“But why?” Stephanie’s voice was as loud as a sonic boom. She wagged her finger accusingly. “You said you’d go with me!”
“So I can be left alone at midnight while you go find some random guy to kiss? No thanks!”
“Then invite Ethan!” Stephanie suggested. “Aren’t you at that stage in whatever the hell you guys have going on where it’s understood you’ll be each other’s automatic dates to these things?”
Jesse frowned slightly, but didn’t say a word.
My cheeks warmed in embarrassment. Looking away, I tried my best to come up with a foolproof excuse not to go. Luckily, that excuse was actually the truth. “I thought I told you his work sent him away for business. He won’t be back until after the third.”
“Well, you didn’t, and that sucks.”
Jesse smirked, clearly enjoying our banter. “A good solution to this problem is if Stephanie just promises to keep her ‘Man Dating’ radar to a minimum and stick with you all night.”
Her mouth widened in shock. “Hey! I resent that!”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah, Steph. Why don’t you just make it a girl’s night out? No men. Besides, aren’t you trying to hook up with Daniel, anyway?”
“Daniel?” Jesse asked curiously. I shot him a knowing look, causing his mouth to drop wide open. “You have got to be shitting me. Daniel Daniel? Homecoming Daniel? Daniel who turned Stephanie into a class five crazy?”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” The top of Stephanie’s lips curled up into annoyance. “Fine, to show you guys that I am not some boy crazy psycho, I’ll promise it’ll just be a girl’s night. No penises…err…penie…um, is that the plural for it?”
“We get it, we get it,” Jesse chuckled. Leaning against the counter, he bumped my hip with his, surprising me. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You turn into some sex-crazed psycho too?”
“Ha!” Stephanie exclaimed with a laugh.
I shot her an annoyed look.
“Ha!” she repeated in a quieter tone.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
“What, ‘ha?’” Jesse asked, his eyes darting between the two of us.
“Oh nothing,” Stephanie’s voice sounded as if she were singing a childhood song. “Just that Rocky over here has been holding out for Mr. Special.”
“Stephanie!” I hissed.
Jesse looked at me incredulously. “Are you a virgin?”
“Really, guys? We’re going to talk about this here?” I glanced around the store, positive that my mom or dad would pop out at any moment. Luckily, the aisles seemed empty, having only a sprinkling of customers.
“Technically a virgin,” Stephanie answered for me with a giggle.
“How can someone technically be a virgin unless…” Jesse’s voice trailed off as his eyebrows rose. I caught his eyes sneak a peek towards my backside.
I instantly slapped him against the arm. “Ew! No, you disgusting pervert.”
Jesse laughed his familiar throaty chuckle. It felt nice to hear it again. “Okay, so tell me how one can technically be a virgin. I am really dying to know.”
“It was just the tip,” I mumbled, looking down.
“What was that?” Jesse asked, cupping his ear and leaning towards me.
“It was just the tip!” My voice was louder and angry.
“Who tipped?”
“Mom! Hey!” I gasped.
Jesse and Stephanie instantly straightened while my mom wormed her way between both of them. She placed what looked to be a flat sheet of cardboard in front of me.
“I’m doing some filing in the back and can’t seem to figure out how to put this banker’s box together. Dad said you could put one together quick, so I figured I’d pass it over to you,” she said tiredly before glancing at Jesse. “Did someone tip you again?”
He cleared his throat. “Er…no, Ma’am. Not this time.”
“Oh, I was about to say we may need to put out a tip jar. It’s not the usual in our line of business, but what could it hurt?”
“Tips definitely do not hurt,” Jesse replied. He threw me a wink, eliciting a giggle from Stephanie.
Really? In front of my mother? I tightened my fist and clenched my jaw. I was beyond annoyed.
“Get to work on that box,” Mom demanded. “I’ll be in the back office.”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Rossi. We’ll make sure Rocky works on her box,” Jesse called out after her.
Stephanie and Jesse burst into laughter. If I clenched my teeth together any tighter I was sure I’d be needing a set of dentures. I grabbed the cardboard and began folding it into place, cursing under my breath.
