Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JESSIE
S he thinks I haven’t noticed her.
The truth is, the second she walked around that corner, I almost dropped my beer in my lap.
Because. Wow.
Did she know I would be here tonight?
The short, pleated black skirt and knee-high leather boots she’s wearing are doing things to me I can only hide while sitting down.
Fuck me, Mia. What are you trying to do to me?
It’s been years since I touched her, but in that time, she’s grown into a literal goddess.
As Mia rises from the booth, she leans forward to grab her bag. She’s wearing thick black tights, but I can still make out the curve at the bottom of her ass. Her tight purple sweater creeps up slightly, and a slither of her lower back comes into view.
Stop staring, Jessie.
She whips around, saying something to her friends over her shoulder and then makes a beeline for the bar, her head down and eyes on the floor.
I know she’s trying to avoid me. The second I saw her, I had to fight with everything I had not to let my inward reaction show on the outside.
Not only will Graham Jenkins put out a hit on me if he knows I’m drinking in the same bar as his daughter, but he’ll also demand she return to Dallas. Jensen’s right; she’s old enough to make her own decisions. But I’m not about to come between Mia and her dad. He means the world to her, even if he’s an overbearing asshole at times. He’s all she’s known since her mom died.
I sip my drink and watch from the corner of my eye as she comes to stand at the bar, waiting for the bartender to finish up with another customer.
Felicity sits at the end of our booth, a glass of wine to her mouth and a smile on her lips as she watches me track Mia’s movements. I know she has no clue who Mia is to me, but my appreciation for how fucking stunning she looks is unmissable.
“I gather you weren’t expecting to see her tonight,” Jensen quietly says from across the booth.
“Nope.” I smile and look at him. “She’s here with her friends.”
And Leo. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one to appreciate her a second ago.
The need to stride over there and tell him to keep his eyes to himself rolls through me. I’ve got zero claim over Mia, but if there’s one element of this fucked-up mess the possessive part of my brain wants to have a say on, it’s that no other guy can claim her either. And Leo one hundred percent wants her in his bed tonight.
Trying my best to keep my reaction casual, I attempt to engage in the conversation between Zach and Jon.
“Look, all I’m saying is, it’s time, buddy. You have Aster and another baby on the way in August. I’ve got the time and the resources to make your day unforgettable.” Jon presses his lips together and leans forward on his forearms. “Let me plan your big day. I can have you hitched in the offseason.”
Felicity holds up a hand to her husband. “Whoa, whoa. Got the time? Jon, you’re the head coach of my son’s team. You leave the apartment at, like, eight a.m. and don’t come home until midnight some nights. I have no idea what you do in that time, but something tells me you haven’t got the capacity to dabble in the wedding-planning business you keep threatening to start.”
Zach rolls his eyes from beside me. “We’re getting married this summer. But we’re thinking of doing it abroad. Maybe in the Caribbean.” He pauses and eyes his best friend and former captain carefully. “Just me, Luna, Aster, and an officiant.”
I swear I can hear the audible gasp come from Jon’s mouth. “So, no one else there? Like, no one? Not even your family or Luna’s mom?”
Zach shakes his head. “Luna’s mom is too busy with her new husband, and my parents won’t mind as long as we’re happy. We want to do it on a beach since that’s where everything sort of happened between us.”
“Well, I think it’s really sweet. When Luna told me and Kate, we both thought it was a great idea. At the end of the day, a marriage is about the couple, not the glamour.”
Jon sets his glass down, practically choking on his beer, and I take the opportunity to watch Mia walk back to her booth with a tray of drinks.
“So, let me get this straight.” He looks at his wife. “You knew about this, Angel?” He then shoots daggers at Zach and then at Jensen. “Let me guess … you knew about it too?”
“Yep.” Jensen pops the P . “Not long though. Maybe a week or two.”
“Fuck off!” Jon announces, hurt on his face, his head whipping to Zach. “Oh, you are so not being for real right now.”
Zach narrows his eyes at Jensen as Felicity fights to hold back laughter. “Always a fucking troublemaker. No, Jon, he hasn’t known for two weeks. A couple of days, tops.”
