I looked him in the eyes for a beat then said against his mouth, “Sleep well.”
He kissed my forehead and I grabbed my nightie, pulled it over my head, turned off the alarm so it wouldn’t wake Vance, swung off the bed and went to feed Boo.
I showered, got ready as quietly as I could and chanced a glance up at the bed before I left.
Vance was lying on his stomach, sheet down to his waist and I could see his brown-skinned, muscled back which looked even browner against my cream sheets. Boo was curled into the side of his waist and didn’t even look at me when I peeked.
I had to hold on to the bed platform not because of a belly flutter but because my knees went weak. There were all sorts of reasons for this, none of which I had the time or inclination to explore at that moment.
I pulled myself together and walked outside.
Nick was standing in the yard staring at Vance’s Harley which was parked close to the backdoor.
Nick’s eyes swung to me but he didn’t say a word.
“Um… seems Vance and I are back together,” I informed Nick, explaining the bike.
Nick watched me a beat then dropped his head, stared at his shoes and muttered something under his breath I didn’t catch.
I walked closer to him. “Sorry?” I asked. “I didn’t hear that.”
He looked at me. “These are the times I hate,” he said louder.
I just stared at him.
Then I asked, “What times?”
“The times when I don’t know what Reba explained to you and what she didn’t.”
Oh crap.
Not one of those times. Those times were always embarrassing for both of us. Always.
“Nick –” I started but Nick interrupted me and I could tell it was in an effort to get what he had to say over with and quick.
“Don’t f**k with this guy, Jules. This is not the type of guy you f**k with. I figure he’s got a lot of patience and to be honest, no offense sweetheart, he’s gonna need it with you. But don’t use up his patience. Does that make sense?”
I was still caught at Nick dropping the f-bomb. Nick didn’t tend to use the f-word very often.
Nick took my silence as confusion, came closer to me and explained, “What I’m sayin’ is, don’t jack him around.”
“Nick!”
“I’m just sayin’.”
“I’m not jacking Vance around!” Okay, maybe I was, but I didn’t realize it at the time. “I’m just…” I went on, “working through some issues.”
“Well, don’t tease him while you’re doin’ it, that’s all I’m sayin’.”
“Tease him?” I whispered.
Oh my God.
Was I teasing Vance? Was I teasing Luke? Was I teasing both Vance and Luke?
Oh… my… God.
How did I go from virgin to slut to tease in a week?