Bad Influence (Bad Love 3)
I shake my head, exasperated. “That’s it? Do you, like, have feelings for me or something?” The words sound so stupid out loud, but that’s the only thing that makes sense.
“No. Yes. No,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “Fuck, I don’t know. I thought I did. But I think I was just fucked up over someone else and didn’t want to admit it.”
“That makes zero sense,” I say, bewildered.
“Trust me. I know. The song thing was just me being a dick, but for the record, I still don’t think he’s good enough for you.”
I tighten my grip on my backpack straps, turning to walk away, but Dylan grabs my arm, stopping me.
“But he protected you when I couldn’t. So, I guess he’s not a complete piece of shit.”
“I’m not going to stand here and listen to you talk about someone I lo—” I snap my mouth shut, clenching my teeth together before I can finish that sentence. I didn’t mean to say it. I didn’t even mean to think it, but the thought kept repeating in my head as Dylan spoke about him.
“I have to go.” I turn back around, stopping short when I see Jesse standing a few feet away, eyes trained on Dylan. His jaw is set hard, arms folded over his chest, but he’s too far to have heard anything.
“What’s he doing here?” He nods his chin toward Dylan when I get within hearing distance.
“He came to apologize.” Sort of.
Jess continues to stare daggers at Dylan, and I’m afraid he’s going to cause a scene on campus, but he surprises me by grabbing my hand, and leading me to his truck.
An incessant buzzing breaks through my consciousness and I slap a hand out to wake Jess, coming up empty. Hearing the shower running, I groan, sitting up to silence his phone. What is he doing up so early? The buzzing stops just as my fingers make contact. I start to pull away, but I hesitate when a message appears, my hand hovering over the screen.
1616 E. Shea Blvd. Same time as last week.
I frown at the screen as dread unfurls in my stomach. This is it. This is the piece to the puzzle I’ve been waiting for. I chew on my thumbnail, feeling conflicted. I didn’t mean to pry, but now that I’ve seen it, I can’t pretend I haven’t.
I hear the water cut off and I quickly grab my phone from the nightstand next to his and snap a picture of the address. A freshly showered Jess walks out just as I stuff my phone between my thighs. He stops short when he sees that I’m awake, towel tied low around his waist, wet hair slicked back away from his face with a single rogue strand falling into his eyes. My fingers itch to reach out and touch it.
Wordlessly, he moves toward me, sliding his hand through my hair, gripping it at the nape of my neck. I peer up at him, smoothing my palms up his stomach, feeling his muscles tense under my touch.
“I have to leave,” he says, his voice gruff.
My hands fall away from his stomach. “Shocker.”
“I’ll be back before you even wake up tomorrow.” He leans down to kiss me, but I turn my cheek, denying him. “Don’t be a brat,” he says before pulling my earlobe between his teeth. His lips trail down my neck, sucking on the sensitive skin. Goosebumps break out along my arms and I squeeze my thighs together to ease the ache.
The buzzing sounds again, and he pulls away, glancing down at his screen, his features tight.
I’m going to find out what he’s hiding tonight.
* * *
“WHAT’S HE DOING HERE?” I snap at Halston.
“He overheard our conversation,” she says bitterly, shoving past me. “He threatened to tell Jess unless we let him come with us.”
“Yeah, I’m a real asshole for trying to keep you two safe as you drive to a random ass address in the middle of the night,” Sullivan deadpans.
“Wait, are you two a thing again?”
“No.” Halston scoffs at the same time Sullivan says, “Yep.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Glad we cleared that up.”
“You ready to go?” Halston asks. I wring my hands in front of me, suddenly second-guessing my plan. It’s a little crazy to stalk the guy you’re seeing to an unknown location, but bringing two people along—one of which is his best friend? That’s full-blown bat shit.
“This is a bad idea.”