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Chapter Twenty-six
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Jealousywasn’taproblemfor me the way it was for Elena. As long as my girl knew who she belonged to and everyone she encountered did too, I was laid back. Watchful, but relaxed.
Seeing Elena interact with Penelope set off an unfamiliar wave of jealousy in me, though. She was different with her cousin. Before tonight, I thought she’d cracked her barriers for me, but when it was just her and Pen speaking to each other, I saw I was wrong. Like a flipped switch, her walls went down for Pen and right back up when she turned away.
They’d stayed cuddled up the entire time we were at theT. I got words, jokes, but not the full force of Elena Sanderson. It drove me crazy not knowing if that was due to her being with her cousin or if something else was off.
But I let it go.
We were back at the house. The girls were inside grabbing drinks. Amir, Gabe, Theo, Julien, and I were out on the deck. Amir, Theo, and Julien were smoking blunts while Gabe stared longingly and I passed.
Gabe rubbed his jaw. “Man, they never tell you the things you have to give up to play sports.”
I chuckled. “I’ve never done it. It’s probably better I don’t know what I’m missing.”
His eyebrows shot up. “For real? You’ve never smoked?”
“Never interested. I’d rather sit around a fire with some beers.”
His fingers slid through his curls as he leaned back in his chair. “I feel that. Back in high school, we used to have some sick beach bonfires. Crazy shit never failed to go down at them. Of course, there was always a copious supply of weed, so maybe I don’t quite feel you.”
Tipping my beer to my lips, I watched the cherry at the end of the blunts burn bright as the guys inhaled. There was nothing tempting about it to me.
“I’m thinking of fires in the woods anyway. Different vibe.”
“Mmm.” Gabe took a long pull of his beer. “So, Elena, huh?”
“Mmm. Elena.”
He swung his beer back and forth between two fingers. “You seem pretty chill.”
I lowered my chin. “Pretty chill, yeah.”
“She’s not.”
“Not usually, no.”
His head cocked. “How’d that happen?”
I shrugged. That was a good question. “I like her.” Simple answer.
Gabe nodded a few times. “Yeah, I see that. She’s pretty rad in her ownI’ll cut you if you cross me or wear my Chanel without askingkind of way. And I know we do the whole mortal enemy thing, but she’s basically family, so I gotta keep on the lookout. Now that she’s not around, I have to ask: are you serious with her?”
“We’re keeping it light,” I explained.
Some of the humor faded from his face, suspicion replacing it. “What’s that mean?”
“Means I’m not in California for the long haul. I don’t want to hurt anyone when I leave, and I don’t want a reason that makes me regret going.”
My scalp suddenly felt too tight on my head. I yanked at my hair, but it did nothing to alleviate it. Fucking weird.
“So, you have plans to dip on my cousin-in-law?” Gabe pressed.
“Not gonna dip,” I bit out. “We’re on the same page, having fun.”
But that didn’t sound quite true, even to my own ears. This was more than that. It probably always had been.
