Valiant

I blush and Jack flips her off. “Careful, Mol. That water looks extra refreshing.”

“Roman wouldn’t let you throw me in, would you?” she says, squeezing Roman’s leg.

“Absolutely I would,” he says, giving her a wink. “But I’d come in and get you ... eventually.”

“You’re such a jerk. I don’t know why I like you sometimes.”

“We’ve already established that it’s my charm and good looks,” he says, tangling his fingers into her hair and leaning down, pressing his lips against hers.

“Aw,” Jack says. “Gag.”

“Just because she’s getting kissed and you’re not,” Matilda calls, rolling over to sun her back. “Don’t be a hater, Jack.”

“You’re going in the water next.”

“I’d never let them throw you in,” TJ says, giving Jack a glare.

Roman snorts.

Molly laughs.

I’m missing something.

TJ is a bit of a girl. I can’t deny it. He’s more feminine then most of the women here ... combined. I have to wonder what Matilda sees in him. I mean, the man has the personality of a wet sponge. Surely conversations with him must get tiring eventually? After all, what could they talk about? He’s not deep in any way. Maybe they talk about hair?

I giggle to myself and Jack looks down at me, those eyes fond and full of an affection I’ve never seen in someone before.

“What’s so funny?” he asks.

“Just thinking about Matilda and TJ.”

He looks over to TJ, and then back to me and rolls his eyes. “He’s strange, that’s for sure.”

“I was just wondering what she sees in him, outside of the fact that he looks like a male model.”

Jack grunts. “Yeah, I don’t know. Matilda is actually a really smart girl, so it surprises all of us. Talking to that man is about the same as having a conversation with a brick wall.”

I giggle. “Yeah, I agree.”

“Whatever floats your boat, I suppose,” he shrugs.

“Well, I can tell you something, I’d rather date myself then put up with that kind of shallow person.”

Jack laughs. “There’s an idea I never considered. Dating myself. Now why didn’t I think of that sooner?”

“I can imagine you and yourself would have a great time together, all that testosterone flowing around,” I tease. “It would be a constant battle over who is better looking.”

“Who’s better looking?” Phoenix says, sidling up beside us.

“Not you, loser,” Jack says, nudging him with his shoulder.

“I’m far better looking than anyone here,” he says, crossing his arms and winking at me. “Except maybe Diesel. That man has Mack’s face, and anyone with Mack’s face ... Oh, right, you know, don’t you, Jack. They get their panties out ...”

Jack thumps Phoenix in the arm, and the man bursts out laughing, throwing his head back. Yep, Phoenix and Quinn have a lot of growing up to do, but man, when those two mature and become real men, they’re going to knock the socks of ladies. They’re incredibly good looking.

“At least I can walk around saying I’m the one that makes women rub their panties,” Phoenix boasts one more time, before leaping out of the way as Jack swings at him once more.

“You two knock it off,” Diesel grunts. “Or someone is going overboard.”

“Someone is moody today,” Mercy says, squeezing his cheek.

He gives her a look, and holy hell it’s so heated even my cheeks flush. Mercy just grins up at him, leans up, and rubs her lips over his a few times before nestling back into his lap. I watch the small smile on his lips, and the way his eyes warm as he looks down at her, even though she’s not looking, and my heart swells.

Sweet.

So damned sweet.

“He acts like a giant dick, but he’s actually a good guy. The best, actually. He’d do anything for that girl,” Jack says, catching me watch the two of them.

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“So would I.”

Jack’s breath tickles my ear and for a moment, my body goes stiff. It catches me off guard, but when his hand settles on my hip, I exhale and sink into him. I know I shouldn’t, but it feels so nice. It feels so good to be next to him, to feel his warm hand against my body. I close my eyes for a second, planting this moment in my memory, so I’ll never forget it.

After a few blissful moments, I turn around and face him. “Should I go down and get lunch?”

He nods, his eyes dropping to my lips.

God.

He’s doing things to me.

Things that scare me.

~*~*~*~

“So, Baylee, you and Jack ...”

I glance at Molly, and she wiggles her brows. I can’t help but smile. I look over her shoulder to where all the men are standing, a few feet away, chatting amongst themselves. This is the first time it’s just been all us girls, and it’s nice. It makes me wish I had been able to bring Shan. She would love these girls.

“We’re just friends,” I say softly. “But he is a really great guy.”

“Just friends, huh?” Matilda says. “Seems like more.”

“I’m not really ... in a good place for more.”

Their eyes all get curious.

“Want to share why?” Mercy asks.

“Not really,” I murmur, holding her eyes. “It’s not that I don’t trust you all, but I don’t talk about it.”

“Fair enough.” Matilda nods, and the others all nod, too. “But he really does like you. Are you sure you can’t be more than just friends?”

I glance at Jack, who is laughing at something. He looks so gorgeous. It hurts to stare at him. My heart aches.

“Right now I can’t.”

“I said that about Roman, once, too,” Molly says.

I look to her. “Really?”

“Yeah, he got out of a really bad relationship, and so did I. We were friends for a while, now I look back, I think we both kind of knew we were never just friends but we also knew we weren’t ready. It was painful. I do not advocate just friends at all.”

I laugh softly. “But look how it turned out.”

She smiles over at Roman. “Yeah, he got rid of the trash and finally he’s happy.”