Be Mine (Jackson Boys 2)

I finger my cheek. “He already did. I don’t think he’ll try anything again. Coach is big on locker room unity. Chip’s already on thin ice because he’s been losing so many games.” And that’s part of why he punched me. He knows I’m breathing down his shoulder. It’s partly why I let his anger slide. As soon as I can corral my instincts and start making more precise decisions on the field, I will have his starting job.

“You don’t know him. He’s a…a…”

“Asshole? Prick? Penishead? Dicknoodle?” I offer.

She sighs. “I need to go back in.”

“No, you don’t. It’s Monday night. It’s dead in there. Do you really think you’re going to make any more money tonight? Besides, Chip hasn’t come outside, which means he’s in there stewing about how he didn’t get the last say. You go back in and you’re going to be his target.”

I think it’s the threat of Chip that tips the scales for her. I put an arm around her shoulders and turn her toward the small, dated Honda she drives. As we approach, I notice there’s a mound of clothes in the backseat.

“Hey, are you moving? You should’ve said something. Charlie and I would’ve helped.”

“No. This is laundry.”

“Laundry?” I bend down to peer in the back. “What’s it doing in your car?”

“I have to go to a laundromat.”

“A what?”

“You don’t know what a laundromat is?”

I straighten and hold up my hands. “Guilty. I’m guessing it’s a place to wash your clothes.”

“Yes.” She tilts her head and examines me. “I know you’re rich now, but how rich are you that you don’t know what a laundromat is?”

“Why don’t we just say I was sheltered and go with that?” I suggest. Lainey already thinks that we’re too far apart to be much more than friends. I should be okay with friends, but…I’m not. I like her.

There. I admit it. I like Lainey. I like her spirit, her toughness, her love for Cassidy. When they’re together, there’s a sense of family that I miss since my brother Nate joined the SEALS and Charlie went away to Europe for treatment for her childhood cancer. She came back, but she’s never been the same. The closeness we all shared was gone. With Lainey, I feel it again. The…I don’t know what to call it. The magic? A sense of togetherness? It’s corny in my head when I try to explain it, but it feels right.

Whenever I’m with Lainey, I feel better. Who knows if it’s the same with her, though. Most of the time, I think Lainey’s too tired to feel anything other than exhaustion. She works all night, goes home and takes care of her toddler. I don’t know when she sleeps. I take another look into the backseat of her car. Her night’s not over.

“How about you let me tag along so I can learn a little about the cold, rough world.”

She snort-laughs. “Don’t you have better things to do?”

“No.”

Her laughter cuts off abruptly. She searches my face. I don’t know what she finds there—sincerity? Want? Need? I have all of those things spinning around in my head.

“Fine, but you’re in charge of the dirty diapers.”

“I’m okay with that.” It’s an easy decision. I get to spend more time with Lainey. How can I say no?

I spoke too soon.

“It’s exhausting, isn’t it?” Lainey says as I wash my hands.

We just got done loading the fifth washing machine. Lainey’s roll of quarters is being rapidly decimated, and with each coin she shoves into the machines, her shoulders slump a little lower.

“How does Cassidy go through so many clothes?” She’s a tiny girl. How can she dirty up so many things?

“She isn’t potty trained yet and she thinks that eating is more fun when she’s wearing half her lunch.”

“You’re a good mom.” I take a seat next to Lainey and stretch my legs out. “If I had to do what you did, I’d need to enter a coma for at least two days out of the week.”

“Is that an option?” she jokes. Her head falls back against the wall and her eyes flutter shut.

Is there a woman out there better than this one? I don’t think so. “It is tonight. Rest, baby. I’ll wake you up when the clothes are done.”

She nods lightly, too tired to even notice the endearment that slipped out. Her head lolls on her neck and I gently guide it to my shoulder. Tomorrow, after the day is over, I’ll tell her how I feel, how I want to be part of her life, part of Cassidy’s life.

For now, though, I’ll let her sleep. It’s what she needs the most.

I run my fingers through the ends of her hair. It’s as soft as it looks. I lift it to my nose and take a sniff. It smells…fresh. It’s dark and lush and would look so fucking hot spread across my sheets.