“Gag.” Callie snarls her nose then smiles. “I’m glad you’re back, ya know, minus all the circumstances you don’t want to talk about.”
I swallow down a lump in my throat. “Yeah, maybe I’ll feel better about it when I kick your ass in pool.”
“Keep dreaming, buddy.” Callie falls back on her pillow. “Update me later?”
“Will do,” I say with a nod, then hang up. Whistling for Dottie, she comes racing over. “So, how mad is your mom about to be at me, huh?” Patting her head, I clip her leash to her collar.“I know you can’t respond, but I’m going to keep talking to you anyway.”
Making our way up the steps, I barely get in the door before Dottie tugs hard on the leash. I let it go knowing exactly what she’s after. “Well, look who’s up—my little squatter.”
Jensen’s eyes cut from her dog to me and the look she gives me supports Callie’s“clean off” comment.
With a snicker, I walk over to my island and lean back against the counter. “Come on, let’s figure this out.”
Jensen sputters atsk.“It’s figured out. I’m not staying here.”
God, this woman is so stubborn. It’s a welcome fucking distraction. “Oh, and you’re going where?”
Jensen stands firmly planted at the foot of the stairs. Her face still looks like she wants to absolutely murder me for asking a question that she doesn’t have an answer to.
I wait a second longer for her to respond and her glare only intensifies. She’s no longer in my shirt, which is so very unfortunate, and is now wearing some green yoga pants and matching long sleeve athletic top. I’ve seen her running in it before, which reminds me…
“Alright, Jenni-cakes, let’s push this conversation off again. How about some normalcy? Give me five minutes.”
Pushing back from my chair, I start to walk toward my room to change.
Jensen steps in front of me, her arms crossed and ready to argue now that there’s been a subject change. “What do you mean, normalcy? None of what’s happened in the last sixteen hours has been normal.”
“You’re right. So, do you want to sit down and talk about it?” I raise my eyebrows with the question.
Game. Set. Match.
Jensen scrunches her nose in frustration, before cocking her hip. “Do you want to talk about why you’re home over a week early?”
Motherfucker.
When I don’t answer, Jensen gives me her smirk.
Dottie, however, has zero capabilities to read the tension in the room, so she puts her paws on my side with a whine.
Scratching her head, I look back to Jensen. “It’s Tuesday. Let’s go run off our shitty day.”
Chapter 10
Jensen
I really only have myself to blame here. I should have known that staying at Beck’s would bite me in the ass. I just didn’t realize it would come from him scaring the absolute shit out of me and seeing him in nothing but underwear.
I may not be able to prove if he’s pierced or not, but apparently, he has more tattoos than that fucking thigh tattoo. I couldn’t exactly make them out in the dark, but I could see the ink swirled on his skin. I didn’t realize that I could be scared then turned on that quickly.
And now, here I am having him kick my ass with a run this morning. Plopping down on one of the spots of grass along the Harborwalk, the icy air fills my lungs and I fight off a cough.
Running outdoors is my personal favorite, but I know I’ll be switching to gym treadmills when the snow starts. The salt is way too harsh for Dottie’s paws, and frankly, I’m just not a huge fan of running in the snow.
Beck hovers over me with that cocky smirk on his face. “Ah, come on, J. You’ve got to have more in you.”
No. No, I really don’t.“We just ran ten miles. I think we’re good.”
Dottie pants at Beck’s feet, I can tell she’s got a good workout in, but I swear, she’s in love with him. She might not take off after Beck if he kept going, but she’d think about it.
