“Nah. My mama always told me the best way to lose a man is tell your friends too much about him. Not telling.”
Jackson returned with a tall glass of the cocktail. Before he could hand it to Aja, Seneca grabbed the glass and drank it until the cup was tilted in the air. “Maybe that will teach you to share.”
Aja shook her head. “Probably not. You’d better hope that drink doesn’t put you on your ass later. You know how they sneak up on you.”
Seneca let a playful sigh cross her lips and waved a dismissive hand at Aja. “You’re the worst. I still love you, though, Boss.”
Aja smiled. “Feeling’s mutual.”
Seneca left them at the counter and wandered off to the back door where Aja could see Colton standing. The two smiled easily at each other, piquing Aja’s interest. She turned to Jackson. “Those two seem chummy. You think anything could be going on?”
He glanced at them briefly. “He hasn’t mentioned anything. But then again, I didn’t talk to him about us either.”
“How well do you know him?”
“We’ve been friends since we were kids. Served a bit in the army together. Colton’s the strong, silent type. But he’s good people. He knows how to press a damn nerve like no one else’s business, but he’s still one of the best men I know.”
She accepted his endorsement, hooking her finger inside his belt loop and tugging slightly. “You bring a bag with you? I was hoping you’d agree to a sleepover.”
“If I spend the night, I can almost guarantee you there won’t be much sleeping going on.”
“Sounds perfect. You prepared to stay?”
“For as long as you’ll have me.”
Something shifted. The light playfulness between them was pushed aside, and there was something heavier, more substantial linking them. He wasn’t just talking about staying the night. If she read people as well as she thought she did, she was inclined to believe he was talking about them in the bigger sense.
I so want to be right about this.
“My door is always open. Maybe tonight we should take the time to talk about that.”
He was about to answer when they heard a loud shout coming from outside the house. Jackson opened the back door and stepped onto the back porch, and she followed. Seneca and Colton were locked in some sort of odd embrace. He was trying to hold on to her, and Seneca seemed to be trying to push him away.
“I told you to leave me alone.” Seneca was upset, but there was something off about the situation. Aja had seen her upset before, and this wasn’t it. Her face was flushed, but her words were slurred, and she couldn’t seem to focus her eyes.
“What the hell is going on out here?”
Colton locked eyes with Aja. “Something’s wrong with her. Help me.”
Aja was about to tell him she wasn’t there to helphimwhen Seneca went slack in his arms.
“Seneca,” Aja yelled. There was no response.
“I told you, something wasn’t right. She started slurring her words when we came outside. I was trying to get her to sit when you found us.”
He grabbed Seneca up in his arms effortlessly and took quick steps to get her to the lounge swing at the other end of the porch. He laid her on the chair gently, and Aja rushed to her side. She went to lean over Seneca and Colton pushed her back.
“Give her some room. Let me check her out.”
She stood still, unable to move. This was her friend; she had to do something.
“Aja, move!”
Having Colton scream at her made her whole body jump and set off violent shivers all over her body. She felt familiar hands on her shoulders moving her aside. “It’ll be all right,” Jackson said in a slow, smooth tone. “He knows what he’s doing.”
Aja blinked, still only processing about half of what was going on around her. Panicked, she stared at Jackson, still trying to figure out how she was supposed to respond to this situation. “Aja, honey,” he began, speaking slowly as he moved her out of Colton’s way. “Let him take care of her.”
She focused on every syllable, matching every step he took until she was clear of Colton and Seneca. Jackson pulled her in to his side. He cradled her in his arm, and the tremors she was sure would knock something loose inside her began to subside.
