Something Precious (Miami Stories Book 3) Read online

  I nodded and started to head that way.

  "Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.

  "No, thanks. I'll be right back."

  I left Jake there with Suzanne. I glanced back as I walked off and could see that he had moved to stand behind her so that he could see the photos. She smiled at him and pointed at something on the screen.

  Preston was indeed sitting in the parking lot when I walked out there. White car, windows rolled down, just like Jake said. Preston got out of his car when he saw me, and I approached him wearing a curious, cautious half-smile.

  "Whatcha doin?" I asked.

  "I knew you were working over here this morning, and I had never been here before, so I thought I'd come by."

  "I thought you were working."

  "I am. I did some work from home, and I'm gonna head to the office in a little bit. I was gonna see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat. You know, lunch or whatever."

  "I've got a little more work to do," I said.

  I almost told him that I had to give Jake a ride, but for whatever reason, I left that out. I glanced at his car. "How long have you been here?"

  He shrugged. "Twenty minutes or so."

  "I'm sorry you were waiting out here in the heat," I said. "I didn't even see you."

  "I didn't want to bother you. I knew you were still finishing up."

  I paused for a few seconds, contemplating what I should say next. It was nice of him to come by and everything, but I felt slightly awkward. I shrugged and smiled.

  "Well, I kinda need to get back to Suzanne," I said.

  "Maybe we can do dinner instead," he said.

  "Sure."

  "I'll text you later," he said.

  I nodded as I walked away.

  "Hey, is your friend all right?" Preston called from over his shoulder.

  "Who?" I asked, turning around and regarding him from over my shoulder.

  "Jake."

  "Yeah, I'm sure he's fine. Why?"

  "All right. I just saw a girl speed off in his truck."

  I shook my head as if this information was of no consequence to me.

  "I'll text you later to see about dinner," Preston said.

  "Okay, sounds good."

  Jake and Suzanne were still looking at the photos when I made my way back over there. He heard me approach and left her side to walk toward me.

  "Was that him?" he asked.

  I nodded, opening my camera bag so I could put my things away.

  "What's he gonna do? Just sit there and wait for you? Did you even know he was here?"

  "He wanted to take me to lunch," I said. "And no, he surprised me."

  Jake looked toward the parking lot. "Are you going to lunch with him?"

  "No. He's gone. I told him I still had some things to wrap up here. We'll probably go to dinner instead."

  "I'm sorry," Jake said. "I hope you didn’t miss out on account of me."

  "I didn't," I assured him. "We'll do something later."

  Jake gave me a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. His dimples showed, though, and it made my chest tighten as always. I knew he was preoccupied by the argument with Clara. I figured he wanted to get home.

  I focused on Suzanne who was looking at the final set of photos—the ones we had just taken at the beach with the second group.

  "They came out really good," Jake said when he saw me looking. "You did a great job. Suzanne's picky, and she's really happy with them."

  I smiled. "She should be picky; it's her baby. And thank you. Thanks for the referral. I'm excited about the project. I think she's gonna have success with those suits. They're really nice."

  "I think so too," Jake said nodding. "They're comfortable."

  He reached down and ran his thumb along the inside of the waistband of his swim trunks. He had already put on a shirt, but the motion caused skin to show. He stared at his own waist as he did it, causing me to glance down as well. I did my best not to stare, but it was impossible.

  "Yeah, they look really good on y'all," I said, nervously. "Maybe I should get my dad a pair for Father's Day." I cringed at myself for being such a dork.

  "Or your boyfriend," Jake said.

  "He's not… I don't… I wouldn't… He's not my… Plus, I would never get him anything for Father's Day."

  Chapter 8

  We had looked through the pictures one last time with Suzanne, writing down our favorites and talking about which ones best suited her portfolio. I told her I'd get some edits done on the first couple of pictures and have them to her by the following evening for her approval. I knew I would work on it relentlessly until the project was finished and likely have them finished far sooner than the projected date, but I didn’t want to promise her anything.

