“Man, how can you make a move on a girl who has a boyfriend?”
Jesse just shrugged, ignoring his friend’s question. “You still see her in theater stuff, don’t you?”
“It depends. If she didn’t get cast in this play, then I’ll probably just see her in the hall during passing periods.” If even that happened.
“I already looked at the list on the auditorium door. She got a part.”
Sean refrained from calling his bro a stalker. “Then I guess I’ll see her at the meeting after school.”
“I know. So I wondered if you would do me a favor.”
Shit. Sean didn’t like the sound of that, but this young man really was like family—so he simply nodded and said, “Yeah?”
“Would you put in a good word for me with her? I just I don’t want time to slip away—and I don’t know why, but I’m kind of afraid to ask her myself.”
This whole thing was pathetic, but Sean continued biting his tongue. “Man, there are all kinds of girls into you, Jesse. Why don’t you go for them?”
“I will if I have to, but don’t you want to try to climb the tallest mountain first? If you don’t make it there, then you can try tackling the smaller ones. But the real reward is in the tallest one.”
You can’t laugh at him. “I just thought you might want practice with the smaller ones. You know, work your way up.”
Jesse all but growled, “Fine, if you don’t want to do it, just say so.”
“No, no. I’ll do it for you, man. But only because it’s you.”
When Sean went to the meeting that afternoon, he was blown away. Nicki was more beautiful than ever. One thing he noticed was that she seemed a little bit taller, but there was something else, something he couldn’t put his finger on. She was absolutely stunning—no longer a girl but a woman.
And here he was getting ready to be a spokesperson for his friend. What the hell was wrong with him?
The fact that she was more lovely than ever almost made her hard to approach.
Almost.
But not quite, and it actually helped that he wasn’t approaching her on his own behalf. Instead, he was going to be speaking to her on the behalf of brother Jesse. After the meeting was over, Nicki was talking to a couple of other girls in the play while Sean was wrapping up a one-on-one conversation with the director. As Nicki and her friends started walking out of the auditorium, Sean said, “Hey, Nicki. Do you mind waiting for me for a sec?”
“Sure.”
Although she and her friends slowly made their way toward the door, they didn’t walk out into the hall while Sean finished up his conversation with the director. Even though it only lasted a couple more minutes, had she not waited for him, she would have been long gone, leaving Sean to find another day to do this—so he was grateful for the opportunity to get it over with.
After finishing up with the director, Sean approached her, trying to remain calm, but he noticed right away that his palms were a bit sweaty. Forcing a smile to his lips, he took in a deep breath, willing himself to exude confidence. Already, he knew above all else that women responded to confidence. As Nicki’s friends made their way out the door, she asked, “What’s up?”
“Not a whole lot. How was your summer?”
“Oh, my God. It was so cool, Sean. My mom and dad took me and my brother to Alaska for two whole weeks. Then, when I came home, I got a job as the supermarket as a bagger, so I earned a buttload of money—and now I have a fabulous new wardrobe.” As if she were modeling her outfit, she twirled, palms down, showing off the pink blouse and skirt she was wearing.
“That’s cool.” Sean noticed that maybe Nicki, too, had a little bit more confidence. Maybe that had been what he thought he’d seen earlier.
“What about you?”
“Not much of anything. I was hanging out at some of the garages downtown. At one place, the owner let me work on cars for free. He taught me how to do stuff I don’t know, and I worked for no pay just so I could learn.”
“You’re interested in mechanic work?”
“I’m not sure. But it was something to do, something I like.”
“Yeah, I hear that.” Nicki smiled and tilted her head and the way she shifted her weight from one foot to the other told Sean she was ready to leave before she spoke. “Well, it was really good catching up with you, Sean. Sorry we don’t have any classes together. Maybe next semester.”
“Wait, Nicki. I need to ask you something real quick.” Suddenly, Sean’s mouth went dry as he remembered the request his friend had asked of him.
Confidence.
