Page 19 of Love Collided

The guys didn’t have the same concerns, cheering him on with the rest of the crowd. Chase handed his beer to the girl next to him and then jumped.

Water splashed over all of us, bringing the familiar irritation that always seemed to happen when Chase was around right back to me.

“What the hell, Chase?” Ash yelled, stepping back while Fox laughed.

Jesse leaned into me, holding me closer. “Are we really here for this guy?”

“Yeah, it’s Fox and Ash’s friend,” I whispered back.

“And it makes us need to be here? I know other parties going on which are less pretentious and a hell of a lot more fun.”

“We are already here. Can you not find a way to have fun here for an hour?”

He groaned, watching Chase climb out of the pool, throwing water onto every one again. “Fine. I’ll go find us some drinks,” Jesse said, disappearing into the crowd before I could say anything.

Chase got out, shaking the guys’ hands and acting all sweet with the girls. Then he got to me.

“Quite the party. Is the money bonfire around here somewhere or does that start later?” I asked, not hiding any hint of snark.

“Money bonfire?” he asked with a smirk. “Is this all not enough of a waste for you that I need to throw away more? While I appreciate your style, I’m a little surprised to hear it coming from you.”

I rolled my eyes, trying not to look at his bare chest.

I never thought I would like a man so…wet.

“Don’t worry, the money bonfire will start soon. I’m going to change now so I don’t miss it. Feel free to head inside for drinks and whatever food is still there after this crowd.”

“Have a golden suit to slip into?” I asked, trying to calm my snark down and failing.

His smile grew, and he leaned down closer to me.

Too close.

“No, but thanks for the suggestion. I think I would look good in all gold.” He winked and walked away, Jesse curling a lip at him when he went past.

“How the fuck are you friends with him?” Jesse asked, turning to Fox while handing me a drink.

“What’s wrong? Hate anyone who has a personality?” Fox asked. “He’s cool and I would prefer if you’re going to talk shit about my friends, you say it to their face.”

Jesse rolled his eyes. “All I’m saying is he’s some rich, privileged asshole. Anyone from this background isn’t worth a damn in my life.”

The crew went silent. No one dared to move as we waited for Fox’s reply.

“I was almost offended because my girlfriend comes from a background like his, but I don’t actually want her in your life so, problem solved,” Fox said, pulling Ash close to him. She patted his chest in response, almost giving me an apologetic smile. I tried to give one back. This wasn’t the first time Jesse and Fox had butted heads.

“Can you two knock it off for tonight?” I asked, wishing for once they would get along. There was nothing worse than Fox not liking someone I was dating, and these two never seemed to stop this type of bickering. Every time I thought they were moving on and becoming friends, something like this happened.

“Let’s go see what food he has inside,” Jax said, burying his head against Carly to whisper to her as we all headed for the back door. I knew they were talking about Jesse and I which only made me feel worse about bringing him tonight.

Jesse pulled me aside. “I went inside to grab drinks for us because I wanted to stay outside, not go right back in.”

“Okay, but I want to go see what there is to eat. We can come back out in a few minutes.” I was trying to sweeten my voice, to sound like the person I usually always was, but the words still came out clipped.

His lips pursed together, and I already knew what he was about to say. “I’ll wait out here for you.”

“Fine,” I growled, ripping away from him.

I didn’t understand it. The guys couldn’t get enough of Quinn, Ash, and Carly. They hung on them constantly. If they were going inside, the guys were going unless told not to. Even Ransom had changed the moment he started dating Quinn and couldn’t get enough of her, but Jesse never did with me. He seemed content if we didn’t touch all night.

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