  She was thankful for my hard work, and she apologized for being a little overbearing during the process. I left there feeling like I liked her and was rooting for her to make it with her line of swimsuits. I could imagine myself buying one of them in a department store and feeling like I had a small part to play in it being there.

  "I was thinking we could get a smoothie to celebrate," Jake said to me from the passenger's seat of my car.

  I glanced at him from over the console. The radio had come on when I started the car, but I turned it down so we could talk.

  "Or ice cream, even," he added.

  I smiled at him. "I'd probably rather go for a smoothie so I can pick up something to eat while we're there."

  "I didn't even think about it being lunch time," Jake said. "Let me buy you some lunch."

  "You don't need to do that, but I will pick myself up one of those flatbread things if we go by the smoothie place. If I know myself, which I do, I'm about to spend the next fifteen hours staring at a computer screen getting started on these pictures."

  He laughed. "Then maybe you'll wake up and stare at it again for fifteen hours tomorrow. Maybe drink some coffee and get a few hours of sleep somewhere in there."

  "How do you know that?" I asked, cutting my eyes at him suspiciously. "Do you have cameras in my house from when you lived there?"

  "That would be so terrible," he said. "Hey, speaking of spying, you better call and cancel your dinner date with your boyfriend if you're thinking about spending the whole night locked in on Photoshop."

  "You're right," I said. "I completely forgot I penciled that in with him. Thank you for reminding me. I do need to cancel that." We rode for a few seconds in silence before I added, "Why'd you say 'speaking of spying'?"

  "What?" he asked.

  "You said 'speaking of spying' before you reminded me to cancel plans."

  "Oh, because that guy was spying on you back at the marina."

  "What, no he wasn't."

  I glanced at Jake, and he just shrugged, wearing that casual grin that barely showed his dimples. "He was just sitting in the parking lot, but whatever," Jake said.

  "Because he didn't want to interrupt me," I said.

  "I'm just messing with you," Jake relented. "He's gotta be a pretty good guy if Ash knows him from the symphony or whatever. I've never heard of a scumbag cellist. He's probably just got some camel instincts."

  "What's that supposed to mean? He's got a hunchback or something?"

  Jake laughed. "No, he's just got his nose under the tent wanting to spend so much time with you."

  I stared at him, wondering if I was still on the right planet. "I literally have no idea what you're talking about right now. Are you even speaking English?"

  "Have you never heard Uncle Bill say anything about a camel's nose or the camel's nose under the tent? He's the one I heard it from. It's a phrase."

  "I have never heard him say anything like that," I said. "What's it got to do with wanting to spend time with somebody?"

  "It's not necessarily time. It could apply to anything—time, money, anything really. I think it comes from some Arabic story or something. The legend of the camel and his nose under the tent."

  "I have never in my
life heard of such a thing," I said. "Is it true, or are you just messing with me?"

  "It's a hundred percent true," Jake said. "I mean I don't know if it's actually true, the fable or whatever, but it's definitely a saying people use. Uncle Bill said it about Clara when we first started dating. I gave her some money to go get her hair done at the salon, and he told me that was the camel's nose. It's something to the effect of giving someone an inch and they end up wanting to take a mile."

  "Do you know the actual story?" I asked.

  "I'm googling it right now," he said, staring down at his phone. "Okay, I got it. See, it's totally a phrase. It comes up all over the place—the camel's nose under the tent."

  "What's it say?"

  "Hang on, I'm getting it. I'm trying to find a good website." Jake stared at his phone for what must have been two or three minutes before he spoke again.

