A date? Shit. I’ve never dated someone before but the thought of taking her out has me feeling all giddy inside, like a fucking marshmallow over a campfire. “Fine.”
“But,” she says hesitantly, making my eyes narrow at her once again. “This is Kaylah Millington we’re talking about. If you’re actually going to go through with asking her on a date and acting like a decent human being with her, then you need to tell Nate.”
Fuck, no. Has she gone insane since she moved out of our place? Maybe Nate’s bullshit has finally started to get to her. I shake my head. “No, I’ll go on my date and if I want to go on another, then I’ll tell him.”
“Jess,” she groans. “You know your brother. He’s going to kill you if you keep this from him.”
Don’t I fucking know it, but where Nate is concerned, it’s best to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. “He’s going to kill me either way. I may as well prolong the inevitable and enjoy it first.”
Tora shakes her head, clearly not on board with that idea. “What are you going to do about Jackson?”
“Nothing,” I scoff, wondering why the hell she thinks that’s my problem. “That’s Kaylah’s business if she wants to tell him.”
“You’re not at all concerned he’s going to try and kick your ass?”
“No, I know that’s exactly what he’s going to do, but the keyword is ‘try’. He’s tried so many times before and every damn time, I’ve come out on top.”
“It’s different if you have feelings for his sister.”
Nope. She couldn’t be more wrong. “Bullshit.”
Tora raises a smug brow. “Believe me or not. Just be careful, okay?”
“Yes, mom,” I laugh before leaning back into the couch and scanning over the show she was in the middle of binging. I give her a wide smile, knowing exactly how she’s going to react to this. “So, what are we doing tonight?”
Chapter 5
Kaylah
I step through the doors of Broken Hill High and groan as I take in my locker at the other end. None other than Jesse Ryder is standing against it, leaning his large shoulder into it with a cocky as hell smirk on his handsome face.
What the hell does he think he’s doing?
He clocks me almost instantly and the second his dark eyes come to mine, a flutter rises in my stomach. No, no, no, I cannot have butterflies over this guy. That simply can’t happen. Butterflies are dangerous territory.
It’s first thing on Monday morning and unfortunately for me, I’ve been here for two hours already. Jackson is currently the star player on the Broken Hill High football team and seeing as though I have no intention of walking to school so early in the morning, I’m forced to catch a ride with Jackson, even on days where he has his before school practices. It sucks, but at least it gives me a chance to get through some of my homework and drool over the guys on his team.
The further I walk down the hallway, the more Jesse seems to liven up. When I first walked in, he looked sexy with a smoldering stare, but up close, he looks like an excited kid in a candy store who’s about to get exactly what he wants. “Jesse,” I say, stopping in front of him, feeling my cheeks flush under his intense stare. “Why are you currently overtaking my locker?”
Jesse pushes off my locker and has the audacity to look shocked. “Oh,” he smirks. “This is your locker? I had no idea.”
I narrow my eyes on him, wondering why I can’t stop grinning. “Geez, for being the most popular guy in school, I figured you’d be a better liar.”
He shrugs his shoulders, unapologetically. “What can I say?” he grumbles. “I can’t be perfect at everything.”
God, he’s so cocky, yet I find I absolutely love that about him. I roll my eyes before indicating toward my locker. “Do you mind?”
Jesse instantly steps out of my way, though he doesn’t go far. He steps into the next locker and leans into it as I get busy putting my things away. I quickly glance across to him to find his gaze heavy on my body and a hungry smirk playing on his lips. “What do you think you’re doing? Why are you here?”
He shakes his head. “I’ve been asking myself the same question, Tiger.”
Fuck, there’s that name again. I look at him as though he’s just lost his mind. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that we should hang out.”
My brows furrow. He really has lost his mind. “Umm, correct me if I’m wrong here, but a random screw at some stupid party doesn’t usually result in guys like you wanting to hang out. What’s going on here, Jesse? This isn’t how this is supposed to go.”
