Memory Lane

Chapter Twenty Nine

Shay, who is here with some friends sitting in a booth towards the back, has also declined to acknowledge what she did. She must feel some sort of guilt, however, because she's avoided both me and Jesse ever since.

"You and me again? Must be my lucky day," Steven says, turning fully towards me.

His cologne is as overwhelming as usual, but it helps my mind focus on the slight stinging of my nose rather than the now itching sensation spreading over my legs.

"What's our record? 2-0?" He asks, twisting some chalk onto the end of the cue.

"I think so."

"Mostly because of you. Which," he says, handing me the pool cue as he steps closer, "is why you're so cool, Laura Laurier."

As I respond, I spot a familiar little red pickup truck driving down Main Street and pulling into a parking space right in the front of The Oven Bird. All of my attention directs to Jesse as he gets out, taking in his dark gray crewneck that helps frame his toned body. As he pushes past the front doors, it makes the familiar sound of the little bell ring over the sound of chatter and music. He scans the room. When he spots me, his passive expression flickers into something different and he gives me a small grin.

Then, he spots Steven next to me (suddenly close enough for his shoulder to be gently knocking into mine), and that grin drops.

Despite the couple of kisses we've shared, neither Jesse nor I have defined what's going on between us, nor have we told anyone else. All I know is that it's rather obvious neither of us wants to be dating anyone else.

When Jesse walks over, I step forward and greet him with a small smile. "Hey. I'm glad you ended up coming."

He glances at Steven, who is a few feet behind me, before his eyes jump back to mine. They  soften as he mirrors my smile. "You asked. I came."

Since learning more about his dad and how deep his drinking problems went, I understand at a greater depth how difficult it may be for Jesse to continuously come to the bar that fed his dad's addiction. We talked about it a little last night at the party, when we had a moment to ourselves on the front porch. I had asked if he would join us at The Oven Bird today, caveating the question with the understanding that going may be too difficult for him.

I know, he said, but when you're there, the reasons to come easily outweigh the reasons not to.

I would have kissed him right there if a very drunk Freddie hadn't barged past the front door and ran between us to puke in the front yard.

I'd kiss him right now if we weren't surrounded by people. I'm still not positive how he feels about the others knowing, but Allen hasn't mentioned anything to me which proves Jesse never told him. Meanwhile, I haven't told the girls either.

"Oh! Jesse, thank God." Kendall says just before Allen begins to take his turn to start the game of pool. "Do you want to play instead of me?"

We snap out of our daze and he glances at her, subtly clearing his throat. "I don't want to take your spot."

"You'd be doing me a favor, really. I would get crushed by these three... Having you play makes the teams more fair."

Jesse, with his hands buried in his jean pockets, shrugs his agreement and Kendall skips over to the table beside us to sit with Quinn who is busy redoing the braid on her long, blonde hair.

"Ready to lose, again?" I ask, trying to bite back my little smirk.

A grin teases the corner of his mouth. "Remind me who won last time?"