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“But—”She’s mine, I almost blurted. Followed by,Over my dead body. Except I replayed some of our recent dinners, recalled Jolene smiling at Jake, laughing at his antics, like she was reenacting our Cool List—laugh at everyone’s stupid jokes.
Realization pulled the rug out from under me.
Jake and Jo spent tons of time together at work without me, driving to our house, maybe other nights I didn’t know about. Jake wouldn’t ask her out if he wasn’t sure she’d say yes, which left only one conclusion: Jolene liked Jake back.
She’d been spending time with me, staying for dinner, to get to him.
“If she’s into you,” I told Jake, keeping my tone even while my chest caved, “go for it. I don’t care if you ask her out.”
“Thanks, man.” Jake punched my shoulder and left the room, unaware he’d started me down a path of jealousy so consuming I eventually schemed to break him and Jolene up.
Now Javier’s telling me to finally be honest with Jake, like hurting my brother and possibly causing a rift between us is a walk in the park.
I hold my sweaty shirt in my fist, relieved it’s off, but no less overheated.
Javier and his girlfriend step into the partly demolished bathroom. I give her a tired wave. “Good to see you, Simone.”
“Callahan. So good to see you too.” Her grin is kind of manic, her eyes bouncing between me and the walls, finally landing on Javier. “Great job on the demoing. And, um, I just wanted to let you know we should leave soon. So meet me downstairs when you’re ready?” Her attention darts to my chest. She giggles uncharacteristically, blushes, then looks pointedly at Javier. “Love you, babe.”
The second she’s gone, Javier rounds on me. “Dude, what the fuck?”
I glance around, trying to figure out why he’s pissed. “What the fuckwhat?”
“You can’t do shit like that.”
“Like what?”
He gestures angrily at me. “Take your shirt off in my house.”
I glance down at my chest, worried there’s something gross on me. “Why?”
“Why?Jesus Christ. Your muscles have their own muscles. If you set the bar that high, the rest of us don’t stand a chance. You practically blinded Simone with your ten-pack and potent masculinity. I still have to ask her to move in.”
My face heats as I recall Jo seeing me in my boxers, how awkward she was too. I shouldn’t smile, shouldn’t enjoy the notion of her being turned on by me.
“Get that smug smile off your face,” Javier mutters. “We need to go, and you need to put on a shirt.”
“Go where?”
“You volunteered to help with the Yard Goat Gallery opening, didn’t you?”
“Fuck.” I drag my hand down my face, unsure how I dropped the ball on that commitment. “Must have forgotten to put it in my phone. I’ll head home and shower. Meet you there.”
“With some fucking clothes on, right?”
Chuckling, I punch his shoulder as I leave, but Jo said she’d be helping at the opening too. Jake will also be there, along with Meddling Lennon and Too-Intuitive E. If Des shows up, I’ll be surrounding by my invasive family while I attempt to suppress my feelings for Jolene.
Guess I’m about to find out if the glass-half-full, congenial guy I used to be still exists under all this churning angst.
chaptertwenty-three
Callahan
The Yard Goat Gallery looks miles better than the day after the storm. The sun is out. The fallen tree and debris are cleared away from the front lawn. Two men are hanging the new gallery sign, while other volunteers carry in canvases and merchandise for the art supply store.
Ben and Javier join me, the three of us surveying the progress with crossed arms.
“Looks good. And glad to see you started the carving,” I tell Ben, awed by the tree stump he’s transformed into art. The bear is partially done, carved so its upper body and front paws are lunging from the trunk. Even without the finer details finished, the animal looks like it’s about to break into a run. “No clue how you do that.”
