Dirty Thoughts - Megan Erickson Page 0,61
a dirty book.”
Jenna smiled. “Now, that I agree with.”
“And a man who gives you orgasms.”
Jenna scowled.
Delilah smirked.
CAL AND JENNA fell into a routine that next week.
Cal wasn’t even sure how it happened, but it did. Jenna was just there, all the time. He thought maybe it should bug him, that he should feel pressured. But all she ever did was spend time with Asher, and instead of it bugging him, it made his chest tight, his eyes hot.
Cal’s new normal was Jenna’s notes on his kitchen table, letting him know dinner was in the refrigerator. It was finding a shirt of hers mixed in with his laundry. It was her bright smile in his kitchen and her laughter in his living room.
Cal’s new normal was feeling the stretch of his own rusty smile on his face, the ragged sound of his laughter in his ears.
The tension around him and Jenna eased a little, but it was always there, this low simmer that sometimes sparked if their skin met or they had to make eye contact.
Asher asked Cal one day if he and Jenna would ever date.
“We tried that already,” he’d said in response.
Asher’s eyes were big. “You did?”
“Long time ago. About when we were your age. We’re just . . . friends now, okay?” The word friends felt odd and bitter in his mouth, but what other word was there for what he and Jenna had?
Asher looked like he was going to ask more questions, but instead, he frowned and turned away.
It was Friday now, and Cal was on his way home from work. When he pulled up in front of his house, Jenna’s car was there. He smiled to himself. Because he could imagine what this conversation was going to be like after what he’d done yesterday.
When he walked inside, he heard music from Asher’s bedroom and the sound of dishes in his kitchen. He headed toward the latter.
Jenna stood at his counter, sprinkling something over a bowl of popcorn. She wore an oversized T-shirt, and a pair of cutoff shorts peeked out from under it. Her feet were bare, the toes of one foot scratching her other calf.
“Hey.”
She looked up, her face clear of makeup, her hair piled on top of her head. “Hey.”
He waited, knowing what was next.
“My car?”
There it was. He walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. He popped the top off and took a gulp. “Yeah, what about it?”
“I can change my own oil, you know.”
He smiled. She’d been out with Delilah, and he’d snuck over to her place and checked out her car. He was worried since that asshole who’d sold it to her had screwed her over with the nonexistent spare tire. Cal had left her a note so she’d know it was him messing with her car. “I know that.”
“Okay, so then why did you do that?”
He braced a hand on the counter and leaned toward her. “I didn’t do it because you can’t do it. I did it because you’re working your ass off, and then you still come over here and spend time with Asher. Plus, he’s in the car with you sometimes. I wanted you both to be safe.”
She stared at him with wide eyes, her full lips parted. She didn’t say a word, just blinked.
He took another sip of beer and turned to walk out of the kitchen. “I need to shower—”
“Thank you.”
Her voice was soft, so soft he barely heard it. He looked at her over his shoulder. “You’re welcome.”
“That was nice. That you noticed. And that you care.”
He chose his words carefully. “I’ll always notice when it comes to you, and I’ll always care.”
When he got out of the shower and threw on a pair of old jeans, he walked into the living room to find Jenna and Asher on the couch.
“We’re having a John Hughes night,” Jenna said. “You want a vote on which one to watch first?”
Both of them were looking at him expectantly. All he wanted to do was drink a beer and fall asleep watching baseball. “I don’t know what movies he’s in.”
There was a gasp, and Asher clapped his hand over his mouth. Jenna covered his ears with her hands and hissed, “Don’t say things like that in front of the children!”
Had they both been at the sauce while he was in the shower? What the—
Jenna’s hands dropped from Asher’s ears, and he turned to her, clasping her hands. “It’s okay, Jenna. It’s going to be hard, but