Page 19 of Wasted Memories
Was that creepy?
Yes, you idiot.
“Jett invited Wes to watch the game at his place tomorrow night," Jim announced.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I nodded once. “Sounds like a few people are going to be there. He was just being polite.”
“Nah, man, he’s inviting you to get a feel on ya. Jett isn’t a fan of newcomers. He’s probably going to try to lay down the law, but don’t take it personally,” Ray said, chuckling.
“You want to tell me something or keep talking all ominously?” I said as I tore off a piece of my napkin and rolled it between my fingers.
“He wants to see if you’ll go after his girl. He does it to everyone,” Sebastian said blatantly.
I dropped the scrap of napkin from my fingers, bringing my hands to my lap and fisting them under the table. “So, he uses her as bait, basically.”
“You could say that,” Jim muttered, lifting his glass to take a sip of the drink Jessica had dropped off during our conversation.
Well, that explained the contact name he put in my phone. I knew Jett’s game now. He used Emerson as a chess piece, moving her around to best suit himself. Did he really think he could judge peoples’ characters by how much they drooled over his girlfriend? If she knew about it, I didn't know why in the hell she’d be okay with it. She seemed smart enough not to stay with a guy who used her like that. At least, I hoped she was.
Looking over at the bar, I saw the old man she’d spoken to the other night during her shift. I’d heard him call her a smokeshow and was baffled she’d let that shit slide. Did she really just sit around and take that bullshit?
I watched the dark ink on my arms flex as I opened and closed my fists, trying to shove down the anger I felt building in my gut. I’d lost my appetite at this point. God, for being so adamant that I didn’t like her, I was damn sure thinking about her a lot.
After we finished off our food, Jessica brought over the bill before taking away our plates. My coworkers got up to leave, not paying any mind to the bill she’d set down, so I pulled out my wallet. I guess the new guy got to cover lunch.
Before I could set my card down, Jim picked up the tab, crumpling it in his hand.
“We don’t pay here. The owner’s got it covered,” he said matter-of-factly while Ray and Sebastian chuckled.
“He owe the shop or something?” I asked, confused what he meant by that.
“Elijah went running his mouth about Jett, so it’s on the house.” Jim shrugged, acting like it was a casual thing to dine-and-dash.
Sebastian and Ray were already on their way out of the restaurant, Jim following suit. I looked back at the table, gnawing on my bottom lip.
I didn’t want to press further and get involved, but this didn’t feel right.
Making sure they’d exited the restaurant, I found Jessica punching something in at the POS system. I pulled cash out of my wallet and walked over to her, handing her the money.
“You can keep the change,” I said before heading toward the doors.
“Thank you!” I heard her call out behind me.
I pushed through the doors, taking a deep breath of the cool Washington air.
I’d need all the self-control I could muster to not lose my shit on Thursday.
Chapter Eight
Emerson
AssoonasIclosed the door to the house behind me, Stella’s ringtone erupted from my phone in my back pocket. I wanted a few minutes to myself so I ignored the call. Whatever it was could wait.
Thankfully, Jett had let me take the truck to work today because after the day I’d had, the last thing I wanted to do was walk home.
I tossed my phone and keys on the kitchen counter and headed to the bedroom to change out of my work clothes into black leggings and an oversized navy blue crewneck. I walked back to the kitchen to grab a glass of water when I saw Stella was calling again. Sighing, I answered before it could go to voicemail.
“This better be an emergency. I don’t take lightly to people interrupting my quiet time,” I said into the phone.
