The plan was to head back tonight and have Dad pick Ernie up on his way back tomorrow, but one glance over at Lucas is enough to convince me that’s a bad idea. He looks impossibly more gorgeous in the setting sun, orange rays casting a golden glow over him. His hands are tucked in his back pockets, shirt stretched tight over his chest, and an unreasonably large part of me wants to tug him into the backseat of the truck here and now.
“Yeah,” I agree, ignoring Lucas’s sharply confused look. “Meet you here at nine or so?”
Jake shrugs easily. “Should be wrapped up by then. See you, Jenny. Nice to meet you, Lucas.”
Lucas doesn’t speak until Jake walks off, and when he does, he sounds hesitant and unsure of himself.
“Thought we were supposed to head back tonight?”
“I’m tired of being in the car.” Being in the car withhim, at least. I thought this would either wind up in us fighting or ignoring each other. The idea of usgetting alongdidn’t even cross my mind, and it makes the thought of being stuck in close quarters with him for another four hours unbearable. “Dad won’t mind, it’ll save him a few hours on the drive back. We’ll just get hotel rooms for the night, it’ll be fine.”
We’ve got enough people on the ranch to keep everything running until we get back. I’ll have to email Bill to make sure he doesn’t forget anything, but they can survive for a weekend without me.
Besides, my best friend Elias lives in Bozeman, and I don’t get out here anywhere near often enough. I’m sure he’ll make time to see me tonight if I offer to pay for our first round. I haven’t seen him in months, and since then he’s got a new boyfriend that he gushes about constantly, so it’d be nice to catch up with him. I’ll just leave Lucas to do whatever in his ownhotel room, and then I won’t have to worry about whether I’m more inclined to kill him or kiss him.
It won’t be a problem.
“If you’re sure,” he says with a shrug. “You know of anywhere to stay around here?”
If he wasn’t with me, I’d probably just see if Elias would let me crash on the couch, but there’s a hotel not too far from here that’ll work.
“Yeah, I’ll book us rooms if you drive,” I offer, already pulling out my phone.
“Works for me.”
Thank God he’s not arguing. I could use a night to blow off some steam and forget all about my trouble with Lucas Cross.
Elias is just the person I need to see right now.
JENNY
The steakhouse Elias has me meet him at is cute. It’s got a little attached country bar, an old fashioned line dancing sort of place. It smells like wood and sweat and spilled liquor, just like all places like this do, and it’s more soothing than I expected. I spruced myself up a little — mostly just freshened my makeup and tied my hair up, since I didn’t expect to come with Lucas in the first place and didn’t exactly pack anything in the way of nice clothes. Not that it matters, I could show up in a trash bag and Elias would findsomethingto compliment.
“I know I already said it, but Ilovethe new hair,” Elias coos, tugging at a lock of it playfully.
He’s seen pictures of it since I cut it into the bob I’ve had for the past year or so, but it’s been almost two years since I’ve seen him. I roll my eyes and bat his hand away with a laugh. He snickers before tossing his shot back and gesturing toward the bartender for another.
“Uh-huh,” I say with a dry grin. “You also love monochrome puke green outfits, forgive me if I don’t take any fashion advice from you.”
“Boo!” He sticks his tongue out at me as I toss my own shot back, but he can’t hide the smile on his face. “It’s not my fault you can’t pull off my vision. Seriously, though, it suits you.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” I tell him with a flirtatious wink.
Elias fakes a gag, his lip gloss shining under the dim lights of the bar, and I toss my head back on a laugh.
“Baby, if I liked pussy, you’d already have a ring on your hand.” He pulls the shot glass the bartender places down toward him and pushes it in front of me. “But let me just say—gross.”
He’s been saying the same thing since we were kids, although less explicitly. If he wasn’t gay, maybe wewouldhave wound up together. It certainly would have saved me a lot of heartbreak. He’s pretty much a perfect guy. Handsome as sin in an effortlessly elegant way, his dark skin damn near shines beneath the warm lighting, the piercings that glitter up the shell of one ear giving him a little edge. I’m not blind, I can tell he’s stunning, but I’m not any more attracted to him than he is to me.
He’s a dear friend, and I’m glad to call him that.
“I’ll just have to suffer through the men who are interested in women, I guess,” I say with a playful sigh.
Not that I have any desire to.Especiallynot now.
“Has someone caught my beautiful Jenny’s attention?” Elias asks, leaning against the bar and arching a perfectly plucked brow.
I snort in disdain, glancing around the room to avoid meeting his gaze. He’s too damn perceptive for his own good, and there’s plenty to distract me from my thoughts. I came out toget awayfrom Lucas, not to sit here and think about him. I take one of the shots and throw it back, wincing at the burn.
