Chapter 15
Reeve
Granny, as always, was right. A bit of time out in nature has done wonders for Wilkin and Jett.
Yesterday at the waterfall was great. We all had fun, and there was hardly any trace of whatever the issue between them is. And there's something about the energy between the three of us that is unlike anything I've ever experienced before.
That same energy has continued into today. It's the first day where I don't have anything planned. So far, we've spent the morning catching some rays since it's meant to get cloudy come the afternoon, talking, and just hanging out and having a nice time.
I'm enjoying getting to know them both better, their distinct personalities coming into sharper focus.
Jett is the wilder one for sure, throwing himself in danger's way and seemingly not giving a fuck.
But he does have a softer side. It comes out when he smiles, when he reveals something personal about himself, when his eyes linger on Wilkin for a moment longer than necessary.
Wilkin may appear more reserved, and to some extent, he is.
But just because he doesn't want to hurl himself off a ledge beside a waterfall or walk backward along an uneven hiking trail doesn't mean he's a wallflower.
He's whip-smart, makes the funniest snide remarks, and let's not forget, he kissed the ever-loving heck out of Jett two nights ago.
Am I hoping for a repeat of that? Given how well things are going, hell yeah!
I'm now confident that if we did go farther, it would only cement the good vibes growing between them. It'd be my good deed for the day. And hey, if along the way, my cock happens to get lavished with attention by two guys I'm insanely attracted to, then lucky me!
"Can I ask you something, Wilkin?" Jett asks.
We've finished sipping on some of the best-tasting homemade iced tea ever known to humankind—I'm insisting Granny give Farrah a raise when we get back—and are lying out on a blanket on the grass, soaking up the sun. I'm in the middle, Jett's on my left, and Wilkin's on my right.
"Sure," Wilkin replies, his eyes closed, the sun illuminating his handsome features gloriously.
"It's something I picked up on yesterday. It's probably nothing."
"Okay."
I glance over at Jett. He's frowning, chewing on his bottom lip. Looks like he's having a hard time saying whatever it is he wants to say.
Eventually, he finds his words. "What did you not say when Reeve asked you if there was anything else about me getting the job on KUWTV?"
Wilkin sits up. "What are you talking about?"
Jett sits up too and repeats the question, adding, "You have a tell, the hair flick, for when you want to say something but hold back."
"I don't think that's true," he says, lifting his hand to his hair then quickly realizing what he was about to do and dropping it.
"Okay, see, I thought I was clutching at straws, but now I think I'm onto something. Just tell me what it is."
"It's nothing."
"Which means it's something."
"It's not."
"Then if it's nothing, tell me."
I'm getting whiplash, my head whizzing from left to right as they spar.
Wilkin puts his feet flat on the ground and angles his body toward Jett. "Fine. If you really want to know, I got you the job."
"What?"
Oh, shit. Dark clouds aren't just forming in the sky overhead, there's one giant-ass motherfucker hanging over Jett right now.
Wilkin sighs. "I wanted to help you out, and I knew that if I came to you with a job offer, you'd tell me where to stick it. So I had an ad created, and you went through a process that was completely removed from me."
"Except for the fact that you set the whole thing up."
"I was trying to help you."
"I didn't need your help," Jett snaps, pushing to his feet.
"Actually, you did." Wilkin's on his feet now, too. Oh, boy, this is escalating. "Just like you needed help finding your apartment."
"What are you talking about?"
"I know the property manager."
"Bullshit you do."
"The name Phillip Martinez ring any bells?"
Jett's jaw drops. "Wow. So you're not only a smug bastard that steals everything I want from under my nose, you're also a condescending prick."
"Jett," I interject in a low tone, standing up and reaching out my arm toward him.
He pulls away from me sharply. "You don't understand, Reeve.
This is what he does. All my life. When I want something, he takes it from me.
It's what he does. So don't be fooled by his attempt at being nice, which is actually more creepy than anything else if you think about it.
And that!" He points his finger directly at Wilkin's face.
Specifically, that weird little smile thing he does.
"I fucking hate that smug smile. He's loving this.
He loves rubbing it in my face that he's the successful one, and I'm the loser. "
"Jett, that's not it—"
Before Wilkin can say anything else, Jett is already stomping off.
Wilkin looks distraught. I side hug him and say, "Let him cool off. You can talk it out when he gets back."
Wilkin turns to look up at me, tears in his eyes. "I was only trying to help him because…"
A tear falls down his cheek. I thumb it away. "Because you're in love with him. And that weird smile you do from time to time isn't a smug one, it's another tell. It's what happens when you get nervous, right? Your lips betray you."
"H-how did you know?"
I'm about to answer when we hear a loud, "Holy fuck."
Jett's on the ground, writhing in pain, clutching his knee.
We race over to him.
"What happened?" Wilkin asks.
Jett manages to point over his shoulder to a tree root jutting out of the ground.
"Stay still," I instruct. "Where does it hurt?"
"Here," Jett says, grimacing hard, tapping his knee. "And my ankle. Ow. It really fucking hurts."
"Help me carry him back inside?" I ask Wilkin who's nodding before I get the full question out.
"I don't need any more of his help," Jett grumbles, proving the male ego really is fucking stupid.
"Yes, you do," I say, matter-of-factly. "We're lifting you inside, and we're going to make you feel better."