Page 58 of Jesse's Girl

“No. It’s the least I can do.” I’m scrambling like I’ve committed some horrific offense.

Fuck, have I? How obviously was I staring at Ada? Will Maya tell Renee?

“Okay. Thanks.” With a quick goodbye, Maya heads out of the restaurant, leaving me to my stunned silence.

Slumping down in my chair, I rub a hand down my face in disbelief, wondering how badly I’ve fucked up by letting this date be such an epic flop. I drink the rest of my water and sit back in my seat, frowning as I replay the events of the evening in my mind. I try to gauge whether Maya attributed my distraction to something general, or whether she picked up on the turquoise-haired reason behind it.

I pay the bill and decide that, if I’m hellbent on acting like we’re just friends, I should at least speak to Ada. Try to smooth things over. That’s what a friend would do. I take a breath to compose myself and approach the bar.

“Hey,” is my brilliant opener.

“Another hot date?” Ada lifts her chin toward our now-empty table.

“Uh, yeah. Another friend of Renee’s. Maya.”

She nods, her expression neutral. “She was pretty. Where’d she go?”

“Had to head out,” I say vaguely, grateful she doesn’t press me for details.

“Excuse me, darlin’,” Ada’s coworker croons as he slides in close, reaching in front of her to get a slice of lime. When he slings an arm over her shoulder, I stiffen, my eyes shifting between her and that punchable face.

She can flirt with whoever she wants, remember?

He gives me a shit-eating grin and squeezes her shoulder before finally pulling his slimy arm away. Wedging the lime onto the rim of the finished drink, he slides it to the customer beside me.

I try to shelve my jealousy, desperate not to feel this way, and remind myself—yet again—that I have no right to.

“Kyle, this is Jesse. My brother’s best friend,” Ada explains, holding my gaze as she emphasizes the last part in a way that stokes the guilt in my gut.

Recognition lights up his features and he extends his hand. “The dude you’re living with! Hey, man, nice to meet you,” he says with that charming, sleazebag smile.

I’d be an asshole to refuse his handshake. Reluctantly, I shake it, giving him a curt nod. I don’t trust this guy.

No one speaks for a long moment.

When Kyle finally fucks off to serve another customer, I breathe a small sigh of relief.

“You gonna hang out here and have a drink?” Ada asks warily. It doesn’t sound like an invitation.

“Nah,” I say. “I’m gonna head home.” I shouldn’t hang around her, however much I may want to. And I sure as hell don’t want to subject myself to watching Kyle flirt with her any more than I already have.

She nods. “Okay. See ya later, if you’re still up.”

I force a smile and turn to leave, silently resolving not to be up when Ada gets home tonight.

13

ADA

I’m fine. It’s fine. Jesse bringing his date into my workplace last night was perfectly fine. We’re just friends. Friends do that kind of thing. It’s fine. Really. Super fine with me.

As I pace in my room, these thoughts play on repeat in my brain until I’m almost convinced. It needs to be true. It doesn’t matter that we almost kissed; that was a huge mistake.

But the memory haunts me: Jesse’s breath against my lips… The way he’d whispered my name… His hands gripping my lower back, pulling me close…

Forget it. It can never happen again, anyway.

Sure, I may have spent the duration of Jesse’s date with Maya vaguely fantasizing about accidentally spilling a drink on her… but I shook it off. I let it go. It doesn’t matter, anyway, because Jesse’s clearly not seeing her again. I’m not sure what happened, but he didn’t seem happy after she left and he hurried home soon after. He wasn’t up when I got in after my shift, and I was actually relieved. The last thing I needed was more time alone with him. The less temptation, the better—because I can’t stop replaying that almost-kiss in my mind. I need to cool off about it.

---