He shrugs and gives me a grin that has me clenching my thighs. How is it possible for him to get this kind of reaction out of me? I’ve been hanging out with Jackson’s sexy footballer friends ever since I was little and I’ve never had this issue with a guy. “We’re already way past normal, Kaylah. Spending the night and going back for more, trust me, that shit just doesn’t happen.”
My lip gets caught between my teeth as I take in his words. “Then why did it?” I whisper.
He shakes his head, just as confused as me. “I can’t tell you that,” he murmurs low, stepping into me. His arm goes high on the locker and I can’t help but notice the way the movement has a sliver of his perfectly suntanned skin showing just above his low-hanging jeans. “But I know that I want to do it again.”
Breathe, Kaylah. Breathe.
I try my best to appear unaffected by his closeness but the way he lowers his voice has me desperate to throw myself at him. Shit, what is wrong with me? Don’t tell me that I’m crushing on Jesse Ryder. That can’t happen. Besides, this is all ass up. Usually, you’re supposed to have the ridiculous crush and then sleep with the guy, and once that’s out of the way, you can finally move on. It doesn’t go the other way around. This leaves way too many unanswered questions.
I glance around, making sure no one is paying attention to us and then realize we have the eyes of everyone in the hallway on us. I groan, of course, everyone is staring. This is Jesse Ryder talking to his sworn enemy’s little sister. This is prime time entertainment. “Jesse, what happened on the weekend can never happen again.”
Disappointment flares in his eyes but he’s the king of covering his emotions. He grins down at me, giving me that same look that he gave me on Friday night before I decided it was a good idea to kiss him. His eyes lower and I clench my fingers around the door of my locker to keep me from throwing myself at him. Why am I so affected by this? “Baby, that would be a tragedy.”
“No,” I tell him, willing my heart to stop racing. “It would be smart.”
“Dare I ask why?”
My eyes flick back towards the crowd that seems to be openly gawking. “Because you’re you and I’m me,” I explain. “It would be too hard. I can’t risk this getting back to my brother, and you’re the same. If Nate and Jackson knew what we did, there would be some kind of war.”
He shakes his head while moving impossibly closer without actually touching me. “They wouldn’t find out.”
“Seriously?” I laugh. “Look around you, Jesse. They’re bound to already know.”
Jesse glances around himself and sure enough, everyone is still watching the show. “What the fuck are you looking at?” he demands towards our audience and just like that, they all scatter like ants. He looks back at me. “See,” he says with that cocky smirk. “We’re fine.”
I shake my head, unable to stop the laugh that bubbles up my throat. “You’re delusional.”
He shrugs. “That may be true, but what do you say?” he questions, stepping right into me and pressing his hard body up against mine. He dips his head so his mouth is right by my ear with his breath tickling my sensitive skin. “We could get out of here and go back to my place,” he tells me in a whisper. “I could spend all day buried inside of you.”
Oh, holy shit. Why do I feel so hot?
The bell rings and I spin back to face my locker. I need to get out of here bef
ore I drop my pants and beg him to take me right here in the middle of the junior hallway. I start searching through my locker for what I need and when I turn back, Jesse is still there waiting for me. I shake my head. “Nope,” I say, seriously flustered by this guy. “Not going to happen.”
I go to hurry off but Jesse catches my hand and pulls me back to him. “Where are you going in such a rush?”
“Homeroom,” I tell him as confusion filters in and clouds me. “What are you doing, Jesse? Why are you pushing this so hard?”
He looks taken back by my question and it’s as though, for the first time in his life, he doesn’t actually have an answer. He shakes his head and it’s clear that he’s just as confused about this as I am. “I don’t know what to tell you, Tiger. But you and me, there’s something here.”
“No,” I tell him. “We can’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve told you my reason,” I say as students rush around us trying to get to homeroom.
“Because of your brother?”
“And yours.”
“Okay, answer me this. If they weren’t an issue, what would you say then?”
