Best Served Cold (25 page)

She rattled it off to me, and I keyed it into my contacts. I was just putting away my phone when there was a knock at the door.

“That must be Cal. He said he had to work late.” Jesse opened the door, and a tall boy with longish black hair came in.

“Sorry. Working at a liquor store on Super Bowl Sunday is a bitch.” He peeled off his jacket and hung it over a chair. “Did I miss kick-off?”

“No, just about to happen. Cal, you know everyone else here—this is Julia, my girlfriend.”

I was still standing behind the counter with Alana, doing a fast clean up before the start of the game, and I smiled at the newcomer. He gave me a nod and a wave, and then a very peculiar look crossed his face.

I realized, when I saw that expression, that I knew Cal. Or at least I had seen him before. He was an Alpha Delt, and I’d met him with Liam. Still, it wasn’t a secret that Liam and I had dated, so I wasn’t sure why he looked at me so oddly. Unless...if the talk around campus was as bad as Liam had said, maybe he heard something. My stomach turned over. I hadn’t done anything wrong, not really. I hadn’t seen any other guys since Jesse and I had begun seeing each other, other than the wrestling match, and even that had been perfectly innocent. He’d understand. I hoped.

I finished throwing away the paper plates, wiped down the counters and went into the living room. Jesse was sprawled in one of the easy chairs, and he pulled me down into his lap.

“Nice job on the food, woman,” he whispered into my ear, teasing.

I wriggled against him, trying to elbow his ribs, but he caught my hands in his and brought them to his lips to kiss.

“Thank you. Everything was delicious.”

I settled back, laying my head on his chest. “You’re welcome. It was the least I could do, after...well, you know.”

Jesse didn’t say anything, but his face grew slightly red. Taking advantage of the situation, I shimmied a little lower, moving my rear against the growing hardness I felt within his jeans.

He tightened his arms around my middle.

“Behave,” he murmured. “I’m not going to be able to stand up now.”

“Hmmm.” I smiled, barely able to keep from giggling. “Pay attention to the game. You’ll feel better soon.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Sure.”

The game was a good one, with a close score and lots of action. At half time, I served the chocolate chip cookies I’d made that afternoon.

“Man, Jesse, your girlfriend can cook!” I heard one of the guys say.

“Yeah. One of her many skills.” There was pride in Jesse’s voice. “She’s also a really good writer. And she’s smart, and she likes to watch sports.”

I stood still for a moment. I couldn’t remember even one instance when Liam had praised me, either to my face or to someone else. Hearing Jesse do it now almost made me cry.

Since everyone had classes or work the next day, the party broke up as soon as the game ended. I stood with Jesse as he walked his friends to the door. When they were gone, I stood on tip-toe to kiss his cheek.

“Nice party. I’m going to head out, too. It’s late.”

“And just how are you planning to get back to campus?”

I rolled my eyes. “Crap, I forgot I don’t have my car. Well, I guess my wonderful, fabulous, sexy boyfriend is going to drive me.”

“He could, or he could just keep you here overnight and then take you back to campus in the morning.” Jesse held my hips, bringing me closer.

“Nice try, ace. I’ve got an early class, and I’m exhausted. My boyfriend kept me working hard all day.”

He smiled, dropping light kisses along the side of my face. “That’s true. I kept you busy. I’ll get our stuff.”

He disappeared into his bedroom and returned with both of our jackets. “That doesn’t mean I won’t push the issue again, though.” He helped me with my coat, gently pulling my hair out of the collar. “Even if we don’t do anything but sleep, the idea of waking up next to you is pretty exciting.”

I shook my head. “You’ve never seen me in the morning. I’m a hot mess. Ratty hair, bleary eyes and--” I dropped my voice. “Morning breath.”

He feigned horror and held up his hands. “I take it back. No overnights for you.”

“Jerk.” I took his hand, and we went out to the truck.

“Seriously, thank you for making all the food tonight. I’m now the envy of all the SLP grad students.” He kept one hand on the steering wheel while the other held mine as he drove.

“At least the ones here tonight. You’re welcome. I like cooking for a party, and I don’t get to do it very often.” Which reminded me of the next party I was throwing.

“By the way, Ava’s birthday is coming up. I’m going to give her a party in our lounge at the dorm. Want to come?”

“Sure. Need me to help with anything?”

“I’ll let you know when it gets closer, thanks. It’ll be a week from Friday, probably at seven.”

Jesse lifted our joined hands to kiss my wrist. “I’m hoping I’ll talk to you before then. Maybe even see you.”

“Well, I’ll have to check my schedule. You know I’m very busy.” I giggled.

Jesse made a face at me as we drove onto campus. “You’re making me regret not tying you to the bed tonight.”

“Ha. Just try it, buddy.”

We pulled up in front of the dorm, and Jesse let the truck idle. “Home again, home again. Want me to walk you in?”

I shook my head. “No, thanks. It’s late, and you need to get home. Plus Ava might be asleep already.”

“Hey, that reminds me. Did you ever find out what was bugging her?”

