Take a Breath (Take #1) - Jaimie Roberts Page 0,22
with him when he’s like this. He’s always had that way about him—a certain presence which seems to put people at ease whenever he chooses to do so.
“By the way, I fixed the shower for you. It was indeed a faulty valve. It didn’t take long to do, and your showers should be better from now on.”
With a mouthful of chicken, I try my best to say thank you. We smile at each other, and my heart melts. I’d give anything to jump his bones right now.
“Care for a drink at the bar?” he asks, surprising me.
I smile back. “Yeah. That would be great.”
We finish off our food and clear away all the containers before making our way around the dining table we’ve only used once since I came to live here. We used it last year on Christmas Day. It was the first Christmas I had ever felt part of a family.
Jake makes his way around the bar while I sit perched up high on one of his stools. He grabs a glass and dish cloth and starts pretending to dry it. “So what will the lady be having this evening?” Jake raises that cocky smile again, and I almost fall off my chair.
I giggle at his antics, causing it to set him off laughing, too. “I don’t know. Surprise me please, barman.”
He smiles, bringing out a bottle of tequila from the cabinet below and setting down ten shot glasses. I look up at him, eyebrows raised.
Jake clears his throat. “I think we should play a game. It’s called My Favorite Things.”
My surprised expression turns into a frown. “What does that entail?”
I watch as he pours the liquid into our glasses and sets the bottle back down. “Well, we ask each other what a certain favorite thing is, and if one of us doesn’t like the answer, the other has to take a shot.”
I have never heard of this one before, but it sounds like it could be fun. “Right then. Hit me with it, bartender.”
He hovers over me from the other side of the bar, resting his hands on the sides. “What is your favorite cheese?”
I can’t help laughing. “Seriously? Cheese?”
“Yes. Come on. What is it?”
I think for a moment and can only think of one cheese I like to eat regularly. “I like a mature cheddar.” I love other mature things, but that’s something I am definitely not going to get into with Jake right now.
“Cheddar cheese? That’s your answer?” I nod my head. “That’s crap. Take a shot.”
I gasp at his rudeness, but he’s smiling away at me. “Crap? What do you mean crap? Cheddar is very nice, I’ll have you know. There is nothing like a good, mature English cheddar.”
He shakes his head in disbelief. “You could have said a fine Stilton or a great French brie, but not cheddar. It doesn’t sound very interesting.”
I tap the bar. “Well, that’s what I like, and I’m not making something else up.” I nod my head once in defiance and pick the shot glass up before knocking it back. The burn is there straight away. “Shit, this is strong!” My throat is so hot that I can barely manage to get the words out.
“Hey, language,” he says abruptly.
I look at him sheepishly. “Sorry. My turn now. What was your favorite toy when you were growing up?”
He smiles triumphantly, and I’m suddenly dying to wipe that grin off his face. “Well, that’s easy. When I was five, my grandmother bought me a G.I. Joe. It was my favorite toy in the whole world, and it became even more sentimental to me after she died a few weeks later. I still have it to this day as a reminder of her.”
I think I hate him. Why did he have to pull that story on me?
“That was unfair, and you know it.”
He starts laughing and clapping his hands. “I didn’t say I would make it easy for you.” He stares a moment. “My turn.”
I sit there, patiently waiting and trying to think of a good question to come up with so I can beat him after. “Okay. What is your favorite food?”
He must be kidding me. Why didn’t he ask me what my favorite book was or my favorite hobby even? Not more of these silly food questions.
“Chicken, I think,” I blurt out.
He shakes his head in disappointment. “You know you’re making this too damn easy, right? Drink.”
I slap my hand down on the bar to make my frustration known