Chapter 9
“I can’t believe you told him I was a virgin!”
“You are not a virgin.” Stephanie snickered. “A tip counts as a penis no matter what you believe.”
“And what gave you the authority to make that decision?”
“I didn’t make that decision, the rules of dating did. Still can’t believe you even let Adam get that far with you,” Stephanie clucked.
My eyes narrowed as I remembered my failed college relationship. “Can we not talk about that, please?”
“Always told you he was a loser.” She shook her head and threw a dress onto my bed. “What do you think about this one?”
I peered at what looked to be a small piece of fabric and grimaced. “A bit too slutty for my taste.”
“Thanks.” Stephanie scowled and placed the tiny tube dress back into her closet. She perused her impressive wardrobe and glanced back at me. “What are you going to wear tonight?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just thinking of wearing a jumpsuit or something.”
“A jumpsuit? Really?”
“What’s wrong with that?” I shrugged.
Stephanie’s dark hair flew back and forth as she shook her head. “No! You can’t be modest on New Year’s Eve! You have to live it up.” She yanked a spaghetti strap and a high-waisted mini-skirt from her closet, throwing them at me. “Here. Wear this.”
The clothing hit me right across the face. “Hey!”
“What? They’re cute.”
I smirked and held the top and bottom out in each hand. The glittery top was a stretchy material that curved into a sweetheart neckline. I wouldn’t have thought of pairing it with the pleather skirt, but the combination really was cute. “Fine. I’ll wear them.”
“Woo hoo!”
I snorted. “What about you? What are you going to wear?”
She pulled out a red sequined tube dress. “Something on fi-yah!”
“Lady in red. Of course.”
***
The pounding of the music could be heard outside the club. Even from inside the taxi I could feel the vibrations against my chest.
“You ready?” Stephanie’s cheeks were already flushed from our little pre-gaming session at her apartment.
I grabbed at her wrist. “You promise no ditching me tonight? I really don’t want to start the New Year off sulking in the corner by myself.”
“Then don’t sulk!” Stephanie laughed at my answering expression. “Fine, just kidding. I won’t ditch you, I promise.”
“Thanks—”
“But you have to promise me something,” she interjected.
“What?” I asked hesitantly.
“Promise that we’ll have a great time tonight, ’kay? Like the off the wall, ‘waking up tomorrow morning wishing it were still tonight’ kind of fun.”
I grinned. “That’s a pact I can keep.”
“Good. Now, let’s get this show on the road!”
Stephanie kept her promise and stayed glued to my side. We danced the night away, donning party hats and those stupid looking glasses that read the New Year. We swayed our hips, laughing hysterically as the effects of the bubbly ran rampant. It really was a fun night.
Until…
“Hey, do you want to dance?” Tall, dark, handsome—it was t
he only way to describe the Adonis who approached Stephanie.
She shot me a tormented look, but to my surprise answered, “Um…no, it’s okay.”
Knowing her well, I could tell she was bursting at the seams, desperate to grab Mr. Good Looking by the neck and gyrate with him into the night. With a sigh, I sagged my shoulders in defeat. “It’s okay. Just go.”
“You sure?” she asked hopefully.
I glanced at the guy patiently waiting behind her. He seemed harmless enough. “It’s fine. Really.”
Stephanie knew me well too. She wasn’t about to leave me alone. I couldn’t help but feel a bit touched that she was actually going to keep her promise. And I was going to fulfill mine.
Figuring she needed some prodding, I pushed her lightly. “Just go have some fun.”
She nodded her head once and turned towards Mr. Handsome. He immediately wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her in to do his version of the forbidden dance.
“Ugh.” I grimaced at the sight and spun on my heel. I stomped my way towards the bar, ready to order something stiff when I felt a hand on my bare shoulder. All at once my temper flared. “If you want to walk out of here with that hand intact, you better get it off me right now.” I turned around and found Jesse laughing hysterically.
