“You think too much,” he says finally.
“You don’t think enough.”
“That’s why I have more fun.” His lip twists into a smirk. “You said you wanted casual. Do casual with me.”
My heart thunders. I want to say I don’t think I can. I want to say no way, I could never. I want to guard myself from the heartache I know will come from it. Instead, I nod and accept because if I’m going to do casual anyway, it might as well be with the hottest guy I’ve ever known.
Chapter Nineteen
Jagger
You would think after that kiss I’d take her home and fuck her brains out. You’d be wrong. Somehow, we went from being interrupted by Misty, who brought out a tray of food that Josephine turned down since she was no longer hungry and that turned into me having to drive Misty, who was a little tipsy, and their grandmother Sabrina home, and of course, Jo, who was going to get an Uber because she’d smoked some weed with Misty and unlike Misty, Jo was seemingly terrified of driving under any influence even if she was absolutely sober by the time all of us left the restaurant.
“Your car smells new. Is it new?” her grandmother asks. She’s sitting in the passenger seat and has not stopped touching things, from the air vents to the radio.
“It’s not, but I’ve rarely driven it. It stays here when we go back to New York for breaks.”
“This is the car you should get, Josephine,” she announces.
I glance up in the rearview and find Jo’s hazel eyes on mine. My heart instantly kicks into high gear. God, I want her. I want her so badly I can barely stand it. She must see it in my eyes because it takes her a long moment to clear her throat and answer her grandmother.
“Sure, Nana, I’ll get right on it. Are you going to write the generous check or will I have to wait for my inheritance to kick in?” Jo asks. I find myself fighting a smile.
“I’ll help you buy a car,” Misty announces. “Maybe not this one, but a nicer one.”
“Why are you grounded, Josephine? You never told me,” her grandmother says.
“I made a mistake.”
“What kind of mistake?”
“The kind that gets you kicked off the volleyball team.” Jo’s no longer looking at me, but down at her lap and dammit, I hate it. I want her eyes on mine.
“You got kicked off the volleyball team?” Her grandmother turns slightly in the passenger seat with a gasp. “But you were the best one on the team.”
“I wasn’t the best one.” Jo lets out a short laugh.
“Nonsense. I saw you play.”
“Nana, how’s your Netflix show binging coming along?” Misty asks randomly. “Are you still watching Casa de Papel?”
“Yes but they changed the title and it took me two weeks to realize it. It is now called Money Heist.” Her grandmother doesn’t sound pleased by this. “So I’m a little behind.”
“That’s a good one though,” Misty says. “You have to give me recommendations. I haven’t been watching anything since I’m so busy with school.”
“Are you still going to graduate early?”
“I am.” I can hear the pride in Misty’s voice and it makes me smile.
“She’s going to graduate and get a bad ass job in New York,” Josephine adds. It makes me smile wider. The Canó sisters have always been thick as thieves, much like my brothers and me, and it’s something we’ve always silently respected about one another.
“Misty, let me know what building it is.” I turn onto the street she plugged into my GPS.
“You forgot your way around here?” Misty asks with a tsk. “The Cruz brothers move to New York and forget their country roots.”
“We moved when I was thirteen,” I remind her. “And I normally don’t drive on enemy territory if I can help it.”
“Enemy territory.” Misty laughs. “You can stop up ahead to the right.”
I do as instructed and wait for her to gather her jacket and purse and the bag of leftovers we were each given to take home. Once she does that, she kisses Jo on the cheek and makes her promise to text her when she gets home, taps me on the shoulder and thanks me, and walks over to the passenger side window to kiss her grandmother good night. We wait until she’s inside the building and waving at us before I drive away.
“Your turn, Nana.” I glance over at her with a smile.
“So, tell me, Jagger, how is New York these days?”
“It’s . . . New York. Always hectic, always exciting.”
“So you don’t see yourself staying here after graduation?”
“Probably not.”
“He’s a city boy through and through, Nana,” Jo says from the back seat with a yawn. “Besides, he may go to the NFL and if he does he’ll have to go to whatever city gives him a better contract.”