Chapter Forty-Seven

When the girls got there, there were already several guys getting the bonfire ready. Some of the girls, who'd also been at the barn dance, had brought provisions and started getting things out and ready. Hannah and Molly had brought their own drinks so that they weren't dependent on anyone else or having to do anyone any favors in order to get a drink. 

As much as Jake wasn't particularly looking forward to the bonfire itself, he was looking forward to spending time with Molly again so he showed up shortly after them. He parked his truck in such a way that the bed of the truck was relatively close to the fire. That way they could sit a little way off the floor but still be close to the warmth of the flames. 

"Howdy, good lookin'," Jake said softly as he pulled her in closer towards him. 

"Right back at ya, cowboy," she smiled, giving him a happy kiss. It was nice that she didn't have to check if her sister wasn't around first. 

"I hate to sound like a third wheel, but room for one more?" Hannah asked now, not really wanting to interrupt them but wanting to make sure she had somewhere to leave her drinks and someone to sit with, so some of the lowlifes didn't get the wrong idea. 

"Sure thing," Jake nodded, pulling Molly so she was stood in front of him as he leaned back against the truck and there'd be plenty of room next to them for her to stand or sit. "No one here that takes yer fancy?" he asked teasingly, sounding as if his girlfriend had mentioned wanting to help Hannah find someone. Which she obviously hadn't, as she hadn't spoken to him since before she'd asked her friend about it on the way over here. 

"Dude, get real," she responded as she gave him a shove, which made Molly laugh. "I really fancy havin' a few drinks," she said wistfully, knowing it meant she'd have to walk or rely on someone giving her a lift home at the end of the night. Neither option was appealing if it was one of the random guys that were in attendance. 

"I could always drive ye home if ye wanted," Jake offered with a casual shrug. He wasn't planning on drinking tonight either way. Especially if Molly did end up staying over, he wanted to know what he was doing and remember everything.

"That'd be great, but only if yer sure," Hannah said now. She didn't want to ruin his night if that didn't fit in with his plans. 

"Course I'm sure," he assured her now. 

"Thanks Jake, I appreciate that," she smiled gratefully, opening one of the beers she'd brought with her. "I know there's a few more of us, but I still feel old compared to some of these," she said as she looked around the crowd sat near the bonfire. 

Jake followed her look from around Molly's shoulder and shrugged. "Suppose," he said unhelpfully. He didn't really care about that kind of thing anyway. 

"Is Jo-Lillie comin'?" Molly asked her friend as she leaned back into her boyfriend to keep warm. She felt her stomach do flips as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He was holding her as if they were alone, his thumb occasionally brushing her skin when her top moved up. She wished they were alone. 

"She should be," Hannah nodded, taking a sip of her beer as she continued surveying the attendees. There wasn't anyone that stood out as taking her fancy, but that could change as the night wore on. 

Once Jo-Lillie did show up, she and Hannah seemed to drink a little quicker and a little more competitively. And while it made Molly feel grateful that she wasn't drinking, she also realized that it didn't really appeal to her. So she and Jake kept mostly to themselves, sitting on the edge of the bed of his truck as they talked softly. They did end up having to speak up a bit more when one of the other guys turned the radio in his chevvy up, but Molly didn't mind too much – she really was starting to like listening to country music and it made tonight feel a bit more complete. 

"I'm gonna check on Hannah," Molly said eventually, thinking they'd need to intervene soon if she drank much more. 

"Sure thing, I'll be here waitin'," Jake nodded, kissing her in her neck as if to say, 'hurry back'. She smiled with a blush as she disentangled herself and went to check in on her friend and Jo-Lillie. She thought she'd seen them near one of the other trucks, really hoping they hadn't just hooked up with some random guys. 

While she went to check on them, Jake got up to start getting one or two of the blankets out for her. A sound near the front of his truck caught his attention so he hopped off the back and made his way around, surprised to find Doreen there. "Doreen, whatchya doin' back here?" he asked, already sounding a little impatient. 

"I just wanna talk," she said innocently, curling a strand of hair around her finger, trying to look at him seductively. 

He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. She was okay looking, but not the prettiest girl, and definitely not his type. "About what?" he asked, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. 

