Page 115 of Losers, Part I

“Hey.” Manson tapped the back of his hand against Lucas’s chest. “Quit it. She’s not bailing. She could quit the game any time she wants, but she hasn’t.”

“Well, now’s the perfect time, isn’t it?” he snapped. “Shit’s getting real; it’s not just about kinky playtime anymore.” He laughed bitterly. “Do you think she’s going to want to stick around now that Daddy Dearest is involved? Fuck no.”

Manson was staring at him, his expression so hard I almost expected him to raise his voice, but he didn’t.

“You’re wrong.” His tone was perfectly even, angry in a way I rarely heard from him. “And even if you weren’t, we helped get her into this. She’s involved whether she likes it or not, whether she ghosts again or not. My dad isn’t going to care about the details. If he thinks he can hurt me by getting to her, he will.”

“She shouldn’t be alone,” Jason said. “She goes to the gym every morning, doesn’t she?”

“Every other day,” I said. “Or something like that.”

“I’ll switch to her gym and start going there to workout instead,” Jason said. “That way, at least she has someone with her in the morning.”

Lucas tipped his head back, rolling his eyes in disbelief. “You’re going to start waking up early to get to the gym with her? Really? You can barely even get out of bed by 10 am!”

“I’ll set an alarm,” Jason said easily. “I need to get into a better routine anyway.”

“I can give her rides on my days off,” I said. “She works during the week, so I don’t think she’s running around to very many places.”

Manson was nodding, his eyes downcast as his mind churned. “We’ll figure it out. Between the four of us, at least one of us will be able to find the time to go with her.”

“Y’all are fucking ridiculous,” Lucas said. “We have shit to do, we haveworkto do! Jessica is fine. So Reagan scared her a little, big deal. What’s he going to do?”

“Don’t fucking ask what he can do,” Manson said. His tone was as sharp as a blade, but that didn’t do a thing to intimidate Lucas. “Youknowwhat he can do.”

“She’s not even going to fucking stick around,” Lucas grumbled. “You’re acting like this chick is our girlfriend. She’s not. She’s not dating us. I wouldn’t call her a paramour. We have a mutually beneficial agreement and that’s it. As soon as she gets that job offer she’s waiting on, she’s going to be gone.”

“Then we’ll protect her until she’s gone,” Manson said fiercely. He got up from the couch, abruptly rousing Jojo from her sleep. “It’s not an argument; it’s what we’re doing. Is everyone clear on that?”

Jason and I both nodded, but Lucas stayed where he was, glaring at Manson. Finally, without a word, he lowered his eyes and got up, stalking out of the living room. The front door slammed a moment later.

Manson sighed, his shoulders deflating as he sat back down. It wasn’t often the two of them argued, but I hated to see it when they did. Tapping out my joint in the ashtray, I left him and Jason in the living room and went out to the front porch.

Lucas was pacing in the yard, obviously too pissed to have a normal conversation quite yet.

“Hey, so —”

“Don’t start that shit.” He cut me off, pausing to take a longdrag on the joint. “You already know I’m going to hear it from Manson later. How I need tolet my guard downandwork through my issues.” He snorted. “Fucking therapist bullshit.”

I let him pace for a bit, working out a little more of that nervous energy before I said, “I was going to suggest that you smoke more weed, but uh, yeah, those other things would be a good idea too.”

He growled in frustration, sitting down heavily on the front porch and rubbing his hand over his head. “I don’t get it, man. I don’t trust her. Why should I? After all this time, suddenly she’s feeling so friendly? Going out in public with us? Celebrating with us? Acting like a little flirt? I don’t buy it. Jess is just getting what she wants, so why thehellshould I get attached?”

Ah, so there it was. That was why he was so damn moody this week.

After taking a seat beside him, I pulled out another joint from my pocket once he’d smoked his down to the filter. I had it ready and waiting for him by the time he’d flicked the old one away.

“Damn, you’re on it,” he said, taking the lighter when I offered it. He passed the joint to me after he’d taken a hit, and we sat like that for a while in silence.

“You’re attached to her,” I said finally, when I felt he’d smoked a sufficient amount to hear it. “You’re falling for her.”

He scoffed, grumbling something under his breath.

“I get it,” I said. “It’s hard when there’s so much history between all of us. But people can change. You have, I have…all of us have changed since high school.”

“Not Jess,” he said determinedly. “She’s the fucking same.”

I laughed, although I tried to make it gentle. “You know that’s not true. It’s different this time. She’s different. I think she’s trying.”