Page 30 of Teach Me
Careless of the broken edges, she took a step and kicked the pieces hard, scattering them across the room.
* * *
“So Lori said your lesson went better than expected last night.”
Jack’s tone held a snigger. The man was far too smug for their usual Friday evening beer ritual. Con eyed him as the waitress set two brown bottles on the battered table between them.
“Thanks, darlin’.” Jack winked, causing the cute brunette to blush as she turned away. The man didn’t even notice, just kept right on grinning at Con from across the table. He’d watched perfectly intelligent, mature women swoon at that grin. They fell to worship at Jack’s feet when he flashed it. Con just wanted to punch Jack’s teeth out, but he picked up his beer and took a long, icy swallow instead. Jack was part bloodhound, and any other reaction would lead him down a path Con really didn’t want to take, not tonight.
Jack ignored Con’s sour disposition. “Come on, man. You can’t tell me you don’t want to spill the details.”
“Didn’t Lori already give you those?”
It wasn’t that they hadn’t swapped stories before; they had, both of them, on other occasions—rarely, but it happened. Men didn’t talk feelings; they talked lays. This thing with Jess shouldn’t be all that different, except it was, and he didn’t want to talk about it.
“I mean, hell, you did her on company property; technically I’m entitled to know what went on in my—our business,” he clarified at Con’s snarl, though his grin never wavered. “Unless… You didn’t clear the security tapes, did you? I could just wa—”
“I didn’t do her.”
Fucking understatement of the year, his cock reminded him.
Jack paused, beer raised halfway to his open mouth. “No way. Lori said you were halfway there right on the mats. You’ve got to be lying.” He shook his head. “You know I’ll find it, right? All it’ll take is a few minutes’ search to—”
“Jack.”
“What?”
“Not. Another. Word.”
“Oh, come on! I just wanna know if she—”
“No.”
“But—”
Con surged up out of his seat.
“All right, all right.” Jack laughed against the mouth of his bottle. “Sit your ass down. I get it—no touchy.” At Con’s continued glare, he held up both hands, one clutching his beer. “Not even virtually, I promise.” He paused. “Maybe.”
Con shot him the bird.
Jack smirked. “Besides,” he said, “Lori already cleared the tapes.”
Con grunted his approval.
“Cock blocker.”
Just couldn’t resist that final dig, could he? The truth stung, even if Jack didn’t mean it. Even if it wasn’t how Jack thought it. The memory of Jess walking away from him last night flashed in his mind. The regret that sliced through him wasn’t a surprise anymore.
Something on Con’s face must’ve registered, because Jack’s beer went back to the table before it could touch his lips again. “You didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?” As if he didn’t know.
“Jesus, you didn’t.”
Con let a twist of his mouth answer for him.
“Son of a bitch.” Jack shook his head, but it was the concern lurking in his eyes that really pissed Con off.
