“Oh, okay,” he said, rising. “Are the rest of the girls taking off with you?”
“No, they’re going to hang out and see about either getting your attention back or some other poor, unsuspecting cowboys’.”
“Sounds terrifying,” Jesse replied. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“So,” the girl said, looking between Jesse and me, “are you going to introduce us anytime soon, or have you forgotten your manners altogether?”
Jesse’s forehead creased. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. This is Rowen. She’s—”
“Helping out at Willow Springs,” the girl finished as she continued to smile at me. “I’ve already heard a lot about you. It’s nice to finally meet you, Rowen.”
I didn’t know who’d been talking about me or what had been said, but it made me nervous that the girl with a sweet smile had already “heard a lot about me.” In the past, whenever anyone had heard anything about me . . . Let’s just say it wasn’t for being on the honor roll.
However, I did my best to think positive. “Thanks. It’s nice to meet you . . .” I stared at Jesse and waited, but he looked like he’d suddenly been struck mute. Finally, I elbowed him and gave him an anytime today look.
“Rowen,” he said, before clearing his throat, “this is Josie.”
Of course she was.
Jesse couldn’t have looked more uncomfortable if he’d wanted to. I don’t think I could have felt any more awkward. And I don’t think Josie could have looked more oblivious.
So what did I do when the girlfriend of the guy I liked smiled at me like she didn’t know me from Adam?
I kept my smile plastered in place and glued my hands to the armrests so they wouldn’t misbehave. “Nice to meet you, Josie.” I sounded as contrived as I’d feared I would.
“You know, if you’re ever looking for some place to escape to, my parents’ place isn’t all that far from Willow Springs,” Josie said. “You could come hang out anytime.”
Just what I wanted to do: hang out with Jesse’s girlfriend. As friendly as she was being to me, I knew she didn’t have a clue about the thing between Jesse and me. No girl could be that gracious to the girl who’d almost become “the other woman.” No girl could smile at the girl who had a thing for her boyfriend. Whatever that “thing” was, I didn’t know, but it was most certainly a thing. A serious thing.
A serious thing I was trying to eviscerate.
“Thanks, Josie. That sounds great, but the Walkers keep me pretty busy.” In the body and the head. When I wasn’t up to my elbows in scrambled eggs, my mind scrambled about over two boys.
“I can imagine. But if you do ever find yourself with nothing to do on a free night, give me a ring.” She shoved at Jesse lightly. “This guy’s got my number.”
Yeah, I figured that.
Jesse stayed silent the entire time Josie and I chatted. In fact, he was so still he could have been a statue. It wasn’t quite the caught-with-my-pants-around-my-ankles expression I’d seen a few too many times, but it was close. Jesse knew he was treading on thin ice with his girlfriend and the mistress-that-could-have-been talking it up like old friends.
“I’m out of here before it turns into a blood bath out there.” Josie gave an exaggerated shudder at the arena where the last rider had just been thrown a good ten feet from the bull. He’d landed in a way that wasn’t natural. “Nice to meet you, Rowen.”
I nodded and reminded myself to be nice before replying, “You too, Josie.”
She nudged Jesse again—the girl really liked nudging him. Not that I could blame her. What I’d felt of Jesse’s body, I’d want to nudge up on it, too. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
Naked in bed later.
“Are you by yourself?” Jesse spoke up finally.
“I came with a couple of the girls, but like I said, they wanted to stay and hang.”
“Let me walk you to your truck,” he said. “I don’t want you in a dark parking lot by yourself.”
Josie beamed. I’m talking full on I-just-won-the-sash-and-crown beaming. “That would be nice.” She waved at me as she continued on down the steps.
“Are you going to be here when I get back?” Jesse asked me, not quite able to look me in the eyes.
Guessing that whole, smooth “I’ll walk you to your truck” routine was so he could have a quick roll in the bed of it with her, I slouched down in my seat and looked away. “Probably not.”
I felt Jesse’s eyes on me, studying me, and then he sighed. “Okay, we’ll talk later. But if I don’t catch up with you first, make sure you find my parents for a ride home. Do not, and I repeat, do not walk home alone. Not safe and not smart. Okay?”
I rolled my eyes. Romeo had a Juliet waiting for him a few stairs down. “Bye-bye, Jesse.” I flicked a wave at him and hoped he’d take the message that I was done talking.
After a few more seconds, he did take that message. I couldn’t help it. My eyes shifted back to him as he lumbered down the rest of the stairs toward another girl.
Chapter Seven
I needed something to get my mind off of Jesse. I needed to forget about the way he made me feel. I needed to forget the way he’d just followed after his girlfriend, his female equal. Not just in the looks department, but in the everything-else department.