The Girlfriend Request Read online

  Mom and Dad sat in the living room watching an old episode of Lost. Dad loved the show, and owned all six seasons on DVD. I was pretty sure Mom only put up with his obsession since she got to watch Jack run around shirtless.

  “Hey! Where are you off to?” Dad hit pause and turned to face me.

  “Oh, I’m just going out with some friends over to Roma.” Explaining that I was going with a guy they’d never heard of before didn’t seem like a wise move.

  Mom eyed my outfit. “Is Eli going, too?”

  Awkward.

  “Um, no. I’m not sure what he’s up to tonight. I’ll probably be meeting Sarah there though.” I had become far more fluent at lying than I liked.

  A knock sounded on the front door.

  Jake was early. I hadn’t even heard him pull up. Mom and Dad both looked at me.

  “Is that Sarah?” Mom asked. “Is she picking you up?”

  I closed my eyes for a few seconds, desperately thinking of some explanation. The knock came again.

  Dad started to rise from the sofa. “Should I get that?” His eyebrows squished together in confusion.

  “No!” I held my hands up, stopping him. “No, I’ll get it. Look, I’ll see you guys later, okay? Good night. Love you!” I rushed to the door before either of them could answer me.

  I pulled the door open just enough to squeeze out, then quickly closed it. Jake backed up a few steps as I rushed out, almost running into him.

  “Hi.” He laughed at my expression of panic.

  “Let’s go.” I grabbed his arm and began pulling him down the porch steps.

  “Whoa. What’s going on?” He allowed me to lead him toward his car, although his face showed a mixture of amusement and confusion. His forehead wrinkled over his twinkling eyes, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a small grin.

  “Nothing. I just thought it would be good to get going, that’s all.”

  He stopped a few steps away from his hunter green Explorer.

  “Emma, while I’m flattered you’re apparently so anxious to get me alone,” he said wryly, raising an eyebrow, “what’s really going on?”

  I dropped my hand from where I had practically ripped off his shirtsleeve with my tugging and stood motionless, not answering him. I shifted the strap of my purse on my shoulder, stalling as I tried to figure out what to say.

  He stood patiently, waiting silently.

  Finally, I decided to be wild and crazy and go with the truth. “It’s just that I didn’t know what to say to my parents about going out with you.”

  I paused.

  He still didn’t say a word.

  “I haven’t dated a lot,” I blurted out quickly. “And I figured my mom and dad would’ve probably wanted to know who you were, how I knew you, that kind of thing.” I felt like a stooge. Any minute he was going to hop back in his car and hightail it out of there.

  Instead, he leaned one arm against the SUV, his eyes not leaving my face as he waited for me to continue.

  “And I guess I didn’t know how to answer that without looking like an idiot about all of this.” I gestured toward him. “And I didn’t want them to worry.”

  I dropped my eyes. Any moment he was going to say he didn’t really want to go through with the whole thing, and I wouldn’t blame him one bit.

  “Emma.” He paused, and when I couldn’t face him, he reached a hand out and rested it under my chin, lifting it up, gently forcing me to meet his gaze. His eyes were warm, understanding, not angry at all. “You don’t look like an idiot at all. In fact”—a slow smile slid across his face—“I’d say you look very beautiful.”

  He called me beautiful. No one had ever called me that before. Well, not a guy, anyway. My breath caught, and I bit my lip, suddenly embarrassed, even though it did make me feel warm inside to hear the words.

  “Well, hi there, Emma. Who’s your friend?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Eli

  She hadn’t been kidding. The feelings of jealousy that ripped through me at the sight of Emma standing next to some strange guy shocked me.

  Who the hell was he?

  The color drained from Emma’s face when I asked about her “friend.” She clearly hadn’t seen me approach. Chunks of guilt snuck in as her expression turned nervous. The decent thing would have been to quietly walk inside, and not say a thing. But the words had popped out before I could stop them.

