Jess nodded grimly.
“Didshetake a pay cut?”
She shrugged. “I doubt it. But I’m the junior one.”
I ground my molars. “What’s her name?”
Jess’s face finally broke from its frowny state and she giggled. She sat back and crossed her arms. “Irina. Why? What are you gonna do to her, big hockey thug?”
Okay, yeah. I was being a little ridiculous. “Top secret hockey thug stuff.”
That got more laughs out of her. Each laugh was a little reward, and I hung onto them like a lifeline. I was desperate for Jessie to be okay. I finished my food and put on a Fleetwood Mac record.
“Never pegged you for a vinyl guy,” she said.
I shrugged. “I love music. It’s the best way to hear it.”
“So I’ve heard. It just seems kinda... hipster-y? Do hipsters even exist anymore? But you do drink IPAs.”
“Pale ales. IPAs give me headaches,” I joked. I took a slurp of my boba. “Ah, so fucking good.”
“I’ve actually never had it.”
“Seriously? Here. Take a drink.” I held out my cup and she recoiled. I shook it, the ice clattering. “Come on. I don’t have cooties.”
She quirked an eyebrow at me. “You forget that I hear yourconquests through the walls.”
Wow, way to punch me in the stomach, Jess. “I always wrap it up. And I get checked for infections. Try it.”
She took the cup and sucked in a tiny sip of the tea. “Happy?”
“No! Get a bubble! They’re the best part.”
She laughed. “Fine.” She pressed the straw to the bottom of the cup and slurped up one of the bubbles. “Okay, yeah. That’s pretty good.”
“See? So good, right?” She finally cracked a genuine smile.
“Yeah. Like a tea-flavored gummy bear.”
“I’ll get you one next time.” She’d finished her food and put the leftovers in the fridge. “Do you have to get back to work for evil Irina, or can you hang out and have dessert?”
“There’s dessert?” she asked.
“Check the freezer.”
Jess narrowed her eyes at me but opened the freezer. She gasped. “I thought it made your stomach hurt.”
“It does. But it doesn’t for you. I didn’t know what flavor you liked, so I got a few.”
Her mouth flapped open and shut a few times. “Ben, you have to stop being nice to me.”
I just grinned at her. “I won’t.”
Chapter 15
Jessie
I had to get my shit together.