  "Okay," he said finally. "An Arab sat in his tent on a cold, stormy night. His camel gently thrust his nose under the tent flap and looked inside. 'Master,' the camel said. 'It's dreadfully cold and stormy out here. May I put my nose under your tent?' 'Of course, you are more than welcome to do that,' the Arab said. A little while later, the Arab woke up to find that the camel not only had his nose in the tent, but also his neck and head. The camel had been moving around trying to get comfortable when the Arab awoke. The camel said, 'I would be so very comfortable if you would but only let me put my front legs into the tent. It is really difficult standing here, and I will only take a little more room.' 'Sure,' said the Arab. 'You may put your front legs in the tent.' He shifted to make room because the tent was small. Finally, the camel said, "I am keeping the tent open with the way I am half inside and half outside. If you will only let me come wholly inside, we could close the tent.' 'Of course,' said the Arab I’m sure that would be best for both of us.' So, the camel pushed his whole body inside. It was with great difficulty that the Arab adjusted in the crowded tent and finally fell asleep again. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold, and the camel had the tent to himself."

  I pulled into the parking spot at the smoothie place just as Jake finished reading the story. He turned off his phone and we looked at each other as I put the car in park and turned off the ignition.

  He shrugged. "The legend of the camel's nose."

  "I liked it and everything, but what's it got to do with Preston?"

  "I don't know. You know—wanting all of your time—showing up at your work unannounced."

  "What about Clara? Is she a camel? Was Uncle Bill right?"

  Jake let out a laugh at that. "She does know how to spend some money. That's what we were arguing about."

  "How much money she's spending?"

  "Kind of. In a round-about way. I was gonna let her fly her cousin over here from Cuba to visit, but then, she wanted her cousin's boyfriend to come too."

  I stared at him with a look of slight confusion. "Do you not like her cousin's boyfriend or something?"

  "No, I've never even met him. I'm sure he's fine."

  "So, what's the problem?"

  "The problem is that six-hundred-dollars turned into twelve, and she just expected me to pay it without even thinking about it. There wasn't even any 'please' or 'thank you' or anything."

  "Oh, you were supposed to be paying for their trip?" I asked.

  "Yeah, I mean, I was paying for her cousin's, and that wasn't a big deal, but then, it was just like it was expected of me to buy her cousin's boyfriend's ticket, too. And that wouldn't even be that big of a deal, it's just that I know I'm going to be out a couple grand once they get here, with going out and everything."

  "Oh, that's totally the camel," I said. Then, I thought better of talking bad about Clara. The last thing I wanted to do was to try to convince him to break up with her. Sure, I wanted him to break up with her, I just didn't want to be the one to convince him to do it. That was something that needed to happen without my help.

  "It is a little bit of a camel-ey thing to do," I amended, "but maybe she just thinks your loaded. Maybe it's a compliment."

  Jake let out another chuckle as he opened the car door. "Maybe," he said as he got out. I got out of the driver's side, and we smiled at each other from over the car. "But the camel was also complimenting the Arab, when you think about it like that."

  I grinned and shook my head at him as we made the short trek from my car to the door. "What are you gonna end up doing?" I asked. "About the cousin?"

  Jake sighed as he reached out to hold the door for me. "I don’t know. It's not really about the money. It's more that she just expects me to do it. She doesn't even really seem thankful. I guess everybody's a camel in one way or another, though."

  I wanted to assure him that I wasn't a camel at all, but maybe I was. Maybe wanting him made me a camel. Maybe having his friendship was like having my nose under the tent, and for all these years I'd been trying unsuccessfully to shove the rest of myself into the tent. I was thinking about it as we made our way to the register.

  "What kind?" Jake asked.

  "What kind what?"

  "Flatbread. I'm gonna get the blackened fish. What about you?"

  "Same. Flatbread. Ranch chicken, though."

  The lady who had just ordered stepped to the side, and Jake made his way up to the register. "A blackened fish and a ranch chicken flatbread, please, and two Green-Goji smoothies."

  The girl repeated the order back to him, and he nodded, letting her know she had it right. She said the total, which was twenty-six dollars and change, and I dug in my purse. I came up with a twenty-dollar bill, and thrust it in the general direction of the cashier, but Jake pushed my hand away, handing her his bank card. I tried again to hand Jake the twenty, but he refused.