  A muscle in the guy’s jaw twitched almost imperceptibly, and even from where I stood I caught a knowing look cross his eyes. Apparently he knew who I was. How nice for him.

  Even so, he didn’t take his paws off Emma’s face, or even look away from her. Instead, he actually brushed his thumb against her cheek while giving her this smarmy seductive half-smile. It spoke of possession.

  I wanted to knock the smug smile off his face and tell him to get his hands off my girl.

  The thought jolted me, but it was the truth, and I couldn’t deny it any more. I wanted to be with Emma with every fiber of my being. And seconds later, a more rational thought crashed in—Emma wasn’t my girl. I’d blown it.

  I wanted to kick myself for ignoring the texts she’d sent asking if we were still hanging out for movie night. For ignoring her when she’d waved. I’d just been so hurt and angry about her stupid double date comments, especially after she’d sent the latest messages on Facebook. There was no doubt in my mind anymore that Kelli was really Emma. I wasn’t sure why she’d done it. Or why she was still lying to me.

  And now…now it looked like I was too late.

  I swallowed, not able to believe what was happening. I couldn’t speak, so I offered Emma a hollow smile when she finally turned to face me.

  She looked beautiful. The jerk was right about that. I hated him for saying it when I’d never told her. I hated myself for never telling her.

  Well, I had. Once. But she didn’t even know I’d meant it for her…so it didn’t count. Not really. Not in the way that mattered.

  And I hated that she was standing next to someone else.

  “Eli. Hi. Um, this is Jake.” She motioned toward the guy, who still stood mere inches away from her. Nausea crashed through me.

  I couldn’t blink. Couldn’t say a word. I could only stare.

  “Hon, we should probably get going.”

  Hon?

  Only then did this Jake person turn his head to acknowledge me officially. “Nice meeting you.” He actually mock-saluted.

  My fists clenched at my sides. I’d never been a violent person, but looking at his cocky face, I was rethinking that stance.

  I was acting like an ass, not talking to her, encroaching on her date…I knew it, but couldn’t seem to stop myself.

  “We’re going to Roma,” Emma said. Like I wanted to know where they were going on their hot date. Or, maybe I did. I didn’t even know.

  Why was she doing this? And who the hell was he? And how old was he? He looked like someone’s uncle.

  When I didn’t answer, Emma didn’t say anything more to me. She just turned to Joe Cool and gave him a thousand watt smile. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

  “Great, let’s go.” He led her around an Explorer to the passenger side, where he opened the door and waited for her to step in before closing it with a soft thud.

  I wanted to tell her to stop, not to go with him. But I didn’t. I just stood there, watching as the jerk walked around to the driver’s side, offered a final salute in my direction, and hopped in.

  Chapter Twenty

  Emma

  I wanted to throw up.

  “Keep smiling,” Jake said under his breath. He turned the key in the ignition, and placed his arm along the back of my seat as he turned to back out of the driveway.

  My eyes darted between Eli standing a few yards away, and Jake sitting next to me.

  Jake’s profile was strong, and it hit that he’d changed clothing from when I’d seen him earlier at Sarah’s house. A casual button up shirt fit just slightly snug a
cross his chest as he stretched his arm along the back of my headrest. His light brown hair barely brushed the top of his ears. He had a clean-cut look, every inch the studious, college athlete.

  As we backed past Eli, he spoke again, softly. “Laugh. Show him you’re having a good time.”

  So I did. Tilting my head back slightly, I laughed, looking right at Jake. It rang false in the confines of the Explorer, but Eli couldn’t hear that.

  Jake smiled at me, then tugged lightly on one of my curls as he brought his hand back to the steering wheel. “That’s my girl.” He winked.

  We pulled out of the driveway, headed toward Roma, and somehow, with Jake smiling at me, I no longer felt quite as sick inside as I had just moments before.

