Present Day
Clover signaled for Jake to turn down the service road that ran along the south property line of her dad’s land. She waved at Brandon. He was working a field of alfalfa with the harvester, driving with a farmer’s confidence. Anyone unfamiliar with the large piece of machinery wouldn’t even try. It looked otherworldly with the long sweep arm that cut the hay. In reality, it was pretty simple. She’d learned how to drive a combine before she learned to drive a car.
“Is that your dad’s property?” Jake asked.
She wasn’t surprised that Jake wasn’t immediately familiar with the boundaries of her dad’s land. He had several tracts, each several hundred acres. Clover herself needed a map to keep it all straight.
“Yeah, just keep driving.” She turned her body into Jake’s. The feel of him, solid and strong, with his arm around her shoulders, made her almost forget about her broken down car, her crappy day at work, and her even crappier boss.
Clover needed to figure out a solution for work. She had another month and she couldn’t spend it constantly avoiding Vince. Maybe Jake would agree to hang out at the pool during her shifts for the rest of the summer like he did when he was kid. Of course, back then he didn’t have any real responsibilities on his aunt’s farm. Now, it seemed, Tammy was making use of him.
Jake drove slow enough that he didn’t kick up a dust storm from the road. The crops would survive a little dust, but it was better for them if they didn’t have to. Clover didn’t even think about those restrictions anymore. She’d been raised to respect the land and the food they produced. Still, she liked that she didn’t have to remind Jake. He’d been a part of his aunt’s farm long enough now that he just knew.
“Where do you live?” Clover had never even thought to ask. She’d known since she was little that Jake came at the beginning of summer and went home to his parents when it was over, but she had no idea where home was.
“Salem. My dad works for the state.”
“What does he do?” Working for the state, in Clover’s experience, was never actually very interesting. But the fact that the man would send his son off every summer made her more curious than normal.
“He’s a civil engineer. He works for the Department of Transportation.”
“That sounds...really boring,” Clover laughed.
Jake shrugged and smiled in a way that said he agreed, but what could he do about it?
She understood enough about life to know that sometimes jobs that sound boring weren’t, but she didn’t think that was the case this time. At the end of the day, however, it didn’t really matter anyway. Work was a thing people did to get paid. Her goal was to make sure she got paid as much as possible. Her dad had taught her that with enough money, she could buy any dream she wanted, just like he had. But that would never happen without hard work, focus, and dedication. She might have enjoyed another line of study, but it was more important for her to earn a living and make her dad proud doing it.
They drew near a large cottonwood tree at the end of the field. The road ended not too far after that. “It’s just right up here.”
Jake slowed a little more and searched the horizon. He could look all he wanted; he wouldn’t see where she was leading him. She’d discovered this place when she was little, not too long after her dad bought the land. It wasn’t exactly a secret, but she hadn’t brought many people out here either. Her brother, obviously, Brandon, and her dad. But that was it.
She hadn’t wanted a place she loved to turn into a party hangout during high school, so she hadn’t brought any of her friends. Not to mention she’d been too focused on her grades to spend any time on boys. She supposed that if she’d had a boyfriend, she would have brought him out here. Maybe.
It seemed to her, based on what she knew of Jake’s history and their shared experiences that day, that he would understand and appreciate how special it was. She felt guilty about not sharing this with him before. There’d been plenty of opportunities, but she’d never acted on them.
Jake stopped under the shade of the tree and cut the engine. The land dropped off just beyond that point and opened up to a small, private pond. There were several other trees around the pond, and until they got right up on it, it looked like nothing more than a small grove of trees. Farmers did that all the time, left patches of trees along the borders between fields. Often times they’d place rest stations for workers and beehives in those areas.
“Wow.” Jake climbed out of the truck and pulled Clover along by the hand. He led her to the front of the truck and he paused there for a moment to look around. “This is beautiful. I didn’t know you guys have a pond.”
“Most people don’t.” She let go of his hand and went to the back of the truck. She grabbed the beer and the picnic basket, which she thought was adorable. She’d never had a guy make a picnic for her before. Her ex-boyfriend thought it was romantic to order pizza after they’d fucked. He wasn’t big on wooing. To be fair, she was too wrapped up with her studies to have time for much else either. The functionality of what he offered worked well at the time. There was just no way it would ever lead to more.
She bumped Jake with the basket and he took it from her. She led him down to the water’s edge.
“This is perfect.” He set the basket on the picnic table her dad had installed several years ago. Clover set the beer next to it.
There was a layer of dust on the table from going unused. She should encourage Brandon to come out here more often. It didn’t look like anyone had been here since the previous summer when she’d been home, and that had been a brief trip. Nothing more than a pit stop between the end of her internship and the beginning of senior year. Just enough to convince her dad that she was still alive, and that he should pay another year’s worth of tuition and expenses.
She and Lexy kept their apartment in Seattle year round. It was simpler than moving everything home or into storage for a couple of months. Twice she’d stayed in Seattle for school. She’d tasted what adult life would be like, going to work and coming home to an empty apartment. She enjoyed everything she learned, but she knew she wouldn’t be happy living alone long term.
“I love it here.”
“Could we swim?”
“Did you bring a suit?” Clover laughed. She wasn’t opposed to getting Jake naked, but skinny dipping wasn’t what she had in mind. It felt kind of like cheating.
“No.” Jake’s smile dimmed briefly, then he spotted the picnic basket. He opened it and started pulling food out. “But I did bring sandwiches.”
“And beer.” She pulled out a bottle. Truthfully, she wasn’t much of a drinker, but the bottles were still cold and it felt like the kind of afternoon for enjoying a bottle of beer with a hot guy by the water.
