Anxious Jeopardies

Chapter Thirteen

"What?"

"It was only for a few months."

"You?"

"Yes, me." Jake looked away, ashamed and anxious. "Who else would we be talking about?"

Ana cracked an unexpected smile. "That's really funny. I never would have guessed that."

"It's funny?"

"You're, like, the last person I would have expected." She was grinning. He was confused.

"You're not upset?"

"Half the people I work with... Worked with have been to jail. I almost went."

"Really?"

"Really." She shifted, getting comfortable. "What'd you do?"

"I was young, and it was juvie, not jail, but-"

"That's nothing."

He looked at her, not sure how to feel. "Can I keep going?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Sorry."

"It was drugs. I sold drugs in middle school." Her smile broadened. "Well I  thought it was bad-ass," he laughed.

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to make it not a big deal, I just expected something else."

"Like what? Sorry to disappoint, I'm not a pedophile."

She kept up the grin and rolled her eyes. Hesitantly, unsure of how to expect his reaction, she said, "You're not a screw up. You've changed. I mean, I obviously didn't know you then, and maybe you were a jerk, but you're definitely not now."

"Thanks."

"I mean it, Jake. You're so... Wonderful. Nice. Caring. Charming. Funny. I could go on." He rolled his eyes. "Not many guys would have stayed here with me this long. Or at all," she smiled, trying to show her appreciation.

"I left twice."

"But for good reasons."

"I guess."

"You guess. Posh." She moved her arm like she was over it.

"I just... I don't know. I wish that I could give you everything you deserve. I mean, you've saved a countless number of people's lives, but as far as I can tell, you haven't really gotten anything back for it."

"I've declined a lot of gifts. It's not like people haven't tried."

"Why would you do that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'd convinced myself that I could do things on my own. Like, totally, one hundred percent, completely on my own. I didn't take things from other people because I didn't need to. Now that I think about it, it was probably pretty stupid."

"A little," he admitted.

A nurse knocked on the door before entering. "You have more guests."

Ana looked curious but Jake's face fell into a scowl. "If Derek came, I'm going to beat the living hell out of him."

"If you're not going to behave yourself, you can leave," the redhead admonished. He sighed and stepped away from the counter, moving to stand next to her.

Max and Eric came in, one holding flowers and the other with a balloon. "I know it's cheesy but I couldn't think of anything else to get you."

"You were going to get her a gun," Max reminded him. "I doubt they'd have let it in." She laughed.