Chapter Five
It Just Is
Jagger
An hour and a half later, Jagger didn’t know what to
do.
He was leaning toward laughing his ass off.
Though, that was only because he couldn’t drag Archie’s ass
out of there, take her to her pad, and make out with her with every intent of
eventually making love to her.
And this was because she’d played him.
Major.
The thing was, she did not want to go to dinner that night
at his brother’s because they were sorting their shit, getting to know each
other, she was unconventional and self-possessed and wanted to know him and
maybe was a little curious about his brother.
Uh.
Nope.
She wanted to go to dinner that night to fuck with Carolyn.
He’d noticed when he’d shared what Carolyn did to him that
Archie had seemed a little pissed.
And right then, he was making certain to tuck that away
because her “little pissed” hid “totally pissed way the fuck off.”
He didn’t know if she was angry on behalf of the sisterhood
that a woman would do the dirty on a guy and make them all look bad.
Or if she was pissed that Carolyn did that to Jagger.
He was guessing it was part the first.
But mostly it was the last.
He should have known with the skirt, the blouse, the fuck-me
green pumps and showing a lot of leg, toned arms, hints of cleavage and lush,
chic, assured style and beauty.
Though apparently, he didn’t know her well enough.
But seeing her in action, he knew now that was totally OTT
and in your face when everyone else there was in jeans, except Carolyn, who had
on a tight-fitting tank dress that showed serious cleavage, and not to be a
dick or anything, but it also showed no imagination.
Carolyn was dressed like she thought a biker would want her
to dress.
Archie was dressed like Archie liked to dress, even if she
had a point to make.
Carolyn was miserable.
Archie was calm and comfortable and deep in vengeance mode.
That night, Jagger had never been touched so much in such a
casual, affectionate way that it came off just like that, instead of
over-demonstrative or clingy.
She didn’t stick her tongue in his ear or lay her hand on
his leg near his crotch as an overt way to stake her claim.
She touched the pulse on his wrist.
She’d smile in his eyes and squeeze his knee.
She’d stand beside him while she was laughing and bump hips.
She’d fiddle with his fingers, pressing her thumb into the
center of his palm, totally engrossed in this for about long moments, like his
hand was the most fascinating thing in the world and she couldn’t help getting
lost in it, before she shook herself out of it and looked around
apologetically.
She hit it off with Georgie right away, partly because
Georgie had been to her shop and loved it, partly because Georgie was a
journalist and Archie thought that was cool.
But mostly because Georgie and Archie were sisters of the
same ilk.
They knew what they were about and were good in their own
skin.
It was clear Dutch wanted to play the “You’ve Gotta Win Me
Over” Big Brother, but in the face of Archie, not to mention Georgie bonding
with her, that lasted fifteen minutes.
She was just interesting and interested. Complimentary
without being effusive. Curious without prying.
But when they sat down to dinner, and she scooted her chair
so close to Jagger’s, their thighs were pressed together, and for part of the
meal, simply for comfort, he had to drape his arm around her shoulders, he knew
shit was real with her rubbing it in with Carolyn.
Hell, when he put his arm around her, she just tucked her
body to him and ate and sipped wine and chatted like they were physically
attached since birth and she was good with that.
Only a seriously cool chick could get away with that, making
it seem as cool as she was.
And that was the way being with Archie was.
She was into him, she’d not made that a mystery.
Though, it was just her.
And it was her way of stating plainly to Carolyn that he’d
scraped off the shit and come up smelling like roses.
Carolyn was helping Georgie and Dutch clear after their
main, and they assured Archie they didn’t need any more help after she’d
offered, and that was when he took his shot.
“Babe,” he called low.
She was in the tucked-close position.
This meant when she turned, she had her shoulder under his
arm, her hand was on his thigh, and her face was close to his.
“You can cool it,” he said quietly.
“Mm?” She pretended not to know what he was talking about.
“All you had to do was walk in, and you had her,” he
informed her.
“Had her?”
“Babe,” he said on a chuckle.
His chuckle didn’t last long.
Because her expression didn’t change.
He stared at her.
Christ.
This wasn’t about Carolyn.
She was being that way because she was that way.
And she was being that way with him because that was who he
was to her.
Christ.
While he had these thoughts, she was examining his face.
So before he could react to what he’d just learned, she
spoke.
“It goes without saying, no one fucks with you, Jagger, and
no one fucks you over. And should it become necessary I communicate that
information, I won’t hesitate to do it. But I wasn’t here then. That was the
message you sent and you’re still sending it. That’s not on me to communicate.”
