endgame - UW series

chapter 8 - jeleousy

"That's good. I know Joe was worried about it, that she wouldn't fit in with the other kids. He is a worrier you know" he says, and I get all warm and fuzzy knowing that he talks about her with people, not trying to hide her away like some teen parents do. He is proud of our little girl, just like I am.

Looking at him I know how gorgeous Oliver is. His smile is beautiful, and he has this charisma that it's impossible to not like, but I would never go after Joe's teammate. Not just because it would be messy as they are teammates and best friends, but I can't help the nagging that draws me towards Joe. He is like a magnet drawing me to him more and more, no matter how hard I try to keep to myself and not get drawn into his grasp. I'm scared that it's only a matter of time before things blow up in my face like things tend to do. I just can't be happy, I learned that a while ago, and I try but deep true happiness doesn't come easy to me.

Joe's Pov

I decide to stop by the coffee shop near campus for a to-go cup before I head to the first class of the day. I'm not too big of a coffee drinker. But I like at least one good cup a day. I don't add all that sugary stuff though, I prefer my coffee the way it was intended, black and strong. It tastes weird on my tongue if I add milk and sugar, even though I know a lot of people love it. In the summer I switch it out for cold brew instead of regular black, but I still don't add milk to it. It's hot today so I'm going for a cold brew, the biggest size they have here. It's not a Starbucks, so it's none of that Grande, venti, and whatever other sizes there are. It's simply small, medium, and big, easy to understand.

Stopping outside Cafe Solstice I'm about to walk in when I spot two people I didn't expect to see together sitting at a table. The windows are big, so I have a clear view of them. Josie and Oli are together at a table laughing. My teeth clench and I want to go in there and drag them apart, taking Josie with me and leaving Oli to himself. But that would be too caveman of me I'm pretty sure. And I'm also pretty sure Josie would kick me in the balls for dragging her away from a conversation, no matter who it's with.

I'm not a confrontational person, so I slide inside and stay out of sight until Josie leaves the cafe to go god knows where and I make my way over to my best friend. I can't seem to unclench my teeth before I take a seat in front of him, eying him all over to see any hints of feelings towards the girl that just left.

"Hello to you too? What crawled up your ass this morning?" he asks and takes a sip of his coffee. He is one of those people who take his coffee with milk and sugar. "What did you talk with her about?" I blurt out and it sounds just like I am, jealous. I'm jealous of my best friend because he made the girl I am crazy about laugh. How pathetic isn't that? She doesn't owe me anything, and she isn't mine. I keep repeating that to myself over and over all the time, but I still get this feeling I can't seem to shake. I'm not usually this possessive... but with her... she is mine.

"I know that look, and there is no need for it. I wasn't hitting on her, and she wasn't flirting with me either. We were just friendly" he rubs the back of his neck. "Just friendly hm? You made her laugh" I accuse him, and he can't help but chuckle.

"Look, there is no need to get your panties in a twist. You pissed all over her in the locker room that first day. Only an idiot wouldn't have seen that you have eyes for her. I would never go for her no matter how beautiful I think she is" he says, and I eye him carefully for any signs that he is lying. Not that I think he usually lies to me, but when it comes to her I'm not entirely rational all the time.

"So you think she is beautiful?" I continue to eye him, and he smiles a little "Only an idiot wouldn't see that. But don't worry, I'm not after her. She is a relationship girl, and that's not my style you know that" that's true, he doesn't do commitment just like a good chunk of the team. He fucks girls, at least as far as I know as I've seen him leave with girls and he makes comments about hot girls, but he isn't an open book either. He is way more private than most guys I know and only lets a few people in to see who he really is. I don't blame him; the world can be brutal and it's smart to protect yourself. I wish I was better at it than I am, but maybe with time? I'm just happy that he seems to be honest that he isn't after her, that would suck if he was.

Josie's Pov

Bookstores are probably my favorite place in the world. And I found a big barns and noble here in Seattle. Its three floors are filled with books, as well as a little Starbucks corner. I love it when there is a cafe in a bookstore because it means that I can sit there and write, or read, without going anywhere. No matter where I am, if I have a bookstore nearby, I'm a happy camper. I just haven't had time since I got here yet, but now I do. I need to think, and what better way than to look for new reading material?

At the moment I'm reading some sports romance books and some dark romance books. That's my jam recently. So I browse the isles and keep reading the backs of the books. I'm one of those weird people who has two copies of some books, one digital and one physical because I like to display them on my shelf.

I grab the first two books in the Mafia series from Sophie Lark because I haven't read that one yet. Brutal prince and stolen heir. I've heard a lot of good things about these books. Brutal Prince is about an arranged marriage between two rival mafia families, while Stolen Heir is a kidnapping romance. It's embarrassing that they have been so popular for so long, but I haven't read them. I'm just going to blame it on the fact that I haven't been reading mafia books before recently.

Moving in I head into the fantasy section, which isn't one I visit too much. It's just not my style, but I want the last book in the Hades saga since I liked the first two so much. It's written in the third person, not my favorite, but I liked the first two. That's why I didn't like the love hypothesis because it was in the third person.

But I stop in my tracks when I see a familiar face browsing the fantasy books. Joe. "Hi," I say and can't help but smile at him. I love that we both like to read because most books I've found don't like it. Especially a hot-shot football player. One would think that he wouldn't like diving into a book, but he does.

"Hi" he grumbles, and I furrow my eyebrows, eying him carefully. Did something happen? "What's wrong?" I say and bump his shoulder with mine as I turn to the books to look for the one I want. "I saw you with Oliver," he says, and I snort. So that's what this is about? Me talking to his best friend. That shouldn't be a big deal to him, and I don't even know why he is making one out of it. There is nothing for him to be pissed about, but here he is grumbling.

"Joe, it was nothing. We were friendly and got to talking. No big deal" is shrug and grab the book I was looking for. It came out this summer so there are a few copies here thankfully. It would suck if I needed to order it because I prefer going to the bookstore and feeling the books before I buy them. I'm weird like that.

"That's what he said. But you were laughing with my best friend Josie" he says, and I turn to look at him. He looks... sad. Why? There is nothing for him to be sad, or upset in general, about. Nothing happened, it was all just friendly. Who knows, we might become friends. After all, we all have three years left in total at this school, and since he is Joe's best friend he will be around.

"So I can't be friendly with him since he is your friend? I'm sorry Joe but that doesn't make sense. I thought it would make you happy that we get along since he is your best friend?" I say and lay my hand on his arm. Tingles zip through me so I drop my hand again.

"Did you flirt with him?" he asks, and I can't help but chuckle "god no. He is your best friend Joe. Sure he is good-looking, but I would never go for him. Seriously, that would just be weird. You have nothing to be worried about there" I wonder why he even cares. He doesn't like me in that way anyway, why would he? He has girls fawning all over him all the time, I'm just regular old Josie, his baby mama. I'm the girl he is more or less obligated to keep in contact with, for the good of our little girl. Not someone he would want to be with. Over the last few years I've learned to be okay with that though, I've had to. There was no getting around it because there was no chance for something to happen between us. I'm not the type of girl someone like him would want.

"Fine, he said the same thing" he sighs, and I roll my eyes. "You confronted him too? Seriously joe. There is nothing for you to worry about. We all know it would be weird if something happened there" he should have known that, but he still reacted.

"Of course I fucking talked to him, I'm obsessed with all things you Josie," he says, and my breath catches in my throat. I slowly turn to look at him, his eyes are wide, and his fist clenches. Did he mean to think it and not say it out loud?