in her long legs. Even the way her bicep and delts flex when she lifts an arm and musses her hair. Hell, yes, every inch of this woman's body reflects the ex-cheerleader and years of hard work, and for the second time, I envision her dark hair spread over my bare chest.
Craving one last hit, I call after her as her fingers curl around the door pull. "Hey, Jess?" She twists her torso and steals a look at me. "It was good seeing you. Two years is too long."
With a tip of her chin, Jessica Womick slays me with an all-encompassing smile. "You too, Carter, and now that you know where to find me, don't be a stranger."
I'm positioned against my car's side, waiting, when Owen and the twins leave Bleachers.
Finn is the first to speak. "Are you sure I can't have her?" He stops before me, a toothpick clenched between his teeth.
Dumbass. "I didn't say you couldn't have her. I said she wasn't a game."
My best friends exchange hooded looks, which set my teeth to gnash. "Mate, that glower on your face tells me everything I need to know." He claps my shoulder before circling my vehicle. "That lass owns your number."
"She does not have my number," I argue, crossing one foot over the other and leaning into my stance because that will convince them I don't care for Jessica Womick in the least.
While a laughing Frey hops into Owen's Supra parked beside my car, Owen stops short of opening his door and clasps his hands as he leans on the hood. "She seemed all right when we left her."
Evidently, my face gives away everything. I can't stop worrying about those assholes. How long will they stay at Bleachers? Will they make another move? Corner her near the restrooms and stop her from working? Wait for her outside?
"Shit." Standing tall, I meet Finn's gaze and jerk my head. "You're riding with O. I'm staying."
He doesn't ask questions. He doesn't have to. We went into business together because we live by the same code.
"You sure you don't want us to stay?" Owen asks as Finn slips in his backseat. "We can go in and close the place down."
"And let Jess know we're keeping tabs on her?" The Jess I recall from high school wasn't a damsel in distress. I'd bet money she froze tonight not because she's lost her fire, but because they shocked her. "Nah, I'm gonna hang out and see she gets out safe."
Owen checks his watch. "That's a long time." He falls behind his steering wheel, and Frey gives me a thumbs up from the passenger seat. A fucking thumbs up. These idiots are the best.
"We'll be at The Vault. Text if you need us."
With a nod, I wave them off.
Jess
I explore the patterns swirled into the textured ceiling over my bed until my eyes cross and a mild throb pulses at my temple. I don't want to wake up. Crawling out of bed equals a reality check. Sleep is better. Dreams are better.
Dreams with Carter are the best. After Friday night, I indulged in the hope he would show up at Bleachers. He didn't. Not Saturday night, and not Sunday. Neither did Finn and Frey or Owen, nor did the creeps from Friday—Sonny and his friends. That, I'm thankful for. Why didn't Carter drop by, though? Ugh, stop it! I slap a pillow over my head and growl into the cotton pillowcase.
I need out of Rossview. Away from the small-minded neighbors and gossips. How was I unaware of the depth of my growth since heading to A&M? How did I miss the way coming home threatens to turn me back into the girl I no longer am? This tiny house I spent my last four years of grade school in closes around me like a prison. I hate viewing it that way. I hate how the cozy home I loved is now a burden. That the man who protected me needs a protector of his own.
Grabbing my cell, I dial her number.
"It's me," I say when the voicemail picks up. I've made this call every day since returning. "Are you really not going to speak with me? Are you not coming back? What am I supposed to do here, Mom?"
I lay with my ear pressed to the plastic, as though she'll respond any minute, before tossing the phone on my bed. Damn her. I bite the flesh of my inner cheek until the sting pulls a