Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

JENSEN

" I swear on all that is holy, if you puke one more time on my bathroom floor, I'll banish you from this apartment forever."

"Let me die, then," I reply, rolling over onto my side. I have no idea where I am, but I'm pretty sure that's Felicity's voice. You can't miss the British accent.

"Trust me. With the way you behaved last night, I'm tempted. But Jon likes you, so apparently, I have to keep you alive."

I groan in pain. "Where am I?"

"On my bathroom floor. Where you've been the entire night."

I try to sit up but crack my forehead on the underside of the toilet. "Fuck!"

"I'll reserve my sympathy if that's alright."

Prying an eye open, a very pissed off British woman slowly comes into view. In her sleepwear and bunny slippers, she stands there with her hands propped on her hips.

"What did I do wrong?" I manage, wincing at the pounding in my head as I come to sit up straight.

She scoffs and passes me a glass of water and two painkillers.

I down the water and tablets as slowly, but very fucking surely, the night starts to come back to me in hazy images. "We went to Riley's, right?"

"Yeah, keep going," Felicity drawls.

Scratching my bare chest, I hold out the empty glass. "I'm gonna need some more hydration for my brain to work."

Snatching the glass out of my hand, she turns the faucet and refills the glass, handing it back to me. "Would you like me to clarify last night for you, JJ ?"

Damn, Jon must be scared shitless ninety percent of the time.

I've heard that nickname a handful of times and only ever from a blonde. But with the icy way Felicity says it, my skin prickles in response.

What the fuck did I do?

I nod once, forcing down the rising bile with water.

"Well, where do I start? Do you remember diverting us all to Club Heat after Riley's?"

I nod; yeah, I remember that since I made the decision while still sober.

"And do you remember announcing how trashed you planned to get?"

I nod again.

"The tequila?"

"How could I forget," I groan.

"And what about the busty brunette pinned to your side all night?"

My head whips up to look at her.

"Yes, Jensen. Although she was a part of your plan, right?"

There's no way I hooked up. I wouldn't. I don't anymore since it's fucking pointless. "I didn't hook up with her."

"I know you didn't." Her tone is slightly softer. "But is it true?"

"You'll have to clue me in. That's as much as I remember."

"Is it true you're crazy about her?"

"The brunette? I don't even remember her name."

"Not the brunette. Kate."

Embarrassment overtakes me. What the fuck did I tell her? I drag my hands down my face but pause when my right cheek stings.

Felicity chuckles. "That's where she slapped you."

Fuck! "Kate?"

"No, the brunette. She hauled you into a dark hallway. You were totally wrecked, so I chased after you to make sure you were alright. Next thing I knew, she was trying to climb you, but you said no and backed away. Then, in an incredibly slurry voice, you told her you were ‘ crazy about Princess Katherine, even if she can't stand me .' And that's when she slapped you and stalked off."

Jesus. I called her Princess Katherine.

"So, is it true?"

Parting the fingers that still cover my eyes, I focus on Felicity. "This goes no further."

She drums her pink fingernails on the countertop in thought. "I don't keep secrets from Jon."

"Fine. No further than you and him."

"Deal."

"I'm…yeah…fucking obsessed with her."

Felicity's hands fly to her mouth as she audibly gasps. "I knew it ."

I drop my hands and then my head between my shoulders. "I can't get her out of my mind. Not since that night at Riley's. I haven't hooked up with anyone in a while since I can't see anyone but her. Doesn't change anything, though; she hates me."

"Jensen. You had Kate on your lap one minute, and the next, you're copping off with some redhead!"

Shaking my head, I squeeze my eyes shut, my temples still pounding. "Sister's best friend."

"WHAT?!"

"Jesus, don't shout." I wince. "Not like that. She was drunk, so I walked her home. End of story. But Katherine always has to be right and decided I was hooking up immediately after she told me to go fuck myself."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she shakes her head in disbelief. "She's even more pissed at you after last night."

It just gets better. "What does she think I did?"

"The exact same thing. That you hooked up with another woman to make her jealous."

"Like she wore Jessie's jersey?"

