Chapter Three – Jeff

Kenzie was cute. Very cute. And boring as hell.

It was our second date, and if she talked to me anymore about environmental science, I was positive I was going to fall asleep.

“So this was fun. Want to go for a walk around Town Lake?” she asked.

I smiled. “I can’t; I’ve got something I need to do. Volunteer work.”

She nodded. “Dinner?”

“Owe Gunner a favor and have to coach some little kid in baseball tonight.”

“You play baseball too?”

I laughed. “Not for UT; I used to in high school. Football was my number one thing.”

“I hate football.”

My feet stumbled back a few steps. “Excuse me? How can you hate football?”

With a shrug, she replied, “It’s boring.”

Laughing, I almost told her environmental science was boring.

We both stared down at the ground. “Are you sure you can’t do dinner? Maybe even a little bit of, I don’t know, dessert afterward?”

Christ, how did I get myself into this?

I liked this girl the other day when she was sitting at my kitchen counter with her short little miniskirt on and innocent ponytail in her hair. I had it in my mind I wanted her. Even pictured taking her with that damn skirt up around her waist. After one date, I knew what I wanted wasn’t Kenzie. It was the girl who has been playing with my heart since she was ten fucking years old. The one who has a smile so damn big it makes my heart literally feel like it might burst from my chest when I see it. The one who I can never have because she was my sister’s best friend . . . and the only woman I’d ever truly wanted to give my heart to but couldn’t for fear she’d reject me and we’d lose the stupid-ass, weird friendship we had. The same damn girl I was fixin’ to go stalk.

“I wish I could, but I really do need to be at the animal shelter.”

She stared at me like I was insane. Maybe I was. I was giving up pussy to go hang out with dogs and clean up their shit, all for the chance to see her.

How fucking sick am I? I volunteer at the animal shelter because I know how much she loves dogs, and I get to see her twice a week without her even knowing.

“Let me get this straight: you’re blowing me off for some dogs.”

Forcing a smile, I replied, “Homeless dogs. There’s a difference.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Jeff, I’m offering you sex. Do you get that? I mean, do I need to just come out and say I want to sleep with you? No, I want you to fuck me.”

“Okay, I didn’t really see that coming from you.”

“Why? Because I didn’t jump in bed with you the first night we met? I might not have done it this soon, but I thought you were giving me the vibe.”

Damn that vibe.

“Listen, Kenzie, you’re really sweet, but—”

She held up her hands. “Please don’t say it. Let’s just end this here and now before my ego gets any more bruised.”

I placed my hand on her shoulder and leaned down. Gently kissing her on the lips, I rested my forehead to hers.

“You know, I really do think you’re hot as hell.”

She laughed. “Well, obviously not as hot as the dogs.”

This time I laughed. “You need me to walk you to your car?”

Placing her hand on my chest, she shook her head. “Nah, I’ll be fine. I’m only a block away. Thanks for lunch, though.”

“Sure.”

Chewing on her lip, she grinned. “Whoever she is, I hope she realizes what a catch you are, Jeff Johnson.”

I opened my mouth to say something but closed it again. Standing there, I watched as Kenzie waved goodbye and walked nearly a block before she got into her car.

Blowing out a breath of air, I made my way to the parking lot and to my truck. Glancing at my watch, I had plenty of time to get to the shelter and park in the back so I was out of sight. Each time I came in, I loaded up my truck with the trash and took it to the dumpster; it was the perfect excuse to park in the back so there was no chance she would see my truck.

Walking up to a tree, I sat down so I had the perfect view. If there was one thing I knew about Ari, she was a stickler for her schedule. She’d come to the shelter on the two days she got out of school early. Make her rounds inside and then pick two different dogs each day to take out in the yard to play. I could see her perfectly, but she couldn’t see me through the trees. It was a sick game I played twice a week, but I didn’t care. It was the only thing that kept me fucking sane.

“Milo! Bring me back the ball! Come on, boy!”

I smiled as I watched Milo completely ignore Ari. I gave her five minutes tops before she wouldn’t be able to stand him ignoring her.

“Good girl, Lucy Lou! You know how to listen, unlike Milo here.”

Milo barked and started running off with the ball.

“Come on, boy! Milo! This is why you don’t have a family you stupid dog! Get your butt over here!”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched Ari chase Milo while Lucy Lou chased her.

