He eyed me suspiciously. “No. Why?”
This guy was obviously protective of Jesse. It was nice to see someone looking out for him. He always seemed so alone and closed-off from the world.
“I’m his...I’m Emma. I go to school with him, and I needed to talk to him.”
“I sent him home early. I’m not sure where he’s at.”
“Oh.”
“I would try his house or maybe the beach. He’s usually at one of the two. The kid doesn’t get out much.”
“Can you tell me where he lives? I’ve never been there.”
He shook his head. “No can do, kiddo. If Jesse hasn’t told you where he’s at, I’m not about to.”
“Please,” I pleaded. “I really need to see him. I swear I’m not some weird stalker or anything.”
“Do you know what happened to him today?” he asked.
“I do.”
“Care to fill me in? I’ve never seen him so pissed off.”
“He got into a fight with two guys over...over me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Jesse doesn’t fight over girls.”
“Well, he did this time. Please tell me where he is.”
He sighed. “If I tell you and he gets pissed—”
“He won’t. I swear. If he gets mad, I’ll tell him I forced you to tell me.”
He laughed. “I’m sure you could force me. All right, listen. When you leave here, go left. In about five miles, start looking for signs for the Santa Monica Trailer Park. His house number is thirty-two.”
I could have kissed him. “Thank you so much.”
“No problem. Now, get out of here, and go cheer the kid up.”
I followed his directions as I went deeper into the poverty part of town. When I pulled into the trailer park, my stomach dropped. While some of the trailers weren’t that bad, others looked like they were falling apart. I prayed that Jesse wasn’t in one of those as I searched for the one labeled thirty-two. When I saw it, I let out a sigh of relief. His house wasn’t the nicest, but it also wasn’t one of the ones falling apart.
I parked my car beside his Jeep and stepped out. Gravel crunched under my feet as I walked up the driveway. His trailer had a small porch with several hanging baskets. I stepped up onto the porch and knocked on the door. No one came, so I knocked again, louder this time. A few seconds later, the door opened, and there stood Jesse, shirtless and barefoot, wearing only a pair of shorts.
“Emma? What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I just wanted to check on you. Plus, I got into another fight with my mom. I needed to get away.”
“How did you even find me?” he asked in horror.
I had no idea why he was so upset that I had shown up on his doorstep. “Um, the guy at the tattoo place gave me directions. Can I come in?”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
My heart squeezed painfully in my chest. He must have someone in there with him. That had to be why he was so upset that I’d just randomly shown up.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I’ll leave now.” I turned to walk back down the steps as tears stung my eyes. Why did we even have that conversation in his car if he planned on doing this to me? It had only been a few hours, and he’d already betrayed me.
“What? Wait, Emma. It’s not what you think!”
He grabbed me and pulled my body up against his. I tried to shove him away, but he held me in place.
“Stop struggling, and let me explain.”
“I don’t want to hear it, Jesse. Just let me go.”
“Not with you thinking that I have a girl in here.”
He pulled us both inside his house. He actually picked me up enough, so my feet weren’t touching the ground as he walked down a narrow hallway and stopped in front of a door.
“This is my room. There’s no one in here.”
He released me, and I turned to look at him.
“If there’s no one here, why didn’t you want me to come in?”
He walked past me into his room and sat down on his bed. “I didn’t want you to know where I lived, period.”
“But why?”
“Because I live in a fucking trailer while I’m sure you’re in a damn mansion. I don’t want you to look down on me.”
“Are you crazy? I’d never look down on you. I thought you knew that by now.” I walked into the room and over to where he was sitting on the bed. I stopped when I was standing between his legs. “I don’t care where you live.”
He looked away from me. “Sure you don’t.”
“I don’t.” I grabbed his chin and pulled his face up to look at me. “All I care about is you.”
I leaned down and kissed him. It was a gentle kiss, and I hoped it showed my sincerity. I didn’t care that he lived in a trailer. I wouldn’t care if he lived in a tent.
“What was that for?” he asked when I pulled away.
“No reason at all. I just wanted to.”
“Come here,” he said as he leaned back on his elbows.
“I can’t get any closer,” I teased.
“I bet you can.”
He sat up and grabbed me. I squealed as he pulled me down onto the bed with him. I straddled him as he grinned up at me.
“I told you we could get you closer.”