“Come on, Jesse, you’re being an ass,” Madden says.
“Jesse—” Wren starts.
“What? If someone’s going to date her, he should at least know the basics.” Turning to Adam, Jesse asks, “Don’t you think?”
Adam lifts his hands in surrender. “I am playing Switzerland here, I’m the newcomer,” he says.
“That’s smart, honey,” Wren says, patting his hand.
“What color are her eyes?” Jesse asks, eyes locked on my date, and Kevin stutters beside me.
“They’re, uh,” he starts, pausing, clearly unsure. I turn to him, and there’s an embarrassed blush on his cheeks.
“They’re green. Grass green in the winter, but they get closer to evergreen in the summer. Sometimes they’re emerald if she wears red or purple,” Jesse states.
The breath stops in my lungs, and the entire table goes absolutely silent. I assume the chaos of the bar continues to swirlaround us, unaware of how my entire world is shifting on its axis, but my focus is laser sharp, looking straight at Jesse, who suddenly looks both crushed and furious.
“But what do I know, right? Fuck it. I shouldn’t be here. Have a great date, Kev. I wish you both the fucking best.” Then he stands, leaving his half-drunk beer on the table and walking out the door.
BREAKTK
Wren gives Kevin her profuse apologies for her brother, who, to his credit, doesn’t also storm out. Instead, he finishes his drink before making his excuses, saying he has an early morning the next day and needs to get home. I wish him a good night, and he gives me the world’s most awkward hug before heading out the door.
But when it’s over, and Wren tries to get my attention, giving me wary glances across the table, I know she probably wants to drag me to the bathroom and ask what happened and if I’m okay, but I ignore her. Instead, I act as if everything is totally and completely normal as Madden, Wren, and Adam all try to pretend that wasn’t the weirdest exchange. Thank God for good friends who know when you need to sit in your delusion.
When I finish my drink, I stand and let out the world’s fakest yawn ever. “I think I’m going to head out. I’m super tired. Madden, do you need a ride?”
He looks at me assessingly, checking his watch that shows it’s barely even nine, then shakes his head. “No, I’m okay, but let me walk you?—”
I give him a firm shake of my head. “No need.”
He assesses me, reading me the way only a friend can, before he nods his acceptance with a defeated sigh.
“Text me when you get home,” he says, but I don’t answer, my mind long past what happened at the bar and turning into anger.
Quickly, I bid everyone goodbye and wave to my brother, who gives me a similarly confused look, before I nearly run to my car. I drive home with my mind in a daze. I don’t go to my place, though. I drive straight to Jesse’s, slamming my fist on the door as soon as I’m there.
Then I decide he doesn’t deserve the decency of my knocking, so I fling the door open, letting myself in and storming inside. He’s on his way to me, his hair an absolute mess, irritation on his face, and dark circles under his eyes as we meet in the living room, where I push his chest as soon as I’m within touching distance, fighting the urge to slap him instead.
“What the fuck, Hallie?” he says, stumbling back, and his indignance stokes the flames of my anger.
“What the fuck?You’reaskingme, what the fuck?”
“You just stormed into my house and pushed me? Yeah, I think I’m allowed to ask what the fuck.”
“What in thefuckwas that, Jesse?”
“What was what?”
I step back, taking in a deep breath through my nose with my jaw so tight, my teeth grind.
“Don’t play stupid. What was that at The Mill? Interrogating Kevin like that?”
He rolls his eyes at me like I’m being dramatic. “That was me protecting you.”
I shake my head, jaw dropping as I let out a scoff of a laugh. “Protecting me? From what? A man not knowing my favorite drink on the second date? I didn’t realize that was a threat to my well-being.”
He shakes his head. “I was just trying to show you he doesn’t know anything about you! You shouldn’t be wasting your time with him.”