“Lucy Lou, don’t bite my butt!” Ari laughed at the game the three of them played, while I sat there and took it all in. Damn that girl. She both annoyed and thrilled me, but she always held my attention, whether she knew it or not. She had ever since the moment she first showed up on her decked-out bike.

“Jefferson! You can’t tag me if I wasn’t it,” Ellie protested as we all stood in a circle. Me, Ellie, Rodney, and his sister Lynn.

“Lynn was it!” Ellie argued.

“I wasn’t it, Ellie. Rodney tagged you before you got to the tree.”

Ellie glared at Lynn, and before I could say anything, I heard a voice from behind me.

“Hey, y’all.”

We all turned to see a girl sitting on top of her bike. Her very pink and sparkled-up bike.

“I’m Arianna Peterson, but I go by Ari.”

Ellie immediately walked up to the girl. “I love your name!”

“And your bike!” Lynn added.

Rodney stared at her in a way I didn’t like. He and I were the same age, three years older than our sisters, and this girl looked to be Ellie’s age.

“Hey, I’m Rodney.”

Pushing past me, Rodney stuck his hand out to Ari. She gave him a quick smile, then turned to me. The way her mouth moved into a full-blown smile was something I would never forget for the rest of my life.

“And what’s your name?” she asked.

I opened my mouth, and nothing came out.

“That’s my older brother, Jefferson.”

My sister saying my name caused my mouth to work again. “Jeff, I like going by Jeff.”

Ari’s eyes seemed to shine. “I like the name Jeff.”

“What about Rodney? You like that name?” Rodney interjected.

Lynn and Ellie both giggled.

“I just moved here.”

Ellie jumped. “Oh my gosh. We can all be best of friends.”

Glancing over to Lynn, I saw she was glaring at Ari. She walked over to me and whispered, “I don’t like her.”

Not taking my eyes off the new girl, I asked, “Why not?”

“Do you see the way she’s looking at you, Jeff? She likes you, and she ignored my brother.”

I laughed and patted Lynn on the head. “And let’s hope it always stays that way.”

“Milo!”

I snapped out of the memory and watched Ari as she lay on the ground with two dogs now attacking her with kisses.

“You know, I would say it’s kind of creepy the way you watch her every Tuesday and Friday.”

Ignoring Ralph, I kept my eyes on the beautiful brunette in the play yard.

“But then again, it’s also pathetic.”

“Hey!” I said to the old man as he made his way over to me and sat on the bench.

“You can see her a hell of a lot better from the bench.”

“I know that, Ralph. I don’t want her to see me.”

“Why?”

“She’ll curse me out and say something snarky. Probably accuse me of spying on her.”

“Aren’t you?”

I turned to look at him. “No.”

His brows lifted. “Really?”

“I’ve known Ari since we were little. It’s just better if we don’t see each other. All we do is fight with each other.”

Ralph nodded. “Don’t like her much?”

“Oh, I like her enough.”

“Then, boy, what in the hell you doing up here creepin’ on her?”

Laughing, I sat back and rested on my hands. “It’s complicated. Ari is my little sister’s best friend. I’m pretty sure I fell for the little squirt the moment she rode up to our front yard on her flashy pink bike. It was a crush for a lot of years, something I could handle because she was younger—boys didn’t look twice at her. Then one summer she grew more beautiful, got a body, and guys started staring at her. It drove me nuts.”

“Why didn’t you just ask the girl out?”

“I don’t think she feels the same; at least, she never really acted like she did. I was always like her big brother. If I told her how I really felt and she didn’t feel the same or if something happened and we broke up, it would ruin our friendship.”

For nearly three minutes, the old man stared at me. Ralph had been coming to the shelter for ten years, ever since his wife passed away. Every single day he came up here and sat for a bit, then went in and played with the cats before making his way to every single dog in the shelter to say hello.

He finally spoke. “You mean the friendship where y’all call each other names and fight?”

“I didn’t say we called each other names,” I said with a grin.

“I’m assumin’, boy. Don’t sass your elders.”

Nodding, I replied, “Yes, sir.”

“Jeff, you been coming here for months now watching that girl. Why do you stay and help with the dogs after she leaves?”

