Jason
“That was so, so good,” Elena says, leaning back in her seat and rubbing her belly. Her words are slightly slurred, she’s drank one too many beers, but she’s smiling. She looks content. Happy. “I’ve missed barbeques.”
I chuckle. “You’re easy to please, darlin’. I like that.”
She doesn’t argue, sighing dramatically, and she reaches for her beer, taking a deep sip. “Yes, yes I am.”
It’s early evening, and we’re sitting on the deck in my backyard with Wes and Vance. Elena is beside me; my arm is resting along the back of her chair. Country music plays softly through the speakers and the sizzling scent of cooked meat still lingers in the warm summer air.
Wes is stacking up the plates, moving them off to the side of the table. “So,” he says. “What’s the first thing you’re gonna do when you get back to New York?”
Back to New York.
My muscles grow taut. I can feel them straining as I try to stay still, and not show any reaction. Goddamnit, I don’t want to think about this right now.
Elena drains the last of her beer and sets the empty bottle on the table. “I don’t know,” she says. She keeps her eyes glued to the bottle and she starts picking at the label. “I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Come on,” Vance says, leaning over and nudging her with his shoulder. “There’s gotta be something you’re dying to do. You’ve been away for a year.”
“Okay, fine.” She sits up straight, knotting up her hands in her lap, and she thinks about it for a moment. “I’m going to see my parents or maybe I’ll go see Peck.”
My eyes snap to hers and I stare at her, trying to figure out what the fuck she means by that. “You want to see Peck?”
“Um … yes,” she says, looking slightly uncertain. “I want to see him in jail. I want him to know it was me who put him there, too.”
We stare at each other.
It’s the truth. She really wants to see him.
I consider this for a moment. “Huh.”
She purses her lips. “It’s important to me.”
Silence falls.
She raises an eyebrow at me, as though asking if I’ve got something to say, but at the same time, her expression tells me that even if I do, it doesn’t matter.
And it doesn’t, does it?
Once I sort out her shit, she’ll be gone. Gone back to her life. Gone to another state.
Gone.
Shit, I don’t like that.
Not at all.
I barely know her, but the thought of her leaving doesn’t sit well in my gut. I want more. More time. More of her. And I think she wants that, too.
I see it in her eyes.
She’s seen it in mine.
“You gonna start school again?” Wes asks and takes a pull from his beer.
Swallowing hard, she turns her attention to him, smiling again. “Maybe. Not history, though. It’s really a pointless major. I don’t know what I was thinking when I started with it. It’s interesting, but I don’t know what I’ll do with that degree when I’m done. Business is much more practical, I think.”
Her response makes me laugh, loosening some of the unease squeezing my chest. “You sound unsure.”
She grins. “That’s because I am. I’m not the same girl I was when I left. I want to go home and I want my life back. I just don’t know how the new me will fit into all of that.” She laughs under her breath, shaking her head ruefully. “Guess I’ll find out when I get there.”
Despite myself, I laugh with her. Goddamn, she’s adorable.
Sighing, Elena shoves her chair back and stands up, swaying a bit. My hand goes to her back, and she grasps onto the table, steadying herself. She closes her eyes for a moment and when she opens them again, she giggles, and picks up her empty beer bottle. “I need another drink. Does anyone else want one?”
I laugh again, so does Wes and Vance.
She doesn’t need another.
We probably should have cut her off at two. But she’s having a good time, and we aren’t going anywhere tonight, so whatever.
“Yeah, darlin’,” I say. “But why don’t you sit back down. I’ll grab it.”
“No,” she says, pointing a finger at me, waving it around. “You just stay put. You’ve done quite enough already. The least I can do is grab you a beer.”
She spins on her heels, her arms coming out a little, keeping her steady, and watching her feet, she sways toward the house.
I watch her go, liking the way she looks in my space.
Fuck.
I like it too much.
