Jack reaches back without looking and takes my hand again, dragging it toward his lap, holding my fingers too tightly for me to get away. My heart starts hammering and I swallow, hard.
Yoyo’s eyes track the movement, watching shrewdly, her face transforming from flirty expectation to icy, cold judgment.
“Together you say?” she repeats acidly. “Well that’s… convenient? Right?”
Sucking her cheeks in, she pulls herself up a little taller in her chair. I can almost see what she’s thinking, and I want to shrink away, but Jack keeps pulling me forward. Chance catches my eye again, sending me a message that goes something like, You know what, just let us handle this.
“It’s so convenient,” he smiles. “Don’t you think, Chelsea? Don’t we wait on you hand and foot?”
I almost want to laugh at the brazenness of his dare. Jack smirks at me over his shoulder.
“Yeah, Chelsea,” he joins in. “Isn’t it though? Don’t we just have the best arrangement?”
“Arrangement?” she echoes, chuckling judgmentally. “What are you guys saying? Are you serious?”
I don’t answer right away, so she looks at all of us, one at a time, her face changing from judgment to shock to jealousy to… I don’t even know what. But if she were a weather system, I would be heading for the cellar right now.
“Okay, is this some kind of joke? You’re kidding me? Ha-ha, ver
y funny. Chelsea? What is really going on here?”
My mouth is dry. I can hear my pulse in my ears. The room kind of sways in front of me, blurry like one of those photographs of a rainy night.
But mostly what I feel is Jack’s hand, wrapped around mine, his grip so warm and confident that I never want to let go.
Finally I take a deep breath and force myself to shrug as nonchalantly as possible. I make myself sit up in the chair, arranging my posture, holding my chin up.
Chance smirks triumphantly. Jack picks up my hand and buries my fingertips in his grin.
“These are my guys, Yoyo,” I say out loud.
She sets her jaw, her smile grim.
“Your guys,” she repeats. “Yeah, right. Guys, plural.”
“Plural, yeah,” I smile, re-inflating with every beat of my heart. I feel like a butterfly beating its wings for the first time, forcing the wings to dry out and work, forcing myself to take the next step toward flying off.
“So plural,” Jack chuckles, to Yoyo’s horror.
She whips her head toward Chance for confirmation and Chance just shrugs. He stands up out of his chair and walks around the table so he can stand behind me, dipping his head to brazenly nuzzle my neck and shoulder.
“Wow, just fucking wow,” she growls. “That is disgusting. That is… Man, that is fucking disgusting. I can’t believe that you guys—”
“Won’t you excuse us, Yoyo?” Jack interrupts, turning away from her so he can face me completely.
She sputters in fury and frustration before she stands up and stalks away. I can hear those heels on the carpet, but all I can really see is Jack. All I can feel is Chance’s breath trickling over my bare skin.
“There, now, isn’t that better?” Jack asks. “So much better than… your other plan?”
I want to giggle nervously, but I know if I start, I will not be able to stop. I just shrug helplessly.
“Well, I think it’s better,” Chance murmurs, taking my earlobe between his teeth and exhaling softly into my ear.
I shiver, goosebumps racing down my arm.
“I just can’t believe it… I can’t believe I had to say all that stuff out loud!”
Jack shrugs. “I can’t believe it took you so long. You’re going to have to get used to the fact that we just do what we want, Chelsea. It’s a way of life. You will catch on.”