Chapter 16

CANDACE

Jake didn’t say much as we walked across campus, which was unusual for him.

Normally, being around him meant a constant stream of stories, jokes, complaints about his professors, and random observations that somehow always ended with him making me laugh.

I kept looking at him.

He caught me the third time.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You’ve looked at me about five times.”

“I have not.”

“You have.”

I rolled my eyes, trying to hide the smile tugging at my lips. “Maybe I missed you.”

His expression softened immediately. “I missed you too.”

The words made something uncomfortable twist inside me.

I looked ahead.

He had missed me.

That was the problem.

Jake had spent the last few weeks thinking about his girlfriend while I had spent mine trying not to think about another man. His father at that.

The guilt returned so quickly that I almost stopped walking.

Jake squeezed my hand.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure?”

I nodded. “Just tired.”

He studied my face for another second before accepting the answer.

“We’re going to eat no argumentz.”

Raising my brow…he added. “You’ll see.”

I laughed softly. “That’s suspicious.”

We ended up at a small restaurant a few blocks from campus, one we’d visited several times before. It wasn’t fancy, but it was comfortable, and Jake knew exactly what I liked without asking.

He ordered my usual before I could even open the menu.

A small smile slipped across my face.

“Thank you.”

“Anything for my girl.”

He reached across the table and took my hand.

I looked at our intertwined fingers and tried to hold on to that feeling.

Maybe this was what I needed.

A reminder of who I was before everything became complicated.

Jake talked about his classes while we waited for our food, telling me about a professor who apparently had a personal vendetta against him. I laughed at the exaggerated version of the story, and by the time our food arrived,

“So,” he said, taking a sip of his drink. “Why didn’t you answer me this morning?”

My smile faded slightly. “This morning?”

“Yeah.”

I frowned. “I was sleeping.”

“I know you were home.”

Something about his answer made me pause.

“How?”

He shrugged. “You shared your location with me.”

I blinked. “When?”

“Remember when you couldn’t find your way in newYork?”

“Oh.”

I’d completely forgotten about that.

I had gotten lost on my way to visit him and he’d asked me to turn on location sharing so he’d know I got back safely.

I had never thought about it again.

Jake twirled his straw between his fingers.

“I checked because you weren’t answering.”

“You checked my location?”

“I was worried.”

His tone was casual, but something about the conversation made me shift in my seat.

“You could’ve just called.”

“I did.”

I reached for my phone and checked.

Three missed calls.

I hadn’t heard any of them.

“Oh.”

He gave me a small smile.

“Exactly.”

There was no accusation in his voice, but I still felt guilty.

“Sorry.”

He leaned across the table.

“It’s fine.”

Then, just as quickly as the tension appeared, it disappeared.

He squeezed my hand.

“I’ve just missed you.”

I smiled.

“I missed you too.” Jake leaned back in his chair.

“Dad’s travelling next week, by the way.”

My fork stopped halfway to my mouth. “Your dad?”

“Yeah.”

I lowered it slowly. “Where?”

“Some conference thing. I don’t know the details.”

“Oh.”

“He’ll be gone for about a week.”

A strange sense of relief washed through me so quickly that I had to look down at my plate.

A week.

Seven whole days without seeing Elias outside of class.

Seven days without wondering whether I’d run into him in a hallway.

Seven days without having to sit across from him and pretend the two of us had never touched.

“That sounds nice,” I said.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “For him?”

I laughed. “Obviously.”

“Right.” He shook his head, smiling.

I picked up my fork again. “So you’re staying?”

“For a little while.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I wanted more time with you.”

Something warm settled in my chest.

That was Jake.

He reached across the table again. “And I’m meeting some of the guys tonight.”

“Oh.”

“You’re coming.”

I laughed.

“That wasn’t a question.”

I paused mid sip, “I have work to do.”

“You can do it later.”

“Jake.”

“Candy.”

I narrowed my eyes.

He smiled. “Please?”

There it was. That little shift in his voice. The one that made it difficult to say no.

I sighed. “Fine. But im not going home to change.”

His smile widened.

“You look Perfect.”

The gathering turned out to be louder than I expected.

A few of Jake’s friends were already there when we arrived, and they greeted him immediately before turning their attention toward me.

“Look who finally showed up.”

Jake slipped an arm around my waist.

“Don’t start.”

One of his friends laughed.

“We’re not starting anything.”

I smiled as they continued teasing each other.

He introduced me to someone I’d never met before, proudly calling me his girlfriend.

I felt his hand settle against my lower back.

“She’s the best thing that’s happened to me,” he said.

His friends started teasing him immediately.

“Oh, God.”

“Here he goes.”

“Give them five minutes before he starts talking about marriage.”

Jake laughed.

I expected him to deny it.

Instead, he shrugged.

“Why not?”

Everyone burst out laughing.

I laughed too, because surely he was joking.

Then I looked at him but He wasn’t.

My smile slowly faded.

One of his friends pointed at him.

“Wait, you’re serious?”

Jake looked at me. “We’ve already talked about it.”

I stared at him. “We have?”

His eyebrows lifted.

“Not seriously.”

I let out a nervous laugh.

“Okay.”

“But you know I’d marry you.”

The words settled strangely inside me as Someone whistled.

“Damn.”

Jake laughed and reached for my hand.

“I mean, eventually.”

His friend leaned forward.

“So when? After graduation?”

Jake didn’t even hesitate.

“Probably.”

My stomach tightened.

I stared at him.

He said it so casually Like it was obvious and Like we’d already agreed on it.

I forced a smile.

“That’s a long way away.”

“Exactly.”

He squeezed my hand.

“I’m not proposing tomorrow.”

Everyone laughed again.

I joined them, but my laugh sounded wrong even to my own ears.

Jake noticed.

His thumb brushed slowly over my knuckles beneath the table.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure?”

I nodded.

“I’m just tired.”

He watched me for a moment before leaning closer.

“Hey.”

I looked at him.

“I’m not asking you right now.”

His voice had softened.

“You’re stuck with me for a while first.”

I laughed quietly.

“Good to know.”

He smiled.

The conversation around us continued, but I barely heard it.

I looked down at our hands.

His fingers were wrapped securely around mine.

Then Jake leaned closer, his voice dropping until only I could hear him.

“You know I don’t like surprises, Candy.”

He squeezed my hand gently.

“So if something’s bothering you…” His eyes held mine. “…you’ll tell me, right?”