22. Chapter 22
Chapter 22
James
W ell, I’ve done it—consider the line officially crossed, times two.
I walked out of the cabin, the screen door slamming behind me as I crossed over to where we’d laid the tarp out on the grass, along with the first few cans of paint. Lizzie had opted to stick to a similar creamy white shade for her master bedroom, and I noticed Jesse had already pried that one open. We’d need to tackle both the master and the other two bedrooms before calling it a day.
“Hey, man, do you think we should pour the p—”
“I just asked Lizzie out.” The words tumbled out of my mouth ahead of me, before I could even think of stopping them. Not that it was likely I would’ve—I needed to get them out of my head.
Jesse nodded slowly, pausing for a moment to take in what I’d said. “You asked Lizzie out.” Matter-of-fact, like he was confirming that the paint color in front of him was indeed called ‘Sour Cream’ . Who names these things, anyway?
“Yeah. And… I kissed her a couple days ago.”
A slow Cheshire grin stretched across my friend’s face, like a fat cat sunning itself. “Yeah. I know.”
“What do you mean, ‘you know’? Why the hell aren’t you acting more surprised? Or telling me I just fucked everything up?”
Jesse shrugged, leaning down again to start gathering supplies. “It’s mostly because I’m not surprised. Watching you two, you should’ve done it weeks ago already.” He glanced up at me for a moment, amused. “And before you say anything else… yes, it’s obvious that you’re into her. GiGi, Jack and I all had a bet going to see when you’d finally break.”
“You were fucking betting on me?”
He laughed. “Relax, it was all in good fun. If it makes you feel any better, Jack actually thought you’d cave a month ago already.”
I groaned, shaking my head. “Exactly how is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Because now it means I won the bet instead of him. I figured it would take you until right around the Fourth of July,” he said, grinning. “Now that you finally admitted it, I’m fifty bucks richer. Thanks, man.”
“Awesome. Glad my half-assed love life could make all your dreams come true,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Then it dawned on me. “Wait, how did you even know that I kissed her in the first place?”
“GiGi saw the whole thing and texted us. She was kind of pissed that she’d lost the bet, actually.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course she was. What was her guess, anyway?”
“Well, she said you’re a stubborn ass, so it would take you forever… her pick wasn’t until the end of August.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, good… she’s always more unbearable to be around after winning.”
“Not wrong about that one. But you know she’s fucking celebrating that you’ve finally shown an interest in someone.” He tossed a brush into the pail, sneaking a quick glance at me. “It’s been a long time, huh?”
Yeah… maybe too long.
I stood there, quiet for a moment, watching as Jesse finished filling the bag with all of our paintbrushes, then handed it to me.
“You just going to stand there staring, or are you going to help me haul this stuff in? We only have five hours to get those rooms painted… and Tara will kill me if I make us late for dinner at her parents’ house again.”
“Yeah, sorry.” I grabbed the bag from his outstretched hand, then paused. “It’s just… Do you think I made a mistake? I know I said I’d never get involved with a client, and here I go back on my word with our very first one…”
Jesse held up a hand to stop me—and this time, his expression was more kind than playful. “James, you’re one of the hardest working people I know. And you’re also one of the smartest. You think things all the way through, and you care about damn near everything… maybe sometimes more than you need to.” He took a step closer, smiling. “It’s why Tara always knew I’d follow you anywhere, how we both knew it was a good move joining you with this venture. You wouldn’t do anything to risk it, not for any of us.”
I nodded, considering his words. “But what if I do mess things up with her?”
“With Lizzie? You won’t,” he said, shrugging as if it were obvious. “Just stop second-guessing yourself and give yourself a chance to be happy, alright? It’s what we all want for you. And nobody deserves it more than you do, brother. Except for my wife, who now gets to book herself a pedicure with my winnings.” Grinning as he gave my arm a quick pat, Jesse grabbed the paint and trays and began walking towards the house. After a moment, I picked up the rest of the supplies and followed him inside, giving Lizzie a quick smile as I passed her on the sofa.
I was relieved that Jesse was supportive, but not surprised—he and Jack had always had my back, no matter where the road ended up taking us. And he was right—I’d never allow myself to mess things up for him and Tara, especially with their first baby due to be born in less than four months.
There was a small part of me that still felt afraid, though, and would probably always wonder if I had what it took to make a relationship work. If I could actually open up enough with someone without always feeling like it wouldn’t last.
To truly be happy.
But if I was going to try and do this, I was going to do it right.
Starting with tonight.