Maybe he and Caleb shouldn’t have been so quick to turn down the help Jes, Harley, and Misty had offered. But after seeing how exhausted they all were, Jake didn’t have the heart to take them up on it. Considering they’d spent over two hours briefing McKay on what had happened tonight with the Robinson kid, they probably should have gotten takeout and called it a day, but when Harley suggested making spaghetti and meatballs, everyone had been down with the idea, including Jake. Of course, if theyhadgotten takeout, he could be upstairs with Jes right now, instead of doing dishes.
And what? They’d pick up where they left off before Caleb had interrupted them?
“So, you and Jes, huh?” Caleb said, giving him a sidelong glance.
Jake took the saucepan Caleb held out with a barely suppressed growl. Could the guy read his frigging mind or something? He should have known Caleb hadn’t offered to help clean up out of the goodness of his heart. He’d probably been waiting all evening to grill Jake about what he’d seen.
“There’s nothing going on between Jes and me,” Jake told him, focusing on drying. “We were talking, and it just happened.”
That was a ton of crap. Something was definitely going on between them. He’d figured that out long before kissing her. Unfortunately, he had no idea what it was.
“That kiss didn’t look likenothingto me,” Caleb said, reaching for the sheet pan they’d made the garlic bread on and dipping it into the soapy water. “From where I was standing, it looked like a whole hell of a lot ofsomething.”
Jake bit back a snarl, the urge to go all alpha werewolf on the omega and tell Caleb to mind his own damn business hard to resist. But he ignored the impulse. Caleb was part of the pack he was putting together. So far, the guy seemed like he was making an effort to fit in. Ostracizing him would only jeopardize that. Still didn’t mean he wanted to talk about his personal life with the guy.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, dude, that’s cool,” Caleb said. “Even if I hadn’t seen you and Jes kissing, it’s obvious something’s there. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s picked up on the lengths you went to in order to protect her tonight.”
Jake scowled “What do you know about that? You weren’t even there for most of it.”
Caleb’s shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Yeah, but Forrest mentioned how you reacted when Damien and his bros lit you up at the Robinsons’ house. And I saw how Jes flipped when I tossed you in the back of the van. She just about lost it.”
Jake hadn’t known about that because he’d been unconscious at the time. As for what Forrest had seen, he hadn’t thought his overwhelming need to protect Jes was so obvious. Apparently, he’d been wrong.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” he finally admitted, sticking the saucepan in the cabinet. “I’m not really good at this kind of thing.”
Caleb snorted. “And you think I am? You do realize omegas completely lack normal socialization skills, right?”
Jake shook his head with a laugh. As sounding boards went, he could probably do worse than Caleb, he supposed.
“Can we at least agree you’re attracted to her?” Caleb asked.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Jake took the sheet pan from Caleb, running the towel over it absently. “But it’s complicated.”
That was one word for it.Perfectwas another. The tender way she’d cared for his wounds, how she’d opened up to him, revealing stuff she’d probably never told another soul, the kisses that had made his head spin. Yeah,perfectwas a really good word to use.
Caleb drained the sink, giving him a confused look as he dried his hands. “What’s so complicated about it? Jes is beautiful, smart, kick ass, and for some reason, thinks you’re worth her time. What are you agonizing about?”
Jake put the sheet pan away and closed the cabinet with a sigh. “The very real possibility that if we act on this thing between us and it doesn’t work out, it could rip the whole team apart.”
“So make sure it works out,” an exhausted-looking Forrest said from the doorway. “What, you think you’re the first person to have a relationship with someone on their team?”
Crap, Jake hadn’t even heard the guy let himself into the house. This thing with Jes had his inner wolf really screwed up. It was bad enough Caleb knew about him and Jes. Now, he had Forrest involved in his personal life, too.
“How much did you overhear?” Jake demanded.
Forrest shrugged. “Just the part about you having it bad for Jes but are worried getting involved with her would be bad for the team dynamics.”
Jake glowered at him. “So, you pretty much heard everything then.”
“At least he didn’t hear that part about me catching you making out with Jes in bed,” Caleb pointed out. “It’d be damn embarrassing if he heard that part.”
Jake growled softly in Caleb’s direction. The omega merely chuckled.
“Misty saved you a plate of spaghetti and meatballs,” Jake told Forrest. “It’s in the fridge.”
Forrest grinned, eagerly taking the leftovers out and sticking them in the microwave to heat. Caleb grabbed three beers from the fridge, handing one to Jake and one to Forrest.
“How are the Robinsons doing?” Jake asked, changing the subject as he took a swallow of the British ale.
