“Always,” he murmurs, bringing me back into his chest. “No matter what, I’m not going to let anyone take you away from me. Nate, Jackson, none of the bitchy girls who are bound to try and make your life a living hell. No one.”
I shake my head, laughing. Even when everything is falling apart, Jesse’s ego is still working overtime. “Really? Because the news about us has been making the rounds since yesterday and so far, no one has tried tearing out my hair, stealing my clothes, or humiliating me on social media.”
“What?” he gasps in mock horror. “Maybe I’m losing my edge.”
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” I say, fighting a smile as the bell sounds, “but maybe you never had an edge to start with.”
He shakes his head. “You’re going to be trouble, Kaylah Millington. So much fucking trouble.”
Chapter 9
Jesse
Two weeks in and things are going better than I could have imagined. I never knew I’d take to being in a relationship so easily but with Kaylah, it comes naturally. She’s my girl and quickly becoming my world. To not be with her would kill me and I’m man enough to admit it.
I’m falling for her.
I still feel giddy when she walks into a fucking room, I can’t have her near and not be touching her. The thought of kissing her makes my gut twist with excitement, and fuck, don’t get me started on how it feels when I’m inside her.
She’s cleared the air with her brother which helped her heal but she’s still hurting because of her friend Henley. She doesn’t tell me much about it, which coming from her means it’s a big deal. Kaylah chats about everything, so the fact that she refuses to open up about Henley tells me that it’s still way too fresh for her to even consider moving on.
Jackson has started dating Elle which honestly took me and everyone else by surprise. I still don’t know what to make of it. I’m definitely not a fan of Jackson’s but Elle is a good friend and I’m not going to lie, it makes me nervous. I don’t trust him and Elle has already been through enough, but she assures me that she’s happy so for now, I’ll leave it alone.
Jackson being occupied by his new girlfriend also means that he’s not on Kaylah’s back about me as much, which makes life a shitload easier. Though that certainly doesn’t mean that he approves.
I pull up at her place, just as I do nearly every day, when Jackson has football training and Kaylah is stranded for a ride, only usually she’s standing out front waiting for me. My brows furrow, if she’s going to be late then she sends me a text with a turd emoji. I double-check my phone, maybe I missed it while I was driving. Nope, something’s up.
I get out of my car and make my way to the front door. I knock a few times and after hearing her yelling, “Go away,” from somewhere inside, I take it upon myself to see what’s going on.
I open the door, thankful at first it hadn’t been locked, though we really need to discuss her leaving the door open when she’s home alone. It’s not like she lives somewhere particularly safe. We’re in fucking Haven Falls where there are mobsters, drugs, and probably a handful of rapists.
“Tiger?” I call, walking into her living room.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Kaylah grumbles from somewhere deeper in her home. “Of course you went and welcomed yourself in.”
What the hell has gotten into her? I find myself grinning at her attitude as I start searching for her. She’s so fiery, I absolutely love it. “Marco?” I laugh.
“Fuck off.”
I walk down the hallway toward her bedroom and stop at her door. It’s cracked just a bit and I give it a light push. The door slowly swings open and I find Kaylah glaring at me from her bed. “What’s up with you?” I ask with a grin, loving how cranky she appears.
“Don’t take another step,” Kaylah warns. “Or I’ll be forced to tear your ball sack from your body and feed it to you.”
I make a show of leaning against the doorframe, though I don’t doubt that the amusement on my face is making things a lot worse. “What’s going on, babe? Are you sick? We have to leave or we’ll be late for school.”
“I’m not going.”
“Why?”
Her eyes flick away and her cheeks flame and when she looks back at me, her bottom lip is pouting and there are tears welling in her eyes. “It’s shark week and I’ve got no supplies.”
My face scrunches. “The fuck? I didn’t realize you were into that shit. If you wanted a chill day to stay home and watch ‘Jaws’ then you should have just said so. I could have brought popcorn.”