Page 106 of Waiting to Lose
Madi beamed when he turned slightly and winked at her. Jake handed his coat to Steve as Emily spoke.
“Madi said you and Kendra had already been introduced, but this is Kendra’s new boyfriend, Rob Haster.”
Jake held out his hand to Rob and they shook hands and nodded to each other, as if they’d just met.
Jake smirked at Rob, who sighed in frustration at the situation.
It took everything Madi had not to laugh.
“Would you mind too terribly if I excused myself to use the restroom?” Jake asked.
“Of course not,” Madi said. “I’ll walk you.” She took his hand and led him down the hall to the right, away from everyone in the kitchen, their voices fading away in the distance.
“Here it is,” she said, pointing.
Jake pulled her by the waist and into the wall behind her, locking his lips to hers. She moaned softly into his kiss as she wrapped her arms around him. The smell of his cologne and the taste of his minty lips caused her body to feel weak and needy at once. “I missed you,” he whispered as he kissed her.
“Really?” she questioned. “I haven’t missed you at all,” she said flatly before smiling into his mouth.
He lifted his eyes to hers, and even they were smiling.
“Sorry it took me so long to get here. I had security at the airport but the press was relentless. I had to lose them.”
Madi nodded as she played with the hem of his shirt. “How are you? Really? And don’t sugar coat things for me, because I’ll see right through you and it will just piss me off.”
Jake huffed knowingly. “I’m okay. This whole thing with Peter and Tessa has me feeling confused and full of regret. I’ve put you through too much. I’m not quite sure why, after everything, you still wanted me here.”
“Do you wish you hadn’t come?” she questioned.
“Not for a second. But the press… It’s getting worse. Everywhere I go, they’re there. I had to hire a second car that looked the same to try to lose them. I’m worried they’re going to find you before you want to be found. I don’t want to mess things up for you more than I already have.”
Madi’s eyebrows furrowed more with every word out of his mouth. “First of all, you haven’tmessedanything up for me. Tessa was a huge part of your life. It’s not your fault that Peter’s crazy. It sounds like he was crazy before you’d even met Tessa.”
Jake narrowed his eyes as she spoke and leaned against the wall.
“And second, you haven’t put me through anything. I like being there for you,” she said, lifting her hand to touch his cheek. “I want to be someone you can depend on. I know I’ve put you through a lot too, with my doubts and insecurities. I can’t believeyoucame anyway.”
“Youaresomeone I can depend on, Mads,” he said as he removed her hand from his face and held it in his. “This year has been insane. I find the one person in the world that I can trust and find out everyone else can’t be trusted.”
Madi studied him for a moment before nodding. “Did Rob’s people talk to Greg yet? Do they know if it’s him?”
“Not yet. He’s flying out here on Monday to talk to us.”
“You mean to talk to Rob?” she questioned. “Won’t you be gone by the time he arrives?”
Jake smirked. “Let’s not talk about my leaving. I just got here. Are you ready for me to go already?”
Madi smiled and shook her head. “If it were up to me, you’d never go. Speaking of going… Did you really need to use the bathroom?”
“I do. Care to join me? You could get another look,” he said as his hand slipped below her sweater, grabbing her ass from behind.
Madi shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I plan on looking a lot later.”
“I’m holding you to that,” he said, kissing her quickly before closing the door.
Madi leaned on the frame and bit her lip. She could hear him inside. He softly hummed as he used the bathroom. The thought of what was in his jeans made a quiver run through her legs.
Kendra bounded down the hall. “This is ridiculous,” she spouted.
