Secret Desires

4: Hypocrite

       I hastily pulled my jacket off the coat hook and put it on quickly. Jill was occupying herself with her milkshake as she watched me put my gloves on. I could see she was worried about me, but I was fine. I was okay. This was okay. Dean and Bailey continued to have a conversation with Jake and Vanessa even though they said 'goodbye' already. Vanessa just smiled and laughed with Bailey. Dean smiled like an oblivious fool.

        Jake kept trying to not look my way but failed with every attempt. Things were still tense between us. That was partially my fault, but it was also his. I swung my bag over my shoulder again and didn't look back as I stepped out into the brisk air. The heavy glass door closed behind me, pushing a small gust of warm air against my back. David was leaning against a street lamp with his arms crossed. I could see the annoyance on his face.

       "Ready?" I asked. He nodded, pushing himself off the cold metal pole. There was a small dusting of snow in his hair that I wanted to brush away. I knew how dangerous that would be if I did so. My hands gripped the strap of my bag as he came to my side. His smile was forced, that was obvious.

       "Well?" The question was clear enough. I already knew he would want to know why Jake was here and why he was talking to us. If David had it his way, Jake would be fired or worse. David still forced a smile on his face. He was upset and I didn't want him to be. I smiled playfully as I batted my eyes up at him.

       "Well, what?" I asked innocently. David narrowed his eyes at me as we started walking to his car. Our pace was slow and unhurried. The snow crunching beneath our feet was a comforting noise.

       "Why is he here?" The stress line between his eyebrows became prominent. He was more worked up about the situation than I was it seemed. Then again, I practically just bolted out the second I found my window of opportunity to do so.

       "Who?" I asked playfully. David's lips pursed.

       "Pierce," he hissed. The smile he wore was one hundred percent feigned. I could see he was amused but not in a good way.

       "I don't know. What does one do when they go to a diner?" He rolled his eyes in response.

       "Hm." David didn't say anything. He didn't look upset either. He just smirked down at me. I smirked back. Making light of all of this was helping me. "So you really don't know why he's here?"

       "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say he's here to eat." He laughed, the stress line smoothing out.

        "If Dani knew you had a snarky side, you two might actually be good friends." I laughed at that. He was joking, but he probably wasn't wrong. I let out a long sigh. It was my last weekend at Maple Creek so that had already set the mood for the day. Jake and Vanessa showing up had been the cherry on top.

       "I hope they don't make this a habit. I like coming here." He looked over his shoulder as if he could see back into the diner. The window my eyes had been glued to was only a few feet away. What if they were still at the table?

       "They? Was he with someone?" I looked up to see the confused look on his face. Had he really not seen Vanessa with Jake? I guess he had been too busy giving the other male the death stare. All my attention had been on Vanessa. She was beautiful. I didn't envy her looks though. I coveted who she belonged to. I desired whose heart she had. Vanessa had what I wanted.

       No secrets. No hiding. No explanations and no judgments for being a couple. They were able to walk into Duquette's without a single worry of being caught doing something wrong. She could hold his hand and no one would bat an eye. He could wrap his arm around her and whispers about it wouldn't be heard. They could share a kiss without a single fear. They were free to be. She could love him and he could love her because it was possible. She had him. She won.