“What do you want to know?” he grumbles. “My list is longer than most.”
“Let’s start with something simple. Where are your parents?”
“Fuck if I know.” He laughs. “Lo and I moved out here to live with our dad a couple of years ago. Turns out, Henry wasn’t even our dad.”
“What?” I did not see that coming.
“Yup,” he says matter-of-factly. “Poor bastard didn’t know it either. My mom won’t tell us who the real sperm donor is. Lo thinks she’s just being a bitch, but I’d bet money that she doesn’t even know.”
“Where is she?”
“Probably passed out in an alley somewhere in Oakland.”
“Shit,” I breathe. “That is fucked up.”
“It’s not even the tip of the iceberg.”
“What about Henry?” I ask, hoping there’s something good in this story. Jess looks over at me, confusion painting his features.
“What about him?”
“I don’t know anything about being a parent, but I don’t think all those years just vanish because you’re not blood-related.”
“Clearly, you don’t know my family. He’s off the hook.” He jerks a shoulder. “Guilt made him attempt to stay in touch, but I did him a favor and cut it off.”
I frown. “Maybe it was hard for him, too. Maybe he wants to be in your life.”
“Maybe we’re done talking about me,” he says, abruptly reaching for me before pulling me down the bed and rolling on top of me in one swift motion. “Where’s your mom?”
“Ugh,” I groan. “That’s not the type of distraction I need right now.”
He shifts his hips into mine, and I realize he’s only in his boxers. He must have ditched his jeans when I was asleep. “What kind of distraction do you need, Allie?”
I know he’s
trying to change the subject, but I give in, needing the same thing. I don’t want to think. I don’t want to speak. I want to feel.
“Halston says we need rules.”
“You told Halston about us?” he asks with an arched brow.
“Not really. But she said rules are crucial when it comes to this sort of thing…” I trail off, the words sounding stupid when I say them out loud.
“Oh yeah? How’s that working out for her and Sully?”
“Good point.” I laugh.
“I’m not much of a rule follower,” he says, brushing a piece of hair off my forehead. “You got something in mind?”
I worry my lip, considering my words. “No lying.”
Jesse gives me a sharp nod. “Easy. Done.” He kisses my neck, and I arch to give him better access. Goosebumps break across my skin from my neck down to my arm and Jesse’s finger follows their path.
“And I want a clean break,” I blurt out. He cocks his head to the side, waiting for me to elaborate. “We’re just having fun. If one of us wants out, we end it. No hard feelings. No questions asked.” I don’t want to lose my friendship with Lo, my job, or anything else if this thing goes south. When. When it goes south, I remind myself.
“Deal,” he finally says. I squeeze his hand in the small space between our bodies to shake on it, but he looks at it with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t I get to make any rules?”
I drop my hand back to the mattress. “By all means…”