“I do. I do, Jake.” I squeezed his rock-hard thigh and he nodded.

Someone had finally pulled up behind us and tooted their horn, so Jake glanced in the rearview mirror and gave an apologetic wave as he stepped on the gas. “I let Mav out,” he told me, a smile brightening his face.

“Thanks. The poor guy probably misses me. Maybe we should go home?”

“Can’t. I promised Roman I’d bring you by.”

“Roman? Ha!”

“I was in for lunch yesterday, and I may have mentioned you.”

“Really?” I smiled as I perked up.

“Yep. Asked him if he remembered that tight piece of ass who was in with the stiff lawyer a few months back.” The corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk.

“Jake!” I yelled and punched his arm, not really making any difference. The guy was a brick wall. Except inside.

We rode in comfortable silence, listening to music as we crossed the bridge and headed through the tunnel to the southern suburbs. I was a regular world traveler these days.

As the Hummer sailed along on the parkway, Jake gave me a mischievous grin and put on the song.

“Ugh, stop it with that!” I shouted as I hit the STOP button.

He chuckled loudly, his laughter radiating through the vehicle and my heart.

I took over the radio, and this time Journey blared through the speakers. Jake hummed and I sang most of the way to Roman’s. When we got out, the sky was beginning to fill with clouds.

“Let’s go, before you get all wet. I hear cats don’t like that.” He gave me a quick wink and slipped his arm around me, guiding me to the door. Tucked under his chin, I felt safer than ever.

When we ran into the restaurant, Rome saw us and rushed out of the kitchen area, grabbing me and squeezing me tight. “I didn’t believe it! This guy here snagged you up!”

His voice bellowed around the small dining room, but everyone was too busy eating and drinking to notice. Embarrassment swept over me nonetheless, but Rome ignored it.

“I like my lawyer and all,” he said with a wicked grin, “but I’d rather hire you! Although it’s a good thing for me that I don’t need one,” he added with a wink.

Rome tossed his arm around me and led me to a corner table near the window where we could see the tiny lights twinkling along the lampposts along the sidewalk outside. This was a neighborhood where everyone looked out for each other, kissed their spouses hello at night and good-bye in the morning. It was a place where kids grew up without worries. The type of community I’d never seen myself a part of, let alone going on a date in, yet here I was.

The server ran out all kinds of protein for Jake—his regular order, obviously—and a special dish for me, compliments of the chef.

Over dinner, we made small talk. Jake asked a little about my mom, but the subject depressed me and I didn’t feel like saying much. Chatter and the scent of garlic and herbs swirled through the room. Once our entrées were done, we shared a dessert. Well, Jake had a bite, and I ate the rest.

“You’re fattening me up so I have to join your gym!” I protested.

“Never,” Jake said, spooning some tiramisu into my mouth. As I chewed, trying not to moan at its goodness, he swiped a little whipped cream from the corner of my mouth with his thumb.

We stared into each other’s eyes, our emotions on the rise, but my words caught in my throat. Jake also looked like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. The awkward moment stretched out as I sat there, my feet sweating in my boots, my hands tingling under the table, my heart galloping at an unsteady pace.

Say something, Jake.

But he didn’t.

After he paid our tab, we kissed and hugged Rome, then headed for the exit. As we swung open the restaurant’s front door, the clouds broke, letting loose a heavy downpour.

Jake grabbed my hand and we made a run for it, but as we got close to the truck, he stopped and picked me up in his arms and kissed me, allowing us to get soaked.

It didn’t matter; I was already drenched with unspoken feelings. I cared for this guy. I was letting him in—one meal, one kiss, one act of kindness at a time.

Easing me down his tight body, he whispered in my ear, “Be my Aly-Cat.”

“I am. I am, Jake.”

My feelings for him had grown so strong in the last few weeks. Jake wanted so badly to be good to me, to take care of me, but strangely I felt I needed to strap on my cape for him, be his protector.

For him, I would be strong, like I was at work. And for a few minutes every day, I dreamed of enjoying a lifetime with Jake, of having a life with him. I deserved that, I thought. Or at least to imagine it.

Jake

I was speeding to therapy. It had been two weeks since I’d last seen Dr. Wells, and I knew we would have to discuss Aly. Part of me didn’t want to. I liked having her all to myself.

We were going on three weeks seeing each other and had slipped into an easy routine. I knew she wanted more but was letting it go my way, allowing me to call the shots, taking my temperature at every turn. It was all too easy.

I think that was what scared the fuck out of me, and precisely why I needed to chat with Dr. Wells. An easy routine never lasted for me; something always happened to screw it up. Shirley babysitting us had been an easy routine that went bad. Camper working for me and ending up in my bed had been another easy solution gone bad. The carnage was all on my hands. I’d been a fool in both circumstances.

I should let Aly alone, but I couldn’t. Like baseball in college. I couldn’t let it be and ended up injured, unable to play.

But Aly and me together felt too good. Every few nights, we’d meet up for dinner and then stay at either her place or mine. She was busy with that fucking ridiculous case—why she was protecting that fuck-face I didn’t know—and she was a little more secretive than I would have preferred. She didn’t say much at all. The dude had been on the lam, and now he was stuck in his apartment with an ankle bracelet. Why the fuck wasn’t he back in jail? Apparently, he held some trump card and Aly—Aly!—had made some deal on his behalf.

I tried not to let it bother me because she continued to put up with my shit. Whenever we stayed together, she accepted being disturbed by an early-as-fuck alarm and waking later to an empty bed. She didn’t try to make me stay or get all silly sad over my early-morning routine. It didn’t go unnoticed.

I was trying to respect her boundaries, the way she respected mine.

This past Sunday, I took her to see my new site. You would have thought I’d taken her to the top of the Empire State Building or the Great Wall of China. She was so thrilled to see the gym floor being laid, and oohed and aahed over the locker rooms. Her genuine interest and excitement made me feel like Jay Z or Tony Soprano or some tough guy like that. I felt like a real somebody when I was with Aly.

“This is so spectacular! I need to join a gym,” she’d said, teasing me, and I’d kissed the shit out of her right in front of the guys working overtime.

After we’d toured the whole place, we went for a ride with Maverick out to one of the state parks. We took a long walk in the woods, her hand in mine, the dog bouncing all over the place at the end of his leash. A few times, we stopped to kiss, touching our lips together gently at first, and then always ending up in a mad frenzy. About a mile and a half into the trail, silence fell around us except for the occasional bird chirping or small animal scurrying up a tree, and I pushed Aly up against a tree.

She’d been wearing these tight-as-hell dark blue yoga pants that fit to each and every curve, caressing her ass and quads. The weather was pretty chilly that day, so she’d had one of those big chunky sweaters on over a skimpy tank top, and I couldn’t help it. I reached over and pushed it off her shoulder, revealing her cleavage and round tits. I kissed her hard, exploring her mouth ruthlessly before I leaned over and kissed a trail down her neck, over her collarbone until I settled on the top of her mounds. My tongue ran laps over the luscious skin, making its way to her even more delicious breasts. I took my thumb and rubbed it over her hardening nipple, and her moan filled the air.