Page 39 of Bump and Run
Travis snorted. “Is this your way of saying you want to go see your boyfriend?”
“He’s not my... Don’t be a jerk, Travis.”
Ollie turned about a hundred shades of red, then lunged across the table at his brother, and I swore the thing was going to collapse under his weight. I watched as they tried to wrestle one another, hands and arms flying in the air, wondering how long I should let them beat the crap out of one another. Would they cause bodily harm, or was this just something they did? It seemed normal, but then again, Jonesy was usually here to break them up and keep them in line.
I clapped my hands together. “What do you two like to do for fun?” They both stopped to stare at me. “Other than beat the shit out of one another.”
“Uh, we watch Jones race. Go to the arcade. Oh, the carnival.” Travis nodded.
I wasn’t going there with them. I was planning on taking my boyfriend out on a real date to the carnival. Get him up in the Ferris wheel so I could kiss him under the stars.
“I could go back to the arcade.”
It wasn’t far from here, and if Jonesy texted and said he was on his way home, we could easily get back here in time. Not that I think he would need our support. I had a feeling we would be celebrating. I wanted to get my hands on him. My fingers, my lips, my tongue. I wanted to spread his fucking ass wide and just go to town...
I realized Ollie and Travis were staring at me. “Sorry, what?”
“You look a little parched.” Ollie grinned at me. “You need some water to cool off? Want to take a dip in the pool?”
Travis snickered. “Thinking about Jones?”
“I wasn’t... You know what?” I flipped them both off, which caused them to laugh. “Now you’re ganging up on me?”
Ollie suddenly grew serious, the normal smile on his face disappearing. “Don’t hurt him, okay? I know you think I’m in love with Jones, but it isn’t like that. It’s a crush that I’m working on getting rid of. But if you hurt him, if you break even a little hair on his head or anything, I’ll break your freaking nose.”
“Wow, Ollie, you don’t have to be so violent with the guy.” Travis tried to laugh it off, but he looked nervous. “Charlie’s a good man, right? He’s not going to hurt Jones.”
I nodded. “Right.”
Although I had this little voice inside my head that reminded me that I wasn’t. That as much as I tried to tell Jones that I wasn’t going anywhere and that I wanted him, I knew that wasn’t the truth. The phone call with my father this morning was a grave reminder of that. Of what my future held.
“Promise.” Ollie held out his giant hand. “Right now. Charlie, promise me. Give me your word that you won’t break Jones’s heart or hurt him.”
I stared at his hand before I clasped mine around it. “Promise.” I lied right through my teeth, hoping that the ground wouldn’t open up and swallow me whole. Satan would have a field day with me.
***
“No way!” Travis shouted as I beat him, again, at Skee-Ball. “How are you so darn good at this game?” He popped a brow as he stared at me. “Did you like major in it in high school or something? Is that even a thing?”
I smirked. “Nah, I just played a lot with my friends.”
“You sure? Was there like a Skee-Ball team up there at your fancy school?” Ollie chuckled at me when I smacked at his shoulder playfully. I could see why he and Jones were so close. They were both easygoing, happy, and kind. A lot like Jones.
I pulled out the tickets that the machine spat out. “I was on the football team.”
“No!” Ollie exclaimed. “Me, too!” Why was that not a surprise? The man was huge, with broad shoulders and arms as thick as tree trunks. “Linebacker.” He pointed to himself like I couldn’t have figured that out.
I fisted the tickets in my hand. “Quarterback.” I only played football because there wasn’t much else to do in high school. Baseball wasn’t my thing. I wasn’t tall enough for basketball, and hockey? Forget it. I couldn’t skate to save my life, even though I’d tried numerous times. I was lucky I hadn’t broken an ankle or my neck.
“Ah, yes. I can see it.” Ollie grinned when I gasped in mock surprise. “Heartbreaker.”
Travis elbowed his brother, and I thought for sure they were going to start wrestling in the middle of the arcade. “He doesn’t mean that.”
“I wasn’t a saint, but I wasn’t a heartbreaker either,” I admitted, which caused both of them to stop and stare at me. “I dated a few girls. Cheerleaders, and a few others who werepopular. I never wanted to settle down or get serious with anyone until now.”
Because I wanted to fucking husband up Jones now that I thought about it. I was nineteen years old. We had been together for a week. That was impossible, right?
Ollie wrinkled his nose as he thought about what I said. “So, you were straight until you met Jones? Is this a gay-for-you thing?”
