“You don’t have to do that.” I tugged my hand away, and he let it go.
“You sure?”
“Really it feels fine now.”
“Try to rest it.”
“Okay, I will.”Good! Fine! Whatever! Please just leave,I silently begged him as Jackie’s gaze seared into the side of my head. My family did not know enough about my current life to bear witness to that hug and not immediately have a bone to pick. I’d been off the market for years, so no wonder Jackie was standing there, mouth agape, like she had a front row seat to my impending infidelity.
Jesse’s lips lifted in a brief, sweet smile as he looked down at me. His eyes glimmered and his cheeks were bright red—gracious, he blushed so hard—but he didn’t look sorry. He didn’t look like he regretted being caught. And why should he? He didn’t have siblings who would tear him to pieces for holding another woman.
He looked happy. Like he wished he could do it again.
Like hewouldif Jackie wasn’t standing there.
His gaze roamed my face for a millisecond before he said. “See you tomorrow?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Alright.”
He looked to Jackie as he brushed past her. “Night, Jackie.”
Jackie strode to the edge of the porch and watched him disappear into the darkness. We both stayed silent until his cabin door shut behind him.
Then her head whipped toward me, mouth ajar in disbelief. “What thehellwas that?”
I shook my head, tears immediately drumming up behind my eyes. I didn’t want to talk about this. I couldn’t. I would have a panic attack. I could already feel one nipping at my heels. I should’ve talked to my family before now, but I didn’t. And it was too late to fix it. Waiting for the right time to talk with them had translated into never telling them at all, which was pretty on par for me.
I lifted a hand to my brow, fighting the urge to faint as my vision waned in the corners.
She hissed, “Were you guys…kissing?”
“No,” I croaked.
“Are you sure?” She held her fingers a breath apart. “Beacuse your lips werethisclose.”
“We weren’t.”
“Then what were you doing?”
I tried to steady the shake in my voice. “Just saying goodnight.”
“Hollie, come on. He had his hands all over you. And you had your eyes closed and your mouth open. No one says goodnight like that.”
I licked my lips, suddenly feeling so dry. So embarrassed.
She huffed, striding closer and lowering her voice. “I don’t know what happened in the last few hours with Jesse, but whatever I just saw qualifies as cheating in my book. Unless you have an open arrangement in your marriage that I don’t know about.”
“Where are the girls?”
“They’re filling up the bathtub.”
“You can’t just leave them alone by the bath.”
I tried to push past her but she held my shoulder back, stopping me. “Don’t change the subject. They’re fine. Tell me right now what’s going on between you and Jesse.”
Tears rose in my vision until it blurred. I pressed a sob back into my chest. “I—I don’t know.”
