Still, he couldn’t keep his mind off what it would be like if his granddad was around to see all this. He couldn’t help but think about the fact that his parents should have been there to hear the news.
Chapter 21
The bar at the Charming Marriott was the perfect place to catch up with Jenny and Ned. Sam sent Jesse a text, saying they were heading over to Claim Jumpers, but hitting that place twice in one week would set a precedent that Jesse didn’t want to be a part of. Besides, after the day he’d had, all he wanted was time with Lily-Grace and some adult conversation, and by adult conversation, he meant spending nearly an hour listening to Ned and Jenny catch Lily-Grace up on almost everything she missed by not attending Charming High. The conversation might have gone in another direction, if one of the old assistant football coaches hadn’t spotted Jesse the second they walked in the door.
Jesse hadn’t realized how well he usually scheduled his time around town to involve church, the senior center, and not much else. He was enjoying himself, but he was glad he’d made the decision to save himself from a lot the small talk that came with running into certain people around town.
Ned pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Shit, it’s my kid. I gotta take this—Hey, honey,” he said as he got up from the table.
Jenny watched him until he walked out the front door and then she whipped her head back around. “Okay, so what do we think?”
“You know what I think,” Lily-Grace said with a shrug. “I love Ned.”
“Jesse?”
He shrugged too and took a sip of Coke. “I also love Ned.”
“You’re a big girl and you can make your own big girl decisions, I’m just gonna say you haven’t called or texted me once this week complaining about Ned. By the way, I can still get Jesse to fire Vinny for being an ass,” Lily-Grace added.
“No, she can’t,” Jesse replied with a shake of his head. Vinny may have been a shitty boyfriend, but he was great at his job. Jesse wasn’t cutting him loose.
“Okay, no I can’t, but you have to admit, just scheduling this date was easier.”
“It was. Fuck. Now I see what you mean,” Jenny said, and then she bit her lips like she’d just dropped a secret.
Lily-Grace nudged Jesse’s shoulder, coming clean. “I told her how easy things are with you.”
“I wasn’t aware that good relationships were supposed to be hard, in a painful way.”
Jenny peered at the door, then turned back around, lowering her voice, like Ned might hear her through two doors and over the music and the white noise of conversation and clinking glasses flowing through the space. “But I can date a guy with kids, right?”
“Is it a deal breaker?” Lily-Grace asked.
“No. I just never thought I’d date a guy with kids. But I am sliding firmly into the divorce dating bracket, so I guess ... huh.” Jenny looked down at her drink like she’d just had the biggest revelation of her life. “Shit, you’re both right. Okay. If he’s good for another date, I’m gonna do it. Right after I use the ladies. Excuse me.” She hopped up and rushed to the bathroom. Jesse stared after her, feeling his eyes glazing over. It was barely ten o’-clock and he was wrecked. No way he would have lasted twenty minutes in Claim Jumpers without sprouting a migraine.
“You okay?” Lily-Grace asked, giving his thigh a deep rub under the table.
Jesse blinked wide before he squeezed his eyes shut. He opened them again and looked over at her. “I’m so fucking tired.”
“We did like four hundred things today and we were up before dawn.”
She had a point. They should have napped after their more official swim lesson, which unfortunately didn’t include any dry humping, since his family decided to join them and offer support. Lilah and Vega were a big help, but the lesson eventually turned into a pool party/cookout that lasted until it was time to leave for their next engagement.
He could feel himself fading before they headed out to the senior center to help with bingo, but he rallied and got through it. Having Lily-Grace there helped. The usual bingo crew was a little too set in their ways to let her try out the monumental task of calling numbers. That was Lilah’s job, but she helped Jesse hand out refreshments and prizes. Everyone knew her dad, of course, and a handful of people remembered her from when they were kids. It was another warm reception that he thought affirmed her decision to stay. That was definitely enough to keep him awake, seeing the smile on her face.
“I’m running on fumes and vibes right now,” she said, giving in to her own deep yawn. “You want to go back to your place and I’ll let you tuck me in?”
“No, I want to go to my place and then I want you to show me where to put my mouth.”
“Mr. Pleasant!” she gasped.
“I thought you liked dirty talk.”
“I do. Say something else nasty.”
Jesse looked down at her lips, trying to think of where to start. He’d spent the whole week thinking of the things he wanted to do to her, all the things he wanted her to do to him, all the things she wanted to show him, and he knew that long list only scratched the surface of what they could get up to. Still, this was all new for him. He wasn’t used to having someone to share these things with, someone who wanted every vulgar detail. He liked it.
“I’m surprised you behaved yourself today,” he said.
