with Chloe the other day, I’ve decided to give him a chance, his reputation and my heart be damned. It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Tonight, I’m going to show him that my guard is down and I’m ready to let him in. I’m pretty nervous, to be honest. I just hope I haven’t gotten my hopes up and read the signals wrong. I think he likes me too, but I’ve always been inexperienced when it comes to guys.
“Oh , I forgot to ask,” Jake says, nudging my arm. “How’d you know Jesse?”
“Oh, he’s in my English class ,” I say nonchalantly.
“Well , just be careful, okay? He has a worse reputation than me. I don’t want you getting hurt, or I’ll have to kick his ass, even if he is a friend.” The less I tell him, the better. I don’t need Jake getting involved in my business and having words with Jesse. It’s nice that he cares about me, but it can be a little overwhelming sometimes.
“We’re just friends , Jake.” I tell him rather abruptly, hoping he will drop the conversation. I hope we’ll be more than friends one day; however, I don’t say that out loud.
“ Hey, dickwad, leave her alone. Who Maisie gets involved with is none of your business. She isn’t going to turn into a whore like you, so you have nothing to worry about,” Chloe interrupts. This is the first time she has said anything to Jake since we met up half an hour ago. That’s unusual for her. Guess that’s why she had to get her dig in when she could.
“ Fuck off, Chloe. I’m just looking out for Maisie, and you’re just jealous because you have no one to look out for you,” Jake quips back. Oh here we go again...
“Jealous? Why would I be jealous to have a brother like you?” Chloe looks at Jake with disgust in her eyes.
“I guess it’s a good thing I’m not your brother then, or otherwise, it’d be incest,” he answers back, a smug smile on his face. Oh no. I shake my head ‘no’ at Chloe. I don’t need Jake finding out about her and Evan like this. I don’t want to be involved. Chloe gives me the tiniest nod of her head, letting me know that she won’t. Nobody else would have noticed her nod, except we’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember. We can talk without anybody knowing.
A creepy smile takes over Chloe ’s face. “If you say so, sweetie,” she finishes, and then turns around and carries on her conversation with Evan, who looks completely confused. I don’t blame him. I doubt he realizes he’s planted himself in the middle of their cross fire. I just raise my eyebrows at Jake.
“What?” he asks confused.
“When will you two be able to have a conversation without arguing?” I don’t hear his reply as the music welcoming the teams starts up. A team wearing gold and black comes out, which I’m guessing is the Titans ’ rivals, the Dirtbags. Next, our team comes out wearing a navy blue, orange and white uniform. Jesse is the last to run onto the field. The crowd goes crazy when they see him. Wow. He really must be a superstar here. I didn’t realize. Why would I, though? I don’t usually watch football.
I’m able to check Jesse out from up here without him noticing, so I take full advantage of it. He looks sexy in his uniform, way off the hotness chart. And his legs? Oh my. Best. Legs. I. Have. Ever. Seen. They are so muscled and tanned. I just want to run my tongue up his legs. They look that good. His top is quite tight, like his usual attire, showing off his beautiful tattooed biceps. It’s no wonder the women love him. I’m sitting here discretely drooling, when I’m sure all of the female population here, young and old, are doing exactly the same thing. Getting a look at his face, my eyes meet with his dark orbs, which are staring right back at me. A smirk lifts one side of his mouth up. Shit, I’ve been caught. Trying to act nonchalant, I smile back at him, shrugging my shoulders. I look more confident than I feel. If he was standing in front of me, I’m
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
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