“Is that okay?” Jake had the cutest little worried look on his face. Clover wanted to kiss the crinkle in the middle of his forehead. “I brought wine and water, too.” He showed her the bottles.
She twisted the top off the beer. “This is good.” She sat on the top of the table with her feet on the bench, leaving plenty of room between her and the basket for Jake to sit next to her if he wanted.
“Sandwich?” He offered as he joined her on the table. Again, he sat close enough for their legs to touch.
She took it and let her fingers linger for a moment when their hands touched. She looked into his eyes. “I don’t remember you being like this before.”
“What do you mean?” Jake stared at her mouth and licked his lips. The end of his question dropped off like he forgot he was speaking somewhere in the middle.
“All handsome and charming. You rescued me twice today.” She tried to figure out how to say what she really meant. “The last time we really saw each other, you tried to throw grasshoppers in my hair.” That wasn’t entirely accurate. He hadn’t done that since they were kids, like nine or ten, but she couldn’t think of a better way to explain the difference between who she thought he was in the past and who he was proving to be that day.
“Grasshoppers, huh? That’s the only thing you remember?” Jake asked. He wasn’t full-on pouting, but he was definitely upset.
“No, I remember a lot more. But my point is, you’ve always been the kid next door. I’m having a hard time matching that up with…this.” She gestured toward him, hoping he’d understand what she meant. He relaxed and smiled all sexy.
“Well, I remember you being exactly like this.” Jake leaned closer with every word. When he finished speaking, their lips were close enough that she could feel his words against her skin.
Her eyes slipped shut and she held her breath without really meaning to. Jake was going to kiss her and she wanted to remember the moment. She waited for what felt like forever, but was probably only a few seconds, and then she felt the soft, tentative brush of his lips against hers.
He pulled back far enough to say, “Is this okay?” His hot breath puffed over her skin as he spoke and bumps rose in the wake.
She set the bottle and sandwich on the table and wrapped her arm around his neck to pull him in close. They were already kissing again when she answered, “More than okay.” Her answer was muffled into his mouth.
It’d been far too long since Clover had been kissed, since she’d felt the gentle yet insistent touch of a tongue against her own, but she was absolutely certain it had never felt this good before. Yes, Jake kissed in a way that made her feel wanted--that part was pretty standard--but beneath the desire, there was restraint. She could feel him holding himself back with every swipe of his tongue, with the way he rested his fingers against her face but didn’t pull her in tighter.
By this point, her ex would have had her laid out flat on the table with his body on top of hers and his hand halfway down her pants. At the time, she’d enjoyed his urgency, but this was different. Jake was letting her decide, letting her dictate the speed of their kiss, and the trust and sensuality of it made her head swim.
She pulled away with a gasp. “Wow.” She reached for him again, her fingers playing with the loose curls at the base of his skull. He slanted his mouth over hers just right until she was pulling at him. She lay back on the table and drew him with her, kissing him greedily, demanding that he let go of his reserve and kiss her the way he wanted.
Rather than push her into the table and hold her there with the weight of his body, he pulled away completely and sat up. Clover lay next to him, gasping for breath and trying to understand where he’d gone. When she realized that he wasn’t just adjusting, but was sitting next to her, showing no signs of coming back for more kisses, she forced herself upright.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. She didn’t touch him.
His body was drawn tight, and the muscles on his forearms stood out as he pushed his hands through his hair. “We need to slow down.”
His sudden withdrawal confused her. Clover was incredibly turned on, and if the bulge in Jake’s pants was any indication, so was he. He’d been the one to kiss her first, not the other way around. Then, before it could go any further, he backed away. It’s not like she wanted to have sex on her dad’s picnic table, but there was no reason they couldn’t have kept going a little longer.
“Okay,” she agreed for lack of anything better to say. She wanted to ask what the hell was wrong with him, but that made her sound just a little too much like the eager teenage boys she’d spent her high school years turning down. She grabbed her beer and picked at the label. When Jake remained silent, she took a small drink, then went back to her sandwich. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so that he’d thought to bring food made her really happy. It was a sweet gesture.
She was about halfway through her sandwich--leftover roast beef with mayo and lettuce--when Jake finally spoke. “It’s not you, okay?”
Clover laughed a little bit, but she didn’t really think it was funny. “I didn’t think it was.” She wasn’t one of those overly emotional girls who thought every rejection from a guy translated into something she’d done wrong. She didn’t know what was going on with Jake, but she wasn’t about to assume it was her fault. She held out her sandwich. “You should eat one of these. It’s pretty good.”
“Yeah?” Jake smiled at her as he rooted through the basket for one of his own. He handed her an apple and a bag of chips while he was at it.
“Did you make the roast?” Clover didn’t think he had, but it gave her something to say. If they were ever going to get past the awkward silent thing they had working for them right now, one of them had to start somewhere.
“No, my Aunt Tammy did.” Jake spoke too quietly, making the question of roast far more serious than it needed to be. Perhaps he wasn’t going to be able to just move on with the rest of the conversation. She could adapt.
Clover reached for Jake’s hand and took hold of it carefully. She wanted to give him plenty of time to pull away if he needed to. “Hey.” She waited for him to look at her. “I’m not sure exactly what happened there, but I really like kissing you. Whenever you’re ready to do it again, just let me know.”
Jake smiled with just a hint of the carefree attitude from earlier. “You do?”
“God, yes.” She sounded all breathy and needy, but she really didn’t care.
He moved closer and brought his mouth to hers. “I like it, too,” he said in the moment before his lips touched hers. He kept the kiss brief, but slipped his tongue out to lick along her bottom lip before he pulled away.