Fish Out of Water Read Free

know that.”
    She gave him a sideways eye roll while pressing against the sliding glass door, still looking into the clear sky, and he felt suitably chastened. “I know you got a thing for him.”
    Jackson grunted. “Out of our league,” he said softly. “You and me are street tacos and hamburgers. He’s filet mignon and caviar.”
    She shook her head, looking away. “I’m caviar and salmon, you presumptuous motherfucker. Take me out on a date once in a while and you’d know.”
    Oh. He’d hurt her—that was never his intention! “Sure, Jade. Name the place. We’ll kick back a bottle of wine and—”
    “Why him?” She turned around and leaned back against the door.
    He sighed. “’Cause he’s good. He really fights. It’s not just show.”
    “You sure it’s not just the whole nasty gay thing?”
    Jackson laughed and stretched. “I ever get soft with you?” he taunted. Because no. He played for both teams with gleeful abandon.
    She shook her head and sighed, coming to the bed and stretching out next to him. The smell of cigarettes clung to her, reminding him of when they’d both snuck smokes as a kid. “You ever think we’re getting too old for this?”
    Jackson grunted. Thirty—he’d already turned, but for Jade it was just around the corner. “Pity sex?” he asked, grinning dryly. “No one’s too old for pity sex.”
    She grimaced. “No,” she said, her voice dropping quietly. “This thing we do where we know the other one will be around if we’re between special friends we fuck.”
    Oh hell. “You thinking of breaking up with me, J?”
    She rested her head on hand, propping up on her elbow. “My brother already has two kids,” she said soberly.
    “Your brother knocked up Rhonda in college,” Jackson said, smiling. God, Rhonda was meant to be a mother—and Kaden was a father like none of them had ever had. Responsibility sat on Kaden’s shoulders so easily, it was hard to believe they’d grown up together.
    A house, businesses, beautiful kids—things had turned out for K and Rhonda, hadn’t they? They were going strong. K might have needed two jobs to help support his family, but his family loved him. Every time K had a double shift, Rhonda greeted him at the door with dinner and a beer, and every time Rhonda stayed up late grading papers, K got the kids up for school.
    Domestic as hell—they made Jackson wish for happy endings.
    “Yeah,” Jade said. Her full mouth pulled tight in the corners. “I used to feel sorry for them, right? Because you and me, we got to go out and do big things.” She sighed. “But I’m lonely, Jacky, you know?”
    Oh hell. “J—”
    “Yeah,” she said, her face relaxing into disappointment. “It’s not me. I get that. You got your big exciting life, and you get to fuck anything that moves—”
    “Hey,” he said, touching her cheek gently. “You and me—I love that we can do this.”
    She sighed. “It’s… it’s too easy. I had a chance to go out the other night, and I thought, ‘I should just call Jacky up. I know he doesn’t have anything going.’ And it’s not that this guy was bad—it’s just that with you, I knew what I was going to get.”
    Oh.
    “No strings,” he said softly.
    “Yeah,” she said. “I think we need to cut them.”
    He sighed. “Yeah, fine. But….” He hated to ask. But J knew—knew why he’d rather have anyone, even a bad date, here some nights.
    “I’ll stay the night,” she said quietly. “And any other night you need me. Just from now on….”
    “You’ll sleep on the couch,” he said. Or the guest room bed. Hey, it was comfy. The entire little duplex was comfy. Not paradise, but he kept it neat, made sure the furniture didn’t screw up your back, kept the beds clean. He wasn’t there a lot, but the place didn’t suck.
    “Yeah.”
    She looked so sad. He grabbed his boxers from the pile of clothes on the floor, then slid them on in a quick movement. It was still hot, in spite of