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Jess’s giggle hit my ear, the back of my neck breaking out in tingles. “How hungry are you?”
“So hungry that shitty hospital food is starting to sound good.”
“Bro!” Jamie held up his hand from a large table toward the back.
I piggy-backed Jess through the tables, and Rush stood up to pull out a chair at our table as everyone called out greetings. Once she was settled, I sat down in the empty spot beside her, and P sat beside me.
Our table was actually several pulled together, and four large pizzas already lined the center. There was also a bowl of salad, which had to be the girls’ doing because why would I eat lettuce when there was cheese and pepperoni in front of me?
“We got you guys some water,” Rory said from the other side of Jess. “But if you want something else, you can tell the waitress when she comes back.”
“We got more pizza coming,” Jamie said, shoving a slice into his mouth.
“Help yourself to what’s already here,” Madison added.
“Thank you,” Jess said, reaching for her water to take a sip.
The sudden urge to lay my palm over her thigh was so strong I actually started to reach for her. Realizing what the hell I was doing, I stopped and pulled back. I felt her glance at me out of the corner of her eye but didn’t say anything.
Prism was already reaching for the pizza, he and Wes talking about the new update to the game we all played.
“How are you feeling, Jess?” Lars asked.
Jess glanced down the table at him, and the slice in my hand suddenly didn’t seem that appetizing.
“Better than I was,” Jess answered, smiling.
“I’m gonna get you some sunglasses,” I told her. Then I glanced at Lars. “I’m getting you a ski mask.”
Lars turned confused. “What?”
Prism stopped midsentence to tell the table, “Kruger’s jealous as hell because Jess called Lars handsome.”
Lars’s face turned red, and Win laughed.
I glared at Prism. “You’ve tainted this pizza with your betrayal.”
Jamie leaned over the table to snatch it right out of my hand and took a giant bite. “Tastes fine to me.”
“It was just a compliment,” Jess said, her voice slightly embarrassed.
I forgot about my irritation with P and the burning jealousy and draped an arm over the back of her chair. “We know, sweetheart.”
Win’s lips smacked. “You’d have to be blind not to notice he’s the best-looking one in the room,” he mused. “Just remember he’s taken.”
I growled. “So is she.”
Madison sighed. “Can we table all the macho crap and just eat?”
Landry released the straw between her lips and made a sound. “Yes, please.”
Wes and Prism went back to gamer talk. Ryan and Jamie talked about swimming, and the girls started going on about hair.
I grabbed a slice of pizza and slid it onto the empty plate in front of Jess. She seemed a little overwhelmed just sitting there taking in all the activity around us.
“Here, baby. You should eat something.” She’d barely eaten while she was in the hospital.
She glanced between me and the pizza. “I think you’re the best-looking one in the room.”
