New Beginnings {ACM}

Chapter 20

"Emily? It's Jesse."

My heart sank and I could feel fresh tears coming on. "O-oh, hi Jesse. I, um, thought you were Austin."

"Are you okay? You sound like you've been crying."

"I'm fine. It's allergies."

"That's the oldest trick in the book, Emily. I'm not an idiot."

"It really is allergies."

"I caused a fight between you and Austin, didn't I?" Jesse sounded guilty.

"No," I lied.

"Emily."

"I just told him about you, and it kind of spiralled out of control," I burst out. "He left for our friend's place four days ago and he's still not back!"

"Emily, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble between you guys, I swear," Jesse said. "This is probably a bad time, but you might want to talk things out. Want to grab coffee?"

"I guess so," I said. "Give me twenty minutes; I'll meet you at Ginger's."

"Alright, see you."

I hung up and went upstairs to wash my face. I pulled my hair into top knot and went back down. I slipped on flats and grabbed my phone and purse before heading out to my car.

I arrived at Ginger's to find Jesse already in a booth. "Hi," I said as I slid across from him.

"Hey," he smiled lightly. "You okay?"

"No," I sighed. "I'm terrible." The waitress came over and took our orders before leaving.

"Maybe I should talk to Austin?" Jesse suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I told him. "He'll kill you."

"Wow. He's really that mad?"

"He left! Yes, he's mad!" I felt a lump in my throat and I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Jesse, but I shouldn't have gotten your number." The waitress brought our coffees.

"Hey, it's cool, I understand. I realize that it probably wasn't the smartest idea," he said. "I just wish Austin would see that I'm not interested in anything more than being friends with you."

"Me too." I stopped. "Do you even have a girlfriend?"

"No, I don't." He blushed. "But I kind of have my eye on somebody."

"Really? Who?"

He muttered something incoherent. "What?" I strained to hear.

"Quinn," he mumbled.

"Quinn?" He nodded and I smiled. "Awe. Did you guys hang out again or something?"

"Well, not intentionally. I ran into her at the hardware store yesterday. She was getting stuff for her renovations on her room. We just talked for a bit."

"Ah. But you like her?"

"She seems like a nice girl. She's beautiful, too," Jesse smiled. "But I'm three years older than her."

"Technically two. She turns 19 this year."

"I guess that's not that bad then. I want to hang out with her more. You know, get to know her better." He took a sip of his coffee. "So how's your daughter?"

I shrugged. "Okay. She's been cranky ever since Austin left. She's a little daddy's girl. Nothing's really felt the same. I can't even look at our dog without wanting to burst into tears."

"I feel really bad."

"Don't, it's not your fault. This is between me and Austin."

"Because of me."