Jon sits back in the booth, which clears a direct path to my view of Mia. Although I really fucking wish he hadn’t when I see the way Leo has his arm wrapped around her. He kisses the top of her head as he looks down at a black photo frame in his hand.
Fuck, is that the Space Needle picture? Why the fuck would she give that to him?
“Make sure you grind down on the other side too; it keeps the wear even.”
My eyes flick back to Jensen as he points at my clenched jaw.
“I’m fine,” I bite out.
He looks over his shoulder and then back at me, a twisted smile pulling at his lips. “Yeah, you look relaxed, almost happy to see that dude all over your girl. I’d be fine with it too.”
“She isn’t my girl,” I say, my molars meeting again.
“She is,” he replies.
“Maybe we can have this argument another time, yeah?” I side-eye the rest of the table, all deep in conversation and trying to console Jon.
Jensen folds his arms over his chest and leans back in his seat. “It’s called manifestation, buddy. Manifest that she’ll be yours, and she will be. When she’s ready.”
I lean forward and shake my head at him. “And like I told you, this isn’t the same thing as you and Kate.” The sentence comes out confident, but I know deep down that shit isn’t true.
He says nothing, simply taking another sip of his beer.
“What?” I say to him, frustration seeping into my tone.
“Didn’t say anything, Jessie.”
“Might as well. You’ve never held back before,” I chide.
He chuckles low and points his finger at me, shaking it slowly. “It’s like I once said to Kate. Your body doesn’t lie to me, even if your mouth does.”
He then motions behind him toward Mia’s table, and I close my eyes in added frustration.
“Invite her to come help babysit June and Will tomorrow night. They’re a handful these days, and you could probably use an extra pair of hands.”
My jaw goes from clenched to slack. “Are you serious?”
He quirks a brow. “Deadly. Tell her I roped you into it, even though we both know you’re obsessed with my babies, and that you need an extra pair of hands and thought she might like it. It’s a chance to talk to her without fear of being caught by someone.” He puffs out a humored breath. “And fuck knows do you need to talk. Or maybe even fuck … actually, no. Not in my house or around my children.”
My brows shoot to my hairline. “You really are unbelievable—you know that?”
He shrugs. “Tell me something I don’t know. But you gotta admit, it’s a great idea.”
“Yeah. If it wasn’t fucking weird, asking her to babysit my goalie’s children when she’s never even met you guys before, then it would be a great idea.”
Jensen lifts a shoulder and pushes his empty beer glass away from him. “When you come up with a better idea to spend the time with her you so clearly want and away from prying eyes, then I’m all ears. Until then, I’ll wait.”
MIA
“Seriously, I love it.” Leo brings me into a hug again as we shrug on our jackets at the door to Riley’s Bar. “I know it’s only been a few months, but it feels like our group is really close. It’s nice to have a picture of everyone together.”
I inwardly cringe again at the gift. All I could think of was the picture of the four of us standing in front of the Space Needle. So, I grabbed a black frame from Target and wrapped it up.
Picking up flirtatious signals has never been my strong point, but even I can tell from tonight that Leo wants more than just this frame for his birthday.
Trying to remain friendly but uninterested is impossible. He’s edged closer to me all night, and I lost count of the number of times he brought me into a hug, even kissing me on top of my head at one point. If Jessie saw—which I doubt since I’m certain he’s not noticed me at all tonight—then I know it would bother him.
Or maybe I’m just fooling myself. He told me nothing more could happen between us. He couldn’t have made that any clearer.
“Okay, I’m going to head out and flag down a taxi,” Tara shouts over the music.
I point behind me. “I’m going to use the restroom before we leave.”
Tara smiles and pushes through the door, Hugh following closely behind. Leo lingers for a beat, unsure of what to do.
“I’ll meet you outside,” I say. “I’ll only be a second.”
He nods and follows, finally leaving me with a moment to breathe.
The two free cocktails I had, courtesy of Felicity Morgan, are definitely more than I would normally drink, and it kind of shows as I wobble my way to the restrooms.
Just as I’m about to push through the door, a hand wraps around my upper arm, pulling me away from the entrance and into an opposite room. I’d squeal if I had time to register what was happening, but then a light flicks on in the dark space, and Jessie’s face comes into view.
