Lads & Lattes (High School Clowns & Coffee Grounds Book 1)

by A. J. Macey

  Meaning this had happened before.

  “Not great, but he’s all patched up now,” I answered, sullenly staring back at Jesse. His jaw clenched, but he didn’t try to stop me. “My mom’s home tonight, but she’s supposed to leave early, so I’m going to just bring him with me to school tomorrow.”

  “All right. Thank you, Emma. Seriously, you’re perfect.” Reid’s words had me blushing, my eyes falling to my lap when Jesse’s brows drew down at my blush. “Kingston and I have to hit the store still, so we’ll text you, okay?”

  “Okay,” I responded lamely, the emotional baggage of the day catching up to me and frying my brain. “I’ll talk to you in a bit.”

  “Bye, babe.” I couldn’t be sure, but I’m pretty sure Reid made a kissy sound on the other end, though he had hung up before I could question him.

  “Emma!” My mom’s voice radiated down the stairs from the kitchen. Despite her being upstairs, I jumped up in a hurry and ran out of the room, making sure to close the door behind me. “You hungry?” she asked, stirring a large pot of mac and cheese. I nodded right as my stomach growled. “I have to get back to work in the office, so if you want to head back downstairs you can.”

  “All right, I’ll do that,” I agreed, nodding as I scooped up a normal amount of food, but when she exited the kitchen with her own bowl, I scooped another huge amount into the bowl until it nearly overflowed. As quietly as I could, I grabbed an additional spoon out of the drawer before hurrying down the stairs. The fact that my mom didn’t want to eat dinner at the table like she usually did wasn’t even on my radar since Jesse being in my room was my main concern.

  He wasn’t sitting on the bed when I walked in. Panicking slightly, I jogged into the room to find him lying flat on the ground on the far end of my bed. I narrowed my eyes on him as he looked at me and shrugged.

  He’s so weird.

  “I didn’t know if she was coming down here, so I hid,” he muttered, sitting back on the bed. “What’s that?” His head tilted toward the bowl in my hands.

  “Dinner, I could only take one bowl, so we’ll have to share,” I explained sitting next to him on the bed, blatantly ignoring the way my bare knee rubbed against the rough denim of his jeans. “Here.” I held out the extra spoon I had grabbed.

  “You didn’t have to,” he started, but I cut him off.

  “Don’t, Jesse,” I sighed, my tone exhausted. “Just don’t. You need to eat, so please don’t fight me for once.” He didn’t argue with me, but he didn’t move either. His head tilted ever so slightly as he watched me. After a few moments of our staring contest, he took the spoon, the brush of soft fingertips against mine making my heart pitter-patter in my chest under the thin material of my pajama top. We spent the next little while listening to my music and eating boxed mac and cheese, my attention split between making sure he ate enough and texting the other guys.

  “I should head out.” He started to get up after we had eaten, but my hand on his arm stopped his attempts to get up.

  “My mom’s going to notice if I have a boy leaving. You’re staying here tonight,” I ordered softly. He opened his mouth to argue, and I don’t know what came over me, but I pressed my fingers against his full lips to silence him.

  “Please,” I begged, “I don’t know why we’re constantly fighting, but can you please trust me for once. Don’t make this weird and just get under the freaking blanket.”

  “I’m not staying in the bed,” he argued, his words soft as he spoke them against my fingers. That wash of tingles flared up my arm and across my torso, making my nipples pebble against my top before spreading to my other limbs.

  Please don’t be obvious.

  “You are and you’re not going to fight me on this, Jesse Parker,” I ordered more forcefully keeping my voice low to not alert my mom. “Get under the damned blanket so I can turn off the light. And if I find you trying to sneak out in the middle of the night, I’ll be so pissed, understood?” He sighed before finally nodding in dejection. I stood and waited to turn off the light as he kicked off his shoes. He paused before looking at me.

  “I can’t sleep in jeans,” he murmured. I rolled my eyes before rolling my hand in the air between us as I talked. My exhaustion was making me cranky.