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“You know my best friend, right?”
“Jesse…Roberts?”
“Yeah. Jesse.”
“Yeah?”
“Well, he, uh, really likes you, Nicki—but I think he finds you a little intimidating.”
Nivki started laughing. “Me?”
“Yeah, I know. Funny, right?”
“Yeah, it kinda is. So what’s this all about? Why are you telling me this?”
“Well, I think he’s wanting your phone number—just so he can ask you if you want to go out for a drink or a hamburger maybe sometime?”
Nicki grinned, her brown eyes sparkling, almost stabbing Sean in the gut. “How much colonial history do you remember, Sean?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Don’t you remember the story on the Mayflower where the woman says, ‘Speak for yourself, Miles’?”
Before Sean could completely assess her intent, he said, “I don’t think that’s actual history.” But then it dawned on him—was Nicki asking him to ask her out?
“It doesn’t matter. I’m kidding anyway.” Nicki reached out and patted Sean on the shoulder, and he felt the confidence draining from his body as if it were a physical thing. “Seriously, doesn’t Jesse know I have a boyfriend? Corey and I have been together—”
“For a really long time.” His heart was deflating like a balloon, but he hoped it didn’t show on his face.
“Yeah. I mean, Jesse’s a nice guy and all, but I do have a boyfriend.”
“It’s cool.”
Nicki gave him a short nod as she folded her hands together. “Please don’t tell him this, but…I consider you a friend, Sean. What I’m about to say I’m telling you in confidence.”
Did Sean even want to hear this? “Okay…”
“Jesse’s a super nice guy—but he’s not my type.” Nicki tilted her head again. “You get that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, sure.” But Sean didn’t know how he would break the news to his friend. Ultimately, he decided to give Jesse the simple answer, that she had a boyfriend, and that was why she wasn’t interested.
But something he’d never say to his friend was that it felt like more than that. Sean and Jesse were the boys from the wrong side of the tracks, and Nicki only dated nice boys. Although that might not have been her intent, her rejection of Jesse felt like a rejection of Sean as well.
But he might never know if that was true or all in his head—and maybe it was better that way.
5
After the ceremony was over, Sean found he hardly remembered any of graduation except for a sea of red and black, the WHS Bulldog colors, as kids walked across the platform to receive their diplomas. His mother had made no bones about being super proud of him, bragging that he was one of few in their family who had actually graduated high school.
Big damn deal.
What was a big deal to him was that Nicki had invited him to her graduation party, and Sean was definitely going to go because his mother had scheduled his party for the following weekend. It was only for out-of-town family, so Sean wasn’t making a big deal out of it. Instead, he was more excited about Nicki’s party—and, because Jesse wasn’t going to have any kind of celebration, Sean asked Nicki if she’d mind if he brought his best friend along.
Of course, she said that was fine.
Sean felt bad for
his friend, because all he was getting was a couple hundred bucks from his old man as a gift, and that was it. Getting to go to Nicki’s house was probably the best present Sean could give him, and he was excited to have the opportunity to hang out there.
When Sean parked his new-to-him truck a couple of houses down and the two young men hopped out, he said, “Be cool, man. You know she has a boyfriend, so don’t come on strong, all right?”
“No worries, dude. What kind of asshole do you think I am?” Sean raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth but Jesse interrupted him. “Don’t answer that.”
Once they’d approached the front yard of Nicki’s house, they followed the streamers, signs, and balloon straight into the backyard, and Sean was impressed with how much effort had been put into decorating. Across the lawn, there was a man standing in front of a barbecue grill, gray smoke billowing from it, and Sean’s eyes blue eyes scanned the rest of the area, looking for Nicki. Although he didn’t see her, they continued moving all the way into the yard as if they belonged there. Soon, he heard a voice a male voice from behind. “You’re Sean, right?” When he turned, he saw a face that looked kind of like Nicki but younger and male. The young man said, “I’m Will, Nicki’s brother. She’s told me a lot about you.”