  "You got me a good job this morning," I said.

  He waved me off. "It's the least I can do for you, K.K."

  "In that case," I said, as I stashed the twenty in my purse, "I'll take gas in my car and maybe some Starbucks."

  Jake smiled and shook his head at me, knowing I was totally joking.

  There were no tables open, but we hadn't planned on sitting and had ordered our food to-go, so it didn't really matter. We stood to the side, against the wall, to wait for our order.

  There was a little ledge behind us, and I sat my purse on it and asked Jake to watch it while I went to the restroom. By the time I finished, we only had to wait a minute or two longer. Someone came around the counter, handing us our smoothies and a bag of food.

  A lady Jake knew from working at the country club hollered his name and waved at him from across the room as we were walking out. We had a conversation about her once we got in the car. Jake said she was a lawyer—a partner at one of Miami's biggest firms, while her husband was a stay-at-home dad. This got us on the subject of jobs, and he ended up telling me a lot more about his app. He asked me questions about photo editing, and we discussed putting me in touch with his business partner since they would likely need some specialized photos for their app as it grew and expanded.

  It took us twenty minutes to get from the smoothie place to his house, and it didn’t feel like nearly enough time. Jake and I were around each other a lot, but most of the time, other people were with us. I had enjoyed the too-short one-on-one time, and I regretted that it was over so quickly. Jake said the same thing when I parked in his driveway.

  "You're welcome to come in," he said as he opened the passenger's door to get out. Clara's vehicle was not in the driveway, so I was extremely tempted to take him up on it, but I just smiled and shook my head.

  "I need to get cracking on these photos," I said. "Thanks though, and thanks for lunch. I'll get you next time."

  "You're welcome, and no need," Jake said. He patted the top of the car as he stood up. "Thanks for the ride K.K, and thanks for doing that shoot. I really am proud you. You did a great job today."

  I instantly blushed when he said that. Hot blood rushed to my face at the sincerity in his voice.

 
"Aw, shucks," I said. It was a phrase I had used a time or two for a little comic relief when I felt shy about accepting a compliment, and it worked. Jake laughed as he moved to close the door.

  "I'll see you soon, okay?"

  "Okay, sounds good," I replied.

  And, just like that, he closed the door.

  It took me about ten minutes to get back to my house. I was almost there when I stopped at a traffic light and began fishing around in my purse, looking for my phone.

  My hand fell on a piece of paper, and I pulled it out, realizing immediately that it was something that hadn't been in there before. First of all, it was a receipt, and I always stuck receipts in my wallet. Secondly, it was wrapped around some cash. I could feel it before I even got it completely out of my purse.

  I unfolded the receipt, noticing right away that it was from the smoothie place. It was wrapped around a fifty-dollar bill which landed in my lap as soon as I unfolded it. My eyes were instantly pulled to the handwritten note in the blank space at the bottom.

  For gas and Starbucks.

  Love, Jake

  My heart fell as I stared at it.

  I was amazed, shaken that he would do such a thing. I stared at the word love written before his name. It was innocent enough, but seeing that word, written by Jake's hand, in a note to me, made me feel like I might explode with happiness. I honestly felt like I could shatter into a thousand pieces. The light had turned green and I didn't notice until the car behind me honked.

  "Okay, okay," I mumbled setting the note on my lap.

  I called Jake as soon as I pulled into my driveway.

  He picked up on the second ring.

  "What's up, K.K.?"

  "I can't believe you put fifty bucks in my purse," I said. "I hope you know I wasn't serious when I said that about gas and coffee."

  I could hear him laughing. "Of course, I knew you weren't serious. I just realized when I bought your lunch and we were talking that I never really do anything like that for you. I never buy you anything at all, K.K., and you're one of my favorite people. You don't have to buy gas or Starbucks with it. I just wanted to give it to you."