  “So sleep in your underwear, I’ll turn around,” I muttered as I faced the door. The rustle of his jeans hitting the carpet sounded before I heard him crawl into the bed. At his signal, I flipped off the light and turned down the music, leaving it playing softly to muffle any whispers between us. My heart pitter-pattered once more with nerves at seeing Jesse wrapped within my bedding and knowing he was only in his boxers. Swallowing my butterflies, I crawled into my bed, his warmth already emanating within the sheets. I was almost asleep when I felt the brush of fingers on my back and heard Jesse’s gentle honey voice murmur in the darkness.

  “Thank you, Em.”

  9

  October 9th

  Well… last night was certainly interesting.

  #HolyBoxersBatman #NOTTickedOffTuesday #TurnedOnTuesday

  The sound of the garage opening and closing in my sleepy haze brought me closer to the surface of being awake. I was warm and wrapped in a tight cocoon of mint and pine, unwilling to wake until I realized there was an arm curled around me tightly and a muscled body pressed flush against my back. The breath of whoever was sleeping behind me brushed against my neck as a nose nuzzled deeper into my hair and the person shifted to pull me closer.

  What the heck?

  My eyes shot open, my phone’s clock reading about ten minutes before my alarm would go off. Looking down at my chest, I found a familiar hand was fisting the front of my flannel button-up pajama shirt in a tight grasp. I ignored the fact that Jesse’s hand was directly in front of my chest, pressing into my breasts as I turned my head to look back at him. Unfortunately, his face was snuggled into my neck, so I couldn’t see him. I stared at the ceiling unsure of what to do. Grabbing my phone, I turned off my alarm and checked my messages, several from Reid who was once again complimenting me for helping Jesse and a couple from Kingston with his sweet ‘good morning’ texts that had kind of become a regular thing within the last week or two.

  “Ugh,” a grumble sounded from behind me, “turn that light down.” I rolled my eyes but obliged him. He shuffled but didn’t move away as he started to wake, his body’s natural reaction to the influx in blood flowing through him quite obviously pressing into my hip.

  “Jesse,” I mumbled, my fingers poking his boxer-covered thigh that had come uncovered in the night. “I need to get up.”

  “So get up,” he muttered irritatedly, his voice thick with sleep. I sighed and finally just rolled onto my back as much as I could to look at him.

  “That’s hard to do when you’re holding on to me like a life preserver,” I whispered. I knew as soon as he was awake because his eyes widened sharply as he yanked his hands back. Rolling like I was on fire, he hopped off the bed, and my eyes were inexplicably drawn to the large tent he was sporting in his underwear.

  Wow.

  That was, uh, very eye popping.

  “Sorry,” he grouched, yanking on his jeans. I rolled out of bed and came over to him. He stopped his sharp movements at my fingers brushing his arm.

  “It’s okay.” I smiled slightly. “I’m glad you stayed.” His chest visibly thudded, betraying his racing heart. “I’m going to go brush my teeth, and I have some extra unopened ones if you want to brush yours. There’s towels under the sink in the bathroom if you want to shower,” I explained moving toward my dresser and closet to gather my clothes for the day. “My mom’s gone, so we can go upstairs and get some food before we head to school.” When he didn’t respond, I looked back at him. He was staring at me with his head tilted, confusion blatant on his handsome face.

  “Why?” He nearly whispered the question. I felt my face scrunch up.

  “Why what?” I didn’t understand what he was asking me, not sure if it was because I was
still partially asleep or if it was because I didn’t understand Jesse very well.

  “Why would you help me?” My heart cracked at his quiet words. I knew we weren’t exactly the closest of friends, but I would have thought he knew me better than that.

  “Because you’re my friend, Jesse, and I care about what happens to you.” I felt my eyes fill with unwanted tears, so I glanced down at my makeup and jewelry taking my time to pick out what I wanted to wear that day. Feeling his eyes on me, I forced myself to look up in the mirror I had on my dresser. He had walked closer when I wasn’t paying attention, his shirt now brushing against my back with how close he was standing. For the first time since I moved to the middle of freaking nowhere Nebraska, Jesse finally let his mask slip away. His eyes filled with warmth as he watched me watch him, and his arms slid around my waist to hold me tightly to him.

