True Divide by Liora Blake Read Free Book Online Page B

and rubs his hands together. “Get in, Lacey.”
    Just my luck, a half-eaten cookie shoved in my mouth and what feels like a few stray crumbs dangling off my chin—and Jake happens drive by. I would have preferred to have our reunion end as it did at the bar, him looking me over with evident want and me sauntering off with the final say. I try valiantly to re-create the moment when I walked out with three wins. Me, last word. Him, hopefully staring at my behind longingly.
    â€œNo, thank you. I’m fine.” I turn and start walking again, cursing the empty curbsides as Jake puts the truck in gear and proceeds to let the truck roll along beside me.
    â€œYou can’t be fine. You’re walking in the dark, in the freezing cold, and you’re wearing a short skirt. Where’s your car, anyway? I don’t recall you being a big fan of a winter’s night nature walk.”
    â€œCar wouldn’t start.” I stick another cookie in my mouth and stare straight ahead. Only two blocks to my front door. After that, my cookies and I can burrow under the sheets and think about sex with Jake in the abstract. Anything other than that is a bad idea; I know it, the cookies know it, and once I’m lying there with cold cream on my face and frosting in my teeth, my body will get the message.
    â€œWouldn’t start or wouldn’t turn over?”
    I keep quiet in response to his question and continue walking, because I refuse to let this conversation veer toward the diagnosis of my car’s nonstart problem. Despite knowing Jake could likely fix the dumb thing in less than five minutes, we aren’t old pals or new pals or two people who plan to spend the night together, so I don’t need him to do me any favors. We aren’t anything . When I left the bar a few minutes ago, that was the plan.
    Jake starts to speed up and at the end of the street, he pulls in to block the area I would normally cross and shoves the truck into park, tosses open the door, and stands there. When I cover the final few steps to where he stands, I simply veer my path. He side-hops over to block me again. I raise my eyes to meet his and the playful goading look on his face suddenly makes me want to crawl all over him, just to see if he smells the way he used to.
    â€œLacey. Won’t start or won’t turn over?”
    Sighing, I curl my bag of cookies closer. “I don’t freaking know. It went click, tick, tick, tick. Click, tick, tick, tick. I’m not exactly a grease monkey, you know that.”
    He tips his head back and laughs. “True.” Jake tilts his head down toward mine. “I think this was meant to be. Like the universe wants us to spend some more time together. The ancient gods of unreliable engines must have divined it.”
    â€œThe only thing the universe wants is for me to get home and out of the cold.”
    â€œI’ll drive you.”
    â€œI don’t need you to drive me one block.”
    Narrowing his eyes, Jake looks down the street toward my house, turning back slowly. “Don’t tell me you live in the same house. Duke’s house? Really?”
    Ideally, the darkness prevents him from seeing how the incredulousness in his voice stings and, frankly, ticks me off. “ Yes. I do.”
    His face goes slack for a moment and he shakes his head a little. “Sorry. That was a dick thing to say. No judgment; it’s a nice house.” Jake shoves his hand out and grabs into my bag of cookies, fishing a few out, then starts to chew on them. With a grimace, he swallows and rolls his tongue out with a gagging noise. “God, those are still shitty. Some things never change.”
    â€œSome things do,” I say, slowly, letting my eyes find his and focus there, unwavering. Jake meets my stare and his eyes soften.
    â€œLace, come on. Just hang out with me a little more tonight, please. It feels like we have more catching up to do, doesn’t