Glancing back down to Ari, I saw she was now sitting cross-legged, with both dogs’ heads in her lap as she talked to them both.

“Because it means something to her, so it means something to me. I do it for her.”

“Yet she don’t know.”

I nodded.

“This generation don’t make a lick of sense. Neither do your damn T-shirts. What does that mean, you get paid by the hour?”

I glanced down to my shirt. “It’s a joke, Ralph.”

“It’s stupid. Go talk to the girl before I call you out.”

Not moving, I replied, “You wouldn’t.”

He laughed and looked at me like he was fixin’ to call my bluff. “Why do you think I wouldn’t?”

With a half shrug, I replied, “Because I have a feeling, once upon a time, you felt the same way about a girl. You cared so much about her that you’d rather sit on the sidelines and watch her be happy than make her smile disappear. If I walk down there, she won’t be happy. So I sit up here. And watch.”

“Shit! Flag football is tonight! Come on, Milo, Lucy Lou. Let’s get you a treat and some water!” Ari cried out.

I watched Ari walk off with the two dogs. Under my breath I mumbled, “I watch and fall more for her each time.”

An hour later I was walking back in with two dogs, Beef and Hank. I purposely picked those two dogs because they had badass names. Every time I was stopped on the trail and asked their names, I got laughs and smiles.

“All right, you two, let’s get you some treats, and back into your crates you go.”

“Jeff?”

My heart seized the moment I heard her voice.

Fuck.

I turned to see Ari standing there. She was glancing between me and the dogs. I had to push down the urge to walk up to her and kiss her. She was so beautiful. So I did what I always did. Called her the nickname she hated more than anything.

“Hey, Squirt. How’s it going?”

Her eye twitched, but this time she didn’t lash out at me like normal. “It’s going. What are you doing here?”

I opened Hank’s crate and ushered him in. “I’m putting a dog in a crate—what does it look like?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, I mean why are you here?”

I shrugged. “I volunteer here every now and then.”

“You do?” she asked, shocked as hell. “I didn’t know you liked dogs.”

Not responding, I started over for the hose. Might as well fill up everyone’s water while I’m here trying to avoid telling Ari she looked hot as fucking hell.

“I already did that, like an hour ago.”

“Well, I’m doing it again.”

Ari opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself. That was a new one. Usually she would go on and on about how she had already taken care of this or that and how I could be doing something better with my time. Maybe she wasn’t in the mood to argue with me.

“How long have you been volunteering here?”

“A few months.”

She followed behind me. “Did you know I volunteered here too?”

I stopped and glanced at her from over my shoulder. “No kidding. I didn’t know.”

Her brow raised. “Ellie didn’t tell you?”

I laughed. “What, do you think I’m stalking you, Ari?”

Her shoulders slumped slightly, and I felt like a total jerk. “No, no, of course not. I’ll let you go.”

When she turned to walk away, I cursed under my breath. I was fucking stalking her, and I must have made her feel like a fool. “Ari?”

She looked back at me. “I did know you volunteered here. Ellie mentioned it not too long ago.”

Liar, liar. She told me the very same day you signed up, and I rushed to sign up as well.

Her eyes widened slightly, and she nibbled on her lower lip for a few seconds before letting out a small chuckle. “That’s crazy we both volunteer here. When do you normally come?”

“Depends. Lately it’s been Tuesdays, sometimes Fridays.”

There went that goddamn smile of hers. “That’s when I come!” She quickly shrugged her excitement away. “I mean, those two days. I can’t believe we haven’t seen each other before.”

I was going to make sure at least twice a month I would show up a little early so we would accidentally run into each other.

“Yeah. Hard to believe.” Not really. I’m actually stalking you, Ari, because I secretly want to kiss you and drag you back to my truck and do things to you I shouldn’t want to do to you.

She hooked her thumb in the direction behind her. “I um, I have to go. Meeting some friends for a game of flag football.”

Grinning, I replied, “Sounds like fun.”

For a moment I was pretty sure she was about to invite me, but she stopped herself. “It is. I mean, I’m sure it will be. I’ll see you around, I guess.”

“Yep. See ya around.”

I went to call out her name . . . ask her to have dinner with me. But I didn’t. I stood there like an idiot and watched as she walked away from me. Why did I have a feeling that was going to be happening a lot to me once she and Ellie got out of high school?