“From the drinking, I’m guessing you told her about her brother,” Vance says, as the patio door closes behind Elena.
I swing my gaze to his and nod. “I did.”
He grins at me, a big ass, shit-eating grin, as though he knew all along that I would. “You hear anything on that yet?”
I shake my head, leaning back in my chair. “Nope, nothing yet.”
“I like her,” Wes says. “Sucks she’ll be leaving.”
“Yeah,” I mutter, finishing off my beer and letting out a light laugh. “It does.”
Chapter Fourteen
Elena
“Stupid,” I mumble as I place my hands palms down on the counter and close my eyes. My head is buzzing, so is my skin. The booze-induced tingle is pleasant, but also distracting.
I’m entirely too comfortable here.
My eyes snap open and I glare at the countertop. I’m too comfortable with Jason and Wes and Vance. So comfortable that for a few hours I forgot.
I forgot about Peck.
I forgot about getting back home.
Being this comfortable isn’t a good thing.
It isn’t a safe thing.
It makes me sloppy.
Except I do feel safe here. Despite our rocky start, I feel safe with Jason.
I close my eyes once more and let out an irritated sigh. I should probably keep my distance from them. Go to my room and call it a night. I could avoid Jason for the rest of the evening, maybe even tomorrow.
That would be the smart thing to do.
It’s exactly what I should do.
So why do I completely hate the thought of calling it a night?
Because this has been undeniably the best day I’ve ever had. It was tense and nerve-racking, yes, but I had fun. For a few short hours, I was carefree.
And that kiss … I swallow hard. That kiss was the best kiss I’ve ever experienced.
I don’t want it to end, but the question is, what exactly is it? What are we doing here?
I let out a long groan. Stupid hormones. As if things weren’t complicated enough.
“I’m being really, really stupid,” I say under my breath, pushing away from the counter. But oh God, I’m enjoying being stupid. So what if it hurts me in the end? I can handle it. I’ve dealt with worse than a fractured heart.
Right, I can deal with it. So what now?
Beer. We need more beer.
Opening cupboards, I search for a mixing bowl or a pot to fill with ice. I open and close half the cupboards in the kitchen before I finally find a large frosted plastic bowl. Using the ice and water dispensers on the fridge, I fill it up, and then pack it with bottles of beer.
With a sigh, I look at the bowl. An unexpected thrill passes through me. I don’t give myself time to analyze it. I just smile, and walk back outside, juggling the bowl of ice and beer.
“Your beer,” I say as I approach the guys. I set the bowl down in the center of the table and grin.
Jason smiles and his eyes smile, too. Oh God, I can get lost in that smile. He looks at the bowl, noting that I packed it to the brim, and chuckles. “Thanks, darlin’.”
Taking a seat beside him, I reach for a beer and twist off the cap. After tossing back a quarter of the bottle, I set it down on the table and look around at the guys. It’s then that I notice how quiet they are, contemplative, and slightly tense. I don’t know
what they talked about while I was gone, but it’s pretty clear it wasn’t a happy topic.
Not liking the shift in them, I think about something to say, but I come up with zilch, nothing, nada.
I take another sip of my beer, swing my legs, and drum a random beat with my fingers on my thighs.
The tension mounts.
The air is electric.
Maybe I’m just drunk.
I take another sip.
Then it hits me.
I giggle. It’s perfect. My legs stop swinging, and I slap my hands on the table. “Let’s play a game,” I say cheerfully.
Wes smirks and takes a sip of his beer. “A game,” he says, sounding intrigued. “What kind of game?”
Bobbing my head up and down, I giggle again. “Yes, a game. It’ll be fun. It’s called two truths and a lie.”
Jason laughs under his breath and a hint of amusement touches his eyes. I wonder if he’s thinking about the advice he gave me in the parking lot. “How do you play this game?”
“Simple,” I say. “You have to tell three things about yourself, two of them have to be true and one has to be a lie. Then the rest of us guess which one is the lie.”