  “Thank you, Em,” he mumbled, the words muffled since he had pressed his face into my neck and hair. I wrapped my arms against his, rubbing small circles around his wrists. My heart cracked for an entirely different reason at his emotional hug. My building feelings for Reid, Kingston, and him melted into a large puddle within my chest and sent the butterflies soaring again. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  “For what?” I asked, tilting my head back to rub against his warm forehead in an attempt at a comforting gesture.

  “I don’t mean to be so…” He trailed off, not knowing how to describe himself. “But I don’t dislike you like you think I do.” His head came up, a battered cheek pressing into my hair as he looked down at me in the mirror. “I care about you too, Em.” I couldn’t hold back the wide smile that stretched over my face, my breath catching when Jesse smiled back.

  Like really smiled, for the first time.

  He’s very attractive when he smiles.

  “I’m going to go shower quick.” He squeezed me to him once more before untangling himself from my body. When the bathroom door closed, I finally breathed shakily.

  What the heck just happened?

  Shaking my head sharply, I focused on doing my makeup. I went with my usual daytime with a small, black winged eyeliner, mascara, some blush, and a coordinating lip color. Today’s was a peachy-nude to match the blouse I was wearing, the gold buttons down the front shining in the lamp light of my room. I had just finished getting ready, making sure to hold off on applying my lipstick so I could brush my teeth, when Jesse came back in. I tried to ignore the paper from my ACT results that was lying on the edge of my dresser near where I kept my backpack and school stuff as I moved out of the room. Its low score taunted me as I walked by.

  Curving around Jesse to get to the hallway, I went to brush my teeth, my brain whirling with thoughts. Did this finally get us past whatever barrier we had? Would he be more himself when it was just the four of us? The questions rattled at dizzying speed as I grabbed my bag and shoes from my room to set by the garage door, Jesse right behind me as we snagged something small for breakfast in the kitchen. I wrote a quick note on the paper pad on the counter to let my mom know what we needed from the grocery store since our fridge and cabinets looked a bit empty as I went through them.

  “How’d you sleep?” Jesse’s question startled me enough that I almost lost the piece of toast I had balanced on my fingers. Thankfully, I caught it before it could go tumbling to the ground. Jesse’s lips were thinned as he looked from the toast to me, laughter filling his eyes.

  Jerk.

  “Pretty well considering I couldn’t flip over because somebody was being a cuddlebug,” I teased. Jesse narrowed his eyes on me as I took a bite.

  “Not my fault you’re warm and your room is below zero,” he challenged, taking a bite of his own food. I couldn’t help but laugh at the odd conversation between us. It was like a switch was flipped that made me no longer feel odd or awkward around him. I had just opened my mouth to throw a retort at him when my phone buzzed.

  Reid: You guys almost here?

  Emma: Haven’t left yet, we’re eating breakfast. Do you want us there now?

  Reid: If it wouldn’t be too much trouble. We just want to make sure he’s okay.

  Emma: We’ll leave now then.

  “We’ve been summoned to school so the other two can check on you,” I relayed to Jesse who had just finished his breakfast. He huffed but didn’t argue as he got up and followed me down the stairs to collect our stuff from by the door.

  “Ready?” I quickly asked him after putting on my shoes. “Do you need to get anything from anywhere?”

  “I’m good, I have everything in my bag.” He finished tying his shoes as he talked. Grabbing our bags, we headed out. The drive to school was much less awkward than it had been the night before when I had picked him up, a tender white flag having been raised to halt whatever stand-off we’d been in before this morning. When we arrived, the parking lot was mostly full, Reid’s dirty Jeep parked in his usual spot. I parked as close as I could to the mud covered vehicle and got out. Neither of us spoke, but Jesse wasn’t radiating irritation or loathing at me, opting to actually walk next to me instead of just near me.

  “Oh, thank god,” Reid huffed quietly when we got to the table, his eyes darting around Jesse’s face. “You all right?” Jesse didn’t speak as he nodded an assent, his shoulders tensing under Reid and Kingston’s inspections.

