Secrets of the Great Oak

Chapter 5

Jake and Anna loaded his equipment into the car and lowered themselves into their respective seats.

She had kissed his cheek! What was she thinking? That was definitely too far. Why had she even done it? She took a breath. It was just because Liam was right there. What a creep. It was a last-ditch effort to get Liam away from her. What would Tam say if she had seen that?

"You alright, Anna?" Jake said as he put his arm around her chair while reversing out of their parking spot. "You look like you're thinking about something." He could always tell. She guessed that's what fifteen years of friendship meant: they could read each other like a book.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Liam just gave me the creeps."

They drove for a little ways in silence before Jake said, "I'm sorry he said those things to you." He gave her arm a reassuring squeeze as he continued, "But, you did a pretty good job of chasing him off, I think." Another beat of silence.

"Maybe too good of a job." She said softly. That had Jake looking at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry about kissing your cheek. I think that might've been too far." She sheepishly admitted, wringing her hands slightly. He pulled into an empty lot on the route back to her house and put the car in park. The parking lot was cracked and had weeds growing through the asphalt. It was in front of what used to be a convenience store but now, was a building in decay. Anna looked anywhere except at Jake.

"Hey. Anna. Look at me." She didn't and he turned to face her fully. "Look at me, please." She slowly turned in her seat to meet his gaze. "You don't have to be sorry for any of that. Okay? Liam's a womanizer who needed to be taught a lesson. And I had fun teaching it to him, with you tonight." He reached to grab her hands but, she moved just out of his grasp. She was so embarrassed. And Tam...

"I just can't help thinking about Tam and what it would do to her to know that I kissed you. Even if it was just on the cheek."

Jake sighed. "You're a good friend to her. I respect that. But, you are not responsible for her healing process. You and I have our own relationship and she has no right to say anything about it."

"But, she has a right to know that she can trust me to not hurt her." He took a deep breath, but she kept going. "When you broke up with her, it was because you wanted what's best for her, right? Does that not apply now?"

"Of course! It still applies. It's just... It was just a kiss on the cheek. And it was a matter of your safety."

"I know. I know. I'm just feeling guilty about it is all." Silence again.

"You have nothing to feel guilty about. It was a friend, helping another friend." He paused. "Right?"

She looked down, wringing her hands again. "Right. I'm just sorry that it caught you so off guard. It felt like... like I was using you. It didn't feel right."

"You're fine, Anna." He winked at her. "You can use me anytime." There was the playful banter. Anna felt the tension in the car dissolve at the words. She swatted his arm. But, his face turned serious again.

"What?" Anna asked.

"Liam just pissed me off tonight. You know what he said to me as we were leaving? He told me, 'next time, don't bring a girl you're not willing to share'."

"WHAT?" Anna's eyes went wide and her mouth gaped. "To share? That's disgusting."

"Well, that's Liam." Jake shrugged and started to pull out of the parking lot.