She laughed, her blue eyes sparkling.
Jack smiled and rolled his eyes. “Of course you are.”
When he had the line reeled in he showed her how to bait the hook. She wrinkled her nose at it.
“Yuk!” she cried, as her fingers touched the slimy, quivering squid.
Jack laughed. “Don’t be such a pussy, princess.”
She laughed and baited the hook, determined to show him she could do it.
He put the rod in her hands and showed her how to hold it. Standing behind her, he put his arms around her so he could put his hands over hers and showed her how to bring the rod back and cast it out into the choppy waves of the ocean.
He tried to ignore the way his heartbeat accelerated when she looked up at him and laughed, those pretty blue eyes sparkling and that smile that was brighter than the goddamn sun. It was fucking ridiculous.
It didn’t matter how pretty she was. Or how good she tasted when they kissed. Or how soft her skin was. Or how fucking hard he got thinking about that hot little body.
Jessie’s place in his life was as his friend. Nothing more.
“SO WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED with you and Jack at the beach?” Savannah asked as Jessie pulled out of the parking lot of her apartment building.
They were planning to pick up Zoey at Chris’ place and spend a girls’ afternoon shopping.
“Nick said you two were going at it hot and heavy when he opened the back door.”
Jessie blushed. “Oh my God! I didn’t know he saw us. I didn’t even notice.”
Savannah laughed. “You must have been totally distracted.”
“I guess so.” Jessie smiled sadly.
“Nick said he asked him about it and Jack said you guys were just drunk and…”
“And what?” Jessie prompted.
“I’m sorry sweetie. He said it didn’t mean anything.”
Jessie felt a stab of pain shoot through her at Savannah’s words.
“I know. It was so humiliating. I guess I thought that he, you know, wanted to… I don’t know. I guess I’m just an idiot.” Jessie blushed again and trailed off.
“He’s such a liar,” Savannah said. “He can spin any line he wants to, but I know he’s into you. Any idiot can tell by the way he looks at you that he wants you. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that look.”
Jessie laughed out loud. “I don’t think so, Savannah. I wasn’t exactly stopping him. He’s the one who put the brakes on. If he really wanted to hook up with me, why would he do that?”
Savannah shrugged. “Because he doesn’t want to lose you as a friend. Figures if he fucks you, you’ll expect something more and he just wants to find out if you’re as sweet in bed as you are out of it. You do have a great little body on you. Can’t blame him. He’s just a guy, after all. You know they all think with their dicks.” She laughed, teasing Jessie just a little.
“What about Nick?” Jessie asked, laughing.
She loved her new friend. They had started spending time together over the past couple of months and they had gotten pretty close. They were so different, but Jessie really liked her. She admired her for taking care of her little sister and doing what she had to do to get by, no matter what anyone else thought of her.
“He’s no different,” Savannah said lightly. “Lucky for me, I guess. If he wasn’t thinking with his dick do you think he’d waste his time with someone like me?”
“Don’t say things like that Savannah,” Jessie begged. “You have so much going for you. You’re beautiful, sweet, fun, caring, determined, not to mention a great friend. I heard Nick say you were the most amazing girl he’s ever met. He told the other guys that last weekend when he was over Jack’s watching the baseball game with us. Nick’s lucky to have a girl like you.”
““Ha! Well thanks, but Nick is so far out of my league we’re not even in the same ballpark. He’s so fucking smart. Half the time I don’t even understand what he’s talking about. I feel like a fucking idiot. I barely finished high school. He wants me to meet his family and I’m freaking out. I know they’ll hate me. He told me that his ex-girlfriend Tracy is still really close to his Mom and sisters. I’m so nervous about meeting them. He seems to really care what they think.”
Jessie smiled sympathetically. “Tracy and Nick are just friends now, from what I can tell. Did he tell you why they broke up?”
“He said they were more friends than lovers. Said he loved her but wasn’t in love with her. He told me he realized they hadn’t slept together in a month and neither of them had seemed to miss it and it hit him that it wasn’t what he wanted. But he did say that he was the one to end it and that she had tried to convince him to stay with her.”
