“I’m so ready for a cocktail,” Sharon says and Penny hums her agreement.
“If anyone needs an Uber tonight, it’s on the company,” I say, making it clear that everyone needs to get home safe. If anyone even seems wobbly I’m sending them in a car, I couldn’t live with something horrific like that being on my conscience. I might not genuinely like all of these people, but I care about them in my own way. Jessa tilts her head at me, and I hope she doesn’t think this is about picking her up that one night. Her cheeks are pink before she speaks.
“Do you guys do this every year?” Jessa asks.
“Oh, we’ve done a tiki ride, a BBQ, and a crab feast. This is our first year going on a big boat like this,” Penny answers. We’re all standing in line to get on the boat and Jessa is dangerously close to me, so close all I want to do is touch, but I don’t.
“This is so awesome. I’ve never been on a boat like this,” Jessa says excitedly.
“I booked it,” Penny says with a shrug of her shoulders.
“You did a good job, Pen,” I say. I expect Penny to be the one beaming at me, but it’s both her and Jessa, and I almost can’t handle their happiness over a similar compliment.
We’re finally on the boat and we’re greeted by the blessing of air conditioning as we enter the main space of the venue. Appetizers are being handed out and the bartenders are working overtime to get their drinks sorted.
“Come on, let’s go get drinks,” Penny says, grabbing the two other women and dragging them to get cocktails. I swear Jessa gives me a longing look as she walks away, but I’m probably reading into every single thing she says and does.
I make sure to talk to everyone from the office as well as the other companies we split the yacht with. That was Penny’s idea, and she seriously deserves all the credit. I wind up sitting at a table with Zach, Tabitha, and James. But Jessa’s back is to mine as she sits at her table, it’s like my body knows where she is at all times.
Tabitha has already had a little too much to drink, her eyes are glassy and her hands are all over Zach as she babbles on about something I can’t even pay attention to.
“You should have fifty percent, honey,” she says to Zach and that’s what gets my attention.
“I’m sure Aiden would hate it if we were on an even playing field? Huh?” Zach says in a joking tone that’s laced with ill intent.
“I wouldn’t care, if it was your father’s wish.”
Zach scoffs. “My dad sleeps with some crackhead and now we all have to pay the price?”
I clench my bad hand under the table. I’ve left a lot of my anger issues in the past, but fuck me if Zach isn’t bringing them right back up to the surface.
I could sense movement behind me but don’t turn right away. It’s only when I see her striped dress retreating in my peripheral vision that I know I need to follow her.
I blink at Zach who has Tabitha laughing. It takes every ounce of me, but instead of getting into it with him, I walk away instead.
“Oh come on, Aiden, it was a joke.” I wave him off and just keep walking, headed outside where I find Jessa crossing her arms over the railing and looking out to the retreating sun.
I’m cautious as I take the spot next to her, folding my arms. When I look down at her, I see the tear streaks running down her eyes.
“Fuck.” I unconsciously put a hand on her shoulder. “Do you want me to yell at him?” I almost ask if she wants me to hit him. I might risk my hand and jail time to erase this look of defeat from her face.
She wipes her rogue tear and shakes her head. “I just…” She sighs, and looks back out at the sunset. She cleans her face again before she looks at me. “I just don’t understand how he can hate me so much. I didn’t do anything.”
“No, you didn’t. This has nothing to do with you, you know that, right?”
“It feels like it’s about me.”
“Zach is insecure and jealous. Fucking Collin,” I say under my breath. If he wouldn’t have kept her secret, then there wouldn’t be all this resentment.
“Thanks for coming out here, I know you’ve been avoiding me,” she says.
“I haven’t been avoiding you.”
She rolls her eyes and leans against the railing as she looks at me. “You’ve done basically everything you could possibly do to avoid me since Avalon.”
I rub the back of my neck as I look down at her, her eyes no longer filled with tears as she waits for my response.
“I don’t know how to act around you.”