  “We’ll stop by the store later and get you a new phone,” Kingston offered. Jesse didn’t look happy at that, but he didn’t argue which surprised me.

  Guess I didn’t know Jesse very much at all.

  Standing slightly behind Jesse’s shoulder, I stared at Reid and Kingston. When they finally looked back at me, I raised a brow in question, my eyes darting to Jesse quickly before returning to them. They shook their heads ever so slightly signifying they wouldn’t answer my questions. My lips thinned, but I didn’t argue as the bell rang.

  It didn’t escape my notice that they both grimaced.

  This wasn’t over, and next time it happened I wouldn’t let it go.

  Jesse walked by me as we headed to homeroom, both of us quiet as we were lost in thoughts. I felt the day already wearing on me, and it was only homeroom.

  It’s going to be a long day.

  Yup, very long day.

  “Hey, Cali girl.” Reid puffed out a hard breath as he flopped into his chair. Mr. Fergusen was away for the day, and we had a substitute with the instructions to let us pair up and study together for our upcoming test on Thursday. “I just wanted to say thank you again.”

  “Seriously, Reid,” I huffed with a small smile. “It was nothing. I didn’t do anything…”

  “Yes, Emma,” he cut me off, “you did. You helped out one of my oldest friends and took care of him even with his more than odd behavior.” That certainly was one way to put Jesse’s attitude toward me up until today. I laid a hand on his arm to stop him.

  “I would do it for any of you,” I murmured not wanting to attract attention to our private conversation. I didn’t think many people would be paying attention seeing as how everyone was lost in their own conversations, but I wanted to be sure. Reid’s gaze was intense as he stared at me, and a warm calloused hand wrapped around mine.

  “You’re seriously perfect,” he whispered, a small smile curling his lips as he squeezed my fingers where they rested on his arm. A blush blossomed on my cheeks, and I was starting to become accustomed to the constant soaring of butterflies that had been reawakened by Jesse this morning.

  “Thanks.” I tucked my hair behind my ear in an attempt to hide my blush as I side-eyed him. Feeling way too exposed and emotional, I redirected the conversation to focus on studying. The topic of helping Jesse, or Reid complimenting me didn’t come up again.

  Class and lunch passed quickly and before I knew it, Kingston’s hand was pressing into my lower back as we walked to our AP English class. I tried to focus on my surroundings, what the other kids were doing in the halls or what people were wearing, but after all of the emotional buildup today it
was no use. His hand was my sole focus as we headed to class. His thumb brushed in soft back and forth strokes that made tingles and shivers want to roll throughout my body, but I held it back. Only when we reached class did Kingston move his hand so he could sit at the desk. Sinking onto my own chair, I busied myself with digging out my class materials.

  Book? Check.

  Notebook? Check.

  Pencil? Well, crap.

  The mechanical pencil I had set on the desk fell off, bounced on the carpeted flooring, and rolled under to the other side of Kingston’s chair. I sighed, but Kingston bent down to grab it without me having to ask. His coffee brown eyes were warm as he gave me one of his signature laidback smiles. When he held out the pencil I accepted it from him. As cliche as it sounded, our fingertips brushed. A tingling shot down my arm at the contact, making those ever present butterflies—that I was pretty sure were on some kind of drugs based on how active and crazy they were—fluttered and soared in my chest. I was right. Today was a long day, and I learned I couldn’t freaking focus with so many emotions and way too many drug addled butterflies.

  Awesome.

  "Oh!" Lyla shouted, shaking my arm slightly in her excitement. Her gaze was focused on one of those health and beauty stores. This one I knew had a reputation for making bath bombs and other natural beauty products like lotions, shampoos, and conditioners. "Let's go check out what’s in there." She dragged me along with her, her red hair flopping around her thin cheeks and forehead with each peppy step. I was happy when Lyla had messaged me at lunch today asking if I wanted to go shopping with her. She had taken the day off and thought going shopping with me would be fun.

  I certainly wasn't going to complain.

  Getting away from my spiraling out of control emotions for the boys? Count me in.