Page 38 of Where There's Smoke

Rolling my eyes again and chuckling, I picked up my beer can. To Jesse I said, “How do you put up with her?”

Jesse shrugged and gave a nervous totally-pretending-to-be-comfortable grin. “She has her uses.” As he reached for the pizza box, he added, “If nothing else, she makes pretty good furniture.” He set the pizza box on Ranya’s back.

“Hey!” She glared at him. “I amnotfurniture, Jesse Cameron.”

He shrugged again. “Well, at your height, you would make a great ottoman.”

“And at my height, I have the perfect vantage point for kicking the crap out of your shins when you stand up.” She narrowed her eyes and gestured at the box with her thumb. “Move it, buster.”

He eyed her coolly. “You know, you’re awfully mouthy for a sidekick.”

“Sidekick?” She pointed at the box again, bracelets jingling emphatically. “How about you take this thing off my back before I show you a roundhouse kick?”

He laughed as he picked up the box and set it beside her but didn’t quite pull his hand back before she smacked him.

“Let that be a lesson to you,” she said.

“That’ll be the day.”

“Yeah, isn’t that the truth?” She reached down to pick up her beer off the floor. After she took a drink, she set it down, and as she drew her arm back, she paused to look at her watch. “Oh man.” She pushed herself up. “It’s almost five.”

“Is it?” I looked at the clock and blinked. When the hell had we gotten this far past noon? “Goddamn, it is.”

Ranya sat up with a dramatic groan. “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to go make myself quasi-presentable for this evening.”

“Good idea.” Jesse swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood. Muttering, he added, “Another late night, another early fucking morning.”

A retort ofget used to it, Governorstopped at the tip of my tongue. I glanced at the clock radio while the two of them tossed plates and beer cans away.

It was a little after five. We all had to get ready for this dinner, and we’d likely be back late tonight. There wasn’t much time now, but there’d be even less when we got back, and God knew when even the smallest opportunity might present itself again.

“Jesse,” I said. “We need to go over a few things before the rally tomorrow.” I gestured at my laptop case, where I kept notebooks and crap for briefing him prior to events.

He hesitated, his eyes darting toward Ranya. “Does it…need to be tonight?”

Yes. It needs to benow, damn it.“It’s now, late tonight, or the crack of dawn tomorrow. Your call. Just depends on if you want to deal with me pre-coffee or not.” I raised an eyebrow.Please, Jesse. We need to do this now.

“Sure. All right.” To Ranya, Jesse said, “We’ll see you in the lobby at six thirty?”

She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Assuming you two are dressed and ready by then.” A look of horror flickered across her expression, and she locked eyes with Jesse for a second. Then she quickly cleared her throat. “Well, I mean…” Her gaze darted back and forth between us. Finally she just shook her head. “Just get yourselves put together. Both of you. Okay?”

“Will do,” I said with a two-fingered mock salute.

“On it.” Jesse avoided her eyes and mine.

She glanced back and forth between us, chewing her lower lip, but once again let it go and reached for the door. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys in a little while.”

“See ya,” we both said quietly.

Ranya left, and Jesse closed the door behind her. Once we were alone, he faced me and leaned against the door. For a long, long moment, we just stared at each other, and fuck if I knew what to say or how to say it.

Jesse took a breath. “This isn’t about the rally, is it?”

I moistened my lips. “No.” I stood and took a few tentative steps toward him. He pressed himself against the door like a cornered animal. Like he needed to stay as far away from me as he could while staying in the same room. I stopped, hooking my thumbs in the pockets of my jeans in an attempt to look relaxed. Non-confrontational, if nothing else.

“Jesse, we need to talk.”

He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the door. I chewed my lip, trying to ignore the nicotine craving that rose exponentially with each passing second. This had to be handled indoors, away from prying eyes and ears, so the smoke would just have to wait.

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