Jesse (Broken Hill Boys 5)

“Jess,” Tora warns.

I grin wide. “Fine, anyway, she was going nuts. Absolutely loved it to the point she fell off the fucking bed.”

Tora’s brows furrow in confusion. “What? You’re lying.”

“I kid you not,” I tell her excitedly. “But that’s not the best part. You won’t believe what she said.” I try to give a dramatic pause but I don’t have the patience and spit it out. “She called the ‘three-second rule’ climbed back up on the bed, and let me get back to business.”

“What?” she laughs. “You don’t mean that thing you say when you drop food on the floor as an excuse to keep eating it?”

“Exactly that,” I boom, recalling the adorable look on her face when she said it. “It was so fucking funny. I could hardly finish her off, I was laughing so hard.”

“Alright,” she smiles. “Can we move on to the whole ‘how you were infected with feelings’ thing?”

“That was it,” I tell her. “She said ‘three-second rule’ and I fell in love.”

“Shit,” Tora sighs, finally seeing my issue. “You really are in trouble.”

“I know,” I groan. “Now, you have to tell me what to do.”

Tora looks at me as though I just asked her to lick my feet. “I can’t do that for you,” she says. “You have to come to that decision on your own.”

“What?” I scoff. “That’s bullshit. Tell me what to do.”

“I’m not going to do that, but tell me this. Are you ready to be a committed man, dedicated to only one girl for the rest of your life?”

Horror tears through me. Commitment? Hell no. I can’t do that. “No way.”

“Then it’s settled. You leave her alone and she can go use the three-second rule on some other poor loser.”

Jealousy courses through me at the thought of Kaylah letting some other douchebags go down on her and I instantly want to hate this imaginary guy and knock his teeth out. “What? No, she can’t do that.”

“Why the hell not?”

I shake my head. How is she not getting this? “She can’t sleep with other guys.”

Tora raises her chin. “She can do whatever and whoever the hell she wants,” she tells me. “You’re not her boyfriend and you just told me you never want to be in a committed relationship. That means you pass on her being yours. You don’t get to tell her that she can’t be with anyone else unless you date her exclusively.”

“But…”

“But nothing, Jess. You can’t do that to the girl. She’ll hate you for even suggesting it. Why don’t you ask her on a date? No strings attached and take it slowly. If you like it, then go on another, if not, tell her you’re sorry and move on. There’s no need to put her through all your caveman bullshit. She’s human too.”

A date? Shit. I’ve never dated someone before but the thought of taking her out has me feeling all giddy inside, like a fucking marshmallow over a campfire. “Fine.”

“But,” she says hesitantly, making my eyes narrow at her once again. “This is Kaylah Millington we’re talking about. If you’re actually going to go through with asking her on a date and acting like a decent human being with her, then you need to tell Nate.”

Fuck, no. Has she gone insane since she moved out of our place? Maybe Nate’s bullshit has finally started to get to her. I shake my head. “No, I’ll go on my date and if I want to go on another, then I’ll tell him.”

“Jess,” she groans. “You know your brother. He’s going to kill you if you keep this from him.”

Don’t I fucking know it, but where Nate is concerned, it’s best to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. “He’s going to kill me either way. I may as well prolong the inevitable and enjoy it first.”

Tora shakes her head, clearly not on board with that idea. “What are you going to do about Jackson?”

“Nothing,” I scoff, wondering why the hell she thinks that’s my problem. “That’s Kaylah’s business if she wants to tell him.”

“You’re not at all concerned he’s going to try and kick your ass?”

“No, I know that’s exactly what he’s going to do, but the keyword is ‘try’. He’s tried so many times before and every damn time, I’ve come out on top.”

“It’s different if you have feelings for his sister.”

Nope. She couldn’t be more wrong. “Bullshit.”

Tora raises a smug brow. “Believe me or not. Just be careful, okay?”

“Yes, mom,” I laugh before leaning back into the couch and scanning over the show she was in the middle of binging. I give her a wide smile, knowing exactly how she’s going to react to this. “So, what are we doing tonight?”

Chapter 5

Kaylah

I step through the doors of Broken Hill High and groan as I take in my locker at the other end. None other than Jesse Ryder is standing against it, leaning his large shoulder into it with a cocky as hell smirk on his handsome face.