Page 69 of The Jester and His Outlaw: Part One

I’m two seconds away from snapping and since I don’t normally find myself in positions like this, I don’t know what the fuck will happen. He’s like a dog that’s pissed on something I claimed as mine.

Jensen can sense my turmoil and lays a hand on my shoulder. I don’t look up at him, but I get his message. There has to be a way to calm myself. I’m no good to anyone if I hurt this motherfucker and end up in jail. He and his family have more money than I’m sure they have brains. Who knows what they can do to me for hurting their son.

“I’m not yours. I’m not fake dating you or dating you for real. We are done. Do not touch me, do not call me, do not show up at my house. Got it?”

Instead of going tit for tat or handing out more threats than I’m sure he will make good on, he tosses his head back and lets out a maddening howl of a sound. Backing away a few steps, he lifts a brow and winks at Charley, then turns and saunters off out of the rink, unaffected by what just happened.

Charley sags in my arms, and J shoots off after Jonas. “J don’t,” Charley says, too calm for my liking. But what should I expect? Damsel in distress isn’t her type, so I’ll give her credit where credit is due.

“I won’t do anything,” J assures her from halfway across the sprawling place. “Just making sure he leaves campus.”

“What did you mean by showing up at your house?”

“A couple of weeks ago, he showed up before dawn when I was running around the neighborhood. He was drunk and high, begging me to fake date him so his parents wouldn’t find out we split.”

“Tell me if he makes any sort of contact with you again.” I grip her by the shoulders and force her to look at me. She’s calm when she shouldn’t be. That just happened, right? Is this girl made of steel? Because she appears as if nothing occurred.

“Riggs, it’s fine. You have too much going on. Don’t—”

“Charley,” I warn. “I don’t shut you out, you don’t shut me out. Got it?”

“Why do I feel like this deal is one-sided?” she mutters, and I hate that it’s likely a genuine concern. I hug her because I’m not going to try and negate

what she said. I just make a mental promise to myself to try harder.

“Are you alright?” She gives me her okay and the breath leaving her nose tickles the skin of my neck leading into my collarbone.

“I’m hardly afraid of Jonas, Riggs. He won’t do anything but eventually back off.”

“I don’t know, Charley,” Jensen jogs back to us, his voice uneasy. He has a relaxed manner about him, but he keeps his eyes guarded, conspiratorial. Concerned. He’s been dodgy lately, and I haven’t mentioned it because I know he has this thing going on with Foxy and Kai. He’s trying to hide it from his father, which is weighing on him, but I get the sense that something else is going on. Something bigger. It’s not like J to keep things from me.

Right now, he’s got the same look on his face that he does when I ask him what the hell is going on and he lies to me, telling me it’s just business shit. His eyes meet mine for the briefest second, then dart to Charley. “You need to watch your back around him. The motherfucker is not stable.”

His tone is icy, distant, and it sends a chill down my spine. Charley can’t see him, so she doesn’t put the two together. But I notice it. I’ll refrain from bringing anything up right now when she is about to get on the ice, but I will later when I’m alone with him.

“Yeah, okay,” Charley agrees uneasily. “I came over here to see you guys but also to see if you want to keep Foxy company during my game on Friday.”

“Areyou guys coming to Charley’s birthday party?” Foxy asks, stuffing french fries in her mouth. She stopped and grabbed food for everyone, including Charley.

“Hell yeah,” Jensen chimes as he swallows what was in his mouth and gulps down his soda. Everything he does is super-sized. He can’t just sip a soda or chew a burger, he has to inhale shit when he eats.

“I wasn’t invited,” I tell her. She frowns, looking at me like I’m being dense. I’m not trying to be. I’m just stating the facts. Crashing a party I’m not invited to is of very little interest to me. And going to Charley’s party is something I shouldn’t do, just like I shouldn’t go to her scrimmage on Friday when I agreed to. I should steer clear of her. A relationship between us doesn’t need to put a target on her back from that psycho.

That was one hell of a powerful combination of emotions that snuck up on me when I saw his hands on her. I’d felt nothing like it before and I’m still shaking off the adrenaline. I can’t decipher what it means right now, and I’m too sober for that thought process. We should never be together. It makes no sense why I feel so strongly about her.

“Well, this is me inviting you.”

“It’s not such a good idea,” I counter.

Foxy scoffs. “And why is that?”

I can’t explain it to her if I wanted to. The two of them, while they are my friends, would think that I’m being ridiculous. And to some, maybe I am, but I have to stay true to myself. I know me and I had planned on staying by myself my whole life. Falling for a girl was never on my list. That’s not something I can tell them.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea.” The way I said that was too harsh for the conversation at hand, but my defense is bristling. I can’t help it. We are encroaching on subjects I’ve kept dormant for years unless J tries to breach it. He is sitting quietly, eating and watching it unfold.

“Well, it will be a great idea. We are going to have a blast and Charley would love it.” The word ‘doubtful’ tickles my tongue, but I keep it in. They don’t deserve for me to project my insecurities on this situation. Insecurities have no place here.

“Didn’t she already have a birthday?” Jensen speaks up.

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