Page 28 of Jesse's Girl
Say it. I send the silent plea across the apartment. Give me the secret signal.
I try to quash the tight feeling in my stomach, reminding myself Ada probably gets hit on all the time at the bar and must hold her own there just fine. But this is her fucking home. I run a hand through my hair, my stomach twisting as my imagination spins one sleazy scenario after the next about what this guy’s saying.
I can’t watch. I turn away—not wanting to let her down but needing to stop witnessing it all the same.
The rush of footsteps behind me has me twisting back around, right as Ada slips an arm around my waist. I try to hide my surprise at the contact as I instinctively wrap my arm around her shoulders.
“Hey, Jess?” she purrs, her voice flirtatious in a way that has me holding my breath. “I totally forgot to remind you earlier… but uh… don’t forget to wish your mom a happy birthday.” She nods for emphasis. “It’s today, right?”
I exhale, trying to play it off as a grateful sigh. “Oh, fuck, that’s right. Thanks, baby.” I hug her closer, resting my chin on the top of her head. The scent of her hair floats up—coconut, with a hint of cherries—and I inhale for one greedy, mindless second where time slows. It occurs to me I could just tilt my chin down an inch, maybe two, and kiss the top of her head. That would sell the ruse, right? But I think about it for a beat too long and, then, like slow motion returning to normal speed, I’m wrenched back into the present. I fight to swallow the panic wrestling its way up my throat.
Travis shuffles out from the bedroom, avoiding eye contact. He looks so awkward I almost feel bad for the guy. Almost.
Dickhead.
Ada does me no favors and lays it on thick, her fingers tracing slow strokes over my waist.
A flush heats my skin where her fingers graze my T-shirt and my pants tighten. Jesus Christ.
“We should go get her flowers, don’t you think?” She peers up at me, silently pleading for me to go along with this.
Travis clears his throat, but I can’t tear my gaze from Ada’s.
“Uh, yeah, baby, good idea. Let’s go when this is over.” I force myself to face Travis directly, my arm still slung protectively over Ada’s shoulder. “This over?”
He seems to read my dead-eyed delivery as intended, because he nods and kicks into motion, pulling out his phone and gesturing to Ada with it.
“So, about the place… you’ll let me know?”
Wow. The audacity of this guy.
She opens her mouth to answer but I beat her to it.
“Here’s all you need to know, buddy: it’s a sleazy fucking move to come into a woman’s home and creep on her like she’s a piece of meat.” I give him a once-over. “Fix your shit. And, in the meantime, get the fuck out of here and never contact my girlfriend again.”
He scoffs as he turns to go. “Fuck you, dude.”
I let the comment slide, but my attention is glued to his back as he walks away.
The sound of the front door closing jolts me and Ada out of our act, and we pull apart. I pace away from her, running both hands through my hair.
“Shit. Fuck. Sorry.” I’m barely able to look at her. With Travis now gone, I’m spinning out, guilt over having held my best friend’s sister in my arms already causing a sinking feeling in my ribcage.
I called her baby, for fuck’s sake. Twice. What was I thinking?
I rub my side, trying to quell the fizzing sensation where she touched me.
“Jesse…”
“I didn’t know what to do. I shouldn’t have… I took it too far. Fuck.”
“Jess,” she tries again. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay!” I throw my hands out at my sides, finally facing her.
“You’re overreacting. I asked you to help me and you helped me. It was just, like, a hug or whatever. It’s not like we kissed.”
I wince, trying to fight off the mental image of kissing her.