“Are you in love with him?” Jessie asked.
Savannah shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I think he’s in love with you.”
Savannah laughed. “I think he likes having sex with me. I don’t know about anything beyond that. I’m not a romantic like you are, Jessie.”
“Have you guys stopped fighting about the club?”
“For the most part. He still makes little comments here and there. Some guys can be territorial. It doesn’t always mean they give a shit about you.”
Savannah was so jaded. Jessie didn’t know a lot about her past, but it was clear that something had made her this way. It made Jessie sad for her. She was such a great girl. Nick saw it, obviously. Jessie just wished that Savannah could have a little more confidence in love… and herself.
Chapter Twenty-Three
JESSIE REACHED HER ARMS UP and miraculously caught the football thrown by Nick.
They were playing touch football in Chris’ huge backyard on a Sunday in mid-September. Football was on the big screen in the house, and iPads and laptops were scattered everywhere as the guys monitored their fantasy football teams that they took way too seriously.
Jessie turned to run and make a touchdown for her team. She jumped up and down with excitement.
Jack, on the opposite team, came running toward her, scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder, running with her across the sprawling yard.
She swatted her hands against his back. “Jack! Put me down!”
Jessie laughed as he flipped her back onto the soft grass and hovered over top of her, pinning her down. The sexy scent of whiskey on his breath made her dizzy as he smirked down at her. Why did she like that so much? She didn’t even like the taste of whiskey, usually.
“Good catch, but I let you run it in, you know.”
His eyes skated down her body. She looked adorable in tight jeans and a Washington Redskins football jersey. He would have preferred her be decked out in Carolina Panthers gear, but she was a lifelong Skins fan.
“Yeah, right,” Jessie giggled. “No way you would just let me score… you’re too competitive.”
“Not when I’m playing against little princesses like you I’m not,” he teased.
Jessie knew he must be drunk when he buried his face in her neck and playfully kissed the soft skin there, lightly biting her while one hand reached for her side and tickled her as she squealed underneath him. Jack only got touchy-feely with her when he was drunk. And even then only occasionally. Sometimes when he was drunk he was even more distant than usual.
As he inhaled her sweet scent his cock stirred and took immediate notice of the cute as hell blonde under him. He pulled away a little, trying to control the growing erection that he didn’t need right now.
“Come on you two… get a room!” Nick called. “You’re holding up the game!”
They glanced across the yard to find their friends watching them impatiently.
“Let’s go. Panthers game is getting ready to come on. I’m going back inside.” Jack got up quickly, pulling her to her feet. He lifted her up and carried her on his back across the yard.
JACK STOOD IN FRONT OF the television, yelling a string of curse words as the Panthers missed a 32-yard field goal needed to tie up the score in
the final two minutes of the game.
“You’re fucking kidding me!” He picked up his beer and took a long drink. “It’s almost like they wanted to fucking lose that game.”
He turned to his buddy Sean. “Where’s that chick you’ve been hanging out with? Was looking forward to checking out that hot ass all day.”
Sean was engaged to be married, but his fiancé, Vanessa, was currently pursuing her MBA at Harvard. She was almost never around. Sean slept with whoever he wanted to on the side.
Jack wasn’t judging. He personally couldn’t stand Vanessa, who was an uptight little bitch in his opinion. Sean was only marrying her to please his wealthy parents, who had practically hand-picked her for their future daughter-in-law. They were planning a wedding for next summer, after Vanessa finished her degree.
Jack didn’t understand why Sean was getting married at all. The guy spent most weekends hooking up with hot sluts who liked to be dominated at sex clubs.
Sean was a cynical motherfucker when it came to women. Jack didn’t know what made the dude tick. He definitely wasn’t touching that. They were close friends, but they didn’t talk about feelings and pussy bullshit like that. They both preferred it that way.
“That’s over, dude. She turned out to be a fucking psycho.” Sean glanced across the room, his eyes settling on the pretty blonde laughing in the corner. “Jessie’s looking good. Wouldn’t mind going for a piece of that action.”
