Page 25 of Fighting Jacob

I dodge his hair ruffle before nudging my head to his duffle bag. The grin I’m wearing doubles when he collects both his guitar and his bag. That means he heard the words I didn’t speak, the ones where I’m welcoming him back home with open arms.

When we enter Mavs ten minutes later, my heart whacks out a funky tune. Lola is working. This is the first time I’ve seen her in two weeks. After exhaling my nerves with a big breath, I shadow Noah to the bar.

“Hey, Lola.” Noah adds a smile to his greeting before placing an order for two beers.

When Lola sets them down on the glistening bar top, she drifts her eyes to me. “Hey.”

I dip my head in greeting before guzzling down a mouthful of my beer. I’m dying to talk to her, but I’m still pissed she cut ties with me. I also don’t trust myself not to drop to my knees and beg for her scraps. I’ve never had my prank backfire so badly before. You can be assured I won’t be doing it again anytime soon—if ever.

My eyes stop floating around the bar when Noah asks Lola if she passed her driving test. She shakes her head. “Not yet. Maggie is scheduling me on day shifts so I can catch the bus.”

It’s the fight of my life to only mumble my curse word instead of screaming it from the rooftops. I’m pissed—fucking ropeable. Not only am I not good enough to talk to anymore, but she also pissed all over my offer of a ride. That’s fucked.

Needing to leave before I say something I’ll regret, I make my way to one of the many empty tables around the dance floor. I’d leave entirely if I weren’t such a sucker for punishment. I know there’s more to Lola’s pullback than she’s letting on. It didn’t occur after her near-teary confession for no reason. If she’s embarrassed, she doesn’t need to be. I see past the shield she wears to protect herself—why do you think I fell for her so quickly?

After ordering another round, Noah joins me at a table near the pool tables. “What’s the deal with you two?”

He opens a second bottle of beer before sliding it to my side of the table. I guzzle it down as quickly as I did the first, praying it will douse the fire roaring in my gut. Once it’s sitting as low as my heart rate, I shrug. “I have no fucking clue. She confuses the fuck out of me.” I keep my reply simple, not wanting to divulge any of Lola's private life without her permission.

Over the next twenty minutes, Noah keeps the beer coming hard and fast. He stopped drinking as soon as he noticed I planned to have more than my usual two. When I set down my fourth empty bottle, his dark eyes lift to mine. “Shall we play a game of pool, or do you wanna head straight to the boxing ring?”

“You don’t have to mend my broken heart. We never ‘dated.’” I air quote my last word. “Rack up the balls; kicking your ass may be the most entertaining thing I do this week.”

By the time we play two rounds of pool, I'm smashed from guzzling down too many beers in quick succession. “You done, Jakeyboy, or do you have a couple of rounds left in you?” Noah’s tone is smug, loving that he whipped my ass our last two games. I don’t think I sank a single ball.

“Best out of five.”

As I rack up the balls, a sweet voice trickles through my ears. “Interested in a game of doubles?”

My mouth dries up as I absorb the owner of the heavenly voice. Her face is as appetizing as her body. Large breasts stuffed into a teeny tiny shirt, curvy hips, and long, lean legs. Her brown eyes hold a gleam as wicked as the casual, man-eating smirk she’s wearing, and her hair is blonde and straight. I’d give her brunette friend a quick once over if her sights weren’t locked on Noah, but her batting lashes tell me everything I need to know. She isn’t here for me.

My eyes drift back to the blonde when she asks, “What do you say? Best out of the three?”

When I glance at Noah to gauge his response, he curls his arm around the brunette’s shoulders. “She’s my partner.”

Her childish giggle would be nauseating if I weren’t so drunk. I offer my hand to the heavy-breasted girl. “I guess that means we’re partners. I’m Jacob.”

“Lucky me,” she purrs while accepting my handshake. “Stephanie.”

While playing pool with Stephanie and her friend Shell, Lola shoots daggers at me. I know this because I'm stalking her as adeptly as she's stalking me. I shouldn't love her annoyance, but I do. It's nice to see the shoe on the other foot for a change. The whole time we've known each other, it's always me getting smacked with jealousy.

When I lean over Stephanie's shoulder to show her how to aim correctly, Lola shoots out from behind the bar and darts my way. "Can I talk to you?"

My eyes bulge out of my head when she cocks her hip. She’s wearing the teeniest tiniest pair of shorts I’ve ever seen, and I’m 100% jealous of her shirt. It’s closer to her skin than my hands have been the past month.

After locking the image of her long, sexy legs into my memory bank for future use, I return my eyes to her face. “Why can’t we talk here?”

The beer I've been guzzling makes my words come out snappier than I intended, and they have Lola's anger ramping up. She glares at me, warning me I’m seconds from having my nuts extracted from my body. I consider my options for a few seconds. If it gets her hands on any part of my body, I’m willing to suffer.

After a short deliberation, I nudge my head to the hallway where the restrooms are. I'm still contemplating disembowelment; I'd just rather it be done without witnesses.

I promise Stephanie I’ll be back in a minute before following Lola. I barely get two steps into the lemon-scented space when she pounces on me. Unfortunately, it's a verbal altercation instead of a physical one.

"Do you think this is a good idea?"

I hold my hands out in front of my body, as if to say, you don’t want me, so I may as well have fun with a girl who does.

My ego takes a hit it never saw coming when she adds on, “You know Noah is interested in Emily, so why are you encouraging him to hook up with a random bar skank?”

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