“Hi! So lovely to see you,” she said as I slid around the sofa and bent down to kiss her cheek. For all my fuckboy reputation, I did know how to be a gentleman. Thank you, Grandad, for that.
Jessica smiled at me, and it was beautiful. Genuine too. And she patted the seat next to her for me to sit down, crossing her legs and angling her body towards me. She was gorgeous, with long blonde hair and a sweet smile and little freckles on her nose. She was wearing a white summer dress and heeled sandals, and I noticed her toenails were painted a coral pink. I kind of wanted to ask the brand and shade name because my sister had been looking for something like that and had grumbled about it constantly while we were away because hers had come out more orange.
And yes, I knew the fucking difference because Jade had practically made a bloody PowerPoint presentation of colour swatches when I’d said they looked the same.
I was never making that mistake again.
“How’re things going? You’re back at training, right? That must be a shock after your break,” Jessica said, picking up her glass of white wine and sipping it slowly.
“Not bad. Yeah, back at training but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I tried to keep doing some bits over the summer, even did a couple of those water aerobics classes on holiday. I tell you what, they are no fucking joke. I was getting my arse kicked by these tiny seventy-year-old women. I swear, they were walking on water while I was wading through cement.”
Jessica laughed gently. “Those classes are so hard. They do them at my gym too and they’re always playing club classics at seven in the morning. It’s like a tiny rave in the pool.”
“See, if they had, like, glowsticks and club lighting, I’d be there all the time. We’ll get everyone waterproof face paint or something.”
“I’d definitely want to see that,” Jessica said, sliding a tiny bit closer. “I bet you’d look great.”
“Don’t be so sure. I’d just make a twat of myself.” I grinned while rapidly searching around for a way to change the subject away from me in swimwear. “How’s things with you? Still really busy with work?”
“Always! But it’s good, though. I mean some days are very rough, because people take their anger and frustration out on me when things aren’t looking great—which is understandable, because pets are family, but never acceptable. But a client did bring the most gorgeous litter of cocker spaniel puppies in today for their first vaccinations and they were the cutest little beans! Oh, and they smelled so good! Puppy smell is the best, like warm milk and Weetabix.”
She lit up as she spoke, and her enthusiasm was infectious. But it still didn’t change how I felt. Jessica was cute, but that was it. She might be fun to be friends with, but I didn’t want anything more. “I don’t think I’ve ever been around puppies that small,” I said. “I’ve only ever seen videos of them on TikTok where they wobble around like they’re drunk.”
“Do you like dogs then? Or are you more of a cat person?”
“I kinda like both. I guess I’m not that picky about pets, unless we’re talking about starting some sort of petting zoo. Then I’m putting my foot down about geese.”
Jessica laughed and moved a bit closer, putting her hand on my knee. I did my best not to flinch away. “How about ducks? Or chickens? Or even a goat?”
“I mean, I guess they’re fine,” I said with a nervous chuckle. “I’ve never had any of them before.”
“We had a few chickens when I was growing up,” Jessica said. “They laid the best eggs. The cakes we made from them were this incredible golden colour.”
“Sounds amazing. I can’t bake for shit.”
“Well, if you ever want to learn, I’d be happy to teach you,” she said. “Or I could bring you some cake.”
Ah fuck. Okay, I needed to backpedal fast. How the hell did I do that?
Where the fuck was Charlie with my drink when I needed him?
“That’d be nice.” It was the wrong choice of words, but I didn’t know what else to say. “But, er, I’m trying to watch what I eat right now. What with training and getting ready for the season.”
“If you can have apple crumble and custard at lunch, you can absolutely have some cake,” Charlie said as he walked in with two beers, handing one to me over the back of the sofa. I tried not to glare at him because while I didn’t appreciate him throwing me under the bus, at least I wasn’t on my own now.
“Yeah, but if Jessica brings me a whole cake, I’m gonna eat it in like two sittings,” I said, hoping that would do as an excuse. “Did Amanda need a hand with anything?”
“Don’t think so,” Charlie said. “It’ll all be ready in about half an hour.”
I shifted in my seat and smiled as I tried not to let my mind wander and think about what Ezra was doing with his evening. Hopefully, it was more fun than this. I was almost tempted to message him and ask for my emergency phone call to escape the awkwardness.
I sipped my beer, pushing away the thoughts that wished it was vodka or something sweeter, trying to think of something to say.
But I couldn’t think of anything.
I was too preoccupied with thoughts of the gorgeous man in a suit who’d let me suck his dick and praised me for it, who’d made me come with the lightest touch… and who’d been willing to bail me out, no questions asked.
“Can I ask you something?” Charlie asked a couple of hours later while the two of us were clearing up after dinner, me stacking the dishwasher and Charlie scrubbing the casserole dish that Amanda had made the duck ragu in. She and Jessica were chilling in the living room, and while I could hear the two of them chatting, I couldn’t catch what it was about.
