Happy birthday, Iris! I love you, and I'm sorry for posting this without letting you work your magic…
You asked me once for some Tanya/Jake. Your wish is my command.
For anyone else who dared to click the link on a Tanya/Jake pairing, this is an outtake from Down Home (Chapter 9).
Thanks to M and Nic for pre-reading.
"Do you understand what you're doing?" Momma asks, tossing a stack of papers onto my desk.
"Good mornin', Momma." I lift the fax of the rental agreement for a quick glance. One little signature (or twenty) and the kidney-shaped pool and fitness center will be mine.
"Two years, Tanya." She closes the door, paces the room, and turns when she speaks again. "You've given this man two years of your life and he's taken the same from you. You love him. How can you up and leave like this?"
Yeah.
How can I stay? As happy as I am for my sister, it's hard watching her find the great love of her life while I'm losing mine.
I'd be selling myself short by marrying myself off to a man who isn't capable of compromise. I've been down that road before. It's not fun.
"It'll be fine, Momma. Stop bein' so dramatic."
Nothing is fine. It might not be for a long time. But if I give her an opening, she'll work it until I'm running the documents through the paper shredder. I'll have plenty of time to fall apart and grieve when I get to Jackson. I'll get it together before Bella joins me next fall. Some time alone will be good for me.
"There are worse things in the world than having a kind, hardworking young man who loves you and wants to marry you," she says.
"I know this, but thank you for the reminder."
"So you're really goin' to do it?" she asks.
"I don't know."
She shakes her head on her way out. "You're makin' a big mistake."
The door closes behind her, and the silence that follows is a blessing. I pick up the rental agreement to look over the terms, but only make it through the first few pages before the door swings open again.
"What now, Momma?" I ask.
"Don't go."
At the sound of Jake's voice, my head whips up. He's standing a few feet away, soaked from head to foot and causing a puddle to form in the middle of my office. There's at least 3 days worth of stubble on his jaw and shadows under his eyes. I'm not the only one losing beauty sleep over this.
"Jake…" I stumble over something to say. Something I haven't said a dozen times already.
He walks around my desk, turns my chair, and drops down to one knee in front of me. "I don't want you to go," he says.
"Then why are you on one knee again?" I shake my head. "You want a wife." Jake's momma is a lot like mine. She cooks and cleans, irons his daddy's work shirts, and churches every chance she gets. That's not me.
"I want you. If you don't want to be my wife, that's fine. I just want you." His hand lands on my thigh, and his thumb rubs slow circles over my skin. Jet-black hair clings to his forehead, and the leftover droplets on his tanned skin drip slowly onto my skirt.
"I never said I don't want to be your wife. I'm just not ready for that right now. I want us to live together, first, and make sure…"
"Make sure of what?" he asks. "That I'm not going to turn into that prick you dated at Ole Miss?"
"To make sure we can live together and still get along."
"I guarantee we will." He takes a deep breath and looks up at me. "Don't leave. Stay with me. Move in with me."
My resolve shatters, and I drop my hand on top of his. "No strings?"
"I want to marry you. Whenever you're ready. I hope it won't be ten years from now, but if it is, so be it. That's my only string. Go into this with an open mind on adding a ring to the deal."
"If I say yes, can we take our time and have a long engagement?"
"If you stay…" He pauses to lift my hand and run his lips over my knuckles. "You can have whatever you want."
"I've already been packing stuff up," I admit. "When can I move in?"
"Now," he says. "Right now. It's raining somethin' fierce, and my afternoon appointment cancelled while I was driving over here from Hardee's."
"I'm only scheduled for a half day. I can leave an hour early. I've got personal time left to burn before the end of the year."
He stands and holds out a hand to help me from my chair. "Do you want to swing by and pick up some of that stuff you've been packin' on the way to my place?"
"You mean our place."
"Right," he agrees. "Our place."
"I think we should wait until Daddy is home this evenin'. This is something he should hear face-to-face."
"What's his opinion on the topic of us shackin' up?"