“I hope it’s not all bad.”
“No way.”
“Just messing with you, Will. This is my friend Jesse. He graduated with us.”
“Nice to meet you guys. I guess we’ll celebrate your graduation, too. We’ve got plenty of food. I think our dad’s gonna be at the grill all day, so I don’t know when we’re gonna eat, but there’s plenty to drink. Help yourselves.”
Sean almost asked what beverages they had on tap, but he knew Mr. Sosebee would probably not be serving up what Sean had been drinking the night before. And at least now he was no longer feeling the effects of the alcohol and maybe he needed to stick with soft drinks for now. The sun beating down on them at graduation had made him feel worse but here in this green backyard with a slight cool breeze and a sweet scent wafting from the lilac bushes, he was feeling a lot more like himself.
Because Sean didn’t recognize many people there, he figured they were mostly family. But he did recognize one face and he had to stop himself from scowling. The guy’s name was Corey, a tall, skinny kid, and Sean had always thought of him as a bit of a rich douchebag. But because the guy was Nicki’s boyfriend, he wasn’t going to say anything. Jesse hadn’t noticed him yet, and Sean wasn’t about to point the guy out, especially when he spied Nicki exiting the back door giggling with a friend. Sean couldn’t remember the girl’s last name but he knew her first name was Brandy, one of the girls that Nicki hung out with a lot in school, and she’d been a cheerleader the last two years.
Except Sean’s eyes weren’t on that girl. They were on Nicki—and she looked absolutely gorgeous. She’d changed into pink shorts and a light pink blouse that hinted that summer was right around the corner. Nicki had always seemed fairly mature to him, but now he could fully appreciate the woman that she was.
And he was going to have to stop thinking about her.
In fact, he was considering making an excuse to leave when she looked straight over at him. “Sean! I’m so glad you could make it.” Then she walked over, giving him a hug, and Sean closed his eyes for a second, enjoying that one beautiful moment holding her in his arms. “Oh, hey, Jesse. I’m glad you came, too.” Jesse’s brown eyes got wide and sparkly, and if Sean could have gotten away with it, he would have kicked his friend’s ass, because neither of them had any business getting their hopes up.
“Do you guys know Brandy?” she said, pulling her friend over by the hand. “She’s one of my besties for life.”
Her friend with the long dark hair gave them a wide smile. “Nice to meet you guys.”
Before they could strike up any kind of conversation, though, Nicki said, “Come with me, guys.”
Sean raised his eyebrows at Jesse, hoping she wasn’t planning to introduce them to douchey Corey, but he had to admit to himself that it didn’t matter. He would follow this woman into the depths of hell without batting an eyelash. When they got to the picnic table, Nicki said, “Mom, this is my friend Sean.”
“Oh, Sean. So nice to meet you.” The older woman held out her hand and Sean shook it, but she wrapped both hands around his as if she were hugging them. Instantly, he liked this woman, because she reminded him of the things he loved about his own mother.
Then Nicki said, “This is his friend Jesse.”
“Nice to meet you as well.” She hugged Jesse’s hand in a similar fashion. “You can call me Carol. But, gentlemen, I hope you don’t mind. I was just getting ready to go back in the house to get the buns.”
Sean asked, “Would you like some help, Mrs. Sosebee?”
“That’s very sweet of you to ask, but you kids don’t need to worry about it. Nicki’s dad and I have it under control. Thank you for offering.”
Then Nicki grabbed Sean by the hand, leading him across the yard toward the barbecue grill. Her father, busy cooking some burgers, spied his daughter. “There’s my beautiful graduate. So proud of you, honey.”
After letting go of Sean’s hand, she hugged her father. “Thanks, dad. I wanted to introduce you to my friends, Sean and Jesse.”
Sean knew it would warm Jesse’s heart to be included as a friend. Her father said, “Nice to meet you fellas. I hope you brought your appetites, because we bought a lot of meat.”
