Chapter 617

• Jake guided Emma to the group of standing men this time, instead of the seats where Marissa had switched to one directly beside where he had been, sliding a casual arm around her shoulders and pulling her close so she would stay away from that vicious look Marissa had all over her face. Emma didn’t seem to notice his over-familiar handling of her, so he took that as encouragement that she was fine with being a little manhandled. He handed her a drink and leaned in to catch up with his friends' discussion. Leila was on her feet too, standing between the twins, and he couldn’t help noticing that Daniel was avoiding looking her way. The boy was completely hopeless when it came to Leila, and he wished he would sort his act out and tell the girl how he felt about her.
• “Yeah, so Jake’s like, I’m sure we can make it … and he goes speeding off on his fucking jet ski, right in … doesn’t give a fuck.” They all laughed and looked toward Jake as Daniel patted his back. Jake was trying to remember the point in the story and was mildly aware Marissa was trying to catch his eye again. He ignored her best he could, but she was making him uncomfortable with the efforts she was applying, and he cast his mind back to that midnight romp in which they managed to get stuck out at sea with a storm brewing and had ended up using a cave for shelter.
• “What choice did I have?” Jake cut in, finishing Daniel’s memory. “Daniel would have had us sleep out there at that rate, not that he would have minded. Daniel’s always trying to get in the sack with me. The boy’s still trying to deny his feelings.” He joked, taking a swig of his beer and relaxing as he felt Emma’s eyes on his profile, looking adoring and kissable as ever. God, the urge to just lay claim to her in front of everyone right now was killing him. He wanted her badly, and cuddling up together made things much worse.