“What in thehellwas that?”
A gurgle of mortified laughter sprang from my lips. My hands covered my face, attempting to block him out. Only Jake and his low, country-boy drawl could get that reaction from me when I felt this self-conscious.
“Why did you take out Briggs? He’s not that bad.”
“That was a flirt. That was my flirting.”
A low whistle hummed through the air, above the crackle of the fire. “Wow.”
“Yeah.”
I picked at the shorts and cute striped t-shirt I’d picked for tonight’s outfit and tried to drown out the dejection I felt. Arriving at the bonfire, I felt so good in the clothes I’d chosen. I had been sure that they would project onto me all the confident, good vibes I needed. Though, I had imagined myself talking more with Jake. Briggs had surprised me by attaching himself to my side, and I hadn’t fully prepared for him to be so flirtatious in front of everyone.
“I gotta say…that tackle,” Jake began. “Great form. I didn’t know you played football for Montana too.”
I bumped my shoulder into his until his husky laughter brought another smile to my lips.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Kelsey’s voice called out softly. We turned to find her smiling at us while making her way around the logs surrounding the waning fire. She grabbed a blue jacket sitting in the dirt, caked in a layer of dust.
“Luke forgot this.”
“That looks too clean to be Luke’s,” Jake said.
She gave the coat a good shake, a cloud of dust falling off as she did so, and laughed. “You’re right. It’s probably Wyatt’s, and he’s just blaming it on his brother.”
“Anyway…” She lingered, throwing us each a smile as she backed away, heading in the direction of her white farmhouse situated on the far side of the dude ranch, tucked down a small, private lane. “I’ll let you two catch up. What time should I plan on Sophie tomorrow?” she called out to Jake.
“I’m going to have her help me feed a few cows first thing, and then I’ll bring her to you around eight.”
“Sounds great. Good night.”
“Are those guys going to act like that around us all summer?” I asked once Kelsey had moved out of earshot.
Jake poked at a log in the fire with a stick. “Oh, you noticed? I thought they were all being extremely subtle.”
I laughed. “Is that why you didn’t sit by me?”
“Hard to get over there with Briggs fawning all over you.”
“He wasn’t fawning.” He shot me a look that only made me laugh. “I’m just his only option.”
His brow furrowed. “Why do you say that?”
I looked at him, startled by the intensity in his voice. “Say what?”
“Why do you act like it’s crazy that he’s into you?”
“Because that’s not normal for me.”
“Why not?”
To his credit, he genuinely looked baffled, which caused my heart to flutter appreciatively.
I shrugged. “I can talk to guys when it’s casual. It’s when stuff gets flirty or when we’re in a situation that doesn’t require me to do a chest bump or a high five for a goodnight…that’s when things go haywire for me.”
“To be fair, most guys are fine with chest bumps.”
I pushed him off the log, but not before I saw the grin on his face.