“Wow! You have changed since high school.” He slapped his thigh, unable to keep a straight face.
“Jesse! What are you doing here?” I gasped.
Grinning, he took a seat on the barstool next to mine and gestured towards the multi-lit dancefloor. “Figured our BFF would ditch you sooner or later. By the looks of it, I was right.”
“In her defense, she waited an hour.”
“Oh, wow! A whole hour! Call the presses.” He snickered.
I caught the bartender’s eye and held up one finger. Laughing along with Jesse, I shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t care. At least she’s having a good time.”
“Here you go, Honey.” The bartender slid a drink in my direction. Jesse frowned as I took it in my hand, but didn’t comment.
“So, what were you going to do tonight if you didn’t come to save me from the pangs of loneliness?” I wrapped my lips around the thin black straw, smacking my tongue as the sweet, bitter taste of pineapple rum hit my mouth.
He scratched at his neck and turned the corners of his mouth down. “Eh, I was just going to stay home. Probably sleep.”
“Wow, so exciting!” I teased.
“Oh yeah. Riveting.” Jesse reached out and nudged me with his elbow. “What would you have been doing if Stephanie didn’t drag you here? Talking to Ethan?”
“Okay, what is your obsession with Ethan? Every time we speak to one another you mention his name.”
For a brief instant he looked as if I had caught him off guard. Regaining his composure, he smiled. “Guess I’m still protective of you.”
“Oh, but there’s really nothing to be protective about.” I sighed and took another sip of my drink. “To answer your question, I probably would have just been at home watching the ball drop while eating pizza.”
“That…actually sounds much better than this.” He chuckled. “This just seems like a weak scene to me.”
“What’s your idea of a good scene?” My ears perked with interest. It was a small start to peeling away the layers to Jesse’s onion, but it was still something new to learn about him.
“Hmm….” Jesse tilted his head to the side and smiled. “Watching the ball drop while eating pizza.”
I laughed a bit harder than the joke should have warranted and ended up spilling some of my drink on my shirt. The red tinted liquid (damn grenadine!) ran down the pale pink top.
“Shit!” I reached out and grabbed a napkin, wiping off as much of the stain as I could.
“Guess some things never change. You’re still a klutz.”
I shut my eyes. “Ugh, this isn’t even my shirt! Steph’s going to kill me.”
Jesse gestured towards our friend, who was busy air humping Mystery Man. “Nah, I don’t think she’ll notice.” He reached out for my hand, pulling it away from my desperate attempt to magically absorb the stain. “You’re fine. Just forget about it. Let’s go have some fun while we’re here.”
“And do what?”
“Let’s dance.”
I instantly dropped the soiled napkin. “You? Dance?”
“Why is that so surprising?” he asked in amusement.
“You’re Jesse,” I answered dumbly.
He nodded his head slowly. “Yeah, and you’re Rocky.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean. You were the rocker guy—the bad boy. Not someone who would even know how to dance to Top 40 music.”
“Well, you’d be surprised. Come on!” He grabbed my hand, pulling me from my seat.
We squeezed between the crowds of people, their slick sweat rubbing against our skin. By the time we made it to the middle of the floor, I felt a need to dunk myself in sanitizer. To add insult to injury, the air was thick with humidity and pheromones, somehow making the room seem a bit more suffocating. I was definitely no longer in a dancing sort of mood.
“Relax, Rocky! Dance.” Jesse placed his fingertips on my hips and began coaxing them from side to side. “Don’t you know how to dance?”
“I know how to dance!” I snapped defensively, yet my body couldn’t relax enough for me to catch onto the rhythm.
Jesse laughed, pressing his body against mine. “Then dance.”
I gulped.
I quickly realized the only way I’d be able to appear coordinated was to separate myself from the situation. If I even looked up at Jesse, I’d stiffen up. I closed my eyes and allowed his body to lead mine. After a few moments, I felt my muscles loosening up enough to move on my own. However, no matter how hard I tried I was aware of exactly what he was doing and how my body was reacting, and good God, how my body was reacting.
