Knowing Jenkins, that shit ain’t gonna be easy.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
JESSICA
“Talk about a long day.” I sigh as I sit down on the bench and just breathe, letting the adrenaline that’s been coursing through my body for the last twelve hours seep out of me.
Today wasn’t a bad day, per se. There weren’t any big accidents or casualties—and thank God for that—but the flu season is here, and it’s showing.
I lean my head against my locker and close my eyes for a moment, feeling my muscles relax. When my eyes open again, I find Aiden looking at me with a contemplative expression.
“Do you think somebody would mind if I just crashed here for the night?” I ask, the corner of my mouth tipping upward.
“Eva just came in before you, so…”
“Ugh… That girl. I swear, some days I don’t understand how she chose this profession.”
“You and me both.” Aiden grabs the back of his shirt, but before he starts to pull it off, I get up and turn to my locker, retrieving my bag. I’m just debating how much I want to change out of my uniform when my phone buzzes on the bench. I check the message, groaning out loud.
Mae:
Don’t forget about our Pilates class.
Jessica:
Can we not?
Mae:
We have to. We canceled the last one. We can’t do it again. That shit’s expensive.
Jessica:
I know.
Mae:
Besides, I need to get some of this frustration out of me.
Jessica:
Bad day?
Mae:
I’ll tell you all about it.
Meet you in thirty?
Jessica:
Fineeeeeee.
My friend sends me a stream of celebratory emojis, making me shake my head. Exiting the message, my gaze drops to the other thread, and my stomach constricts just from thinking about it. About him. He hasn’t said anything back after that last message, and I don’t know what to make of it. Is he upset by what I said? Does it even matter? If he didn’t want to do this, he could have just said so.
Pressing my lips together, I drop my phone into my bag. When I turn around, I almost run into Aiden.
“Sorry about that.” I chuckle softly and shoot him an apologetic smile, but his face stays serious. I place my hand on his arm. “Hey, are you okay? You aren’t coming down with this flu, are you?”
