BooksBarbecue
Back Unnecessary Drama
Chapters (49)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. TEXT LOGO PAGE
  3. ABOUT THE BOOK
  4. DEDICATION
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  46. ALSO BY NINA KENWOOD
  47. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  48. PRAISE
  49. NEW MARKETING PAGE

I try to copy him, but the cue feels big and cumbersome in my hands. I really do hate being bad at things. Jesse walks behind me. ‘I know it’s a cliche, but I have to do it like this,’ he whispers in my ear, leaning his body over mine and adjusting my grip. We are pressed entirely against each other, my back to his chest, his hands over mine as he shows me how to hold the cue. Goddamn it. Why are my hormones so weak, why is my body so weak, why does he smell so good? This is about me. It’s only because I am sex-starved, attention-starved, touch-starved. I would react this way to anyone right now—it’s not Jesse-specific. Well except I was just thinking about how I didn’t like Tristan to touch me. But that’s different, that was last year. If it was Henry pressed against me right now, my body would react in the same way. Probably. Maybe. I look at Henry, earnestly chatting to Tristan, nodding enthusiastically about something, foam from his beer on his top lip, and my certainty falters.

I pretend to adjust my grip, but really it’s as an excuse to step back into Jesse’s body a little more. I accidentally step onto his foot.

‘Ow,’ he breathes into my ear.

Why is that so sexy, damn it?

‘Sorry,’ I say.

He gives me instructions, and I nod, then I tap the ball with my pool cue, and it’s a surprisingly good shot. I turn and hug him in celebration, which feels like what a couple would do. But it also feels natural.

Jesse lifts me up off the floor with the hug, and my face is right at the part where his neck meets his shoulder, and I have a particular weakness for where a neck meets a shoulder, so it’s only natural my heart flutters. My cheek presses against his bare skin, and I resist the urge to keep it there, to burrow in, to just stay put.

He puts me down, and I turn away, because I’m scared of what my face might be revealing.

We keep playing, laughing, high-fiving when I hit a good shot, teasing each other, and I forget we are only pretending to be a couple. I forget that this is Jesse. I forget Do I like Brooke? No. No. Fuck, no.