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But then Oscar entered the picture, and my flirty jokes and banter that I have with just about everyone felt different with him.
FYI: I feel chicken-shit scared in this moment. To believe one thing for so long about myself and then have to reassess is not even close to easy.
No, actually, my dick pulses. “You’re an attractive guy, and you’d be good on TV.” Do I sound choked?
“You’ve told me that before. And the answer still hasn’t changed.” Selfishly, I just want to grill the fuck out of him.
Something inside me is utterly enamored with how easily and quickly he just moved into action for me.
Back turned to me, his drawstring pants pull tight around his ass. Jesus fuck. My stomach squeezes. And my dick almost rouses. Stay down.
and at this point, I’m questioning if I even know how to swim. Me, Jack Highland, a collegiate swimmer at Penn.
My body acts like he’s the hottest thing to ever step foot on this Earth, and my brain has trouble catching up to these feelings.
“Baby donuts will hold you over for five seconds.” Baby donuts. I smile.
“I’m good.” “Good,” I say, my chest tightening. He nods. “Good.”
Oranges bleed through the window 21-floors high. Bathing the kitchen, him and me, in rays of light.
The glow of the waning sun illuminated Oscar Oliveira, and he was gorgeous. I almost told him. I’ve told plenty of guys they’re beautiful. But I stopped myself because that moment felt different than those other times. Maybe I just wanted it to be different.
“I need a crew—” “I need to do my job,” Oscar cuts me off. I let out a frustrated noise. “And I don’t need to do mine?”
I’ve been head-to-head with enough guys on security to not cower. But something about Oscar slowly simmers my blood.
I may have gone to an Ivy League, but it doesn’t take a genius to know whatever Oscar is thinking, it’s not good. But more than anything, I can’t get over how he’s not shutting me out of comms.
I can’t name a single bodyguard who wouldn’t pull the plug and turn the volume to negative 100 on me, on anyone in production.
and I stop myself from searching for Oscar among them. Dude. You’re the one who needs to concentrate. One breath out, I focus.
“Winona Meadows.” His eyes flash briefly over to the Meadows girls. Sulli and Winona stretch under an oak tree together.
And still, Oscar has occupied almost 80% of my mind.
My nighttime dreams of him and me do that enough.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Oscar shooting daggers at Ernest like he almost seized my baby from me.
“He’s a Hale,” Charlie tells Ernest. “Last time I checked, H.M.C. Philanthropies stood for Hale, Meadows, Cobalt. You’re an idiot if you think he wouldn’t be here.”
“Because I’m the son of Connor Cobalt. And the only reason this company hasn’t dissolved is because I’m still a part of it. I will concede—you do own the board, Ernest. I have no control over them. But you don’t own me.”
“Story of my life is being surrounded by people who aggravate the fuck out of me.”
“Is your family among that group?” I wonder. “Sometimes. But they usually aggravate me the least. Especially Beckett.” He takes a sharp right into a thicker area. But he’s skinnier than Oscar and me, able to slip between trees and branches easier.
“And I didn’t need to interview the hell out of him to do it.” I can’t help but smile. “You rely on your talents; I’ll rely on mine.” Oscar grins. “After you.”
Our arms brush, our hands skim, and I almost feel him catch onto my fingers. To hold my hand. But he retracts fast—so fast that my pulse skips.
I focus my shot on him. He leans against a mossy boulder, book in one hand and a blunt between his other fingers. He doesn’t glance up at us as we arrive.
“Getting lost in the woods together—one of my favorite romance tropes,” he muses and sticks the blunt in his mouth. Oscar and I share a tense look. Fuck.
“Donnelly made a joke about Wawa catering the event on comms.” We draw closer together. Quietly, I tell him, “My brother needed to take a shit in the woods.” He laughs hard.
Which causes me to laugh, and Charlie eyes us from his perch on the boulder. Like we’re being discovered, the noise slowly fades from our mouths. Back to business.
“I have a question,” I tell Charlie. “And the sky is blue.” Charlie flips the page of his book, smiling at something he’s reading.
I can’t make out the title of the paperback. It looks like he—or someone else—scratched off the letters with a knife.
“I suppose I could quit an obligation, but it’d have far reaching consequences.” “The company would dissolve?” Charlie nods. “My parents, my aunts, and uncles would pull their money out. Something Maximoff built from the ground up would be destroyed overnight.”
Oscar chats with security, and I try not to bother him.
The only runners who’ve completed the 5k loop are Sullivan, Ryke, and Maximoff.
I strain my eyes, making out dark-brown shaggy hair and a camera in his hands. Holy fucking shit, that’s Jesse Highland. Alarm triggers in my body, and I don’t think. Just react.
I click my mic and speak as I run. “Oscar to Security, I’m handling the fight—don’t send anyone else.” Last thing Jack needs is to have security all over his little brother’s ass.
“Grow a fucking funny bone, bitch!” He’s still yelling at Jesse, even as I drag him back. “Grow a fucking brain, ass-clown!” Jesse shouts hotly, trying to charge forward. Jack puts a hand on his chest and restrains him.
Look, I don’t know Jack’s little bro that well, but Jesse seems like he has a good heart. And Jack calls him a free spirit. Not a devil or a dickhead.
and you bet your ass that I’m remembering his full name so he never invades Jesse’s space again.
I leave out Jesse. I’m playing favorites. Is it fair? Yeah, no. Life isn’t fair, and I have intense feelings for the pretty boy with the camera. And if his little brother is in a pickle, I’m going to help get him out.
“I was fake-humping the table, and Jesse got bent-out-of-shape over it because another person—not me—said that’s how I should ride Winona Meadows.”
I’d laugh about it, but I’m busy watching Jack back away from the situation. I only want to follow close before he disappears on me. And also, I left my vanishing client alone. It’ll be a miracle if Charlie is still waiting for me.
Our eyes catch in a beat that says, we’re on the same side.
Not necessarily as production and security. But just as myself and him. As Oscar and Jack. I’m really falling for this guy, aren’t I? He disappears.
Jack and I meet-up in an empty cabin called Blue Daisy, just four bunks here, a rustic bench, and a blue trunk.
“You think Charlie knew he was leading us into poison ivy?” He pulls his tee over his head. “Just to get you and me naked together?” I let out a laugh. “Now that would be some 5D-chess.” I step out of my pants.
“Stop scratching, Highland.” I catch his wrist. His chest rises, his eyes drop down my half-naked build. I’m only wearing dark blue boxer-briefs, and a part of me is screaming to kiss him.
“You have a good grip, Long Beach.” He smiles that dazzlingly smile.
