Changing Course (13 page)

"Brett, I've asked you out twice now. It's safe to assume that I don't understand the concept of playing hard to get."

"Good, then its decided. Dinner tomorrow night. I'll pick you up at seven. Oh and Jess, please don't let Kara dress you this time. I won't be able to handle seeing you dressed like that again without being able to touch every inch of that sexy body." And just like that, my mission is accomplished. Her eyes go wide and her cheeks turn pink as she sucks in a shocked breath. She looks so damn adorable it causes my dick to get hard all over again.

Jesse

A
FTER BRETT
dropped me off last night, I stayed awake for hours replaying every moment of our date to Kara. I ran directly into her room jumping on her bed to wake her up. I needed someone to help me analyze this whole situation. Kara isn't exactly the best person at giving at advice about guys, though. It usually ends with her saying, "...then just buy crotch-less panties, and he will be eating out of your hand in no time." Although, at midnight on a Sunday, I didn't have any other options.

"Holy shizzle, Jesse, you twisted tongues with half of the Sexy Detective Duo!" she shrieks when I get to the kiss at the bowling alley.

"I KNOW! It was such a good kiss too! His lips were so soft, but still in command. He didn't drool on me at all, either. He even had good breath after drinking a zillion beers. God, it was amazing. Then, we laid on the couch for hours just making out. He does this thing with his teeth on my neck-"

"Oh my God, Officer Hot Ass is a freak in the bed!" She interrupts hopping to her feet and jumping on the bed, mimicking me a few minutes earlier.

"No he's not!"

"Wait! Do you have firsthand knowledge of his bedroom behavior?” she asks, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

"No!"

"Damn it! Why not? I'm dying to know what that man is hiding under those slacks."

"Jesus, Kara. Even if I did sleep with him, you will never know what he is hiding in his pants."

"What? I thought we were best friends? Best friends tell each everything."

"We are, but that's a bit much don't you think?"

"Fine, I don't need details, but you have to at least compare it to a vegetable it resembles. I bet it’s a large zucchini." She smiles, staring off into space lost in her imagination. "If it will make you more comfortable, I'll start. That guy Jason I was seeing last week, was a small carrot. I'm talking the baby ones you dip in ranch dressing." She winks as I stare at her with my lips curled in disgust.

"That's terrible, Kara."

"You're telling me. I wasn't even sure they made condoms that tiny."

"Oh God, this conversation is over. I need to go to bed. We have to be up in five hours."

"You didn't finish telling me about the rest of the date," she whines as I walk out of her room.

"I'm guessing it went really well since he's taking me to dinner tomorrow night," I say, walking down the hall in to my own room. Just as I start to close my door I hear her scream, "Shut. Up."

T
HE NEXT
morning, I can't contain the huge smile on my face as the guys walk into Nell's. However, Brett looks anything but happy. If it wasn't for Caleb behind him with the world’s biggest grin, I would have immediately run to hide in the back office. My mind come up blank as I try to figure out what could have ticked him off in the eight hours since he dropped me off. So instead, I go straight to the point.

"What's wrong?" I ask as my heart begins to race. Maybe he regrets last night? We had been drinking, but by the time he drove me home and he gave me that toe-curling kiss outside my door, we were both very sober.

"Nothing," he answers shortly as Caleb slaps him on the back of the head.

"Stop being a dick, you’re scaring the poor girl," Caleb scolds before looking back at me and saying, "Jesse, you little minx," and flashing me his million watt smile.

"What are you talking about?" I ask completely confused, but none the less embarrassed.

"Just ignore him," Brett jumps in, looking only slightly less furious than he did a few minutes before.

"Um, okay. What can I get you guys today?"

"You serving up any hickies today?" Caleb asks, laughing as Brett punches him hard in the arm.

Obviously something is going on, and I'm the only one in the dark. "What the heck are you guys talking about?" I ask irritated.

"Oh man, Brett. Jesse said heck! She must be serious," Caleb mocks me. Before I can even respond to his rude comment, I look over at Brett to see the angry ogre has returned.

"Make fun of her again, asshole, and I will punch you in the face."

"Whoa, calm down there buddy!" Caleb laughs, surrendering with his hands in the air. "Although, I have to say, I am digging this caveman thing you have going on right now."

"I am too. It's hot," Kara chimes in from behind me. Eyes glued on Brett.

By this point, I'm beyond annoyed. Nothing is making sense, and no one is stopping to fill me in. I don't know why Brett could possibly be mad at me. He was kissing me breathless only a few hours ago. Now his best friend is making fun of me, Brett is threatening physical violence in my honor, and my best friend is staring at him like she wants to throw him down to service his vegetable right here in the middle of the shop. It's a madhouse!

"I'll be right back," I say quickly escaping into the back office. I shut the door and flop down in the chair to gather my thoughts. It only lasts for about thirty seconds before I hear Brett around the corner.

"Jesse?"

"Crap," I say to myself as footsteps approach the office door.

"Jess?"

"Come in. It's open."

