“Thanks again, Jay, really,” I say, handing him the amount he texted me earlier. He really did save my butt back there. If I’d called my parents to come rescue me from being arrested for not paying for dinner, they would’ve lost it.
He nods once as he stuffs the money into his wallet, the only acknowledgment of his kind deed.
I hook Kevin up on her harness and leash, and Jay keeps me company as she does her business on the lawn. He waits for me as I clean up after her and give her a treat and kisses before locking the door again and leaving her to snooze.
“Where are we going?” I ask Jay as I settle into the passenger seat of his car. It’s clean inside and smells like him—spicy and fresh.
He starts the car and pulls away from the curb. “You’ll see.”
—
The drive is relatively short, but by the time Jay pulls into a deserted parking lot, I’m reconsidering agreeing to this.
“Am I about to get kidnapped?” I joke as I exit the car, glancing around the dark space at what seems like the back of an abandoned building.
He scoffs. “As if anyone would want to kidnapyou. You’d annoy the shit out of them.”
I roll my eyes but smirk. “So what are we doing?”
“You’ll see. Let’s go.” He opens his trunk and switches his dress shoes for black sneakers. I’d hate to admit it, but that’s smart. I wish I thought about keeping runners in my trunk; it would’ve come in handy when we went to the cliff.
He closes his trunk and locks the car, leading me around the back of the building and down a path that leads to more buildings. There’s barely any light, and the wind is stronger than it was before. Jay catches me shivering.
“Why don’t you ever bring a jacket?” he mumbles, unbuttoning his nice jacket and holding it out to me as we walk. I stare at it like it’s sprouted limbs and walked over to me of its own accord.
He scowls and shakes it. “Are you going to take it or not?”
I don’t want to, but it’s cold out. “Yes, thank you.” I snatch it from his outstretched arms and wrap it around myself. It’s too big for me, but it’s warm from his body heat and smells like him. I ignore the tingles that run through my body at the realization.
This new feeling confuses me and makes me unsure of myself around him, so I stick to what we know, which is teasing each other. “I didn’t take you for a chivalrous kind of guy.”
“I’m not. You’re shivering, and that would make what we’re about to do difficult. I don’t want to get caught.”
I can’t tell if he’s joking or not. “Wh-what are we about to do?”And why can’t we get caught?
He smiles knowingly, stopping in front of a chain-link fence and pointing at a building on the other side. It’s the back of the building, and even though there’s barely any light to see, it looks old and like it’s falling apart.
“I don’t get it,” I say, and he sighs.
“We’re going to hop the fence.”
I balk. “What? Why?”
“To get to the other side?” He shakes his head at me like it was a stupid question.
“Yes, andwhydo we need to hop the fence to get to the other side? What’s there? What’s in the building? Why can’t we just walk in the front?”
Jay sighs and shoots me a questioning look. “Are you asking all these questions to distract me from the fact you can’t jump a fence?”
“Of course I can jump a fence!”
His lips quirk up as he bends a bit and holds out his cupped hands. “Then do you need a lift, or can you do it?”
I grumble and ignore his outstretched hands, instead turning to the fence. I don’t know why we’re doing this or where we’re going, but apparently I’m going to do it just to prove a point to Jay. I grab on as high as I can and shove my foot in the space between the wires, then hoist myself up. I see now why Jay was adamant about wearing sneakers, but I’m still in a dress.
“Don’t look up!” I scold Jay, even though he’s not even trying to peek up my dress.
“Nothing I haven’t seen before,” Jay smugly replies. “And I already know you’re wearing a navy thong.”