Page 28 of All of My Life

“Supposedly, West is really pissed at you for landing Jett Morgan,” he said. “Lance Freeman was saying that West was talking shit, complaining that it wasn’t fair that you got Jett, too.” Russ rolled his eyes. “I guess he’s jealous.”

My mind rolled back to when West and I had first started hanging out, and I couldn’t recall him ever saying anything about being interested in Jett. He’d made stupid comments like he’d had with all the girls, but nothing significant enough for me to kick his ass or stake my claim on her.

“He’s never said anything about being interested in Jett before,” I remarked.

Russ cocked his head a bit in confusion. “Uhm…two summers ago, he asked her out.”

That had me rearing my head back in surprise. “What?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I…I thought everyone knew that.”

I shook my head. “Two summers ago, I was in Italy for a month.”

“You were?”

“My father had some business to deal with, and he thought it’d be a good idea to take me with him and show me that side of Carver Industries,” I answered, not sure why I was explaining myself to Russ Carpenter.

“Oh, that makes sense,” he murmured. “Well, at any rate, the rumor is that he asked her out, but she said no.”

“He told people that she turned him down?” I asked skeptically because that didn’t sound like something that West would do. He was too proud to acknowledge rejection like that.

“There were witnesses, so he tried to play it off like he’d only been joking, but…I don’t know, man,” he said. “If he’s pissed, then he might really like her.”

I eyed Russ. “Why are you telling me this?”

His face turned pink. “Last year, I…I was struggling in science,” he admitted sheepishly. “Jett would miss the last break of the day to stay in class with me and help me.” He shrugged. “She’s good people, and I’d hate to see her get hurt.”

My fingers on my left hand started clawing at my palm. I didn’t like not knowing that. I didn’t like not knowing that she had helped Russ Carpenter with his science work. I didn’t like not knowing that West had asked her out. I didn’t like not knowing that she’d been eating leftovers because she’d been too lonely at home. I was supposed to know everything about Jett, and my nails were scraping against my skin as I wondered what else I could have possibly missed.

Doing my best not to take it out on Russ, I said, “While I’m sure that Jett would appreciate your concern, I’ve got it handled, Russ. If West or Sierra are stupid enough to go after Jett, then that’s on them. It’s not like they don’t know what will happen to them if they do.”

“Yeah,” he agreed sheepishly. “I just…I just thought that you should know that they’re getting ugly about this thing between you guys.”

I arched a brow. “This thing?”

His entire face scrunched up, looking confused. “I thought it was just…uhm, everyone thinks it’s some kind of crazy bet or something.”

“And why would you motherfuckers think that?” I asked, not caring that this guy had just done me a solid two seconds ago.

His eyes widened. “Because…because you’re Chasin Carver,” he answered like a tool. “Why would you get serious with someone right before you head to college?”

People really were fucking idiots.

“Do me a favor, yeah?” Russ immediately nodded. “The next time you overhear someone speculating on my relationship with Jett, let them know that I plan on marrying the girl as soon as she decides that she likes me enough to say yes.” Russ’ eyes widened with that news. “You can tell them that you heard it straight from my mouth, and if anyone has anything to say about it, then they can say it to my motherfucking face.”

Pissed the fuck off, I turned from Russ Carpenter, then headed to the office to get Jett’s locker moved. I didn’t care if I was late for class because this was definitely more important at the moment. If people were going to start hating on Jett for being with me, then I needed to keep her close. If I could, I’d change her entire class schedule to match mine, but even I knew that’d be impossible this late in the school year. I was just going to have to be satisfied with the two classes that we had together, and I could only hope that Russ spread the word fast enough to make my point about Jett clear.

As I thought about Russ’ words, West’s questions about Jett made more sense now. I couldn’t remember a time when West had ever asked me about any of the girls that I’d been with, so him asking about Jett had just added more validation to the rumors that Russ had just informed me about. Now, while I couldn’t put my hands on Sierra, I could easily ruin her life in Carver, which I had no problem doing if she decided to be a problem for Jett.

However, West?

Yeah, I had no problems putting my hands on that fucker if he went after my girl.

Chapter 18

Jett~

While I was lucky enough to have PE as my last period, it still wasn’t my favorite class. I was only five-foot-three and the size of a toothpick, so I didn’t shine when it came to physical sports. In fact, I was so petite that I wondered what Chasin saw in me. I didn’t have sexy curves like a lot of the girls at school, though I did have some.

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