“I need to apologize to Josie. She deserves that from me at minimum. Do you think she’ll hear me out? Will Henry? Be brutally honest, man,” Simon asks.
“They will. But I know Josie will want actions, not words. I also know Henry will follow Josie’s lead, but he doesn’t hold grudges.”
Simon nods, taking in the information with care. His hand reaches out to grab mine.
“Thank you,” he tells me.
I pull him in, wrapping my arms around him. He returns the gesture, and we hold each other for a few moments, just enjoying the feel of our bodies together again. My nose buries itself in Simon’s neck, taking in a fresh hit of his scent. He pulls back and bends down to kiss me gently. I return it, hoping that this is the time he really does pull his shit together.
“Do you think I could swing by this evening?” he asks, and I can see his brain working on an idea.
“Probably, Jesse said he wants to bond in, but I’m not sure it’ll be tonight. Plan to come over unless I text you, is that okay?”
“Yes, let’s do that. I need to pack some shit and grab my car keys,” he says, mostly to himself by the end.
I grab my bag and hoist it over my shoulder.
“Do you need directions?” I ask.
He waves me off from the closet, calling, “No, I got it.”
I smile and head down the stairs, back out the front door. Jesse hears the door close and hops out of Simon’s truck. Jesse ambles over as I put my bag into the backseat. When I close the door, I see Jesse standing at the front of the car, waiting for me before he walks around to the passenger side.
“Good talk?” he asks.
I raise an eyebrow at him, “You are a smooth talker, you know that? I’m keeping my eye on you.”
Jesse smirks, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
We get into the car, and I laugh as we drive back home to Henry’s. I can’t wait to bond him in and get Simon’s ass in gear.
thirty-seven
JOSIE
Vic and Jesse walk into the house with very different expressions on their faces. Jesse looks smug, almost like he knows something the rest of us don’t. Vic looks apprehensive but hopeful. I didn’t think that going to get stuff from the house could be so eventful. Ray and I are chatting on the couch while she does homework, when we see them come in.
“What did you do?” she asks.
Vic looks at Jesse and back at Ray, “Me?”
“No,” Ray waves him off, “lookin’ at ‘Mr. I’m too cool for people’ over there.”
Her impression of him, as she titles him, is actually pretty good. I can’t help but give her some recognition for it.
“She’s got you down, babe,” I tell Jesse.
He shrugs, “She’s gonna get one thing right eventually, I’m just glad it was about me.”
Ray’s response is to chuck a pillow at him. He catches it with a grin and walks further into the room, dropping a kiss on my head. Vic’s apprehension is bleeding down the bond a bit, so I send a wave of love toward him, hoping to ease whatever is bothering him. He shoots a grateful smile my way before leaving the room to go put his stuff away.
“Do you need anything?” Jesse asks.
I try to think of something, but there’s only one thing I want from him.
“Come cuddle me,” I tell him, and he wastes no time in obliging me.
I burrow as close to his body as I can, and Ray’s eyeroll is almost audible. She closes her textbooks and notebooks before standing.
