“Is that Jessa Harrison?” he asks. The guy is shorter than me by a few inches and much thinner, and his jeans and button-down scream that he’s a rich boy. If his appearance doesn’t give him away, the five clones standing a couple steps behind him do.
“Who are you?” I ask, not about to reveal anything to him before finding out who he is. Feeling bodies closing in around me, I glance quickly left and right to see Trey and Brady on either side.
“Um…I used to know her.” He shifts uncomfortably and glances back to the group of guys behind him. I’m pretty sure I know who he is, but I’m waiting for him to have the balls to reveal his name to me.
“Really? You knew her when she went here?” I ask him. He’s really starting to annoy me the longer I see him staring at her.
“Um…yeah…we used to date. She’s pretty out of it. Did you just meet her?” he questions, and I suddenly realize that he thinks I’m taking her to have my way with her.
“No,” I deadpan and dread fills his eyes. Before I can stop myself, it slips out of my mouth. “Are you Jason?” Sadie gasps next to Brady and Trey’s body tenses next to me, his fists clenching at his sides.
The dark-haired guy stumbles back a few steps before he answers, “Yeah. Since you know my name, I’m assuming you didn’t just meet her.” He shakes his head, slowly moving back to his friends.
My eyes instantly search for a place to put Jessa. I can’t hand her to Brady or Trey. I might need their help if his friends decide to join in. I smile when I see a park bench by the curb. Placing her on the bench, Sadie and Kailey take a seat on either side of her, already knowing what’s going to happen. I don’t want to freak Sadie out because of her past, so I’m relieved when she softly tells me, “Kick his ass, Grant,” before I walk back toward Jason.
He’s already trying to leave, but I call him out. “Too pussy to actually stick up for yourself?” I shout and he stops in his tracks, not turning around. Three of his friends turn toward me and the other two continue walking away, shaking their heads.
“I’m not a pussy, I just don’t want to fight you,” he says, holding his hands up in the air.
“Should have just ignored us when we were walking by then,” I say with a smirk. “I wasn’t going to go looking for you, even though it took everything in me not to. But now that we’re here, I don’t think I can just walk away from this opportunity to kick your ass,” I calmly say to him before he finally takes a step toward me.
“I’m sorry, I know what I did was wrong.” He glances over to where Jessa is lying on the park bench with her head in Sadie’s lap.
“Don’t fucking look at her,” I growl. His eyes jolt back to mine. Brady and Trey keep their distance behind me for now, I’m sure closely observing his friends for any movement.
“Listen, I said I was sorry. Believe me, I wish I wouldn’t have done it. It was an asshole thing to do.” He keeps rambling, but all I want to do is shatter his jaw. I anxiously wait for the wrong words to cross his lips, so I can let my fist fly into his face. “I’ve tried to get a hold of her to apologize, but I didn’t have her number and her family isn’t exactly welcoming to me anymore.”
Jessa moans and I know this kid isn’t going to give me any reason to hit him, so I decide I just need to get her home. “Listen,” I say, throwing my hand through my hair. “You screwed her over and it almost broke her. Notice I said almost because she’s so much stronger than you will ever be. You’re in luck, buddy, and you want to know why? I’m so in love with that girl, I’m going to be nice tonight. Hell, I might even say, ‘thank you’. If you wouldn’t have done what you did, I might’ve never met the love of my life. I can tell by your face that you regret what you did, but knowing Jessa the way I do, I can bet that your biggest regret is you lost her. And after you lost her, I found her. She’s mine and there’s no changing that. So, you can go inside that club and find some girl to fuck tonight, trying to work her out of your system. In the meantime, I’ll take the girl we both love home and wrap her up in my arms. You agree?” I cock my eyebrow and he nods his head.
“Agreed. Could you tell her I’m sorry for what I did?” he asks.
“I can’t make that promise,” I honestly tell him and walk back over to the bench to pick Jessa up. I’m surprised to find her sitting up and staring over at me.
“Grant,” she whispers, and I pull her into me before looking at Jason, who notices that she’s now awake. “Where are we?” she asks before her gaze finds him.
“Just outside the bar baby, let’s go,” I say, but she struggles out of my arms, walking toward him. My heart thumps hard and I swallow deep with the anticipation of what she’s going to do.
All I hear is the sound of a hand making solid contact against flesh. I quietly chuckle, seeing Jessa shaking her hand and Jason rubbing his cheek. “You’re a fucking asshole, Jason, but Grant’s right, thank you,” she says and walks back toward me. Jason stands speechless for a few seconds before ultimately turning around to join his friends.
Jessa stumbles slightly and I grab her when she gets close. “Hot, baby. That was hot,” I whisper.
She rests her forehead on my chest and says, “Take me home.” I pick her up like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold and walk us to the car. Not paying attention to our four friends, I place Jessa down in the passenger seat of her dad’s car and then make my way over to the driver’s side. Her head rests on the headrest as she intently gazes my way. Bending my head down, I kiss her soft lips and she closes her eyes, drifting back to sleep.
Chapter 21
Jessa
My eyes open and embarrassment is the first thing I feel. A hellacious hangover is next. Remembering bits and pieces, the puzzle slowly starts to fit together. Did we really run into Jason? And neither of us beat the shit out of him? Confused and tired, I roll over to find Grant sleeping soundly next to me. Not wanting to wake him up, I sneak out of the bedroom, desperate for a bottle of water. Rounding the corner to the kitchen, I overhear my parents talking about me and Grant. Deliberating, I decide a bottle of water is worth the conversation I’m about to have.
When I walk in, I squint at the bright lights and my dad’s boisterous laugh makes me cover my ears. “Uh oh, someone drank too much last night,” he teases, and my mom humorously smacks his shoulder.
I remain silent and walk slowly over to the refrigerator to get my water, trying to conceal my embarrassed grin. The last thing I want to tell them is that we ran into Jason last night. “Did you have fun last night?” My mom comes over and wraps her arm around my waist.
“Yeah, I think I might’ve overdone it,” I tell them. They give me the disapproving parents glare, even though they’ve each had their share of coming home drunk after holiday parties or weddings.
My dad sits down and sips his coffee, holding the paper out in front of him, his black-rimmed reading glasses in place. “Happens to the best of us. I take it Grant was able to find his way back by himself. He’s so scared being a passenger through these mountains, I wonder how he did driving in the dark with a passed-out girlfriend next to him,” he muses, laughing.
Guilt hits me hard. How could I have been so thoughtless? “Well, we made it, so I guess he did okay,” I say, gulping down my water on my way to the coffee pot. Taking my favorite mug out of the cabinet, I pour myself a cup before taking the seat next to my dad.
“So, you ready for this?” he asks. I know what he’s referring to, but I want to make him ask the question.
“Ready for what?” I question, and he stares up at me over the rim of his glasses with a look that clearly says ‘give me a break’.
I lean against the granite-topped island. Bringing the coffee up to my lips, I blow on it, attempting to cool it down. “Okay, let’s talk,” I reluctantly say, letting out a deep breath, “and yes, I love him.” I tell him, thinking that full disclosure might shorten the length of the uncomfortable conversation we’re about to have.