Jack followed his gaze to where Jessie was chatting with Zoey and Savannah. The three girls disappeared into the kitchen.
“You need to fuck off. You know that’s not going to happen.”
“You fucked her yet?” Sean picked up his drink and drained it.
Jack shook his head. “Nah. But I’m not about to let any of you mother fuckers have a go at her either.”
He usually denied having interest in Jessie. But he’d been drinking all day and was letting things slip that he usually kept to himself.
“So what the fuck are you waiting for?” Sean asked, irritated. “Seems unfair that you’re holding her sacred when you’re not even hitting it.”
Jack shrugged. “She’s not some slut I met a bar. I can’t just fuck her like any other piece of ass. Believe me, I wish there was a way I could without it messing with her head.”
“There is. It’s called having a girlfriend, you fucking idiot,” Nick chimed in.
The rest of the guys laughed and Jack smirked, laughing along with them.
“Yeah, right. My dick might be hard for her, but I haven’t lost my fucking mind.” Jack finished his beer and went for another.
“Friends with benefits?” Sean suggested.
Jack shook his head. “Nah. I wish. She wouldn’t go for it. Says she’s not into casual sex.”
“You’d never be able to hold onto a girl like that anyway. She’d put up with your shit for about a week if you were lucky,” Sean grumbled.
“Yeah, I know that’s right,” Jack agreed. “She’s way out of my league. But even further out of yours, Christian Grey. She definitely wouldn’t be down for that Fifty Shades shit you’re into.”
Jack knew about Sean’s inclination for bondage and sadomasochism. Sean ventured into some pretty dark shit. Jack was only mildly interested. Some of it seemed pretty hot, but it also sounded like a lot of fucking work. He had enjoyed tying a girl up before, but all the props and shit that Sean was into, not to mention the whips and safe words… that was a little too complicated.
“Yeah, Sean, like a sweet girl like Jessie would ever give your sadistic ass any pussy,” Nick threw out. “You couldn’t score with her even if she wasn’t holding out for this dickhead.” He gestured toward Jack.
“What makes you think she’s holding out for him?” Sean took the shot of Fireball that Chris had poured for him.
“Anyone with eyes can see that Jessie’s into him. I walked out to the hot tub at the beach a few weeks ago and Jack had her in his lap. Let’s just say it sounded like he was getting her where she needed to be even without fucking her. ‘Oh Jack! Jack! Please don’t stop!’” Nick imitated Jessie with a high-pitched voice.
They all laughed, including Jack. He looked toward the kitchen, though. Jessie was probably in there putting food together with Zoey. It was so loud in here it was unlikely she could hear them.
Nick laughed, slapping Jack on the back. “Nah, seriously though, truth is Jack hasn’t done shit with Jessie, have you, brother? These girls talk about everything. Savannah tells me stuff. Jessie’s probably the only girl in the world that’s spent the night with Jack and not gotten laid.”
Jack smirked as the guys all laughed. “I could’ve fucked her, dude, trust me. I could fuck her anytime I want.”
“Hey… easy. No. You cannot,” Chris chimed in, laughing. “My girlfriend’s best friend is off limits to all of you dickheads. And that goes double for you, Jack.”
“Hold on. Are you telling me that you spent the night with Jessie and you didn’t fuck her? Man, what a fucking pussy,” Sean said, turning his attention to the television as the Redskins scored a touchdown and cheers erupted around the room.
“He’s spent the night with her more than once. A bunch of times from what I heard. She told Savannah that the most he’s ever done is kiss her and grope her tits.” Nick laughed.
“Fuck off,” Jack said to all of them.
Jessie came into the room then, carrying a plate of some kind of finger food and setting it on the buffet table. She made eye contact with him and her face lit up. She came toward them.
“Anyone hungry?” she asked. “We have a ton of food ready.”
He nodded and smiled slightly at her. She was so fucking sweet to him. Not that he deserved it in the least.