His blue eyes are darker than usual, but not as glazed as they were the last time I saw him. He hasn’t been drinking heavily tonight.
“Fancy seeing you here”—I look around the space filled with boxes, mops, and various cleaning products—“in this closet.”
He bites on his bottom lip as he casts his gaze down my body. I can’t tell if it’s to fight back his laughter or in response to my outfit. “I haven’t seen you with your hair like that in a long while.” His voice is playful as he flicks the end of my ponytail, which rests over my right shoulder.
“It’s hot and stuffy in this bar, and Felicity Morgan gave it to me when I arrived.”
His eyes flash with something—maybe excitement, perhaps realization. “As in Jon’s wife?”
“You were sitting with her all night. You should know who she is.”
He shoves his hands in the pockets of his fitted black dress pants. “All right, smart-ass.”
I chuckle and look around once more. “So, what exactly are we doing in here?”
He runs a hand over the scruff on his jaw, and his previously confident demeanor turns sheepish. “I, um … Christ, Jensen, why did I let you talk me into this?” he mumbles.
“What are you talking about?” I reply casually. In reality, I’m anything but casual, as my stomach does flips. What is he going to ask me?
“Okay, so this is going to sound a bit crazy, but … I need to babysit Jensen’s twins tomorrow night. He’s taking Kate, his wife, out for a date night. He kind of roped me into it since he didn’t have another option with the late notice. I wondered if you wanted to help me. June and Will are amazing, but kind of a handful.”
I point at my chest in disbelief. “You want me to help you care for the children of probably the most famous goalie in the NHL?”
He nods, wincing slightly. “Thought it might be a chance to talk, you know, privately, without people walking into your dorm or in a packed bar. I’m going home for the bye week afterward, and I …” He looks off to the side and blows through his nose. “I wanted to see you before I left.”
“Jessie …” I blow out a breath. “My head is spinning. You spend half your time shutting me out or running away, and now you want to spend more time with me. Then, the other night, I thought you were going to k—” I stop myself quickly.
He bites down on his bottom lip again. “Finish your sentence, Mia.”
“It’s fine. I’m just confused—that’s all.”
He steps forward and leans over me, his palm braced on the wall above my head.
My knees go weak. Oh shit, is he going to do it now? Kiss me? In so many ways, I know it’s a bad idea, but there’s not a chance I’d stop him.
“I know, Sweetheart. I am too. But I think you’ve worked out by now that I can’t stay away from you, even if I know this is a bad idea and your dad would likely kill me.”
His breath fans my face as he brings his other slightly callous palm to my cheek. “Watching you give Leo that gift and then him touch you in public when I can’t go anywhere near you—it’s like pouring gasoline on what we’ve had simmering for fucking years.”
My legs are about ready to give out from underneath me as I try to find a response. He noticed it all. “It was just a photo of the group of us. I didn’t know what else to get him for his birthday.”
He chews on the corner of his mouth. “He wants you naked and in his bed for his birthday—that’s what he wants.”
“And what do you want?” I whisper.
He presses his body into mine, eliminating the space left between us. I can feel him, what this is doing to him. “You know what I want, Mia. I wouldn’t be pulling you into dark and dingy spaces if I didn’t. What I really want is to hold your hand, take you to fancy restaurants, and show you the man I want to be for you.”
Neither of us moves an inch, waiting, willing, desperate for the other to make a move and break the tension that’s so thick that it could be cut with a knife.
But if anyone needs to make the first move, it’s him. It has to be Jessie. It’s not my career on the line, it’s not me who my dad will murder, and it’s not me with traumas that make me feel like I’m not enough.
I’m also not the one who ran away and left calls unanswered and messages on Read.
I push against his chest, and he takes a step back, diverting his focus from my eyes to the floor.
Disappointment shoots through me. It shouldn’t be this hard for two people to kiss.
Maybe we aren’t meant to be; maybe there are too many barriers between us. Whatever this is, I know I won’t be strong enough to resist him if he makes a move.
“Okay, I’ll help you tomorrow night. Just give me the address, and I’ll meet you there.”