Page 111 of Under the Ink

“At a wedding? You know as well as I do he’d be turning all the water into wine and we’d be drinking to our heart’s content.”

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

“The guy at the Coffee Stop told me you left town. Are you just here for the wedding—or can I ask you for your vote in the November election?”

Yuck. Had this guy always been like this? Trying to remember when she’d been a sophomore and he’d been a senior, she knew she’d been enamored of him. He was captain of the wrestling team and a youth leader at their church.

And gorgeous. Tall, light brown hair, the cutest dimples, deep brown eyes. Plus he had biceps that not many of his fellow classmates had. Even today, he was lovely to look at.

But had he been soslick?

That was something she couldn’t recall. It also could have been the influence of college and then deciding to jump into government that had changed him. But she suspected he’d always had it in him and either she’d been too young to realize or too enamored to notice.

“I’m not sure what my future holds. But I wanted to ask you a question—about back when we dated.”

Ah…was he actually squirming? Naomi tried to read his body language but had never been the greatest at that. Still…there was something she sensed—that her query had made him uncomfortable.

Good.

“Yeah, sure. Do you mind walking a bit? I’m tired of sitting.”

Rather than protest that theywerestanding, she nodded. So long as she had his ear… “Sure.”

And as long as he didn’t want to walk in the woods behind the club. It was almost dark and she had no reason to trust him.

Once they were out of the giant ballroom and in the wide hallway, he said, “What did you want to ask?”

She wasn’t quite sure how to begin—but she had to try. “Do you remember when we were dating?”

“How could I forget?” Jacob continued walking down the hall at a leisurely pace, so Naomi kept up. “And then, after we had our hottest date ever, you told me to stop calling you.”

Had she? Why hadn’t she remembered that? But that begged an even better question. “You never wondered why?”

“I always figured you were embarrassed…and maybe ashamed.” Tilting his head toward her and lowering his voice, he said, “I mean…we were fornicating, you know…and eating the devil’s candy, drinking his liquid. Not exactly Christian behavior.”

Did this man really not remember?

“Wait,” she said as Jacob kept walking—but she stood still. “If you think… Isthatwhat you think?” Taking a deep breath, she waited for him to turn back around. When he walked back toward her and got close again, she said, “You had sex with me without my permission.”

Turning on all his old charm, he flashed a soft smile that barely revealed his dimples. “Oh, come on, Naomi. You don’t really believe that.”

Pausing, Naomi waited for a woman who’d been in the restroom to pass by out of earshot—and then, voice lowered, she let it out. “It’s not a matter of believing, Jacob. It’s not like faith, like choosing to believe in God or that Jesus saves.”

“But youtoldme you wanted to—what was the phrase?Give yourself to me. You said that. You said you wanted to give yourself to me. That impliedto methat you wanted to have sex. Youwantedme to take your virginity. Was I wrong?”

So many times, Naomi had relived their entire relationship from top to bottom. So many fucking cuts signified her whole damn life—and Jacob wasn’t in every single cut but he was to blame for most of them.

She knew exactly what he was referring to.

“Did I say those words that night? When I was high as a kite, out of my mind, did I say it then?”

And there it was—the way his pupils just barely dilated, the way his nostrils slightly twitched. No matter what words came out of his mouth at this point, she knew the truth.

Hehadraped her. He had taken what he wanted and claimed it as his, despite Naomi’s inability to consent.

But what he said after floored her just the same. “Not in so many words. You said it with your body…the way you were draped over me—and that dress…the way it crawled up your legs. And when I slid my hand up your thigh like I had before, you didn’t push it away.”

Through gritted teeth, Naomi growled, “Icouldn’t, you asshole.”

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