“Jesus,” Joseph barked the word out. He pulled into the marina and slammed the car into park. His hands gripped the steering wheel hard. He straightened his arms, pressing his body back into the seat.
Okay, I probably went a tad too far. I winced internally. But I seemed to be on a mission to make sure he didn’t dismiss his attraction to me. I wanted him thinking about me and sex in the same beat. I needed him to. Maybe it came off as me being too forward, but it was like I innately knew I needed to keep him from relegating me back to the mistake drawer. Or worse, his little sister’s best friend drawer.
“So what is this?” he asked. “You sleep with one guy,” his lips curled a little as he referred to Chase, “and suddenly you’re sex obsessed? I hope I’m the only one you’re soliciting like this because at least I’m gentleman enough not to take advantage. What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing is going on with me.”
He sighed. “I’m not going to sleep with you, Jazz.”
“I don’t recall asking you to, you arrogant beast.” I shoved at his shoulder. “And how does me mentioning something you were obviously dying to do out there on the boardwalk turn me into being sex obsessed? You were there too.”
He laid his forehead on the steering wheel.
“You’re right. I was there. I was caught up in the moment.”
Asshole.
He looked at me. “I don’t want or need a girlfriend right now. I have work, college, plans, and decisions. Decisions that don’t include thinking of someone else’s feelings. So forgive me for being blunt and cocking up my delivery, but I just want to be clear.”
My mouth hung open.
“Fuck you very much, Joseph. How you managed to turn this first into me begging you for sex, and then worse begging for a damned relationship like some poor desperate version of Courtney, is beyond me. It defies belief. You’re completely deluded. And whenever you find yourself wondering—that right there is why you will always be known as an arrogant asshat.” I reached for the handle, kicking the door open. “I don’t need to get off that badly, thank you very much,” I said and jumped out.
He got out on his side.
“What are you doing?” I snapped.
“Getting your bike out the back,” he replied.
“Oh. Fine. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He opened the tailgate and pulled my bike out, setting it on its wheels and flipping the kickstand down. Then he closed the tailgate back up.
I took the handlebars.
“I don’t know what happened just then,” he said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean us to end up arguing.”
“You opened your hambone mouth, that’s what happened.”
I could tell he wanted to point out that I’d opened my mouth first and shocked him, which started this whole thing.
He slipped his hands into his pockets. A breeze blew up and flicked through our hair. I grabbed mine to hold it off my face.
“Whatever,” he said instead. “Again, I’m sorry. And I probably shouldn’t have kissed you either.”
“Probably not. Because it definitely showed me one thing.”
“What’s that? And you’ve already mentioned my impressive size.” He smirked.
I rolled my eyes. “It showed me that even though we drive each other bat shit crazy, you are really, and I mean really, attracted to me.”
He pulled his hands from his pockets and crossed them over his chest. “Is that so.”
“Yep,” I said and stubbed at the kickstand of my bike with my foot so I could leave. “And that, my dear Joseph, scares the absolute shit out of you.”
I wheeled my bike home without looking back.
THE DAYS LEADING up to my eighteenth birthday were a blur of activity. School, friends, work, lifeguard training. I didn’t see Chase, obviously, but I mentioned him as many times as I could when Joey was around because it was entertaining to watch him bristle. He really didn’t like the guy. It was amusing.
I checked the mail every day. Woody tutted at me. “Baby girl,” he said one day when I came in three times. Once before school in case the mail had come after I checked the day before and twice after school. “I’ll let you know the first moment you get somethin’, but you’re drivin’ me crazy running in here all hopped up every afternoon.”
“But you’re not always here, and sometimes the mail is late and—”
“I’ll check it if Woody’s not here, okay.” This came from Harry, a charter boat fisherman who was at sea so much when he wasn’t at the bar, he blended into the sun warped decor.
“See? Dirty Harry’s got you covered. Between the two of us we’ll send you a message or something.”
“But it’s my birthday soon and he said he’s coming,” I complained. “Fine.” I huffed and left.
Mid week of our last week of school, we had a total scare when Nana went to see Dr. Barrett and he made her check into the hospital for observation. Joey had driven Nana to her appointment when he went to work that morning, and he was supposed to bring her home, only her tests results came back saying she might possibly have a blockage.