I bit my lip. “Sort of. Some guy was bugging her. I think it’s taken care of now.”

“Anything I can do? Talk to the jerk?”

“That’s sweet, but no, we’re handling it for now.” I leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I’m going to go in. Talk to you this week?”

“At least. I’ll probably see you tomorrow while you’re on Des duty.” He pulled me into one more searing kiss. “’Night, Jules.”

I did see Jesse the next day, but only briefly. He got home later, and I was just about to leave when he pulled into the driveway. I stood next to my car as he jumped out of the truck.

“Damn, I was afraid I was going to miss you.”

I hunched my shoulders against the biting wind. “You just about did. Your dad got home a few minutes ago.”

He sighed. “I stayed later to work on a group project. Idiotic crap. Anyway, you want to stay and eat with us?”

I shook my head. “I can’t tonight, Jesse. I’m so behind on everything, and I promised Ava I’d be home to eat dinner with her. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and glanced at the kitchen window behind us. “C’mere.”

He tugged my arm, pulling me until we were out of view, and then he wrapped me in his arms, his mouth on my lips.

I came up for air, gasping. “Was that persuasion?”

He laughed. “No, that was I’m-going-to-miss-you-but-I-understand.” He tucked me a little tighter into his arms. “But did it persuade you to do anything?”

“Nope, sorry.” I wriggled away. “Gotta run. Maybe see you Wednesday?”

“As far as I know. Matter of fact, why don’t we make it a date? Plan on us going out to dinner after you’re finished with the rug rat.”

“That I can do. Talk to you tomorrow?”

“Definitely.”

I did talk to Jesse on Tuesday, but not for very long. Submissions to the blog were flooding in now, and Kristen and I were swamped, going through emails and messages. Between that and my other school work, not to mention my new mission to plan a birthday party for my roommate, I hardly had time to breathe.

I sent out email invitations to the list of friends Ava had given me, and I posted a flyer about the party on our dorm community bulletin board. I assigned jobs to the freshman I considered most trustworthy, making sure to keep the crucial elements for myself. I even called Giff to make sure he knew that he was invited.

“Aren’t you a brave little toaster, planning another birthday shindig? I hope this one lasts longer. And ends better.”

“You and me both, buddy. Let me tell you, if it weren’t Ava, I wouldn’t be doing it. But she’s been a little down lately. Something’s bothering her. I thought a party might cheer her up.”

I let that slip on purpose, hoping to find out if Giff knew anything about what had gone on between our respective roommates. But if he did, he didn’t tell me.

“Well, I’ll be there. And let me know if you need me to do anything meantime.”

“I will. Oh, and Giff, not that you would, but please don’t mention this party to Liam. The last thing I need is for him to show up at another party I’m throwing. Can you just imagine?”

“Gotcha. These lips are sealed. See you next week.”

I was already frazzled by the time I got to work on Wednesday. Sarah met me at the door, not looking so great herself, and holding a sniffling little boy.

“He’s got a cold, and he was up all night, miserable,” she told me as I came inside. “I was going to call and tell you not to come today, but then I thought maybe...you might sit with him just for an hour. I need a little bit of sleep. Would you mind?”

“Of course not.” I took Des from her. “Come on, sweet boy. We’ll go read books, okay?”

He rubbed his eyes. “Watch Thomas?”

“Sure, let’s go watch some choo-choos.”

Sarah yawned. “Jules, you’ll never know how much I appreciate this. Just to get an hour’s nap...”

“Shoo. Go. We’re good here. Anything I need to know about our little sickie here?”

She shook her head. “No, I just gave him some medicine, so he’s good for another four hours. He has juice in his cup, and he can have some chicken noodle soup if he wants it—there’s a pot in the fridge. Otherwise, just keep him happy. I’ll be back down in a little bit.” She shuffled down the hall and up the stairs.

Des and I watched train videos for about forty minutes before he fell asleep, leaning against my side and breathing heavily. I laid my head against the back of the sofa and closed my eyes, hoping that whatever germs were inhabiting the little guy didn’t make the jump to me.

Danny came home before Sarah woke up. He tip-toed into the living room on stocking feet, nodding when I put my finger to my lips.

“Poor baby.” He whispered the words, shaking his head. “I came home early to give Sarah a break. Thanks for sticking around, Julia.”

“No problem.” I carefully disengaged myself from the sleeping baby. “Sarah’s still asleep. And you don’t look like you got much rest either.”

“No, but more than Sarah.”

All I wanted to do was get out of there, but Danny looked so pitiful that I heard myself saying, “If you sit down with Des, I’ll make dinner. That way Sarah can sleep some more, and you can rest, too.”

Danny sighed. “Thanks, Julia. What would we do without you?”

By the time I finished making spaghetti and meatballs, Des was awake. Sarah came downstairs, blinking in confusion as I was settling her son in the high chair. Jesse came in at the same time.

“What’s going on?” He looked from his father to his little brother, frowning.

“The baby’s sick, and Julia saved the day,” Danny answered, patting my shoulder. “Take her out of here, Jess, before we decide to keep her for the night.”