Rewired (The Progress Series) (2 page)

Jesse began pacing around the room, slowly at first. His steps quickened as his thoughts about Charlie and Sam livened. He stopped abruptly and looked at her. She had backed up against the wall and her entire body was on alert and alarmed, her neck stiff and shoulders tensed.

Trying not to scare her, he cleared his throat and counted to ten in his head. “Something you need to take care of?” He shook his head. “Never mind. Tell me what you’re thinking, because I’m not going to be your second choice here,” he said, knowing he hadn’t kept his voice calm.

She took a step forward and placed her hand behind her neck, keeping her head down. “You’re just going to have to give me some time. Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on here. But I’m not going to give you some line of bullshit about you being the only person I think about. I love Sam. He has been
my life
for the past year. And I’m sorry…I’m sorry that the circumstances have been different for you. But this thing between us…what we were to each other, what we might be again for each other, is never going to go away if we don’t try to figure it out. At least, not for me. I had chalked you up to being a life lesson, nothing more than some strange regret in the pit of my stomach. You were a part of my past that I, sadly, had to let go of. That is, until you popped back in unexpectedly. And now I have the chance to make it right. Now I have been given an opportunity to be something more than another notch on your bedpost.” She paused to scratch her forehead and to take a breath. “And there’s this thing between us, something that drives me to you…and you to me. I don’t know what it is, but I know we can figure it out, or at least try to understand it.”

He clenched his jaw and looked down toward the floor. His head snapped up as he approached her. “Why did you come here tonight?”

Charlie backed up against the wall again as quickly as he gained ground toward her. She urgently thought of what she could say. “I…Because you asked me to.”

“Liar. You’re such a bad liar, Charlie. You’re going to have to do better than that.” With his hands against the wall behind her shoulders, her posture straightened. Bringing his nose from her collarbone to her jaw, he s
melled her faint perfume pulsing from her rapid heartbeat. Glancing down at her lips, he swept his thumb across them gently removing the sheen. She parted them slowly and her breathing went shallow.

“I don’t like it when you wear makeup. I can’t see your skin,” he whispered, and completely smeared the gloss from her pink lips. He closed his eyes and waited for her to stop him but she didn’t say a word.

His lips grazed hers and her breath caught. Within a fraction of a second, she dove underneath his arm and dodged his kiss. His head swooped in defeat, but the blow of her rejection quickly warped into impatience and irritation. Baring his teeth, Jesse used every ounce of restraint not to grab her arm and pull her back.

She walked toward the door and they both turned at the same time to face each other. “I can’t, Jess, not tonight. I’m sorry. I need to seriously sort out my shit before I can even think about being with you like
that
.”

“Are you fucking kid
ding me? What do I have to do?”

“Exercise a little patience, maybe? It’s been like, all of seventeen minutes since I left my fiancé!” she shouted. Shaking her head, she paused to relax. “Just, give me some space for a little bit.”

“Some space?” he asked. With his rage provoking his tone, his volume increased as he continued. “Right,
some space
. Last time I did that you ran off with the first guy that asked you out!”

“Are you going to keep yelling at me, or can we talk about this like two rational adults?” she asked calmly. “You are capable of that right now, aren’t you? 
Being rational?
” Her annoyance didn’t go unnoticed.

“Fuck you, Charlie. I don’t even know why I asked you to come over. If you’re going to continue being a cocktease, you can do it with Samuel. Not me.”

“Right. Okay.” With laughter, she continued, “I’m leaving now so you can calm down.” She nodded and turned toward the door again. “Oh, and Jess? I just want to put this out there so that we’re both clear about the subject. You see, after I left your sorry ass in your bed that night over a year ago, I became a different person.” She spoke swiftly, as she was sure that Jess would get a word in if he could. “I used to be the girl who put up with as much shit as you could dish out. I was weak, I was blind, and no one could show me just how pathetic I was. Until you. But I’ve changed. And as much shit as you want to dish out,
I can send back
, tenfold,” she snapped. “Just remember that as much as you try to push me away, abuse me, or sting me with your cruel remarks, that shit’s just gonna bounce right off me. So as you sit back and enjoy watching the shock of your words affect me, and pat yourself on your back for your
astounding
wit, take into consideration one tiny thing: you should be happy someone’s still listening.”

Turning the knob to leave his apartment, she looked back and winked. “See you tomorrow morning, Sunshine.”

She closed the door simultaneously with Jesse’s scream, “Bitch!”

This is not the way I saw the rest of tonight going.

Did I not hear her? She said she loved me. I know she did. But she also loves Sam. Fuckin’ Sam.

I’ll just have to find a way to get him out of her head. I’ve gotta come up with a plan too.

Patience. She’s right.

Keep my mouth shut. She’s right again.

But I’ve got her now. I don’t know for how long, but she’s mine. I just have to show her that I’m better for her. I can behave. No girls. And no fights. And no mouth.

Right.

This is never gonna work.

“Morning, Sunshine,” she said cheerily as Jess opened his door. She peered up and down his glistening chest and swallowed, looking away.

Yeah, I thought you’d like that.

“What, can’t handle seeing a naked man?” he asked, closing the door behind her with one hand holding his towel at his hip. “I just got out of the shower. Give me a minute and I’ll get some clothes on.”

Charlie walked into the living room and set her purse on the coffee table. As Jess turned to walk to his bedroom, he dropped the towel, hoping to get her to follow him.

He took his time getting dressed, waiting for her; lingering in front of his closet way longer than necessary. But after five minutes, he heard her start to hum a song in his living room.

You’re not coming in here, are you?

