Page 11 of Take Me Home

“He’s a student in one of the classes I T.A.,” I said between bites. “Great fajitas, by the way.”

Another ‘babe’ stifled. Why was I like this with her? Like we were already an item and had been for years?

Darcy looked stunned for whatever reason. I guess she really didn’t know anything about me.

“Oh yeah? You getting your master’s?”

“Yep! Mechanical engineering,” I told her, swiping away some sour cream from my face with a napkin.Now’s not the time to be a disgusting pig, Jake.

“Do you know what you want to do with it?”

“Robotics. Maybe I can make a robot to harvest peaches so we don’t have to work so hard.” I flashed her a grin.

“Dang,” she said, sitting back in her chair. “I’m pretty sure Uncle Bill’s got some tractors that could use your mechanical skills. Did you go to undergrad at Marshall?”

“No, Virginia Tech.”

She snapped her head toward me. “And Marshall had a better program for a master’s in robotics?”

Okay, snotty. This was the first thing she’d said or done that irritated me. I swallowed and sat up straighter.

“I felt like I’d learned all I could at VT and would benefit from a different team. Plus, Marshall offered a full ride and possible grant funding for whatever research I wanted to do. That’s hard to turn down.” I realized my tone had gotten kinda harsh, and even if she’d hurt my pride a bit, I couldn’t let it show. I softened my voice to be more joking. “Ya know, student debt and all.”

Her hand reached across the chair between us to meet my shoulder. “Sorry—I wasn’t trying to put down your choice. I realize that came off super shitty.” She seemed to not know what to do with her hand, so she rubbed my shoulder once more before taking it off. “I just know VT is such a good school for engineering.”

“I’m all about those diamonds in the rough,” I said, giving her a wry smile. The opening notes of A Boy Named Sue sounded. Darcy sipped her whiskey. I couldn’t tell if things were going great or taking a terrible turn for the worse. Since we’d be living on the same farm and working together all summer, we had to get it together. Luckily, she was eager to keep things pleasant.

“Are you from Virginia?” she asked, sounding unexpectedly bright.

“I am. Charlottesville,” I said. “Now no more questions until I get to ask some of you.”

She looked surprised. “Oh? Let me take your plate,” she said as she grabbed my fork.

“Absolutely not. Do you not remember how I aggressively helped you clean up after lunch on Friday?” I asked, putting on a scandalized look.

“I do,” she affirmed with a smirk. “Hard to forget, actually.”

Such a small statement that somehow made my stomach flutter.Who the fuck are you, Jake?I responded by yanking the fork out of her hand and also swiping her plate.

“Hey!” she objected.

“You cooked, I’ll clean.”

“It’s my house,” she argued.

“No, it’s not. It’s your uncle’s,” I teased.

“Fine,” she succumbed, slipping down the hall toward the bathroom. I smiled to myself as I did the dishes. I was determined to win Darcy over, even if it meant pestering her half to death. I was pretty sure she liked my teasing, though.

Her voice interrupted my thoughts. “Thanks again. You really don’t have to do anything. I’m the host.” She leaned her hip on the counter and tilted her head to the side, her ponytail draping down one shoulder.

“It’s nothing,” I assured her. A tight silence fell between us. The clock read 9:38. Darcy shuffled between her feet, chewing her lip. I didn’t want to leave, but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by staying. “I should probably go.”

She sidled half a step closer to me, making my heart take off again. “Well…I don’t want to sound creepy, but what if the coyotes are still out there? Do you wanna just crash here? There are two other bedrooms here.”

I whooshed out a breath, which for some reason made her look more nervous.

“Thank God. I really didn’t want to go back out there.”

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