I consider him a moment. What’s he actually asking here? Would I consider dropping everything and racing back to his place for a day of wild sex? Then the answer is yeah, I’d be down for that, but if he’s asking for something more…then I don’t know. This is Jesse Ryder. He doesn’t do girlfriends. I wouldn’t be surprised if the guy hasn’t even been on a date before.
I look up into his eyes which haven’t stopped taking in my face. “If they weren’t an issue, then I’d say I don’t know. You and me…even without our brothers, it’s still a risk, and to be honest,” I tell him, stepping backward out of his hold. “I don’t think you could handle me.”
He grins down at me, but I don’t give him a chance to fight me on it as I turn away and hurry toward my homeroom, wondering what the hell just happened.
Chapter 6
Jesse
I sit in my car on Tuesday morning, still unable to stop thinking about Kaylah. I’ve never been so fucking confused and hung-up in my life. I’ve spent years giving Nate shit for being hung-up on Tora, but I feel like I finally understand it now. I tried talking to her yesterday, and I’m man enough to admit that I went in with the intention of asking her on a date, and when she started rattling off reasons why we couldn’t, I panicked and chickened out like a little bitch.
I make my way down Tora’s driveway and stop in front of her just as she makes her way down the stairs. I watch as she looks closely through the window and realize she’s checking to see if I’m Nate. I told her yesterday that I’d come and get her this morning, though it would certainly make life easier if these two could just work out their shit. Nate is fucking miserable being away from Tora and she’s so broken that it kills me to see.
Tora climbs up into my Range Rover and I instantly hand her the coffee I know she’s desperate for. “Geez,” I laugh as disappointment clouds her, realizing I’m not Nate here to win her back. “Don’t look so happy to see me.”
“Sorry,” she says, taking a sip of her coffee and instantly pulling back as it burns her tongue, “I thought Nate might have come.”
“Huh?” I look at her. “I told you yesterday I would.”
Tora lets out a heavy sigh. “I know, I should have listened.”
“Damn straight, woman.”
“Watch it,” she scolds. “Just because I’m an idiot doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass.”
I roll my eyes as I pull out onto the road and start getting our asses to school. “I’d like to see you try.”
Tora shakes her head and twists in her seat to look at me front on. “When’s your date with Kaylah?” she questions, making my eyes bug out of my head. Crap. This isn’t going to go well for me. “What?” she laughs, instantly suspicious.
“Nope,” I grunt. “Not going there.”
Tora grins wide, clearly realizing there’s a story to be told. “Nah, no way,” she demands. “What’s going on? Did she say no? Did that dirty slut break your little heart? Do I need to kick her ass too?”
Oh, geez. I can just imagine Tora going up against Kaylah. It would be like fire and ice.
“First off,” I warn. “Don’t call her a dirty slut or I’ll be forced to take disciplinary action.” I pause and glance over to her to find her waiting with a cocked brow and realize that she isn’t going to let this go. I let out a shameful sigh. “I, uh…couldn’t do it.”
“What?” she grunts with her brows furrowing. “What do you mean you ‘couldn’t do it’? Was she not there?”
“No…she was definitely there,” I explain, recalling the very moment I stepped into her and could smell her perfume. “I, uh…I chickened out like a little bitch. I couldn’t do it. I’m Jesse Fucking Ryder. I don’t ask out chicks. I screw them and give them bragging rights. I don’t date them. I mean, what if I did and it turned out badly? Every other chick I bang is going to expect something from me.”
“Holy shit, Jess,” Tora laughs. “That is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“It’s not funny.”
“It is,” she says, still with amusement loud and clear in her tone. “It’s a simple fix. Move on and find some other girl to make scream.”
I look over at her, unsure why I feel so damn conflicted with her comment. “No, I want that one,” I demand. “Three words. ‘Three-second rule.’”
She rolls her eyes. “Then stop being a little pussy, man the hell up, and ask the girl out.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Let’s discuss your shitty relationship instead.”