He fixed a plate of food and then found a spot on the couch. When Jessie came over with her own plate, he patted the couch next to him. He wanted to send a clear message to his asshole friends that she was off-limits. All the talk about Jessie had sparked that possessive feeling he wasn’t all that familiar with. A feeling he didn’t particularly like.
“Sorry I’m so late… had an emergency in the lab.” Jensen walked in, straight to Jack. “Here.” He dropped the swimsuit edition of a popular sports magazine on the couch next to Jack and Jessie. “Seen this yet? Your girl’s on the cover. Check it out.”
Jack picked up the magazine and looked at it. Sure enough, Isabella was staring back at him in a teeny tiny bikini. On her knees in the sand, she was giving the camera that sexy look that Jack knew so well. Her body was unfuckingbelievable.
Jessie glanced down at it, too. She recognized the model as a girl that Jack hooked up with fairly regularly. Isabella. She couldn’t help the jealousy that burned through her. Who was she kidding? Why would Jack ever look twice at her when he had a girl like that available to him?
Jack glanced at Jessie briefly before thumbing through the layout inside and then tossing the magazine on to the table. He shot a what-the-fuck look at Jens. Man, that guy was fucking clueless sometimes. Talk about the absent-minded professor. Didn’t he see Jessie sitting right there?
Jack was pretty upfront with Jessie about the girls he hooked up with, hoping that if she knew what he was all about she would lose interest in him. That was what was best for Jessie. The last thing a sweetheart like her needed was to be used up by a depraved asshole like him.
But flaunting Isabella’s modeling pictures in her face just seemed cruel. Jessie was adorable and had a smoking hot body of her own, but there was no denying that Isabella was sexy as hell. The airbrushed modeling pictures gave her an unrealistic and unattainable level of perfection. He knew enough about women to know that those pictures would make Jessie feel bad.
Jessie kept her attention focused on the football game. Suddenly she felt like a tomboy in her jeans and Redskins jersey, her hair loose and almost no makeup on.
After a few minutes, she got up and casually left the room, heading to the kitchen to clean up some of the dishes. As
she worked on loading Chris’s dishwasher, Jack came in from the living room.
“Hey.” His eyes slid over her body as he brushed past her on his way to the refrigerator, where he took out a bag of limes.
“Hi.” Jessie didn’t look at him.
She felt him come up behind her and the next thing she knew his hands were on her hips and he was leaning down, his lips hovering close to her ear.
“What are you doing later?” Jack asked. Jessie could smell the whiskey on his warm breath again as his lips skated lightly over her cheek. “Going out with that guy you’ve been seeing? What’s his name again?”
“Luke.” Jessie giggled nervously as Jack slid his fingers over her stomach. “Stop! That tickles!”
“You gotten naked with him yet?” His voice was low and rough.
Fuck. Why did the thought of her letting that dude get her naked make him feel so fucking pissed off? And why was he getting hard? Pissed off and turned on at the same time. So fucking confusing.
Jessie laughed nervously. She dropped the plate she was washing and it clattered as it fell in the sink. “Oops.”
“Take it easy,” Jack soothed. “Didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay,” Jessie said quickly. “You just surprised me, that’s all.”
“So what’s up? You give him a taste yet?” His low, rough voice sounded almost angry.
It was clear that Jack was drunk. Otherwise he wouldn’t be standing this close to her. He certainly wouldn’t be asking her about her sex life.
“That’s none of your business,” Jessie said lightly. “Not sure why you care anyway. Nothing I do would seem very exciting to you. Compared to your X-rated sex life, my life is a Disney movie.”
“Oh come on, Jessie. I tell you everything you want to know about the girls I hook up with,” Jack complained, turning her around so she was facing him.
He looked down at her, his hands still pressed into her hips.
“Yeah, you usually tell me more than I want to know, actually,” Jessie joked.
Jack smirked. “Yeah, right.” He leaned close to her and whispered teasingly in her ear. “I think we both know how much you’d like to find out all the dirty things I like to do with a hot little body, don’t we?”
Lit (Wrecked Hearts Series Book 1) Page 28
