Page 92 of Their Wicked Ways
“And how we always talk about these things first and plan everything to the last detail when we do?”
He nodded again.
“Tonight wasn’t about anything other than getting our dance on.”
He blinked at me like a confused owl. “Really?”
“Really.”
I let him sit with that for a moment.
“Did you know we were going there tonight?” Ez asked.
I hadn’t even thought of that. Had he gone there because of us?
The blush staining his cheeks told us everything. “I overheard you talking about it at work,” he mumbled. “I wasn’t planning on going, but then I needed to get out, and I thought…”
“Thought?” Ez prompted.
“That if you guys can change the rules, so can I.” His chin jutted out defiantly.
“You didn’t go there to hook up with a random, did you?” A knowing smile split Ez’s lips.
Jett shrugged.
“You went there looking for us?” I asked, needing to make sure I heard him right.
“So what if I did?”
Ez’s smile fell at the same moment my happiness at the thought that he’d gone there to seek us out faded.
Had something triggered his impulsive behavior?
“What happened before you went to the club?” I asked.
Jett crossed his arms but didn’t look away. “I got in my head about some stuff, and I just kind of decided to go.”
“What did you get in your head about?” Ez pressed.
“Nothing important.”
“Are you sure?” I asked gently.
He sighed. “I don’t talk about my past a lot. I guess I freaked out that I shared all that with you. Not because I thought you’d be dicks or because I don’t trust you. I just haven’t really dealt with a lot of that shit, and it messed with me.”
Ez and I exchanged a look. We should have realized that telling us so much in one conversation would be like opening Pandora’s box. And hoping things would just settle and go back to the way they were when we closed it had been the wrong call.
“I don’t even know what started it,” he continued. “I was just sitting at home, and I saw a couple of videos that made me realize how alone I am. I started thinking about my family and how no one had my back when all the shit with Jacob and Noami went down. I always knew that no one really cared about me, but I guess it just hit different tonight, and I needed to do something to make the pain go away.”
“And you thought of us?” Ez prompted.
He nodded. “But then I remembered you were going to the club, and I freaked out. I got it in my head that you were going to find someone else because you realized how broken and fucked up I am.”
“You’re not broken or fucked up,” Ez said firmly.
“Aren’t I?” he burst out. “You have no idea how many times I’ve done shit like this. How many times I’ve done something stupid because I got in my head and acted without thinking.”
Something about his anger felt different. This outburst wasn’t just about tonight.