Dancing in the Florida Sun (Completed)

7- FS Friends?

Copyright © designschool 2020

All Rights Reserved

     When the doorbell rang, Brooke placed Noah in the play pen, so she could help Ann and Jacob bring in the food. Opening the door, she was shocked to, instead, see Mr. Hot Drug Dealer standing, in all his glory, at her doorstep holding flowers. Her brow furrowed and she swallowed hard. "Can I help you?"

    "Brooke," he said with a crooked smile.

     Her mouth dropped. "How-"

     "Brooke! I see you've met my grandson!" Ann said as she came around the corner. "Brooke, this is Jacob." Ann grinned and side hugged Brooke while balancing a cake with her other hand.

     Still smiling, Jacob held out a hand towards Brooke. "Brooke." His husky voice speaking her name shook her.

     She stared at his hand for a few seconds before shaking it, when her eyes lifted back up to Jacob's, there was a look she couldn't read. Brooke finally pulled back her hand, realizing they were no longer shaking, but just holding hands.

     Forcing a smile, Brooke reached out to get the cake dish that Ann was carrying, then stepped back into the apartment. She placed the dish on the counter and looked back at Jacob, as he handed her grandmother the flowers. Even as her grandmother greeted him, he was watching her every move. Her mind felt like a jumbled mess as she tried to understand how the "perfect" grandson Ann had been describing when they spoke on the phone, is the very same Mr. Hot Drug Dealer she had been running into.  Had she misjudged him?

     "Jacob, um, I'm glad to finally put a name with the face." She forced a smile and grabbed his wrist, leading him to the living room. "Come meet Noah." Once they were at the play pen, she whispered, "Why did you never tell me who you are?"

     He frowned and ignored her question, "You don't like me, and I'm not sure why?" 

     Brooke's face reddened and her eyes darted down to Noah, then she mumbled, "I thought youwereadrugdealer."

     "What?" Jacob reached up and grabbed her shoulder, causing her to flinch at the sensation.

     "I thought you were a drug dealer," she said more clearly, and when she saw that his face had hardened, she asked, "You're not...are you?"

     Jacob's hand fell from her shoulder, and he laughed. "That explains all of the dirty looks you gave me." He shook his head. "No, I'm not. I knew you were going through a hard time, so I had hoped that's all it was, but I gave you your space because you always looked at me like...well, I guess like I was a criminal. Just...Wow." He frowned, stepped away from her and reached down to Noah and picked him up, "Hey, Noah! Good to officially meet you." He tickled Noah under the chin, and Noah giggled. Moving back towards Brooke, he leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Don't worry, I won't hold it against you."

     A shiver raced down her spine, and when she looked at him, she noticed his grin was back.

Even though Jacob said he wouldn't hold it against her, Brooke still felt embarrassed, which made for a painfully awkward dinner. There was so much more she wanted to ask him, but not in front of their grandmothers.

~~~

     As the evening drew to a close, he pulled her aside and reached out to shake her hand. His hold on her lingered as he whispered, "Friends?"

     "Friends," she agreed, but it somehow felt like she was agreeing to much more as she looked into the hypnotizing eyes of the handsome man before her. It was clear there was more to him than she imagined when she made her assumptions based on his bad boy appearance, and she hoped he would allow her to get close enough to figure out all that lay beneath his bad boy exterior.

~~~

A/N: 10/30/20: I'm excited to be posting the rest of the story!  One or more chapters 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday, & Friday) until it's finished.  There are 43 including the Epilogue. I have them all written and just need to edit each before I post.

Don't forget to click the orange star if you like this chapter, and add this book to your reading list!