“No way,” she shrieks. “You’re the one on trial here, not me. Besides, I have no issue telling Nate what’s up. You’re the chickenshit around here.”
I suck in an outraged breath. How dare she point out my chickenshit tendencies. “Fine, I’ll do it and when it all comes crashing down, you’ll be the one to blame.”
“It won’t come crashing down because you’re going to treat her like a fucking queen, and if it does, it’s because you would have screwed it up in some other way. See, nothing to do with me.”
“All to do with you. You’re the idiot convincing me it’s a good idea,” I tell her, though the idea of treating her like a queen…my queen, sounds so fucking good to me.
“Because it is a good idea,” Tora fires back.
I let out a deep breath, wondering if I’m a fool for saying this, but this is Tora, the only one who’ll listen to this bullshit. “Okay, I lied,” I tell her, making her narrow her gaze on me. “It’s more than just chickening out like a little bitch. I nearly shit my pants. My hands were sweaty. I couldn’t breathe. I swear, Tora, I don’t have these problems when it comes to girls.”
She presses her lips into a tight line and I see her trying not to laugh, but then she puffs out her chest as though she’s about to give me the best advice I’ll ever receive, so I listen up, knowing this is going to be good. “Okay, this is what you’re going to do,” she says as I pull into the parking lot of Broken Hill High. “You’re going to march your ass right in there and show her that Jesse Ryder is the man. You’re going to lock eyes with her and let her know exactly what you want. Then you grab her by the waist and slam her up against the wall, without giving her a concussion, of course,” she laughs as though she’s the funniest thing in the world. “You hold both her wrists in one hand above your head and slide your knee between her legs, and when you have her complete, undivided attention, you kiss her like she’s never been kissed in her life. It’s going to be so good that all the girls are going to be jealous and all the guys are going to come in their pants. Then you tell her, not ask, you tell her she’s your girl and she’ll be putty in your hands.”
I gawk at the girl sitting in my passenger's seat. She’s got to be fucking insane. This is Kaylah Millington we’re talking about, she’d nail me in the balls if I tried that shit on her, though I have to adm
it that it sounds interesting. “You’re shitting me, right?” I laugh. “She’s going to fucking slap me.”
“Trust me. It’s in all the romance books.”
I shake my head as I bring my car to a stop in my usual space and realize there’s someone here waiting for me and my mood instantly plummets. “Oh, get fucked,” I grumble under my breath as I take in my whore of a half-sister.
“What the hell does she want now?” Tora groans.
I get out of my car and meet Tora around the front. We start walking toward the front gates and I’m more than set on ignoring Phoenix, only she steps right in my way, making ignoring her impossible. I groan as I stare down at the bitch while Tora continues on, more than happy to avoid this. “What do you want?”
“I think it’s time we bury the hatchet and move on,” Phoenix says, way too perky for this time of the morning. “You’re my brother and I’d like to get to know you and Nate better. After all, we are family.”
Ugh. Nope. Not today. I’ve got much better things to do with my time. I’d rather allow Tyson to go gold mining in my ass than have this conversation with Phoenix. “Never going to happen,” I say, stepping around her and walking up to the school to where a group of my friends are chilling outside the front doors.
I don’t know what the fuck Phoenix was thinking. After seducing me last summer and getting me into bed before revealing that she was my half-sister…fuck. The thought still makes me sick.
I leave Phoenix way behind. “Don’t forget,” I hear coming from that voice of reason. I look over my shoulder to see Tora grinning back at me. “You’re the man, Jesse Ryder. Be the man.”
Damn fucking straight I am.
Chapter 7
Jesse
I am so not the man.
Why the hell has it taken me a week to suck it up? This isn’t me. I’m not a fucking pussy when it comes to women, but put Kaylah Millington in front of me and I’m a weak bastard.
Jesse: Broken Hill Boys (Novella 5) Page 4