"My momma was knocked up with me when they tied the knot. I'm not really concerned about his opinion."
"I'm just askin' 'cause he owns a lot of guns. Do I need to buy a bulletproof vest?"
"Edward Cullen is still alive and walking, so I think you're safe."
"Speakin' of… I ran into Bella this mornin' at the post office. She invited me to Hardee's. We had breakfast and a short conversation. Don't be mad at her, okay?"
"She told you about Jackson."
"Yes," he admits. "Your sister delivered the most polite 'shit or get off the pot' speech I've ever heard. When she mentioned that y'all went apartment huntin'…"
"I found a really nice place with a running path and a gym," I tease.
"I'll give you two workouts a day if you live with me." His hands drop to my waist and tug me closer.
"Mmmm. What other perks are you offerin', Mr. Black?"
"Massages when you've had a bad day. Beer and fish on the weekends. A couple of youngins eventually…"
"We're talkin' years down the road, right?" We may as well put all our cards on the table if we're doing this.
"Hopefully not too many, but yeah. It can wait a while. We need time for us, first."
"I think we're startin' to see eye to eye," I say, wrapping my arms around his neck in a much needed hug.
"Thank goodness."
He gives me a few moments to change my voicemail, gather my things, and shut down my computer. On the way out, I grab the stack of papers from the apartment manager in Jackson. We stop at Momma's desk long enough for me to give them to her.
"Can you shred these for me, Momma? I'm takin' the rest of the day off."
She looks up and smiles. "I'll be happy to, honey. Y'all have a good afternoon."
Jake holds an umbrella over my head as he escorts me to my car. "I'll meet you at home," he says before leaning in for a quick goodbye kiss.
I wait for him to pull out of the parking lot first. Home tumbles around in my head the entire way to Clancy Lane. I park behind his work truck and get out before he can pull the gentleman card again.
The gutters are stuffed with leaves, so water drenches me while I stand bouncing in place behind him as he unlocks the door. "Shit," he says when it finally swings open. "You're soaked."
"And freezing," I stutter.
He pulls me through the small house, back to the bedroom, and gets a towel from the closet. Both of us use it to dry our hair, then we strip down to nothing to get the cold, wet clothing off. He tosses me a blanket, leans down, and starts to fiddle with the fireplace. During the time it takes him to get a good flame going, I snuggle under the flannel sheets and heavy quilt on the bed.
"There," he finally says, standing and walking over to me.
I lift the covers and he snuggles in next to me, rubbing his cock against my thigh. He turns my face with his palm and catches my lips with his. It's been ages since we made out like teenagers instead of just going at it.
Today is different.
He kisses me long and slow, uses his fingers to make me come, and then kisses his way down my body until his mouth joins his hand. "I've missed you, girl," he says between long licks and teasing my clit with his teeth. "You taste like heaven."
"Right there," I breathe, burying my fingers in his hair to hold him in place.
He doubles his efforts until my legs are trembling and my hips are shifting off of the bed. There isn't much time to come down. Before I finish, he's on his knees with his cock in hand, lining us up. It's a slow game of proceed and retreat until he's coated and sliding in without resistance. Then he lifts my legs until the back of my knees are resting on his shoulders. At that angle, neither of us lasts long and after a few strokes, he's panting and shaking above me.
"See," he says. "Isn't that so much better than fighting?"
"It is," I agree.
He eases my legs off of him and tosses me his shirt to clean up with. I take it, but still make my way to the bathroom. One glance in the mirror has me reaching into the shower to turn on the water. The rain messed up my makeup and I've got black streaks of mascara running down both cheeks. I'm not sure how Jake managed to keep a straight face while we were getting it on. I look like hell.
He joins me in the shower and laughs off my complaint that he didn't warn me about the state of my face. "You're beautiful," he says.
I can tell he believes what he's saying, so I let it go and enjoy our time under the spray.
He coaxes me back to bed when we're done, but I manage to get my phone from my purse along the way. Before I let him distract me with his nakedness again, I fire off a text to my meddling little sister.
Thank you. xoxo