Jason leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, and stares at me curiously. “Not sure I like the idea of encouraging you to lie to me, babe,” he says. “You do that enough already.”
Those words stall me and my stomach begins to sink. I gape at him. Is this man serious?
Ugh, I don’t have a clue.
His eyes look serious, but his lips are pulled tight as though he’s holding back a smile.
“I uh … I don’t …” I stammer and shift in my seat, slinking away from him.
I take another sip of beer, and as I do, from the corner of my eye, I notice Jason’s shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
My body grows still, and my eyes widen. The jerk is laughing at me.
Okay, so maybe this game wasn’t the perfect idea after all. Obviously, I’ll never be able to tell if one of them is lying anyway.
I can’t even tell when they’re teasing me.
I think he’s teasing now. Maybe?
I blush.
Good God, do I blush.
It races through me, heating my skin everywhere, and I’m certain my face is a nice shade of lobster red.
All their eyes are on me and they notice my heated face. One side of Wes’s lips goes up in a half grin, Vance’s eyes crinkle in the corners, and Jason flat out smiles.
They probably think I’m being silly, the jerks. I straighten in my seat, lifting my chin, and I own that darn blush. “You’re being an ass again,” I tell Jason, and then I look at Wes and Vance pointing a finger at them, “and so are you two.”
Wes laughs and he flashes me a big shit-eating grin. “The game sounds fun, babe.”
“I’m in,” Vance says. His lips twitch as he draws them tight, suppressing a grin.
I turn to Jason and arch a brow in question. His eyes are on me and there’s something in them that I can’t quite read. Something sweet, precious even. But there’s something else there, too. Something I can’t understand. No one has ever looked at me like this before, and I struggle to place the meaning, but before I can grasp onto it, the look melts back into subtle amusement.
“Sure, darlin’,” he says. “Let’s see if you’re any good at picking up on the lies. I know you’re terrible at telling them.”
I swallow thickly, thrown off by the look. “Okay, um, good,” I mutter. “I’ll go first.” Pausing for a moment, I fix my expression to what I hope is blank and take a deep, centering breath. “I’ve kissed exactly three people since the day I realized boys didn’t actually have cooties. I love chicken noodle soup especially in the winter. And the first beer I ever drank was only a few days ago, on my twenty-first birthday.”
Jason stares at me, his eyes scanning me intently, making my cheeks flush. A flash of amusement crosses his face that tells me he sees the blush and he reaches out, running his thumb along my bottom lip.
“It’s the chicken noodle soup,” Vance says. “It’s definitely the soup.”
I pull my eyes from Jason and give Vance a shaky smile. “Um, yes,” I say. “Your turn.”
Jason slouches back in his seat, throwing an arm over my shoulder and pulling me into his side. I don’t know what’s going on with us and the reckless part of me doesn’t care.
I’ve put living on hold for far too long.
I want to live.
I want to be reckless.
I don’t care how stupid it is.
Vance grins and reaches for a fresh beer, twisting off the cap. “I’ve never been to Vegas, I’m afraid of birds, and I can play the guitar.”
All three of them stare at me, waiting for my guess, and I consider each statement carefully. It’s hard. Vance has an excellent poker face and he kept an easy, even tone, but I can’t imagine him being scared of anything, especially not something as harmless as a bird. He seems like the kind of person who would face any fear head on and conquer it.
Okay, so it’s the birds.
I lick my lips and give my guess. “I’m going to go with the birds.”
Jason snorts. “I was with him in Vegas last year.”
My brow furrows. “Wait, what?” I blink at Vance, surprised. “You’re afraid of birds?”
“Yeah, they freak me the fuck out.”
“But they’re just birds,” I say. “Cute, harmless—”
“They aren’t harmless,” Vance interrupts. He shudders visibly. “Haven’t you ever seen that Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Birds?”
Jesus, he’s serious.
This gives me pause. “I don’t think I want to see that movie.”
