Page 43 of Five
Jesse glowers. “Great. You brought us a fucking cat lady,” he mutters, his face like thunder as he scowls at the pet carrier, ignoring Neve completely.
I feel her flinch beside me, and I narrow my eyes at Jesse as I throw him a silent warning.
Just as I’m about to call him out on his attitude, Cope comes bounding towards the dock, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Okay, so he’s a man-whore, but at least he’s a happy one. He might not have been my first choice, but he’s got to be better than Jesse, right?
So far, all I can think is that we’re not giving Neve a great first impression.
Cope’s cheery voice cuts through some of the tension. “Hello, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Gabe Copeland, AKA Cope, and I’m your friendly island concierge. I’ll be your tour guide for this afternoon’s tour of this beautiful and idyllic little-known-chunk-of-rock-in-the-middle-of-nowhere that you’ll have the pleasure of calling home for the foreseeable future.”
He says it all like he’s some kind of chat show host, and I shake my head as he gives an exaggerated bow and hand flourish.
Neve relaxes a little from where she’d pressed herself into my side, clinging to her cat carrier like it was some kind of protection from the storm cloud that is Jesse. I’m relieved to see her eyes soften and a small smile tip the sides of her mouth at Cope’s antics.
“Hi, Cope,” she says. “I believe we’ve met once before, a while ago.”
He grins at her. “We certainly did. You were supposed to call me.”
Neve flushes pink. “I meant to–” she starts.
“I’m just teasing.” Cope leans to look in the cat carrier. “Who’s this chonky guy?”
“Where’s Ollie?” I ask, glancing at the buildings behind him. I expected him to be the first to greet Neve.
Cope shrugs. “He’s on a video call with some chick. I tried to get him to come out, but he waved me off and said it was too important.”
The tiny smile that had graced Neve’s lips vanishes, replaced with a fragile vulnerability, and I seriously want to hurt Cope. I love the guy like a brother, but damn, he’s oblivious sometimes. Surely it doesn’t take a genius to work out that since Neve and Oliver used the video call function on the PolyApp to connect, then Cope’s comment is immediately going to make her think Ollie’s connecting with someone else.
It doesn’t help that Jesse smirks, his body language belligerent, and his attitude hostile, causing Neve to fold into herself again. She’s clearly overwhelmed, and if she wasn’t, I have no doubt she’d be demanding I take her home after being met by these two clowns.
I squeeze her shoulder and draw her attention back to me. “He’ll be talking to his agent,” I explain. I know Oliver has confided his alter ego to Neve. “He’s on a deadline.”
Neve relaxes a little and Cope has the grace to look a little sheepish. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, Neve.” He makes up for hisfaux pasin his usual exuberant manner, taking hold of the pet carrier, grabbing Neve by the hand, and hauling her off towards the main building, chattering all the way.
She throws me a wide-eyed look over her shoulder, and I give her an encouraging smile before turning back to Jesse and slamming one of Neve’s bags into his chest.
The fucker doesn’t even budge. It’s aggravating as fuck, how he could pass for an NFL linebacker if he wanted to. He spends a good hour or two every day in the gym we have here on the island, while I have to be content with a quick circuit in the station gym in between calls.
I square up to him, spearing him with a look that would have most of the hardened criminals I come into contact with quaking in their boots. Jesse just stares back, impassively. “What the hell is wrong with you, man? Would it kill you to be nice for once in your miserable life?”
There’s the smallest flicker behind Jesse’s bright blue eyes, and I know a moment of regret at my choice of words. With the death of his pregnant girlfriend and the loss of the family Jesse was so excited to have, his life really has been pretty miserable. Ever since, he’s been at odds with pretty much the whole world, but that doesn’t give him the right to take his bad attitude out on Neve.
Sighing, I shake my head. “Just be nice, will you? And if that’s too much, then maybe stick to that age-old adage, ‘if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.’ This is about more than just you, Jesse. Don’t scare Neve off before everyone has a chance to get to know each other, or this time, you really might find the tolerance I and the guys afford you is spread a little too thin.”
It’s bullshit. As I told Neve, we’re brothers in spirit if not in blood, and I’d never cut that off for a girl. Jesse needs to know how serious I am, though. I’ve been thinking for some time about looking seriously for a special woman to complete my life. I don’t want this one to get away before we’ve made it past hello.
Jesse clenches his jaw, his eyes flinty. “You guys wanna play happy families, then by all means go for it. Just don’t expect me to like it, and don’t fucking rub my face in it.”
He turns and storms off up the incline towards the cluster of squat, single-story buildings which form our communal and individual quarters. All I can do is shake my head and follow him, praying for the best.
I always knew Jesse would be the one who had a problem with Oliver’s big dream, but back when Ollie set up the profile on the PolyApp, it seemed like such a distant fantasy that I wasn’t overly concerned. Now, I can’t help wondering if I’ve led Neve straight into the lion’s den.
Jesse’s got the world’s biggest chip on his shoulder when it comes to relationships. If he bothers to pick up a woman these days, it’s strictly a one and done thing. Neve’s mere presence is going to set him on edge.
But it’s not just Neve I’m worried about. I’m anxious about that jackass, too. Maybe even more so. I know the rest of the guys will look out for Neve. I know they’ll shoot Jesse down if he steps out of line.
But who’s going to be there for Jesse?
And how’s he going to feel if he thinks we’ve all chosen her over him?
