“See?” Paul said. “The lady doesn’t need rescuing.”
“Shut the hell up,” she angrily told him. “I’ll go with you to talk, but only on my terms. I need a moment, Paul.”
“Fine by me,” he said, victory twinkling in his eyes. “I’ll be in the car.”
Paul strolled to the curb, speaking briefly to Benny and Seb as he passed. “Gentlemen. Nice to see you, as always.”
“Swear to God,” Seb started, but Jazmine grunted at him, and he shut his mouth.
She pushed past the boys and pulled me to the side. “I’m just going to talk, okay?”
I didn’t want to judge her, not after everything she’d already told me, so I ignored the feeling of betrayal that was pricking at my heart and tried to remain neutral. “You’re really going somewhere with him? Is it safe?” I whispered hotly, afraid that she might be in danger.
“It’s safe, I promise,” she whispered back. “We’re going to park at the marina and talk. That’s it. When we’re done, I’ll text you to let you know I’m okay, like we did in the old days. We’ll talk later. I swear, okay?”
She quickly gave me a one-armed hug and kissed the side of my head, then, just like that, she was jogging off to jump in the passenger seat of Paul’s ugly Jeep. Seb jogged over to Paul, and as anxiety swelled inside me, the two of them exchanged sharp words through Paul’s open window. I heard Jazmine’s voice join in, but I couldn’t make out any of it. Seb finally held up his hands, surrendering to whatever she’d said, and backed away from them.
We all watched in various states of horror as the engine roared, and Jazmine rode away into the night with the devil of Haven Beach.
“What the actual fuck... ?” I said while the crowd dispersed.
Seb looked utterly defeated as he returned to me, but I needed to know.
“Is she safe, Seb? Or do we need to rescue her?”
Sad blue eyes looked at me. Then he nodded and dropped his gaze. “She’s safe.”
I let out a breath. His assurance didn’t stop me worrying, but it did stop me from outright panicking.
Benny clasped his hands atop his head, pacing in a circle briefly before glancing at us. “Tell me you guys at least found something back in there?”
I shook my head. And if he was asking, that meant they hadn’t found anything, either.
“Dammit!” Benny kicked the curb in frustration, shaking off Lulu’s hand from his arm.
I didn’t know what to say. The night was a bust. No new treasure clue. And Jazmine was off “talking” with the worst human being to set foot in our town.
Then there was just the small matter of me kissing Seb on the roof.
Minutes ago, confetti was exploding inside my chest, but now everything felt like a terrible mistake.
Seb said something to Benny in a low voice, and the two of them talked for a moment, but I didn’t hear any of it. Benny just nodded, and they exchanged low-energy shoulder claps before Seb glanced at the brewery window on his way back to me.
“Let’s go before the brewery calls the cops,” he said. “And maybe you and I should talk about Jazmine. Porch-swing time.”
Chapter 15
Benny took Lulu back home with him. He asked me if I was okay when we had a moment to speak before the group disbanded for the night, and I told him the truth.
“I don’t know anymore.”
He seemed to understand. I was worried about Jazmine and confused about the details of her relationship with Paul. I should be thinking about the fact that we’d screwed up Mabel’s clue and came away from the brewery empty-handed. But my stubborn brain only bounced back and forth between Jazmine’s predicament and what happened on the roof.
Seb kissed me.
I kissed Seb.
What was I going to do about that? Was it a one-time thing, or would it happen again? Did I want it to? Didhe? And why was I remembering Seb’s hands roaming down my back when my friend was in trouble?
