Page 75 of Crew
I snagged another fry, but Jordan was still watching me intently. "What? I'm not his spokesperson."
His eyes narrowed. "I got a feeling he wished you were." His eyes skirted to Cross, taking on a speculative gleam. He lifted his chin towards us. "And what was he talking about before? About wondering, but not?"
Tension settled back over me, pressing down, but so did a ball of anger in my gut. The more Jordan pushed me, the more it rolled around, getting bigger and bigger with each circle.
Did he want to fight? Was that what he wanted?
Race wasn't an issue for us. I was getting sick of even hearing his name, not to mention the way Jordan was directing all this crap at me. Race had helped us. He wasn't an adversary. That might change in the future, but Jordan pushing me now had me ready to take up a cause I didn't care about in the first place.
"Ask him yourself!" I snarled.
And we were back to the old dynamic--where Jordan was pissed at me for something, and I was defiant. That ball was percolating, getting larger and larger.
"Or we stop talking about the guy." Cross tossed his burger wrapping into the bonfire too. "Hmm? How about that?"
Zellman's eyes shifted between Jordan and me, then went to Cross as he took another big bite of his burger. It was almost gone, and he reached for his bag of fries.
Jordan snorted. "Of course you'd take up for her. Why am I not shocked?"
Cross' eyes narrowed. "You got something to say to me?"
Taz's eyes were wide and round. I was surprised too. Cross had already said a lot against Race. Now he was piping in against Jordan? Where'd the silent and lethal guy go? He was becoming more confrontational.
"Okay." Taz waved her hands in a circle. "Not sure what's going on here, but I only need a few more sponsors in case Race's dad doesn't come through." A nervous laugh filtered from her. "Remember? That's what we're doing here. Not fighting."
I continued to stare at Jordan as I asked her, "How many more?"
"Three, and they're small packages. Your cousin, and the two Jaxes inside got the big ones."
I had ideas on a few more spots we could visit. I stood up. "Come on. I'll take you to the rest." I handed my fries to Cross. "I lost my appetite."
Taz stood too, her bag and sandwich in hand.
I squared my shoulders. "You got a stick up your ass when it comes to me," I told Jordan. "You better get right with the fact that I'm not going to always do what you want, and you better stop putting other shit on me, like this guy. He's not a problem. Stop making him mine." I looked at Cross. "You want to come?"
He inclined his head toward Jordan. Almost lazily, he gestured to him with his finger. "I'll get a ride."
I was ready to head off when his gaze transferred to me again. It lingered. I got the message. He'd stay and watch my back.
He held out his hand, grazing me as I slipped past.
I paused for a brief second.
I didn't look down. I didn't think I dared.
A need was captured in my throat, along with that tingling from earlier. Pushing forward, I headed to the Jeep, feeling my stomach starting to churn in anticipation, in excitement.
I didn't realize my lungs had ceased working until I got inside the car. A large amount of air expelled from me, and I had to sit there for a moment.
Taz said something and ran back.
My mind was whirling. I felt like my blood was buzzing.
I needed a minute to center myself, and when Taz came back, her tote bag in hand, I said, "I'll take you back to get your car when we're done."
"It's not a problem." She shut her door and put her seatbelt on, juggling her bag and sandwich. "I gave Cross the keys. They'll go get the car; then he'll take it home." She gestured over her shoulder as I turned my Jeep to go around Jordan's. "Does that happen often?"
"What?"
