AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jake had barely made it outside when his phone rang. A quick look at the screen confirmed what he’d already guessed. Itwas Jessa. Honestly, he was surprised it’d taken her this long to call. Especially since there wasn’t a doubt in his mind she was calling for details about last night.
“Hey, Messa, what’s up?” He’d started calling his sister “Messa” ages ago because she was kind of a klutz. They’d always been close—Jessa was basically his best friend—but she was still his sister. And he was certain that as her older brother—hey, seventeen minutes still counted—it was his duty to harass her. Sibling protocol. At least, that’s how he looked at it. Besides, she gave as good as she got, so he didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty about having christened her with that nickname when they were little, or in continuing to use it.
“How’d it go?” Jessa asked.
Yep, she wanted dirt.
“Are you feeling okay?” Jake looked at his phone. “It’s twelve-forty.” Jess had always been a night owl. She’d perfected the art of sleeping in on Saturdays long ago. True, she was usually up by nine a.m., but, again, sibling protocol.
“How areyoufeeling?” she countered, not taking the bait. “I hear you’re going on a second date, so guess it must’ve gone well.”
“Don’t believe everything Em tells you.” It was obvious Jess had already talked to her. “It’s not a date. We’re going axe throwing.”
“During your date,” she insisted. “So, you must like her.”
What’s not to like?
“I’m helping her with a list.” He didn’t bother elaborating, certain Emery had already filled in the details.
“On yourdate.”
He rolled his eyes even though she couldn’t see him.
“Answer the question,” Jess demanded. “You like her, don’t you?”
“She’s nice,” he evaded. And she was. Too nice for him.
“‘Nice’ like a polite way to say you’re not interested? Or ‘nice’ like you want to jump her bones? Em said you want to jump her bones.”
He did, but… “According to you and Em, I wanna jump everyone’s bones.”
That used to be true. It’d been a way to forget the past and avoid making the same mistake. No way to get too close if he kept it physical and steered clear of emotions. Problem was, the shine on that lifestyle was starting to tarnish. He didn’t want to end up in a rocking chair on the porch alone, but he wasn’t sure it was possible not to.
“Knew it!” Jess sounded giddy. “You like her.”
“Fine, I like her. I like lots of people. Sometimes, I even like Chase. Almost.”
He actually did like Chase. But when he’d started dating Jess—well, initially fake-dating that turned into real dating—Jake had worried about her getting her heart broken. He’d always been, and always would be protective of his sister. But it turned out, the guy was head over heels and treated her like gold. As long as he continued to do so, they were good.
“Did you kiss her?”
Jake let out a heavy sigh. Usually, he didn’t mind Jess asking stuff like that, but for some odd reason, it rubbed him the wrong way in regard to Laurel.
“No comment? So… yes.”
“Jessa.” The fact his voice held a slight undertone of warning shocked the hell out of him. He scrubbed a hand down his face.
What the fuck’s wrong with me?
“Ooo, my real name.” Jess didn’t sound the slightest bit threatened. “Okay, now Ihaveto meet her. When’s your next date? I’ve always wanted to try axe throwing. ”
“You’re so full of shit right now.”
“Come on, you know it’s on my bucket list.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Is there some other reason you called, Mess? Other than trying to bust my balls?”
“Nope,” she confessed, popping the“P.”“Just to bust your balls.”