"You two are insufferable, you know that?"

I lean back on the tiled wall with a thud and hold the glass out for another refill. "Yep."

"You need to talk to her. If this icy atmosphere is still around come our wedding day, I'll?—"

"I know," I say on an exhale. "I know."

"What are you going to do?"

Gripping the back of my neck, I go over the options in my head. She's as stubborn as I am, so it'll take some work to bring her around after everything that's happened. "I'll call her and try to smooth things over."

She quirks a brow. "Well, that's a given. I meant, what are you going to do about telling her how you feel?"

I scoff. "Nothing. You think I'm going to lay it all on the line for the woman who invades my dreams at night but can barely look at me when I see her? You don't think feeling this way scares the shit out of me and that's why I've held back for so long?" I fight to keep my tone even, but my voice shakes at the end, and I hate that. I hate that I'm showing myself like this.

"Oh babe, I?—"

I hold up a hand. "Don't go there, please."

"Okay, but I didn't realize you felt this way. Do you want me to talk to her?"

"No!" I bite out, way harsher than I want. "No, say nothing about any of this. I'll explain what happened both at Riley's and last night and the rest..." I grab my shirt from the bathroom floor. Fuck me, do I need my bed. "The rest is up to her."

Jon

Felicity just told me. Want to talk about it?

About as much as I want a hole in the head.

Me

No.

Okay, well, I'm here if you want. But you need to talk to her, buddy. Bottling this kind of shit up isn't healthy. You two have been toxic since I can remember, and now I find out you like her? Funny way of showing it.

Like? Nah. Try obsessed, try infatuated, try fucking insane with need. But how much of this is just lust, a craving to get her in my bed as many times as I can? Half the time, she pisses me off, and the other half, I'm doing the same. There's no denying my need to fuck her every way to Sunday. My need to fuck her out of my system. But I also can't deny the insane attraction runs deeper than my dick. Each time I've looked at her, I see past those faux smiles and cold blue eyes. There's pain there. I feel it in her. I feel it for her. And that shit makes me feel all kinds of confused.

I said I'll talk to her.

Okay.

Sitting at my kitchen counter, coffee in hand, I close out our message thread and scroll down to Kate's contact information. We haven't called or texted each other since I sent her a ton of wink emojis that night when she turned up to the game wearing my jersey.

The number of times I've scrolled back through those messages. When I changed my phone, I made sure they got transferred over, like a fucking simp.

Me

There's some cute blonde in the arena wearing my jersey. Happen to know who she is? **ten thousand wink faces**

Kate

**Blushing faces** Surprised you spotted me from the other side of the ice.

I'm not. You were the first and only thing I saw.

Fuck me. Where did all this go wrong?

I take a sip of coffee and then start typing out a vanilla message asking her to meet up or at least reply so I can explain, but who am I kidding? The only reply I'm likely to get is my second, "Go fuck yourself."

So instead, I tap on the top right, tentatively put my phone to my ear, and wait.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Four.

She's not going to answer.

Voicemail.

I cut the call and begin typing out a message.

Me

Hey. I tried to call, but it went to your voicemail. Listen, can we talk? There are some things I need to say.

Like I dream about you nightly.

Sent.

I toss my phone to the side and groan. What a fucking mess. I don't expect us to be best friends, but if I'm going to bear the torture of being around her, then I need to at least get to a place where she doesn't want to rip my head off.

Rising from my stool, I head for an ice-cold shower but only get as far as the hallway when my cell buzzes.

I race back and snatch it up.

Kate

I don't think there's much to say, Jensen. I told Luna and Felicity I'd be civil with you, so that's what I'll be. But just know, I'm done with playing games.

"Argh!" I toss my phone at the kitchen wall. The crack is audible as it breaks into pieces, scattering across my light wood flooring. It probably came off better than my wall, though. There's a gouge in the crisp white paint exposing the plasterboard underneath.

I hate that I want her. I hate that she holds me in the palm of her hand, crushing me in her grip whenever she wants.

But mostly, in this moment right here, I hate the way she called me Jensen.

I'm JJ.