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“Shelby, this is exactly the type of shit you’d do – stealing clothes at gym, painting on a locker, slashing tires.”
Shelby snorted. “Jack, you don’t really know me at all, do you?
I shrugged. Obviously not.
“That’s all petty bullshit, and yes, I might do it, but I sure as fuck wouldn’t hide it. If I’m beefing with someone, they know it.”
I opened my mouth, but there was a definite ring of truth to what she said. She was right. She’s not passive aggressive, she’s just plain aggressive. If she was harassing me and Ava, we’d know it because she’d be rubbing it in our faces, like she did at Rico’s.
Fuck, another dead end.
I sighed. “Fine, I believe you”
“Ohh, thank god!” she retorted sarcastically. “I’m leaving. I’m assuming you’ll keep your mouth shut about all that stuff I told you?”
I nodded and watched her storm back inside.
****
Chapter 33
Ava
It was Friday, and I was headed over to Jack’s house. I was running late, but I was never on time anywhere I went, so I don’t think it bothered him. He gave me crap about it, but he seemed to find it charming for some reason. I better start managing my time better, though, because I’m sure waiting on my late ass is going to get old eventually.
There had been no more incidents for the rest of the week, so while Jack seemed confident that Shelby was not the culprit, they had stopped after confronting her. Maybe she fooled Jack? Had she sweet talked him? Ugh, that was annoying and unsettling to think about. He acted like he actively loathed her when they had interacted at Rico’s party, but maybe it’s different when they are alone. As much as I wanted to disregard Jack’s past now that we were dating, it was sort of sitting there like the proverbial elephant in the room.
I was actually surprised I hadn’t had to deal with confrontations from any of Jack’s previous…partners? Lovers? Ugh, that didn’t sound right, not for high school students. Whatever. I guess that could be considered a blessing in light of all the other drama we were dealing with.
Jack was now convinced Crenshaw was behind all this stuff, but he looked pretty wrapped up in Casey now, so we figured we’d wait to see if he tried anything. He absolutely hated the idea of waiting, but I’d begged him, so he relented.
I pulled into Jack’s driveway and grabbed my bag. I brought my swimsuit because even though it was getting very chilly, Jack wanted to hang out in his hot tub tonight, which sounded amazing. I looked at his parent’s darkened house and wondered at the strange relationship Jack had with his parents. It seemed so lonely, so unhappy.
A part of me wanted to ask Jack to live with me and my family so he would know what it’s like to be a part of a real family, but that was crazy on, like, one hundred levels.
I shook off those sad thoughts and made my way to Jack’s little pool house. I gave a brief knock, then opened the door. Jack was in the kitchen getting something out of the fridge, but walked over to me, took my bag and gave me a deep, hot kiss.
“Please tell me you brought a bikini,” he asked, planting hot kisses on my neck. I guess I knew where his mind was.
I smiled. “I brought a bikini.”
“Fuck yes,” he murmured as his mouth landed back on mine. “Go change. I’ll get us some drinks and snacks and meet you outside.” He slapped my ass and sent me into the other room to change.
I quickly slipped on my black bikini. The top was a simple halter style and the bottoms were connected by three thin strips of fabric on the sides. I grabbed a towel to wear outside because even though I was going in a hot tub, it was freaking cold.
Jack was already in the tub when I got outside. He brought out beers and soda along with a couple of bowls of chips and pretzels. It was cute to think of him planning all of this, though I would never tell him that.
“Okay, drop the towel, Ava,” Jack said in a smoky voice as he took a pull off of his beer.
I dropped the towel and watched his expression morph from anticipatory to wolfish. His dark green eyes roved hotly over all the exposed parts of my body, and I felt my nipples harden under his intense scrutiny.
“You are so fucking gorgeous,” he gritted out, putting his beer down and walking toward me in his simple blue trunks. He held up a hand to help me into the hot tub, even though there was a railing, his eyes still scorching me.
I laughed a little. “You know, you’ve seen me naked.”
“Doesn’t matter. Come here,” he murmured as he pulled me toward him and lowered us into the warm water.
I gasped. “It’s hot!”