  This time the laughter wasn’t fake. I held my stomach, finding it difficult to breathe. God, I needed this. Jake proved to be the perfect distraction from everything going on in my life. Like Sarah said, he was smart and a great conversationalist, but surprisingly, he was also really funny.

  He smiled at me from across the table. We’d been playing a game. We took turns coming up with a story about the other restaurant patrons seated around us. Jake managed to add dialogue to the story as our subjects talked. His latest was a hilarious back and forth between two juiced up muscle-heads sitting a few tables away.

  Wiping tears of laughter away from my eyes, I shook my head before taking a sip of soda. “That’s awful. For all you know, they’re both on the fast track to Harvard.”

  He tipped his head my way. “You may be absolutely correct. So, I’ll stop.” A grin threatened.

  Playing with the straw in my glass, I looked at him, suddenly serious. “Why are you doing this? I mean, why’d you even agree to help me?”

  He leaned back in his seat, studying me a moment. I met his gaze head-on.

  Just then, a cute server sashayed over to our table, smiling at Jake and ignoring me. “Can I get you anything else?” Her nametag read “Heather.” Of course it did. All the pretty girls seemed to have names like Heather or Kelli or Brittany. Heather even leaned on the table with one arm, making sure to place her impressive cleavage at its best advantage in front of Jake.

  He barely glanced up; his attention still focused on me. I felt warm inside to be the sole subject of his interest. He offered Heather a quick, polite smile. “No, we’re good, thanks. Just the check is fine.” She pouted a bit at the brush off and flounced away.

  I couldn’t quite hide my smirk.

  “What?” He’d noticed my expression.

  I laughed. “Nothing. Just look at you go, only here an hour and already breaking hearts.”

  He rolled his eyes. “That kind of show doesn’t interest me in the slightest.”

  “What does?” I realized belatedly that might be too personal, but I was genuinely curious to learn more about him. It felt good to sit and talk with someone without feeling constantly on guard. Or trying to hide my feelings.

  “What kind of girl interests me?”

  I nodded, still playing with my straw.

  He cocked his head. “Hmm. I guess someone who I can really talk to, and that I don’t feel like I have to provide Cliffsnotes when discussing anything deeper than which celebrity is currently in rehab.”

  When I laughed, he went on. “Someone who isn’t afraid to be herself.” He shook his head. “I honestly don’t know if I have a specific type. I think it’s more, I’ll know her when I see her.” He looked directly in my eyes when he said that. I flushed a little.

  Heather returned with our check, not bothering with the boob show and tell this time. She tossed the slip of paper on the table and spun away without a word.

  “You ready to go?” I figured since we’d eaten, and Eli had already seen us, Jake would be ready to head home, consider his duties done for the night.

  He glanced at this watch. “It’s only a little after nine. Do you have to be home already?”

  “Oh, no. I just figured …”

  “C’mon.” He stood, glanced at the check, and pulled some cash out of his wallet before placing it down on the table.

  “Where are we going?”

  “It’s time I beat you in some air hockey. I saw a table in the back.”

  Now this I could do. Sarah and I played more times than I could count; he had no idea what he was in for. “You’re on.” I smiled wickedly.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Emma

  Driving home over an hour later, I shot him an accusing glare. “You could have told me that you guys have an air hockey table in the dorm.”

  He laughed, a deep rumbling sound. “But that wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun. You were so convinced you were going to crush me.”

  “Yeah, especially since you let me win the first two games. Isn’t that called hustling?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Nah, we weren’t playing for money,” he said. “Though maybe I should have placed a bet.”

  “Ha, I’m a poor high school student. I can’t afford to make bets.”

  “Who said I meant money?” It was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

  I shifted in my seat.

  He laughed. “Oh relax. I’m just kidding. Well, mostly.” He glanced my way, his expression not entirely readable.

  He had to be teasing me. He knew this whole thing was just a way for me to get Eli jealous. I wasn’t interested in any other guy.

  But a tiny part of me whispered, are you sure about that?