Even though she seemed pretty laidback about that, there was
an edge there he felt he needed to address.
“You should know, I’m not hurting money-wise, I never have.
And I wasn’t in deep with her emotionally. It wasn’t cool what she did, but it
also wasn’t that big of a deal.”
She nodded. “I hear you. But letting you in on the girl side
of things… that dress is for you, Jagger. You said you’re not going back there.
I believe that. But you and I are exploring things, so straight up, a bitch
needs to know where shit stands.”
And there it was.
“Right then, so you know, when I thought you were Vengeance
Archie, it was hot.”
She smiled.
“Staking Her Claim Archie might be hotter,” he continued. “I
haven’t decided. I’ll be sure to let you know when I do.”
She started laughing.
He cupped her jaw and bent his face to hers.
“Now that you made your point, and since I already made my
point, I think we both need to cut her some slack. She’s miserable.”
“I noticed that, baby,” she murmured. “But honest to God, I
don’t know how to make it better. It is what it is. Her bed, she’s lying in it.
But I’ll try to come up with something.”
Her eyes that close, her mouth that close…
Shit.
“Christ,” he grunted. “I wanna
make out with you, like, all the time.”
“That isn’t gonna help her be less miserable,” she pointed
out.
“No,” he was grunting again.
“We gotta be good, boyfriend.”
He just shook his head, grinning, but said, “Yeah.”
She shifted away, but not too far away, and Dutch was at the
table, grabbing the salad bowl.
“You sure I can’t help?” Archie asked Dutch.
“There can be too many cooks in the kitchen, not too many to
clean up, though,” Dutch replied. But on a glance to the sisters and back to
the table, he said, “Maybe give them some time, yeah?”
“For sure,” Archie replied.
Dutch looked to Jag, to Archie, gave her a tight smile, then
moved to the kitchen.
She turned to Jag. “Something there I’m missing?”
“He’s pissed he didn’t know about you.”
“Until today, there wasn’t a lot to know.”
“Yeah, there was.”
She conceded that point with a dip of her chin and then
said, “Fair warning, the family stuff is probably gonna be stepped up a dozen
notches. We get too deep before I take you to see him, Dad’s gonna be pissed.
He’s mentioned you, like, five hundred times.”
Say what?
“He has?”
She reached for her wine, nodding, took a sip, then slid her
eyes to him and said, “Yep.”
“How does he know who I am?”
“Your note.”
“Oh, right,” Jag muttered.
“He was…I was…” She set her glass back down. “The timing was
perfect. I needed that. Elijah did too. Dad didn’t know what to do. He was in
it with us. Not down the road where he knew what to say. You knew what to say
and that helped all of us. Even Dad. So, in the meantime, considering he’s
hated every guy I’ve dated, he would say things like, ‘I don’t see why you’re
with this schmuck. What about that Arby’s guy?’”
“Great,” Jagger sighed. “I’m ‘Arby’s Guy.’”
She grinned at him. “Hey, don’t knock Arby’s. And bee tee
dub, that’s Dad’s favorite fast food joint. So you scored points you didn’t
know you were scoring.”
He grinned at her, doing it thinking he hadn’t smiled this
much in…
Well, ever.
And he was a pretty happy guy.
“I fear the meal wasn’t all that great if you guys are
talking about Arby’s,” Georgie joked as she rejoined them at the table. “More
wine?” she offered Archie, extending the bottle.
“Yes, please,” Archie answered, extending her glass. “And
we’re talking about my dad, not Arby’s,” she corrected.
Dutch and Carolyn were also back, and it seemed they were
going to sit and gab, instead of having dessert and then he and Archie could
get gone.
Which sucked.
This wasn’t comfortable, but it wasn’t entirely
uncomfortable.
He just wanted Archie to himself.
“And Dad semi-met Jagger outside an Arby’s. We had a lot of
fast food after Mom died,” Archie carried on.
And with that, she got the acute attention of everyone at
the table.
“She’s buried, I don’t know, twenty, thirty yards from your
dad’s grave.” She said this to Dutch. “Jagger was hanging out with your dad
during Mom’s funeral. We caught each other’s eyes and,” she shrugged, “we got
each other right away. Didn’t know his name. Didn’t know if I’d ever see him
again. Still, with that, he was my person for the rest of my life, you know?
It’s just the way that shit works.” Pause for a sip, then, “I’m just really
freaking happy I saw him again. And the first time was at an Arby’s.”
Again, this was casual.
But it packed a massive punch.
It said to Dutch, Don’t worry, I got this and he means
something to me.
It said to Georgie, We’re on the same team.