"How about ye 'n me goin' on a date?" Doreen asked now, batting her eyelashes at him. She was kind of hoping Molly would come back soon to see this. 

"I already told ye that ain't happenin'," Jake told her after clearing his throat a little uncomfortably. "Besides, I'm with Molly now," he added. 

"Oh come on Jake," she said with an eye roll. "Ye know ye deserve much better than that city girl," she tried making it obvious that she thought that was her. She sidled over slowly. "What's she got anyhow? I bet she don't even know how to ride or..." she started. 

"Maybe not to start with but she's gettin' pretty good now," he informed her, trying not to take the step back that he desperately wanted to. 

"Okay fine, but she ain't proper country," Doreen tried to angle it that way. There were plenty of folk who, ironically, talked of wanting to keep the bloodline clean and girls like Molly would obviously only dilute it.

"Her daddy 'n ma were from round here, proper country folk," he contradicted her, noticing she'd come yet a little closer, more than he'd wanted her to. "So, how 'bout we stop talkin' about this 'n head back huh?" Jake tried to angle away from her and draw her attention back to the music and the crowd by the bonfire. He thought he'd managed it when, all of a sudden, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt to kiss him. "Seriously Doreen, don't," he said firmly as he stepped away with disgust at having had her lips on his, noticing movement out of the corner of his eye. When he turned towards it he saw it was his girlfriend, not looking too impressed as she crossed her arms and cleared her throat. 

"I best be off," Doreen said now, flashing him a smile and aiming a smug look as she passed Molly on her way back to the bon fire. 

All Molly did was raise her eyebrows at her, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of responding and letting her know she'd gotten under her skin. Jake tentatively took a step closer, even though he knew he hadn't done anything wrong. "Care to explain?" his girlfriend asked simply, as soon as she was sure that the other girl was out of earshot. 

"Oh well... Doreen's sorta had a bit of a crush on me since we was 16... but it's only been since I came back two years ago that she's tried to ask me out. I've always said no, but I guess she's taken offense at my goin' out with ye. She only tried to kiss me when she heard ye comin'," Jake started to explain.

"Really? I couldn't tell," Molly scoffed, not uncrossing her arms or letting him off the hook yet. It sounded like Doreen was the type to play games like that. 

"Yeah, ye missed her tryin' to convince me that I deserve much better than a city girl," he said now, approaching her with his hands held up a little, innocently. He could tell she believed him that nothing had happened from his point of view. 

She loosened her arms a little, which he took as permission to come a little closer, taking hold of both her hands to pull her closer. "Hmm..." she said thoughtfully. "How 'bout a city girl turned country?" she asked, letting him pull her in now. She didn't want to be mad at him or ruin tonight, she wanted to make the most of it. To a certain extent she couldn't blame Doreen; he was looking particularly handsome tonight in the moon and bonfire light. 

"That's my favorite kind'a girl," Jake smiled now with a wink and, once he was sure she wasn't mad at him, leaned in to kiss her. He pulled her onto her tiptoes a little as they kissed, feeling her arms wrap around his neck. One hand stayed on her back to hold her as close as he could, as the other moved down to cup her bottom. Without intending to, he started pushing her back towards his truck, so she ended up against the passenger side door. One hand went through his hair as the other rested on his waist as they kissed, feeling their kisses deepen. When his shirt lifted as he moved, she ran her fingers along his bare skin towards his back, satisfied to feel goose bumps. He lifted her up a little as he kissed her harder, one hand reaching down to run along her thigh, hiking her dress up a little.

It wasn't until Molly heard someone say Hannah's name in combination with her own that she realized that they were seriously on their way towards doing something that neither of them really wanted to do. He had always been against the country habit of having sex in a truck in the fields, especially when there were this many other people around. And she wanted what was basically going to be her first time with someone she really cared about to be special. Which did not include an audience. 

"Jake, not now," she said softly, having to push him away a little harder than previously because he'd actually let himself get lost in the moment, that included just the two of them. 

Rather than pull away cold turkey, he slowed the kiss down, still holding her close. "Sorry," he whispered, at which she hugged him tightly. As far as she was concerned, he had nothing to feel sorry about. Jake went through her hair as he hugged her back, trying to catch his breath and his self-control. "We'd better get Hannah home," he commented now, feeling her nod slowly.