I wanted him again, and he knew it.
“Oh, princess, I’ve got a few surprises up my own sleeve. ”
I smiled and whispered, “Bring it on. ”
Ells, Ari, Amanda, and I all sat on Ellie’s back porch as we listened to the music the DJ, Jack, was playing. I felt guilty that we were all drinking, and Ellie was sipping on lemon water.
I looked out and saw the guys, including Smitty and a few other friends of ours, playing tag football. I watched as Scott ran up and jumped on Jeff before he brought him down to the ground.
“Jesus H. Christ, if one of them gets hurt and ruins my twenty-first birthday party, I’m cracking heads,” Ari said.
“Hey, y’all,” Jessie said as she walked up. She started giving everyone a kiss on the cheek.
“Jess! Holy shit, girl. Long time, no see,” Ari said with a laugh.
Jessie sat down and let out a sigh. “Shit. I’m so damn tired that I can’t even think straight. Between still taking classes and working at the vet clinic, I hardly have any downtime. Shit. They have me working so much. I’m pretty much on call twenty-four/seven. Do you know how many damn times people call for me to come watch their dogs give birth? We live in the damn country. They are supposed to be country folk. What the hell?”
Ellie, Amanda, and Ari let out a laugh.
“How about Scott? How are things going there?” I asked.
Jessie’s smile faded for a quick second before she looked out at him while he was running around with the guys.
“I’ve never felt this way before. It’s…It’s…”
“Magical?” all of us said at the same time.
As we all let out a loud laugh, Gunner and Josh stopped and looked at us.
“What’s so damn funny?” Gunner called out.
Ellie smiled. “Just girl talk, babe, but you’re about to be—”
That was when Brad tackled the hell out of Gunner. Josh looked at me and smiled before he jumped on top of Brad.
Jessie let out a breath. “Yes. Magical. But I’ve seen so little of him lately. He’s been busy himself. Jeff and Scott decided to go in on a horse together…a racing horse of all horses. ”
Jessie looked at Ari as she rolled her eyes.
“Scott had to leave for Kentucky twice this last month. I hate that we’re just starting off our relationship, and we barely see each other. ”
Amanda smiled. “Well, when y’all do see each other, make it count, girl. Get your dirty on…like Heather here. ”
I snapped my head over to Amanda. “Amanda! Oh my god!” I felt my face turning hot as I looked at Ells and Ari, who were just smiling. I glanced back at Jessie, who was also smiling. “Do y’all know?” I asked as I glanced back at Ari.
She shrugged her shoulders. “What? You’re like the most innocent one of the group. When you go all Fifty Shades on us…we have to talk about it. ”
My jaw dropped, and I just shook my head. “I’m never telling your ass anything ever again, Arianna Johnson. Ever!”
After they all laughed for a good two minutes, Ellie turned to Jessie. “Just make sure y’all find time for each other, Jess. I know how much Scott loves spending time with you. ”
Ari sat up and looked at Jessie. “Speaking of loves…has he yet?”
It was Jessie’s turn to turn red. When she nodded, we all let out a squeal.
“How?” I asked before I took a drink of beer.
“Well…he was nervous as all get out. We were just getting back from a picnic that he’d planned. Oh, it was so romantic. ” She let out a sigh. “We were walking the horses and just talking, catching up on what was going on in our worlds, and Scott turned and asked me if I wanted to move in. ”