Jesse said, “I’m always hungry.” Sean merely nodded.
Then Nicki said, “Have you guys met Corey?”
Fuck. Even though he’d been expecting this moment, that guy was the last person Sean wanted to talk to. Still, he said, “Yeah, I know him.” Jesse, however, was more noncommittal, unwilling to even indicate to Nicki that he wasn’t interested in anything she wanted to share.
So, once again, they were following her through the yard, past groups of older people and little kids running among them all. Soon, Nicki was introducing all three guys, and Sean tried his best to, at the very least, not look like he wanted to punch this shit out of this spoiled kid’s face.
Someone halfway across the yard shouted to be heard over everyone else. “Where’s my favorite niece?”
Nicki’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Oh, my Uncle Eddie’s here. Sorry, guys. Be back in a minute.”
And off she went. Sean nodded and started backing off while Jesse said to Corey, “Nice to meet you, dude.”
Sean’s eyes were locked on Corey’s, because the other guy was issuing a challenge of some sort—so Sean decided not to turn around, because a dick like that would be just as likely to sucker punch him as to shake his hand. Jesse said, “I’m gonna score some of that Mountain Dew before it’s gone.”
“Fine,” Sean said, still not looking at his friend. Corey, his eyes locked on Sean’s, started moving—not toward him but around, as if sizing him up. No one else in the crowd even saw it, but Sean had to turn to keep focused on the guy. While he was doing that, though, he bumped into someone else. “Sorry,” he said, but kept looking at the douchebag.
“Is that all you can say?”
Now he had no choice. Sean turned his head to find Nicki’s friend Brandy holding a cup of water, but some of it had spilled onto her dress. “Was that my fault?”
“What do you think?”
“Sorry.”
“Is that all you can say?”
He wondered the same thing, because she sounded like a broken record. “What do you want me to do about it? Did I hurt you or something?” When her frown deepened, he said, “Did I ruin your dress?”
After letting out a sigh, she said, “No, I guess not. It’s just embarrassing.”
“It was an accident. I didn’t mean to.”
“Yeah, but you need to pay more attention.”
“You’re right.” This was really awkward. He hadn’t known much about Nicki’s friend before, even though they’d been in several cl
asses together in high school—and his opinion of her now was that she was all bent out of shape for no good reason. Yeah, he’d fucked up, but she’d spilled water. Water. That was it. He hadn’t knocked her down or made her spill something that would stain. If he had, he would have offered to pay for the dress.
But she was being a spoiled princess and the only reason he’d been as apologetic as he had been was because she was Nicki’s friend. Had she not been, Sean would have already blown her off.
Instead, he decided to switch gears. Maybe if he could get her to talking about something else, she’d let it go. “So how long have you and Nicki been friends?”
“For a really long time. I can’t imagine not having Nicki or Jillian in my life. They’ll always be my besties.”
Another reason for Sean to be cool. If he wanted Nicki in his life, that meant Brandy would come with her. “I get that. Jesse’s like my brother.”
“How long have you and Nicki been friends?”
It had to be his imagination, didn’t it? If she’d been a guy, he would have been feeling that whole testosterone-driven dick comparison vibe lots of alphas put out. That never bothered Sean, including now—because his entire life had led up to this moment, and he’d never felt so secure in his masculinity nor confidence in the man he was becoming.
But how the fuck do you deal with that shit when it’s coming from a woman?
For now, he planned to ignore it. “A couple of years. Before I got to know her, I would have thought we didn’t have anything in common—but she proved me wrong.”
“If she’s accepted you into her life, you should cherish it.”
“I do.”
“I can’t imagine my life without her—and maybe I need to go tell her that.” Without another word, Brandy left, and Sean felt a little relief. Guys were easy to deal with, but women were so damn hard to read.
Well, Nicki had never felt that way. Maybe that was another reason why they were friends.
Bad Ass (Nicki Sosebee #14) Page 6
