Page 31 of Moving to Love
Joci was staring at the ground. “Have you slept with her before?”
Jeremiah put his fingers under her chin and turned her head, so she was looking at him.
“No, I haven’t slept with her.”
Joci’s chin trembled as she moved to turn her head. Jeremiah leaned forward and held her face between his hands.
“Joci, I’m not interested in her. I don’t want her. I want you. I’m only interested in you. Just you.”
He moved in to kiss her, but she pulled away.
“No. You smell like her, and you still have her lipstick on your lips.”
She turned away, swiping under her eyes and hoping her makeup wasn’t a mess. Jeremiah rubbed the lipstick from his lips with his fingertips. He pulled his shirt out of his jeans and used the tail of his shirt to wipe his face.
“Joci, please look at me.” He pulled his shirt off and threw it on the ground. He reached over and grabbed Joci, pulling her in for a hug.
“I swear to you, I don’t want her. I’ve never wanted her.”
Joci took a deep breath. “Why do you keep her at the store if she’s like this all the time? Why would you tolerate this? She doesn’t exactly give your store a great reputation. She dresses like a pole dancer. You must like it. And what about her comment that you like a smorgasbord? I don’t know, Jeremiah. I can’t go through this again. I just can’t.”
She pulled away, planted her hands on her hips, and squared off.
His brows drew together as he searched for the right words. “I can’t explain why I keep her around. Please believe me. She was just being bitchy with her smorgasbord comment.”
They heard the whistle blow, and Joci closed her eyes. “We have to go.”
She started walking toward their bike. She felt numb, not knowing what to think. He couldn’t explain why he kept LuAnn. She wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. She was loud, obnoxious, and irritating. The only thing she had going for her was that she was pretty. The guys all said she was hot.
Now, she was going to be a royal pain in Joci’s side, one that Joci wasn’t sure she was willing or able to handle on a daily basis. Jeremiah started walking with Joci. He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the chaser truck. Joci tried pulling away, but he held on tight. When they got to the truck, he threw his shirt in the back and opened a box, pulled a new shirt out, and put it on. Once he had the new shirt on, he turned to Joci and grabbed her hard and hugged her tightly. He cupped the back of her head and wrapped his other arm around her waist. She could feel how tense he was, and his breathing was ragged.
“Joci, I need you to believe me. I know you have trust issues, and that sure didn’t help, but I swear to you, I didn’t initiate anything with LuAnn. I’ll tell her to stop this behavior immediately. I don’t want her, Joci—I only want you.”
They stood that way for a few moments, and Thomas and Emily walked over to get into the truck.
“Hey, you two, you’d better get on your bike.”
When Joci looked up, she smiled weakly and nodded. Thomas saw the look on her face and looked at Jeremiah with his brows furrowed. Jeremiah shook his head and pursed his lips. They started walking toward his bike. Silently.
When they got to the bike, people were catcalling and yelling at them.
“’Bout time. Making out in the back?”
Jeremiah climbed on the bike and kicked up the kickstand. He waited for Joci to get on. She leaned back against the backrest, not ready to lean into Jeremiah just yet. Her stomach was rolling and twisting.
* * *
Jeremiah’s gut felt like it was filled with stones. Fucking LuAnn. He knew Joci was having a hard time with this. With her trust issues, this was a real blow. He was going to have another long talk with LuAnn. He couldn’t chance her pulling shit like this again. But right now, he had to get Joci to realize he wasn’t cheating on her. How to do that was a mystery. He had better think quickly since they only had about an hour before returning to Rolling Thunder. One thing he knew, Joci had the stubbornness of a fucking mule, so he’d better be on his A game.
The last leg of the ride began. He had 40 miles to figure this out and make sure she didn’t get on her bike and ride off. He wasn’t a game player, but he had work to do.
Jeremiah reached to the side and touched her leg. He wrapped his hand around her ankle and squeezed, just trying to keep contact with her.
Finally, they pulled into Rolling Thunder, and Jeremiah rode around to the back of the building. JT, Gunnar, and Ryder were right behind them.
Jeremiah didn’t shut his bike off. He looked at the boys. “We’re going home to get the truck. Be back in a few.” He maneuvered the bike out of the back driveway.
* * *
