here?’ His words dripped with loathing. Or maybe something deeper. Regret.
‘Stopping you. We can’t let you leave without trying.’
The taxi driver looked at his watch as if our desperate display was merely an inconvenience.
Sarah reached him first, grasping his wrist like she could hold him there against his will.
‘All we want is you,’ she choked. ‘Not rugby player Jake. Not Eloise’s perfect son. Just you. The perfectly imperfect version we fell for.’
Jake’s Adam’s apple bobbed hard.
Still nothing but silence.
I moved in. Losing him would hurt more if I didn’t even try to keep him.
I’d never forgive myself.
‘I’m sorry, for everything. For blackmailing Sarah. For manipulating you. For treating Sarah like she was nothing more than a pawn when the truth is…’ My eyes burned. ‘I love you. Both of you . And I was too much of a coward to say it until I’d already fucked it all up.’
Jake blinked at me as though he didn’t dare trust what he’d heard.
‘This started twisted,’ I said, my breath ragged. ‘But it’s the happiest I’ve ever been. We fit . You both complete me. Please, Jake. Don’t walk away.’ Suddenly, I felt like the one who belonged on the floor.
‘Please,’ Sarah echoed. ‘Don’t leave us.’
Jake’s jaw tightened as he took one long, shaky inhale.
‘If I go,’ he said, ‘will you two just…be together without me?’
The pain in his question cut me in half.
‘No. You’re the centre. The glue. Without you, we aren’t complete. Without you, there’s no us .’ I dropped then, my knees hitting the ground as I knelt before him. Supplicating myself for him.
‘We love you,’ Sarah said with a fierceness that hit me.
Jake ran a finger over my jaw, his perfect face cracking into a broken grin.
‘I wasn’t innocent either. I said yes. I wanted it too. I kissed Drew behind your back.’ His eyes moved to Sarah. ‘We were all in the wrong. And I–’
‘Jake.’
The slam of the front door ripped through our moment. Eloise’s heels cracked against the drive like gunfire.
‘This is what you’re doing? Wasting your chance of a lifetime with them ? Drew’s dragged you down since the moment he stepped into our lives. I should never have let him move in.’
Jake stiffened, his fists curling at his sides. I stood beside him, ready to go to war with her on his behalf.
His chest heaved. And I waited for him to crumple.
Instead, Jake roared.
‘Will you leave me the fuck alone? I never wanted any of this.’
Even the taxi driver froze at Jake’s outburst.
‘I’ve spent my life trying to make you happy. Laid awake for more nights than I can fucking count terrified that if I disappointed you, you’d leave me like Dad did. But I lost myself. And I won’t lose Drew and Sarah.’
Eloise’s eyes widened, outrage bright and poisonous. ‘Jacob?—’
‘I love them,’ Jake said, and my pulse thundered under his confession.
Words I never thought I’d hear Jake say.
He grabbed our hands and gripped them tight, speaking to Eloise but his words were for us. ‘Both of them. And I’m going to be with them. With or without you in my life.’
Hot tears clouded my vision. Jake had been there for years. In the next room. On my team. In every filthy, desperate wank of my life. But for him to say it aloud in front of everyone, to claim us , no matter the fall out.
Fuck, it undid me.
Sarah sobbed as he leaned in and kissed her. Publicly showing everyone that we were his. Then he turned to me. Our breaths mingled as he stopped just short of my lips.
His chest pressed against mine. His quick heartbeat made hope surge.
‘I’m sorry for everything,’ I whispered.
‘Just kiss me, you hot creep.’ Laughter lilted Jake’s words, and I obeyed.
Our lips met in a clash of need. Hard. Desperate. I could taste Sarah’s salty tears on Jake’s tongue. Reaching out for her, I snagged her jumper and pulled her to us.
All three of our mouths pressed together. A little awkward, but so very sweet.
I tasted his fear. Her relief. Their fucking love .
Eloise gasped like Jake had stabbed her.
‘You disgust me. All of you.’ Eloise stormed off.
For once, my father didn’t follow her. He lingered on the step, a softness in his eyes that I hadn’t seen in years. When our kiss broke, Dad smiled and gave the smallest, proudest nod I’d ever seen.
And I wondered if we could have everything I’d ever dreamed of.