Nothing Feels Better (Better Love 3)

“Yeah, okay.” The contempt in his voice, in his features, is painfully obvious. I flash a smile.

“You comin’ to the lake or what?” I ask, trying to diffuse the tension. I fucking hate when people are pissed at me. He scoffs. I get very few laughs out of Xavier, and it’s a gut punch to know that one of them is sardonic.

“You’re so fucking smart, Jesse. What do you think?” Then he turns and disappears into the townhouse.

I walk myself back to my car and dump the towels and Riggs’s trunks in the back seat, then stare into the distance. Zay is just being paranoid. He doesn’t ever talk about his family or childhood or anything like that, but it’s obvious he’s projecting. Dude’s just on some bullshit that has nothing to do with me. Joss’s kids are fine. I’m not crossing lines. I’d never do anything to hurt them.

I turn slightly and look at Joss’s house. The urge to run up and knock on the door is strong, but I shouldn’t spring something like this on her. Not again. Especially not if there might be some truth to Zay’s concerns...

Instead, I take out my phone and hit call. It rings several times before she finally answers.

“Hello,” she says quickly, and she sounds out of breath.

“Did I interrupt something?” I say with a chuckle.

“Oh, sorry, no. I couldn’t find my phone. It was in the couch.” I hear rustling, muffled music, and chatter. Then I hear the click of a door, and everything goes quiet. “What’s up?”

“What are you guys doing this weekend?”

She pauses. “Nothing. Why?”

“We’re going to the lake. I was wonderin’ if you and J-Squared wanted to come.”

She pauses again, and I worry my lip. I speak before she can decline.

“My parents have a lake house. Four bedrooms. And since the weather has been hot and I’m graduating next weekend, they put the pontoon in the lake. Kinda like an early graduation surprise for me and my friends. The house is stocked with food and there’s a slide off the boat. The kids would love it. And there’s a pretend ship wheel that Meatball would have a fucking blast with.”

She sighs. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jesse.”

My heart sinks. Right. I’m about to give in, tell her she’s right and hang up, when my legs are attacked by mipirata fuerte.

“Jesse!” Jude yells, followed by “Jude!” shouted from the porch by June. Then, “what’s going on?” comes through the phone. Two seconds later, Joss is on the porch behind June, and they’re both staring at the tiny pirate latched to my calves.

“I wanna drive the ship,” he says, and I shoot my eyes to Jocelyn on the porch.

“I didn’t tell him,” I say into the phone, and I watch as she drags her hand down her face.

“He probably overheard you,” she says quietly.

I see June say something to Joss, and Joss pulls the phone away from her face, so she can respond.

“I wanna drive the ship, Jesse,” Jude says again, and I tear my eyes away from Jocelyn and June’s conversation, so I can look down at him.

“We’ll see, buddy.” I give his Velcro head a rub. His cast is off and he’s wearing a little camo short and tank set. He’s fucking cute.

“You want me to come?” he asks, and he turns those big eyeballs on me. “We can play together.” I groan inwardly, then look back at Jocelyn. Why’s he gotta be so damn cute?

“I’d really like it if you guys could come,” I say into the phone, and I watch her take a deep breath. She’s fighting a smile. Even from where my car is parked in Riggs’s driveway, I can see her lips twitch, and my chest warms.

“Okay,” she whispers, “but just for the day.”

I texted Bailey,Ivy, Kelley, and Riggs and told them to head to the lake house without me, so they are already there by the time I pull up with Joss and the kids.

I grab the bags from the trunk with one hand, hoist Jude over my shoulder with the other, and motion for Joss and June to follow me inside.

“Slipper Di—” Riggs greets, but stops short when he sees the tiny ears accompanying me, “—iiinosuars...Slipper Dinosaurs,” he corrects, then flashes me one of those yikes that was close grimacing smiles.

“Slipper Dinosaurs!” Jude says with a giggle, and Riggs smiles wide-eyed at me. I look beyond him into the house and see my friends all studying me with varying levels of amusement.

“You guys remember Captain Meatball, my emotional support pirate,” I say as I put him down on his feet. “He’s gonna help me be brave on the boat today.”

“He’s a ‘fraidy cat,” Jude says, and hooks a thumb in my direction, making everyone laugh.

“And Jocelyn and June,” I say, turning to the side to reveal the rest of the J Squad standing in the foyer.

“Hey, guys!” Ivy greets with a smile. “You’re just in time. We’re about to head down to the dock.”

The tension in my body loosens. It’s not that I thought my friends would be weird about me bringing Joss and the kids, but I didn’t exactly give them a heads up. The welcoming smiles on their faces tell me I had nothing to worry about. My friends are fucking awesome.

“You guys go ahead,” I tell them, and turn toward the hall that leads to the stairs. “Grab the Yeti from my trunk too. I’m gonna show J Squad where they can put their stuff.”

I lead Joss and the kids upstairs to the bedrooms. I show them where everyone is sleeping, where the bathrooms are, and the empty bedroom where they can put their stuff and change. I head into my room and change into my trunks, and when I come back out, Jude is waiting for me.

“Mom said you can take me to the ship and Doonie will come with her later,” Jude says, bouncing from foot to foot. I glance toward the spare room. The door is open, and I can hear the hushed sounds of talking. I don’t want to interrupt.

“Alrighty, Capitán Albóndiga,” I say while kneeling, so he can climb onto my back. “Let’s get you to the ship.”

The trek to the dock takes twice as long as usual because I have to stop and answer Jude’s questions about everything. He makes me give him a tour of the house, and of the deck, and of the patio under the deck, then of the trees in the back yard. My mom has several fancy birdhouses hanging around the yard, and Jude makes me take him by every single one. By the time we get to the pontoon, my friends are already sprawled out and lounging with the music playing.

I glance back up to the house, but Joss and June still aren’t outside, so I turn to the group.

“Can you guys fit him with a life jacket?” I ask, and Ivy is up before I finish speaking. Jude giggles and jabbers as she puts the life jacket on him. I look at Kelley. “Can you show him the ship wheel and keep an eye on him for a minute? I’m gonna go check on the girls.”

“Sure thing,” Kelley says, then turns to Jude. “C’mon, Captain, let’s see how you handle this baby.”

I make my way back down the dock, then up through the yard. The house is quiet when I enter through the sliding doors, so I go up the stairs to see if the girls are still in the bedroom. When I reach the landing, it’s quiet, but when I come up on the door, the conversation is clear.

“Not a single one of those people out there is going to care that you have these scars, June. They won’t laugh at you. They’re kind,” Jocelyn says, her voice soft and fierce at the same time.

June stands in the middle of the floor in a bathing suit, a hoodie clutched in her arms, and Jocelyn kneels on the floor in front of her with her back to the door. I go to step away, but June flicks her eyes to me, pinning me to the spot, then looks back at her mom.

“They’re ugly,” June says, then squeezes her eyes shut. “Dad said so, too. He can’t even look at them.”

Seriously. Fuck. That. Guy.