Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
“We’re not,” he replies, shaking his head.
My heart rate goes up even further.
Okay, so one of two things is happening right now. Either Jake is taking me on a surprise romantic…breakfast. In which case, I have to break it to him that I’ve already eaten or just pretend I haven’t and go ahead and eat whatever it is they serve at wherever he’s taking me.
Or two, I’m being kidnapped.
“Jake,” I say slowly, “are you…kidnapping me?”
Jake doesn’t answer right away. He thinks for a second, but that’s all the answer I need.
Quickly, I take my phone from my purse and start to dial 9-1-1, but before I can press send, Jake snatches it away from me and stuffs it in his pocket.
“No, no,” he says. “We don’t need any of that, Sadie. Just relax.”
37
Sadie
Okay, don’t panic. Remain calm. Jake is just messing with you. He definitely isn’t Joe from that show You on Netflix. You’re definitely not being taken to his secret cage where you’re going to spend the rest of your life until he kills you.
But the more I tell myself to relax, the less relaxed I feel and the more my heart rate continues to skyrocket.
“Relax?” I repeat. “Just relax?”
I’m on the verge of screaming now. This can’t seriously be happening. Am I seriously being kidnapped by Jake?
Maybe I’m dreaming.
I reach down and pinch myself on the thigh to try and wake myself up. But all that happens is a pain shoots through my leg. I’m still sitting in Jake’s truck as he drives a route taking us out of town.
“You’re kidnapping me, Jake!” I nearly shout. “How the hell am I supposed to relax?”
“Come on, Sadie,” Jake chuckles. “It’s not really kidnapping you. You know me.”
“So then why didn’t you just ask me to come with you?” I reply indignantly.
“Because you wouldn’t have come with me if I’d just asked you.” Jake shrugs. “You’d give me some speech about how going anywhere with me would be breaking your rule.”
“Oh, well, that makes sense,” I sigh, slumping back in my seat. My heart is still pounding, but I’m a little less anxious now. Deep down, I guess I know Jake isn’t some crazed murderer or something. He’s not taking me wherever he’s taking me to kill me. But that still doesn’t explain why I’m here.
“See I knew you’d understand.” He smirks. He’s messing with me.
“Seriously though, Jake,” I say, more emphatically, “where are we going?”
“You’d better just settle in and relax,” he replies, placing his strong hand on my thigh. “It’s going to be a bit of a drive.”
For the first time since I met him, I actually don’t want Jake’s hand on me.
I swat it off and scoot over in my seat as far away from him as I can get. This doesn’t look like it bothers him, though. In fact, it actually looks like it amuses him. He kind of smiles and just turns his attention back to the road.
I don’t say anything for a while. I just keep my mouth shut until long after we’re out of Stamford and the surrounding towns. Jake doesn’t say anything, either. It’s like we’re playing a game of chicken to determine who talks first. But as it turns out, I end up losing.
“So we’re headed north,” I say. “Which means you’re taking me to Boston for a surprise shopping trip. I guess that means you’re my new sugar daddy?”
“You got me,” Jake replies with a smile. But obviously that’s not what’s going on.
“Or maybe an impromptu Red Sox game?” I suggest.
Jake laughs. “You really don’t know when baseball season is, do you?”
I don’t know if I should feel embarrassed about that or not.
“Okay, so the aquarium then,” I say. “I haven’t been there in years.”
“We could stop by there on the way back,” Jake replies. He looks actually genuine when he suggests this.
“On the way back from where?” I’m getting really angry now. Not that I wasn’t already, of course, but this is getting ridiculous. You’d think now that he already has me in the car, Jake would be willing to spill where our destination is. But for some reason, he’s still keeping it a secret from me.
“Your mom really cares about you,” he says. It’s an off-handed remark, said in an almost casual way like it doesn’t mean anything. And I would almost be willing to believe that if I hadn’t caught my mom downstairs in Jake’s house that morning having a conversation with him.
And given how much she’s been hassling me about finding a man and settling down lately, there’s no way I think Jake’s little comment is meant to be innocent.
“Yeah?” I ask. “You know that, do you?”
I’m egging him on, and I really shouldn’t be. But I’m in a mood given the circumstances.
“Well, it’s pretty obvious,” he replies. “You’re lucky in that regard.”