“Allison… Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks. “I mean, not about Kyle. About Jesse.”
I wince a little. I haven’t had much time to think about Jesse, in all honesty. After first sleeping with Kyle and then trying to forget about him this morning, I haven’t had much time to consider my encounter with him.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t remember it. My chest feels oddly tight as I remember the look in his eyes as he rushed at me. He had looked insane…like he had wanted to hurt me.
Would he have hurt me? I would have said ‘no’, right up until the moment he grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me against the fence. He had been incredibly drunk, yes, but that was definitely no excuse. I’ve seen Jesse far drunker than that, and he had never before laid a hand on me.
But… I cast my mind back. Shouldn’t that be more of a surprise? I know exactly how violent Jesse is. I’m probably the only person in his life who he hasn’t hit before. When alcohol hits his system, he becomes cruel and prone to lashing out with his fists. But, during his arguments, he always took that violence out on our furniture instead, and I became comfortable in the idea that I was safe from him.
I’m not Jesse’s girlfriend anymore, though. Was that title the only thing that had held him back? Now that that’s gone… Well, he obviously didn’t hesitate to lay a hand on me last night.
Does that mean I’m not safe from him anymore?
I shake the paranoid thought from my mind immediately. I meant what I said to Kyle. Jesse is foolish and cowardly. He faces his problems when they come to him, but otherwise, he prowls around his apartment and growls about it because he refuses to deal with it on his own. No, Jesse won’t track me down to get some sort of stupid revenge on me. He wouldn’t even think to do it.
“It’s fine,” I assure Jacqui. “It was just a surprise, that’s all. Jesse hasn’t changed a bit, and I don’t have to think about him anymore. After Kyle punched him, he probably ran off with his tail between his legs, and he’s hiding out at his apartment now, cursing both of us. It’ll be fine.”
Jacqui gives me a look. It’s familiar because it’s the same look Kyle gave me last night, when I tried to assure him that Jesse wouldn’t come after me again. It’s a look that told me neither of them believed me, that they preferred to believe the worst of Jesse instead.
But I’m the one that dated Jesse for two years. I think I know best in this sort of situation.
“Okay,” Jacqui says after a long moment. “Just be careful, okay?”
“Of course,” I say with a smile.
It would all be fine. I can take care of myself, after all, and I definitely don’t need protecting from stupid, cowardly Jesse.
Chapter Six
Kyle
Old Man Brooks raises a disapproving eyebrow at me.
“Something on your mind, boy?” he asks.
I twitch. I’m twenty-nine, so I’m hardly a “boy”, despite the huge age difference between me and Brooks. Still, I let him get away with it because the old man signs my paycheck and was the one that picked me up and gave me a job in the first place. I know he doesn’t mean anything by it, after all.
“No,” I say.
Brooks glares at me, definitely not believing me. I can’t say I blame him; I’ve been distracted all day.
Which is hardly my fault. Even while I was trying not to think about it, it was difficult not to remember the feel of Allison’s silky, smooth skin, the way her body moved against mine or the burning look in her eyes.
Brooks snorts, and I realize that my mind is wandering again. I cough awkwardly.
“I know that look on your face,” the old man says, rolling his eyes. “Who is she, then, and why haven’t I met her yet?”
I look at him dumbly.
“Huh?” I ask.
“The girl you’re so smitten with,” Brooks says.
I haven’t blushed in years. It’s something of a pride thing with me, since it’s so hard to embarrass me, normally. At Brooks’ words, however, I feel a flush rising over my skin, and I slide back under the black car I’ve been working on.
“There’s no one,” I say to him, feeling a little better now that I don’t have to see the intrigued look in Brooks’ eyes.
“I might be old, but I’m not a fool,” Brooks snorts.