“It’s our high school’s mascot,” Jack explained.
“What even is an Admiral?”
“An army guy. Like a general, but not.”
“What a strange mascot,” she said with a giggle.
“It’s alliterative. Our town name starts with an A.”
Jessica turned her wide-eyed gaze on him. “Alliterative?”
“What?” Jack asked, eyebrows raised. “I know words.”
“Color me impressed,” she said, slapping a palm to his chest, the warmth of his skin creeping into her hand. “You’re not just a pretty boy dumb jock after all.”
“Rude,” Jack said, absently downing another shot—handed to him by Zach this time—without tearing his eyes off Jessica.
“You can punish me later.”
Jack choked, half the liquor he’d consumed dribbling out of his mouth and onto the lengths of his thighs bared below the hems of his shorts.
“Jessica!” he hissed. “You can’t say stuff like that to me. Definitely not in public.”
She gave him a serene smile and turned to her food. She’d been on a healthy diet of rum and tequila all day, and she needed something of substance in her stomach before going out that night.
As if reading her mind from across the table, Bethani said, “What’s the plan for tonight?”
“We were thinking about Señor Frogs,” Tyler said. “Seems a little more lowkey than The City, but they’ve got this waterslide I’m dying to check out.”
“Waterslide?” Jessica heard Jack murmur to his friend.
“Different people, remember?”
Jack only nodded.
“What’s he talking about?” Jessica asked him.
“I’ll tell you later.”
Laternever came, at least not from Jack. By the time they left the resort restaurant in favor of heading into the city and Señor Frogs, Jack was already so drunk Jessica was practically carrying him. He’d started dinner off with a margarita, then proceeded to challenge Zach to see which of them could take more tequila shots before they vomited.
Jack won—after five shots.
The night really went downhill from there, especially when the boys started ordering shots to congratulate Jack on saving someone’s life—and Tyler for surviving such a harrowing experience. Jessica found herself wondering if that’s why Jack was drinking so much, if this was his way of coping with nearly losing one of his best friends.
“Different people, huh?” Jessica hissed at Tyler when they hauled Jack’s giant ass off the bus and onto a bench in front of Señor Frogs, presided over by a massive fiberglass rendition of the amphibian.
“This isnotwhat I meant,” he said through gritted teeth.
“We shouldn’t have even come,” Jessica said, studying Jack with her hands on her hips. He listed dangerously sideways, held upright by some incredible feat surely aided by the muscles of his abdominals.
Tyler took a beat then burst out laughing, and Jessica whirled on him, glaring daggers.
“I’m sorry!” he said, raising his hands defensively. “It’s just…look at him.”
Jessica blinked and turned back to Jack.
And…okay, the way he hung over the arm of the bench, his knuckles grazing the ground, the dopey smile on his face and the fact that, for some unknown reason, he kept humming to the tune of “Wonderwall” by Oasis had Jessica cracking up alongside Tyler.