"You okay?" he asks, locking his incredible green eyes on mine.

"Yeah," I answer simply.

"Why are you hiding back here then?"

"I'm not hiding."

"Yeah, you are. Don't lie. Your eyes got big and you sprinted back here like a cat with its tail on fire." He crooks a smile.

"Oh my God, don't say that! I love cats. I don't need that visual in my head."

"You like cats?" he asks surprised.

"Of course I like cats! Well, not all cats. The black ones kind of scare me. When I was a kid, I watched this scary movie made by Disney, and it had the scariest black cat in it. So, I only really like the white ones." I ramble, not exactly clear why we are having this conversation.

"The Watcher in the Woods!" he shouts.

"Yes! You saw that movie too?"

"Scared the shit out of me. I slept with the lights on for...well I still sleep with the lights on." He smiles a brilliant, white toothy grin before getting serious again, "Now, why are you hiding?"

"Fine. I'm hiding. You guys were all talking out there. You were noticeably mad at me. Caleb was making fun of me. And Kara was drooling over you. I had no idea what the heck was going on. So I came back here to see if I could catch my breath and sort things out.”

"I'm not mad at you, babe. I was annoyed with Caleb. He has been giving me shit all morning. We were at the gym working out and he noticed this." He loosens his tie and pulls his collar over to the side, revealing a quarter-sized bright red hickey.

"Oh my God! Did I do that?" I ask in horror covering my gaping mouth with my hands.

"Well, you were the only animal attacking my neck last night, so I'm assuming this little beauty is your handiwork."

"I am
so
sorry. I had no idea I was leaving a mark-"

"It's no big deal. If I'm being honest, when I saw it in the mirror this morning, it made me hot remembering last night." He winks and uses my hands to pull me to my feet. "I had a lot of fun Jess, so I don't want to hear any apologies out of that sexy little mouth of yours."

"You were really mad at Caleb out there. I know I told you I'd point out when he returned, and that was definitely an appearance from the angry ogre." I try to change the topic, still slightly embarrassed by his dirty compliment.

"I promised you last night that I would never laugh at you. I'll be damned if I'm going to stand by and listen to anyone else ever do it either. You’re already too skittish around me. I want you to feel comfortable and safe with me, gorgeous. If Caleb said or did anything to make you feel otherwise, I would be more than happy to remind him to watch his manners.”

"You threatened to punch him in the face. That is hardly a friendly reminder."

"If he made fun of you again, I would have done it, too."

"Um, please don't punch him in the face because he picks on me."

"No promises, but I'll try to restrain myself for you." He gives a small chuckle before pulling me tight into a hug. "So, where do you want to go tonight?" he asks after a few minutes of holding me in silence.

"Oh, I don't care. Anything is fine."

"As I recall, you don't like pizza?"

"No, I don't."

"Then don't tell me anything is fine," he half scolds while pulling me even tighter into his arms.

"I'm okay with pizza...if that's what you want," I stutter out.

"What time is it?" he asks randomly.

"9:20, why?"

"Shit, it's too early to get you drunk." I rear my head back shocked at his statement.

"It seems the only time you actually speak your mind with me, is when you're drunk."

"That's not true!" I scream at a decibel only a howler monkey could match.

"Really? Do you like pizza, Jess?"

"No."

"Well, thank Christ, at least you're honest."

"You're a jerk."

"And you're hiding," he states meaning it in more ways than one. "Don't hide from me, ever. Last night you didn't take my crap. You were this tiny drunk woman who I had no doubt could conquer the world. You gave me a hickey!" he says, firmly as if that one sentence was the answer to all the world’s problems. "You made bets, which you lost and still have not paid up on by the way. I didn't forget about that. You still owe me the truth about where you learned to bowl. Don't worry, I'm a patient man."

"I said I was sorry about the hickey." It was my generic answer. I have no idea how to react to the rest of his comments. He just said he wanted to get me drunk at nine A.M.! Regardless, if I'm sober or drunk, I can't conquer the world. No matter what he thought he saw in me last night, I'm just little Jesse Addison, I go with the flow and try not to make any waves. But I'm no one’s door mat. I might not be a fighter, but I have no problems walking away.

"What do you say you come back out front, and I'll try to figure out a pizza-free restaurant for us tonight?" He folds his hands together pretending to beg. "Please don't make me go back out there alone. I'm a little afraid of Kara."

"You should be more than a little afraid of Kara,” I say, pecking him on the lips and heading back out front.

Jesse

"H
OLY SMOKES
!" I gasp as Kara turns me around to face the mirror.

I told Brett that I wouldn't let her dress me, but she wore me down after begging for three hours straight. She was relentless. I mainly gave in because I didn't have anything to wear anyway. I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. Nothing about a date with sex-on-legs Brett Sharp says jeans and t-shirt. He didn't tell me where we were going, so I had to straddle that fine line between dressy and casual. If he takes me to a sports bar, I don’t want to look like the prom queen. But if he takes me to a nice place, I don’t want to look like a homeless woman either. So I allowed Kara to dress me again.