Page 1 of Only This Once
Prologue
When Julia Caldwell saw Jinx in the car, her stomach twisted. She got along fine with Jinx, her best friend’s younger brother by two years, but he shouldn’t be there.
“Feebs?” she asked, stepping toward her friend’s sloppily curbed car.
“I know!” Phoebe said, racing toward Julia with outstretched arms. Julia braced for the hug, only wobbling a little. “I had to bring him. Mom was convinced I was going to a party or something.” Phoebe rolled her eyes with a grin.
Jinx closed the car door and joined them on the sidewalk, his hands sliding into the back pockets of his jeans. “Hey, Jules,” he said with a shy smile, his curly blond hair partly covering one of his blue eyes.
Girls often went crazy over his eyes.
“Hey,” Julia grunted, glaring at Phoebe. “He shouldn’t be here,” she said.
Jinx flushed, looking down at the sidewalk.
Julia’s chest pinched, but she shoved the guilt away. “There’ll be alcohol and drugs and stuff. He’s too young.”
“I’m not that young,” Jinx protested, but he didn’t lift his eyes.
Phoebe grabbed Julia’s shoulders and gave her a shake. “Oh, give a little. It’s not like we’re old enough to drink, either. And it’s Jinx!”
Exactly. It was Jinx. Julia had given him that nickname years ago. Wherever Phoebe’s brother went, trouble followed.
Not that Jesse Holden, or Jinx to her, caused the trouble. No, he always tried his best, was nice to everyone, and was justgood. Julia liked being around him, sometimes more than Phoebe, but then everyone did. Despite being a rule follower, no one picked on him at school. The girls chased after him, but Jinx always deflected, often setting them up with someone who turned out perfect for them. For someone who’d never had a girlfriend, he was an excellent matchmaker.
Jinx really was great. Unfortunately, the universe was out to get him because of it.
There was the time when they waited at the bus stop together and a neighbor’s car swerved to avoid a dog in the road. Their car hopped the curb, going straight for Jinx. He would have been run over if Julia hadn’t tackled him out of the way.
Once a tree crashed through his bedroom window. The tree had looked perfectly fine the day before, and it had been angled away from the house. No one could explain why it had landed on Jinx’s room. He’d gotten a concussion from the roof caving in.
Even on the playground when they were kids, things happened. A wooden ladder would break under his feet, a ball would swerve right for him, or they’d all walk through a bush, with only him getting stung by something.
Julia had been certain he was jinxed, and the name stuck.
“You look awesome, Jules!” Phoebe’s eyes skimmed Julia’s new shirt, trying to distract her. It was black, like always, butthe crisscrossed buckles on the front pushed up and showed off her breasts. The neckline also ran right below her collarbone, accentuating her recent tattoo, a bleeding rose. Julia liked the see-through lace of the back of the shirt even more, but she didn’t turn around to show her friend, stepping past her instead to sling an arm around Jinx’s shoulders.
Her arm didn’t feel right around Jinx’s shoulders, even though she’d grabbed him that way plenty of times. She frowned, her hand testing if his shoulders really were wider like they seemed, and she realized she could look him right in the eye. “Hey! Did you grow again?”
Jinx flushed. “Just a little.”
“Well, stop it. I get to be taller.” Julia grinned at him but quickly sobered. “Are you sure about coming with us? You could crash at my dorm.”
“No, he can’t.” Phoebe rolled her eyes. “You told me your dry spell is over. Don’t tell me a hookup isn’t in the cards. It’s been weeks!”
“By choice,” Julia reminded her. The guys had gotten clingy the last few times, and she’d taken a break. “Besides, I don’t use my place anyway, not after that one time.”
“Wait, what one time?” Phoebe frowned. “Was one of them a jerk or something? Who? I’ll let him have it.”
“I’d let him have it, and no, he wasn’t a jerk. He was just a pain to kick out. It’s easier when I’m the one leaving.” Julia realized she was still touching Jinx and let him go.
Excited shouts filtered to them from the house a couple of blocks up, drawing their gazes. A lot of people had already arrived. The party had generated a good buzz. The guys hosting it were going all out since the spring semester ended in another week.
“Come on!” Phoebe grabbed Julia’s hand. “Kyle’s already there.”
Julia let her friend tug her forward. “So you two worked things out?”
“Of course,” Phoebe said. “I love him. He’s the one, Jules.”
