Page 63 of Jesse
“He can stay at my place. It’s closer to the competition grounds, and he won’t have to worry about anyone snooping around his motel room,” Jesse suggested.
I looked at him in surprise, then back to Cooper, who nodded. “It’ll keep you safer and more focused.”
Jackson opened his mouth as if to argue but closed it again, the fight finally draining out of him. “Fine,” he muttered, his tone resigned.
As we stepped out of the office, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. I glanced at Jesse, his hand brushing against mine with a gentle graze.
“You good with this?” I asked.
He smiled. “Better than good.”
I nodded. I wasn’t going back to Silvercrest. Not yet. And with Jesse beside me, I felt like I wasn’t facing this alone.
Chapter 16
Beck
“Smoking bringsout the best flavor. No contest,” Jesse said, arms crossed, looking every bit like he thought he had already won the argument.
I huffed, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet with more force than necessary. “Yeah, and it also requires constant babysitting. We don’t have time for that, not with everything else going on.”
“Not if you do it right. A good smoker holds steady. It’s about knowing how to control the heat,” Jesse shot back.
“Or,” I said, reaching for a spoon and a jar of smoked paprika, “you just use the damn oven like a sane person. Low and slow. Same results, less hassle.”
He gave me that look again, the one that managed to be both exasperated and amused at the same time.
It reminded me of the first time we sat down to plan our menu. I didn’t think it was possible to get on my nerves and make me laugh in the same breath, but Jesse had somehow mastered the art.
Back then, it had been infuriating. Now, I couldn’t resist pushing him a little.
“Maybe you don’t trust yourself not to mess it up,” I teased.
Jesse’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, I trust myself just fine. I’m not the one resorting to shortcuts because I’m scared of a little hard work.”
“Scared?” I scoffed, turning to face him fully. “It’s called efficiency.”
He leaned in. “Maybe if you stopped cutting corners, you’d actually taste the difference.”
The tension hung in the air for a beat too long before I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
Jesse rolled his eyes, but I caught the faint curve of his lips. “And yet, here we are. Still arguing over brisket.”
As I turned back to the spices, the banter faded into a more comfortable quiet. My hands moved automatically, pulling out more bowls and measuring spoons while my mind wandered.
It was strange how quickly I’d gotten used to being here with him. Living together, even if only for a few days, felt easy.
Usually, moving into someone’s space, even for a few days, came with some awkwardness. Setting boundaries, figuring out who got the bathroom first, that kind of thing.
But with Jesse, it was almost seamless. Sure, we had one little spat about the hot water the other night. I’d used most of it soaking my feet after a long day at the festival, and he’d grumbled about taking a cold shower.
That argument didn’t last long though, not once he’d decided to massage my feet instead.
I smiled at the memory. Yeah, that didn’t really count as a fight.
But this? This was as close as we’d gotten to a real argument. And, honestly, it didn’t feel half bad.
Jesse cleared his throat, pulling me out of my thoughts.
