Unbroken 2

“You’ll get used to this.” With a light laugh, he added, “We’ll probably give you a reason, say we’re celebrating Hunter, but you’ll learn we’ll find any excuse to get this fucked up. If this isn’t your thing, you’ll like us better at a barbecue.”

No, it wasn’t my thing, but I wasn’t going to admit that to Jesse. I smiled instead. “I’m up for anything.”

“So then drink,” he urged. “Loosen up.”

I tried to loosen up. I even ordered a drink from the bar and chugged it down, but I didn’t blend in with everyone. I remained on the outskirts, watching them get wrecked, never feeling so out of place in my life.

Jesse hung around me like a bad fly. I wanted to hug him for being so sweet. With an easy smile, he told me, “I’m not going anywhere, alright?”

I gave him a look. “Why?”

He shrugged. “Because I’m just as much of an outsider as you.”

“You’re new?” I wouldn’t have thought it because he seemed so at ease with this way of life.

“I got relocated only recently, and I miss my home, so I get what you’re feeling.”

I relaxed, appreciating his company now. “Why are you here?”

He dangled that mystery over me, muttering, “Had to get away.”

“Well,” I began, prodding his hard stomach (he, too, was ripped as fuck). “Now that you’re rescuing me and all, I’m probably going to depend on you to do that all the time.”

He grinned wider at me, seeming unphased. “What if it was actually the opposite? What ifyou’rerescuingme?”

I quirked a brow, stifling a laugh. “From who exactly? The panting girls in the corner who keep looking over at you?”

“Especiallythem,” he said, pointing the tip of his beer in their direction. “My playboy days are over.”

I wouldn’t have believed him except he had this serious look in his eye. He meant what he was saying, and I believed him.

He was hot (not as hot as my Hunter or Leo, but I was biased). Jesse was the tattoo-ed, pierced, long golden hair, ripped body sort of hot. He was fun, the kind of guy I could get along with easily, but there was a quietness about him too, like he was happy not to fill the silent gaps with pointless chatter. I especially liked that about him.

“Okay, we’ll be rescue buddies,” I said determinedly. “How do we signal when we need to get rescued?”

“Scratch your tits and I’ll know.”

“Wait, what?”

“It’s a good way to signal.” Jesse was searching for a reaction, maybe this was a biker thing.

I let out a hard laugh. “Okay, I’ll scratch my boobs, but that means you’re scratching your balls when you need me.”

Jesse threw his head back and laughed, seeming surprised by my response. “You remind of a girl I know. She’s tough like you.”

Now my jaw dropped. “You think I’m tough?”

“Yeah, I can see it. You got that wild craze in your eyes.”

I deadpanned. “I’m totally crazy.”

“See, I knew it.”

“I’d love to meet this girl then. Us crazies need to band together.”

Still laughing, he relaxed his back against the bar, replying, “She ain’t here. Funny girl, though. My former Prez is a lucky guy.”

I smiled, relaxing next to him too.