Page 129 of Into the Dark
“I’m sorry, am I talking too much?” I ask him quietly. “I babble when I’m nervous.”
He leans in to kiss me, deep and slow, slanting his lips over mine and sliding his tongue between them. “You know how much I love hearing you talk.” He licks his lips before touching his nose to mine. “Anyway, it’s fine. He likes you.”
“How do you know?” I glance over my shoulder.
“’Cause he makes it pretty clear when he doesn’t,” he says against my ear. “I honestly can’t fucking wait to get back to yours…” He lowers his head to bite my shoulder through the fabric of my dress.
“You’re staying at mine tonight?” I ask hopefully. “Without your car? How will you get home tomorrow?”
He furrows his brow in thought. “There’s a train station near your work, isn’t there?”
“You, ride the train?” I give him a look of exaggerated shock.
“Sometimes, when I have to.”
“You never fail to amaze me…” I shake my head.
He smirks and leans in to kiss me, nibbling on my bottom lip. “That fucking mouth of yours is in trouble, baby…” he says, his eyes slightly glassy.
“I thought you liked it.”
“I do. Especially when it’s wrapped around my cock,” he groans, and I tremble.
Before I have a chance to respond, I hear the sound of footsteps and sit up, turning my head to see Freddy coming in our direction, refilled wineglass in hand.
“Jay, let’s leave the girls alone for a bit, yeah?” He rests a hand on the back of Jake’s neck, weirdly similar to how Jake touches me. Possessive. A sign of ownership. When he moves off toward the stairs Jake closes his eyes momentarily, a sort of grimace, before finally sliding his chair back and standing up.
“I won’t be long. Then we can go,” he says quietly, bending down to kiss me on the mouth.
I give him a reassuring smile as he heads off. As he does, I see his head turn in Steph’s direction, a look passing between them before he disappears downstairs.
I lift my empty water glass and carry it to the kitchen, where Steph is typing furiously on her gold-encased iPhone. She hears me approach and lifts her eyes, her expression impassive.
“They’ll be ages, I swear. You want a drink or something?” she asks, moving toward a glass-fronted wine fridge and inspecting the contents. “We’ve got wine and beer and some champagne.”
“I’m driving, unfortunately. But you have one for both of us… That looks like a good one.” I nod to the bottle she’s now holding up.
“Yeah, it’s expensive.” She shrugs. “Not like I can tell the difference, just as long as it does the job.” She laughs, setting her phone down on the counter to unscrew the top with a long electric corkscrew.
“So, how long have you and Freddy been together?” I ask for something to start the conversation.
“Um, about eight months, properly,” she replies. “What about you and Jake?”
“A few months,” I say. “What did you mean earlier when you said you’d heard a lot about me?”
She smiles and shrugs. “Oh, just mutterings. Gossip, you know. Jay seeing someone, having a girlfriend, who wasn’t anyone we knew. Vicky will be fucking livid I’m betting, ha.” She looks definitively pleased by this, and it makes me warm to her even more.
“You don’t get on with Freddy’s niece then?” I ask.
She lifts an eyebrow. “Have you met her?”
“Once, briefly.”
“Well, you know what she’s like then. Nutter. And she fucking hates me. Well, the feeling goes both ways. Nasty fucking bitch. Caleb’s a sweet little thing, though, isn’t he? Which is a wonder, really.”
“Yeah, he is. He looks so much like Jake.”
She’s gulping her wine, but she swallows quickly and nods. “Oh my god, he does! Total little Jake. He even walks like him.” She giggles.