Page 39 of Honey Undone (The Hornets Nest #5)

JENSEN

I set the oversized bowl of lettuce on the counter and turned to where Van was cutting vegetables with a knife two sizes too small for the size of his hands.

“I’m so ready to be back on the diamond tomorrow,” I grumbled, rolling out my shoulders. “I’m starting to feel antsy.”

“Yeah I agree, it’s going to be a long series. Lorette is going to fight hard,” he said.

“I still can’t believe they made it this far, with Yuri on the mound they’re playing sloppy defense and barely keeping it together on offence.”

“Weirder shit has happened, at least we don’t have to play Portland yet, that’s going to be vicious.” Van turned to the fridge and started unloading bottles of salad dressing onto the island.

“Lorette will take care of them, and we can handle Lorette, we know that offence in our sleep.” I countered and Van shrugged in agreement. “It’s Portland that’s going to give us trouble.”

“Why are you dressed up? It’s Mario Kart night,” Van eyed my clean maroon shirt and jeans. “Addy.” He came to the conclusion before I even opened my mouth. “All you playboys are growing up and getting hitched, it’s adorable,” he said with a smile.

“I’m not getting hitched, we’re just going out,” I said, my brows pinching together at his accusation. Adeline bristled at the word boyfriend, there was no way she wanted anything more than fun. Right?

“Sure,” Van said. Giving me a dirty, all knowing look.

“What?” I asked .

“Nothing, you just seem to really like her but anytime someone brings her up in a manner that’s more serious than I don’t know a booty call or a fling you clam up like someone asked when the wedding was… that’s all.” Van explained.

“Is that all?” I scowled at him. I didn’t clam up. I panicked. There was a clear distinction. “We’re having fun, no strings attached, easy and simple.”

“Oh, come on Jenny, you and I both know Cael was on to something that day. It’s alright if you see her as more than casual. Even fuckboys are allowed to catch feelings every once in a while,” Van said. “And you definitely don’t have to lie to me about it, I’m your best friend.”

“I’m not lying.”

“So you know about the California offer and you’re not bothered by it?” Van asked, unknowingly sharing something with me that I definitely wasn’t supposed to know about. “You’re alright with her leaving?”

I swallowed the need to ask him what the hell he was asking about and put the pieces together as quickly as I could on my own. Adeline had been offered the trade to California. She had mentioned it in passing once or twice, but never anything serious. How long had she known about it?

“There are plenty of girls in Harbor,” Van said, knowing that I was tripped over by the news but not willing to give me the satisfaction of backing out of the corner he had walked me into.

I agreed with him. The problem was by the way my brain stuttered around the statement, it was obvious that my heart and mind didn’t agree.

There’s only one Adeline Sarah.

“Like I said, casual. ” I repeated and Van watched me with his stupid, intelligent eyes seeing through the lie I was throwing at him.

Van just laughed as the timer on the oven went off. Whatever it was that Josh had started smelled delicious and when I pulled the massive sheet pan from inside the waft of Chicken Parmesan hit my nose like a tidal wave.

“He should always cook, it should be a law…” I mumbled, inhaling more of the smell as I set it down on the counter.

“His rotation is purely Italian food and hamburgers, we’ll all be carb loaded and need to get our ball pants sized up,” Van noted tossing the veggies into the bowl .

“Are you complaining?” Josh appeared from the living room archway with a scowl on his face and Van just smiled at him.

It was still awkward at times, mostly because Josh didn’t know how to be human.

He was serious all the time except for around Dean and even then saying he was enjoying himself was a stretch.

And he was sneaky as hell, you never knew when he was around and he was always just… there. But he had started to warm up to the Nest, to the team. Just in time for us to graduate, sure, but he had gotten there.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took the momentary lull in conversation to check it.

Do you think you could come get me from practice?

Me?

Sorry I meant to text my other booty call, ignore this.

I shook my head, I was wrapped around her little finger and she knew it.

“No complaints here,” I said for the both of us as I scooped a hot chicken breast into a to-go container and shoveled some salad into a zip-lock bag.

Van stared at me like I was insane but I just shrugged, “Salad in a bag…” I grumbled, squeezing in some dressing with a smile on my face.

“I have to go, I’m meeting Adeline. Thanks for dinner, Josh. ”

“Jenny,” Van called out to me and I stopped.

“What?” I gripped the door frame waiting for him to speak again.

