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Gavin snorted. “She’s way out of your league, Jack. I hope she knows that.”
“Fuck you,” Jackson said.
“Oh, you’ve got it bad.”
“He’s gotsomething, that’s for sure,” Milo added with a chuckle and Jackson flipped them off.
Jackson behavedhimself most of the time—he only glanced over his shoulder once or twice. The rest of the time, he was talking with his friends, catching up on their lives. But Jackson started to zone out. It wasn’t that his friends had boring jobs—Milo was an underwear model and Gavin worked with his family’s veterinarian clinic—they were extremely physical jobs and as two guys who were incredibly fit and muscular, the jobs fit them. Jackson wasn’t skinny anymore, thanks to all the karate he did. But he was definitely the lamer of the three of them and it sometimes puzzled him how they ended up being best friends. But these guys were truly the best part of his teenage years and Jackson knew that if it wasn’t for Milo and Gavin, he might not have survived.
“Jesus, Jack, just go talk to her.”
Jackson startled, releasing his beer bottle. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing of importance, clearly.”
“What?” Jackson looked between his friends in confusion, trying to understand what they were saying. Milo chuckled and shook his head, gently shoving Gavin.
“It doesn’t matter. What does matter is you going over there and talking to this woman who clearly has you completely whipped,” Gavin responded, tipped his beer back to finish it and swapped bottles with him. “Now go, get yourself a fresh drink.”
“I am not whipped,” Jackson said softly and scratched the back of his neck as he added. “I don’t want to chase her away again.”
Gavin nudged the bottle. “You won’t know what’ll happen if you don’t go talk to her.”
After a few minutes of hesitation, Jackson was on his way to the bar when he noticed a dark-haired woman talking to Oleander. He knew that if he went back to the table, his friends would never forgive him, so Jackson gritted his teeth and continued his trek to the bar.
Standing behind the woman who was talking to Oleander, Jackson offered a tight smile and gestured to his empty bottle.
“Hey,” Oleander said with a grin. “Another round?”
“Just one, thanks.” Jackson nodded as Oleander pointed at the woman and then at Jackson.
“Frank, this is Jackson. Jackson, this is my best friend Frankie.”
Frankie grinned wide. “So, you’retheJackson.”
His eyes widened and looked between the two friends. So Oleander was talking about him. “I must be. It’s nice to meet you, Frankie.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Oleander told him, handing him his beer.
Frankie waved Oleander off and turned her attention to Jackson completely. “For the record, she hasnotbeen talking about you for the past week.”
“For fuck’s sake, Frank.” Oleander looked embarrassed and Jackson felt smug.
“What?The boy clearly didn’t come here just for a refill.”
“I’m uh…” Blushing, Jackson felt his heart pound so loud he was sure the two women could hear, but he was also so embarrassed to be in this position at all. “I’m gonna go.”
“No, stay,” Frankie told him, patting the bar. “I’m leaving. I just came by to give her a hard time.”
“Deep breaths, Frank.”
“Be good to him, Ollie,” Frankie told her friend and then turned to him. “You seem like a nice guy, but if you hurt her, I will hurt you.”
“Reallynice to meet you, Frankie.” Jackson forced a smile on his face and when she was gone, he turned to Oleander with wide eyes. “She’s…interesting.”
She laughed. “That’s not the word I would ever use to describe my best friend.”
“So…you’ve been talking about me?”