Discouraged, he rolled his eyes and, grabbing his bag of marijuana off the nightstand, he walked out and began packing a bowl in his kitchen.

Clipping her song short, she rose from the chair and swiped the bag from his hand. “You are
not
smoking that shit in here!”

“What? Why?” He snatched the bag back from her and shoved it in his pocket.

“Because I’m your landlord!” She lowered her voice to shout a whisper and added, “
And
it’s illegal.”

“Christ, Red. You’re such a prude. This is my apartment, and I’ll smoke what I want, when I want.”

“Then I’m leaving.” She grabbed her purse and went for the door.

Dammit! Okay, no girls. No fights. No mouth. And now no
drugs
? Come on!

His shoulders slouched. “Fine! Okay, okay. Can we go somewhere else so I can smoke?”

She shook her head and tried to conceal a smile. “You’re just full of prompts today, aren’t you? Don’t think I didn’t notice the
accidental
slip of your towel on the way to your bedroom. Why do you get such a kick out of getting a reaction from me?” she asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant.

The corner of his mouth turned up as he approached her. “Because I need constant stimuli.” He shrugged. “Did you like it?” he asked, his smile widening.

“Like what?”

“The view of my ass,” he said, looking down briefly, sex oozing from his fixed gaze. Leaning into her, he whispered, “Want to see it again?”

Charlie took a long, deep inhale. “No.”

He chuckled and brought his hand to her cheek. “Still don’t have a plan yet, I take it? Are you sure you don’t want to see it again?”

She gave a tight smile. “Er, let’s just go to the park. You can smoke there.
After
you help me get my car back here. It’s still parked at the clubhouse.”

He shot a sideways smile and grabbed a sweatshirt, following her to the door.

*

After retrieving her car, they dropped off his Honda in the apartment parking lot.

Simultaneously, Jesse and Charlie grabbed their sunglasses and slid them on. The majority of the previous night’s snowfall had melted in the April sun and the car was heating fast.

“It’s probably going to be really wet at the park. Did you want to go somewhere else?” asked Jess, feeling stifled.

Charlie set down her phone. “Um, sure,” she replied, distracted. “But, I don’t think you can smoke anywhere else.” She began digging in her purse beside her and Jess caught a glimpse of her white cotton bra underneath her T-shirt, pinching together her cleavage. He shifted uncomfortably and turned his head toward the window.

“Take your next right. We’ll go shoot some pool. It’s Sunday, right? I know a guy.”

With only one store occupying the several units available in the strip mall, he pointed to a shop with the word TOBACCO in red neon lights above the door. “They have a pool table here in a separate room, specifically for, ahem,
smokers
.”

She looked at Jess out of the corner of her eye, peering through her sunglasses. “Of course they do,” she said, pulling her car into an empty space.

The large store held thousands of different cigarettes, tobacco, hookahs, and pipes. A room with glass walls sat in the back of the store. The worn green felt atop the pool table had seen better days, and there were ashtrays and matches on each side of a wooden bench.

Jesse jerked a nod to the man behind the counter and another toward the smoking room. The man nodded and gave them a smile. “’Sup?” he asked, and went back to taking inventory.

Jesse pulled open the glass door. “Ladies first,” he said, bowing for her to walk over the threshold.

“Wow. Such a gentleman.” She curtseyed and giggled her way through the doorway. Setting her purse down on the bench, Charlie turned back toward Jess. He was already packing marijuana into a pipe that looked like a cigarette.

“A little eager, are we?” She raised her brow.

You have no idea.

Taking the first drag of the pipe, he took in a long breath and held it. He smiled just as he was exhaling.

“Wanna play?” he asked, gesturing to the pool table.

She grinned. “Sure.”

Charlie took out the triangle and racked up, alternating stripes and solids with the black 8 ball in the center.

Jesse tugged on his lip to cover his smirk.
Oh shit, she’s played before.

“I see you know what you’re doing,” he said, grabbing two cues from the rack.

She laughed. “In my old bedroom at my parents’ house we used to have a game room. Well, before I claimed it as my bedroom anyway. We had a pool table, foosball, and darts. I haven’t played pool in years. But yeah, I know what I’m doing.”

He winked and handed her some chalk and a cue. “Let’s see what you got.”

“Challenge accepted.” She winked back and began chalking the tip. “Wanna break?

“No.”
I’d much rather take in the view from here.
“Go ahead.”

“Okay.”

Charlie aligned herself at the head of the table, just two feet directly in front of Jesse. Concentrating on the white cue ball, she focused her attention on the fifteen huddled balls in front of her. After gathering her auburn hair into a ponytail, she bent over slowly with her legs slightly spread.

Sweet Jesus. Look at that ass. She’s gotta know what she’s doing to me.

“Ahem.” Charlie cleared her throat, concealing a smile. “Your turn.” He hadn’t noticed that she had already broken the balls, and they were scattered beautifully across the table.

With a couple of taps on the ashtray, Jesse emptied the resin from his pipe and shoved it back into his pocket, a cheap excuse to loosen his tightening jeans. He took his wallet out of his back pocket, along with the lighter, and set it on the bench. Smiling, he glanced at Charlie out of the corner of his eye. “Prepare yourself, Charlie. I know how to play this game, too.”

He stepped around the table, chalking as he strode. Positioning himself, he fixed his mind on the odds for the best possible shot—each angle, every stripe and solid, and every scenario that the cue ball would bank against the cushion in order to collide with the ball of his choice. Then he considered the placement of the balls after their ricochets. With his mind working furiously, Jesse was in his zone.