A flash of heat traveled from my limbs straight to my core, pooling inside my belly. I felt a slight tingling between my legs, which only caused my stomach to tumble around even more. This feeling was exactly what I was missing with Ethan. It wasn’t just arousal—though trust me, I had a pretty good amount of it—it was passion.
It was a common tale. Best friend in love with best friend in an unrequited sort of way. I’d had a crush on Jesse from the very first moment he was assigned to our biology group during freshman year. The crush only grew as I got to know him. I was able to see the boy behind the façade. I was able to see the boy who made me laugh, tended to my tears, and listened to my hopes, dreams, and fears. Though I knew deep down that that boy was now gone, being so close to this man only caused those feelings to come back in a rush.
The crush of bodies around us pushed us even closer together. His fingertips grazed my arm, causing me to shudder and leaving a trail of goose bumps in their wake. Growing a bit courageous, I pried my eyes open and took a moment to watch Jesse’s movements. Surprisingly, he really did know how to dance. His hips swayed from side to side, even thrusting forward against me. His torso rolled in time with the music. Hell, even I wasn’t as coordinated. Though the sight was entrancing, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit saddened knowing that I did not know when and where he learned how to dance. It only added to my assumption that there really was a lot I didn’t know about him anymore.
The DJ changed his tune and soon the pumping of the bass gave way to ear piercing screeching.
“Ugh, what is this crap?” Jesse looked up towards the DJ booth and held out a thumbs down sign.
“Guess, it’s techno. Wanna sit down?”
“Nah, when in Rome, right?” With that, Jesse began jumping up and down, bobbing his head like a maniac.
I couldn’t help but laugh, joining him in his crazy antics. That was how it always was, he’d lead and I’d follow. However, now that I was older, I wanted to be the one who led him.
The music began to die down into a subtle hip hop beat. Jesse nodded his head in approval. �
�Now this is more like it.”
He grabbed me closer, spinning me around. As I giggled, I spotted Stephanie dancing a few feet away from us. Her big eyes looked even larger as she stared at us in amusement.
“Oh my gosh!” she mouthed towards me.
I shot her a look that said, “Cool it!” and turned back to look at Jesse.
“It’s going to be midnight soon,” he yelled above the music. “Any resolutions?”
“Oh, you know same old, same old. Eat better, exercise more. How about you?”
“Well, for starters, I want to pay back all debts.”
“What do you mean? Oh!” He grabbed my hand and spun me around so my back was pressed against his chest. His belt buckle dug into the thin fabric around my hip, but I was so entranced by his moves that I didn’t even care that it stung a bit.
“First of all, I told you I was going to make up for ditching you during homecoming. I guess a gaudy nightclub is the closest thing to it.” His mouth was just centimeters from my ear. I could feel each syllable he spoke as his breath warmed my skin. My breath hitched, unable to hold back my excitement any longer. He spun me back around so I was facing him. There must have been something strange about the expression on my face because soon Jesse stopped dancing. “Rocky, what’s wrong?”
My heart began pumping. If he wanted to make it up to me that meant that he did still care about me. “I…”
“Time for the countdown everyone!” the DJ interrupted. “Ten, nine, eight…”
“Rocky, what’s wrong?” he repeated. His eyes bounced between both of mine as if he were trying to read some secret code.
“Four, three, two, one!”
“Happy New Year,” I whispered, reaching up to grab him around the neck. Jesse had always been taller than me and now at twenty-three he towered over me. Rising up on my tip-toes, I pressed my lips against his before giving it a second thought.
For once I want to lead.
I attempted to pry my mouth open, but was surprised to find that Jesse’s lips, though moist and pretty soft for a guy’s lips, were sewn shut. I opened my eyes to find him staring back at me in shock.
He gently pushed me away, holding onto my wrists. “Um, Rocky? I, uh…” He didn’t bother finishing his thought and dropped his hold on me. He spun on his heel and walked off towards the end of the dancefloor, never looking back.
Two Outta Three (Two Outta Three #1) Page 6
