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I can tell Jake almost warns Jesse out of habit. For some reason, he just clenches his mouth shut and gives a confusing nod to Jesse, like they’ve got some kind of understanding.
What the hell?
Carter pops out the back window. “Oh, hey. If you guys need any romantic tunes to get things going right, I kinda fucked up your speaker thing, Jesse. Sorry. I spilled my chocolate milk all over it. I’ve got it resting in some rice right now.” He holds up his thumb and forefinger in a circle, winking. “Give it a few days and I’m sure it’ll work just fine. You’ll have to use your phone or something.”
I hear Maddox from inside the car. “Doubt it when you just jinxed it, dumbass.”
“Jinx this,” Carter says, disappearing back in the car. I hear thumping and grunts as the two grown men wrestle like boys.
Jake glances behind him. “Catch you guys later, then. Oh, Andi. Are mom and dad good? I didn’t get a chance to ask them.”
“I meant to ask you how they knew where to find me,” I say, hands on my hips.
“You didn’t think I was going to buy time forever, did you?”
“No,” I sigh. “It was actually fine. I got to talk to them a lot today. I think it really helped them to see me here kind of in my element. They’re already talking about coming to visit again in a few months. And Bree is doing great. She doesn’t even seem mad at me.”
Jake hesitates. “Coming to see you in a few months? You really think you’ll still be here?”
“Maybe,” I say, trying to sound casual.
“Huh,” he says, but to my surprise, he looks at Jesse as he answers and doesn’t try to tell me I’m crazy. “They staying at Caroline’s?”
“Yep. She didn’t even know they were my parents. They got here two days ago and hid out.”
“Maybe I’ll go to Caroline’s later and visit them.”
“Sure,” I say. “You can say hi to Caroline while you’re there.”
He scowls. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Yeah,” Jesse says. “What does that mean?”
“We gonna get pretzels or chit chat all night?” Carter complains from the back seat. I see Jake’s seat jerk forward like someone kicked it from behind.
Jake suddenly seems ready to drive away. Shocker. “Night. Be careful on that ankle,” he says, pulling off and rolling up the windows before I have a chance to explain.
I give Jesse a questioning look. “What was that about?”
“Huh?”
“That moment when Jake gave you some kind of bro nod. Like you guys have an agreement about something?”
Jesse runs his tongue over his lips. “It was nothing.”
I put my fists on my hips, stepping in front of him before he can reach for the handle of the passenger door to his truck. “What happened to honesty and no lies? You know omission is a form of lying, right?”
His eyes fall to my feet, then back up again. “Jake said you could do worse than me. That was it. He didn’t give me permission to date you or whatever. He just… made it sound like I might get off with a black eye instead of a knife in my chest. Alright?”
“What? He never gives guys permission to date me. If he said he wouldn’t kill you, he practically gave you permission. When was this?”
“I don’t know. Not that long ago.”
“Were you going to tell me this? Wasn’t Jake like the main reason we’ve been keeping things secret?”
Jesse moves around me and pulls the door open.
I watch him for a few beats, waiting for him to answer. He impatiently gestures to the seat and I slam myself down, folding my arms as he closes the door for me.