“No,” Vance says seriously, “you don’t.” Then he grins, lifting his chin toward Jason. “Let’s hear them, Jase.”
Jason turns to me, catching my eye. He stares at me for a moment, thinking, and he smiles. He has a great smile. Full lips, dimpled cheeks, perfect teeth. It’s a genuine smile, not forced or half there, but full and real.
“I was married and divorced within a year, I never write with a pencil because it’s too easy to change, and I don’t like clowns.”
Whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Stop right there.
Married? He’s been married!
I gape at him. Full on, open-mouthed, gape at him.
Wes and Vance both burst out laughing. “Relax, babe,” Wes says through his hysterics. “Jase has never had a serious girl in his life.”
Seriously? My eyes round, and then they narrow.
Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it doesn’t. Not that I want him to have a serious girl, or that I want to be that girl, but …
Oh God.
I shake it off, and purposefully not looking at Jason, I declare, “I suck at this game.”
“Yes, you do,” Wes agrees. “But I’ll be nice and make this one easy on you. You ready?”
I nod, rubbing my hands together and focusing all my attention on him. “Ready.”
“I can fit a whole lemon in my mouth,” he declares. “I enjoy gardening, and my favorite movie is Scarface.”
That was supposed to be easy? I glare at him. He has a better poker face than Vance does. Instead of even trying to guess, I say, “I love that movie.”
Jason gives me a peculiar look. “You love Scarface?”
I laugh at his baffled tone. “Of course. It’s a classic.”
“I pegged you more for a Pretty Woman kind of girl.”
I laugh again. “Well, Jason Pierce, you would be wrong.”
Jason’s eyes change from amused to soft and sexy. “It’s the lemon, darlin’,” he murmurs. “He hates them. He wouldn’t even try to shove one in his mouth.”
Wes makes a sour face and I laugh. It feels so good, real, not forced or strained. It winds through me, so raw and powerful.
I instantly feel hungry.
Hungry for more
laughter.
Hungry for more of ... everything.
The evening slips away, the sky darkening into night. We joke around, drinking and talking. It’s strange, being this carefree and relaxed around other people. And happy. I’m so, so very happy.
As midnight creeps in, we head inside and not long after, Wes and Vance call it a night. I say my goodnights and stand in the living room as Jason walks the guys to the door and locks up behind them.
When Jason comes back, he moves in close. He doesn’t say anything as his eyes scan me, settling on my mouth as I nervously lick my lips.
I shuffle my feet. I’m tired, but I don’t want the night to end yet.
“That was a lot of fun,” I say, breaking the quiet. “I’m glad we stayed in.”
“It was fun,” he agrees.
He watches me for a moment, seemingly torn, before a gentle smile pulls at his lips, and he takes my hand. “Come on. Let’s go to bed.”
Jason doesn’t wait for my response, pulling me over to the stairs. He releases my hand when we reach the bottom and I clutch onto the banister, keeping myself steady as I make the climb. I walk down the hallway heading to the blue room, but as I reach it, he takes my hand once more pulling me on.
I stop moving and turn to him. “Where are we going?”
Jason stares at me for a moment before a one-dimpled grin touches his face. He squeezes my hand and starts forward again, pulling me along the last few steps down the hall and into his room. Once we clear the doorway, he drops my hand and closes the door.
A short-lived feeling of surprise washes over me, but it’s quickly lost to my nerves as I watch him step toward me.
Um … Oh God.
I start backing up, my breathing growing rapid and shallow. The urge to chew on my nails or perhaps my lip is strong, but I don’t want him to see it so I find myself gnawing on the inside of my cheek. “What am I doing in here?”
His grin widens, giving me the second dimple, and he keeps advancing. “Going to bed.”
My belly flutters and my pulse kicks up a notch. I continue backing up. “Where are you sleeping then?”
He moves in closer, his eyes sliding past me. “Same place as you.”