“That’s how I know,” he said, “you’re the only person that calls her Adeline.”

“Everyone calls her that.” I shook my head and tapped the wood.

“Not the way you do.” Van stared at me and Josh looked over his shoulder with a smug smile.

“Fuck you both.”

I was supposed to be picking up Adeline from practice but when I arrived their field was empty and the only sounds, I could hear were coming from the field over.

I followed the noise past a row of seating and popped out the other side on the edge of another pitch.

It was only when I heard Adeline’s laughter that I knew I was in the right place.

The four of them were hanging over the bleachers, picking at food and talking as Rhea braided Kaia’s hair.

Not a single one of them noticed me approaching, their eyes on the field in front of them.

Adeline’s hair was loose around her face and frizzy from the heat, and her skin was still flushed, all pretty and pink from practice.

“One day we should tie all their cleats in knots,” Cosy said without looking up from what she was reading.

“Then how will they run laps and get sweaty, Cos?” Rhea said like it had personally offended her.

“Listen I know you hate him but there’s not a damn thing wrong with Loveday when he’s damp and his mouth is shut,” Kaia said. I turned my head to take in what they were watching to find the entire male rugby team running laps in the hot sun.

“Ladies,” I said, leaning on the bleachers. “What are we doing?”

All four of them jumped out of their skin and started laughing uncontrollably.

“I call it hog patrol,” Kaia said with the sickest smile.

“That’s disgusting,” Cosy said with a grumble.

“Hot dog cart? Quick lunch, piping hot?” Rhea added to the hilarity while Adeline slid across the bleacher toward me. “Two for one special?”

“How many hot dogs do you think I could shove in my mouth?” Kaia asked.

Rhea tilted her chin up and started to count on her fingers .

“Ignore them,” Adeline whispered, her fingers hooking under my chin to bring my lips to hers. “Thanks for coming to get me, I need to go home and change quickly.”

“Anything for you.” It slipped out before I could stop it but it made her blush and suddenly I didn’t regret a damn word. “Mind if I steal your girl?” I looked around Adeline to the others.

“Only if you feed her,” Kaia said and by the smirk on her face there was an innuendo there somewhere that I couldn’t find.

“I’ll make sure she’s satisfied,” I said without hesitation.

“God, will you two stop?” Adeline groaned.

“Come on,” I grabbed her by the waist, pulling her down off the bleachers into my arms and shuffled her back to my car. Two hours later, Adeline was fed in every sense of the word. Dressed in jeans and a barely there top that showed off her perfect stomach.

Once we got to the Hollow everything was a blur, it seemed to be where you could find any of them on any night. But tonight, the place was packed.

“You know the DJ isn’t horrible.” Adeline knocked back a gin and seven before smiling at my comment. My fingers pressed into the front pocket of her skin tight jeans and held her against my chest as I whispered in her ear. “I still prefer live music better.”

“It’s dance night,” Her voice was muffled by the sounds of Boone ringing the obnoxiously loud bell above the bar when someone ordered a Hollow, some disgusting concoction made of jello and nine different liquors.

“It's the only night of the week Brighton will let us play pop music,” she whined. “Sunday worked hard to get us dance night, don’t you dare complain!”

“I’m not,” I raised my hands in the air and instantly hated the lack of contact. “Where is Sunday anyways?” I asked.

“She works nights this week at the hospital,” Adeline explained, but was quickly distracted. “Oh my god, I love this song,” she squeaked, darting in a zigzag line with my hand in hers straight toward where Rhea and Cosy occupied the dance floor.

That close to the speakers, the music was so loud it vibrated through my bloodstream and made everything feel fuzzy as Adeline ground herself up against me and the lights made everything unbearably warm.

But with the music playing and my girl in my arms, it was easy to enjoy the small moment of bliss that the noise level provided.

“I’m going to get some water,” I said to her, kissing the hollow of her neck before slipping back into the sea of dancing bodies to the bar. I slid in between two bodies and nodded to Boone who filled a glass for me.

“Jensen, this is Wren.” Boone pointed to the guy next to me.

He held out his hand to me with a bright, cheesy smile on his face.

Framed by a set of deep dimples and paired with fluffy uncontrolled blonde hair that he’d stuffed under a black backward cap, he looked like he just stepped off the set of Point Break.

“Best friend, liability, absolute joke of a human being.”

“There’s no shame in being a good time,” Wren winked.

“He acts like he isn’t the first to cause trouble,” he said to me.