  It’d been so nice to be around someone who saw me as a girl. Who called me beautiful. I’d noticed Jake studying me a few times at the restaurant when he didn’t realize I was watching. The look on his face was one of curious interest. It was flattering.

  I cleared my throat, then tried to change the subject to something less confusing. “Did you see the new movie playing yet?” I motioned out the side window to the theater as we passed, its marque announcing the latest release.

  He smiled. “Nope. Haven’t seen it yet. You?”

  “No, but I heard it’s really funny.”

  “Well, do you want to go? Tony works again tomorrow night until ten. We could catch an early show before I meet up with him after that.”

  How awkward, he must have thought I was fishing for an invitation. “No, I didn’t mean you had to take me.”

  He reached out and gently touched my hand where it rested against my left leg. “Emma, I asked because I’d like to go with you, not because I felt like I had to.”

  “Oh!” My cheeks turned warm.

  “So? Would you like to go and see it with me?” He pulled his hand back, placing it once again on the wheel.

  I didn’t know what to do. Tomorrow was Sunday, movie night with Eli. Not ready to lose my chance at seeing Eli, and maybe working things out between us, I hesitantly asked, “Can I let you know tomorrow?”

  Something dropped in his features; the happy glint in his eyes faded a little. But he nodded. “Sure, you can let me know.”

  Things felt less light-hearted the rest of the ride home. Something had shifted slightly between us. I felt bad, and wanted things to go back to the way they were earlier in the night. Casual, fun.

  As he pulled into my driveway, the porch light cast a warm glow our way. Light also shone from my parents’ room; they were probably watching television or reading.

  Glancing toward Eli’s house, I noticed his room was dark. His Jetta was no longer in the driveway. Did that mean he was out, or in bed already?

  Opening my car door, I turned to face Jake. “Thanks for tonight. I really had a nice time.”

  He smiled, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes. They looked disappointed.

  “Here, let me walk you up.”

  I nodded, silently thanking him. We walked toward my front door together, about six inches apart. He didn’t try to touch me, seeming to respect the fact that I needed a little space.

  When we reached the door, I pushed it open slightly before turning to face him. “Jake, really, thank you.”r />
  He looked deep into my eyes for a moment, then slowly leaned in. Omigod, he was going to kiss me. My eyes widened, and my heart thundered. Pin prickles of excitement and panic raced through in equal measure.

  Instead of touching his lips to mine, he merely brushed a feather-soft kiss on my cheek. Pulling back just as slowly, he looked at me once again.

  My cheek tingled, and my body felt slightly warm. Confused by my reaction to him, I stared back.

  He smiled gently before reaching out to brush a flyaway curl from my eyes. “Good night, Emma.”

  I touched my cheek absently, whispering, “Good night.”

  He strolled down the porch steps to the driveway, looking back once. He tipped his head slightly before hopping back into his Explorer and driving into the night.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Emma

  Apparently seeing me with Jake didn’t bother Eli all that much, since he sure wasn’t rushing out to try to make time for me himself. Guess he didn’t care. It would be the first Sunday in as far back as I could remember that we didn’t get together, unless one of us were away.

  Sarah and Jake had each tried to get a hold of me earlier, but I’d ignored them both. I wasn’t ready to answer what was sure to be a million questions from Sarah, and as for Jake? Well, I wasn’t quite sure why I’d ignored him.

  Last night had been confusing. When he’d kissed me, even if it was only on the cheek, I’d felt something. What, I wasn’t quite sure. And until I sorted that out, it seemed like it would be easier to stay away from him.

  After getting back from visiting the grandparents, Mom and Dad asked if Eli was sick since I wasn’t meeting him. After my abrupt “No,” they seemed to take the hint that I didn’t want to talk about it, and left me alone.

  By about seven o’clock, I needed to get out of the house for a little, and decided to go for a walk. After letting my mom know I was heading out, I opened the front door. And stopped abruptly.