Page 21 of Only This Once
Then his brother Charles made it to them and carried him to shore.
Jinx still had a scar on his forehead from that day. The wound had bled a lot, scaring his mother into packing them up and leaving. Julia hadn’t glanced back at the water or anything on the way out, but her shoulders had dipped again, and he’d hated that for her.
He relaxed now that he sat beside her like he had pictured back then. His hand shifted, their fingers brushing. Julia didn’t pull away. She turned toward him, smiling.
“Today has been nice,” she said.
Her smile pulled his forward. “I’m glad you liked it.”
“Were you testing it out as a date spot?” Her gaze returned to the water. “It’s peaceful, and the hike wasn’t too bad at all. I think it’d work, on the right girl.”
His stomach twisted. “I just like being outside. Does it have to be for a girl?”
“No.” She sat up straighter, her fingers no longer touching his. “Sorry, I’m a fixer. When you talked about not dating, you seemed kind of lonely. I think you’re great, Jinx. Any woman would be lucky to date you.”
He bit his lip. She was wrong. They wouldn’t be lucky at all.
“I don’t date,” he admitted. “I haven’t. Ever.”
Her face turned to him, and she blinked. “Wait. Ever? Not even like a one-time thing?”
He stared out at the lake, worried her surprise would turn into pity. “I know that’s weird.”
“Not weird, just a surprise. I remember the girls chasing after you. Has there never been anyone you’ve been interested in?”
Heat crawled up his neck. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“Are you just nervous? It’s okay to be nervous, you know. It’s cute, actually.”
“Cute?” He risked glancing at her, finding her eyes already on him. “Is that a good thing?”
She shrugged. “Cute can be sexy. It depends on what the other person likes. I guess I’m saying, just be yourself and be open to it happening, and I bet you’ll get a date in no time.”
He shook his head. “You make it sound so easy.”
“Eh, meeting someone can be. Figuring out if they’re a good someone, that’s a bit trickier.” She nudged his shoulder. “I told you before, I can be your wingman. Or I guess, wingwoman in this case. Wingperson? Oh.” She frowned. “Having me around might not work.”
“Because they’ll think we’re together?” He shouldn’t have been excited by that idea.
“Well, yeah. It’ll eliminate women approaching you, and if you do the approaching, you’ll have to explain, which is a terrible opening line.”
“It’s okay. I don’t really want to date anyway.”
“Bullshit.”
He froze.
“Come on, Jinx. You’re lonely. I can see it.” She kicked at the water, causing a spray to splash ahead of them. “I’ve always seen it. You’re kind and genuine and funny and sweet, but you’ve never even had any close friends. You’re always friendly but never friends.”
“Besides Phoebe, you don’t have many friends either,” he pointed out, then winced. “Er, at least I assume it’s still that way.”
She shrugged. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m different, though. I don’t get lonely.” She frowned down at the water. “I mean, I’ve got my siblings if I want to talk, or Phoebe, but most of the time I’m fine being by myself. Except for sex, of course. That’s why I do the hookups.”
Just the mention of sex caused nerves to dance along his arms.
She froze, her eyes widening as she turned toward him. “Um, if you’ve never dated, does that mean…”
Jesse swallowed. “I’m not a virgin.” The words came out wrong. Clipped and hard.
