Free Progress (Progress #1) by Amalie Silver

sat on her other side. Jesse leaned in close, closer than he’d ever gotten to me , and whispered in her ear.
    I tried not to look—to stare—but just by the goose bumps on Paulina’s arms, I could almost feel Jesse’s warm breath on my ear too.
    “Hey Paulina. How ya been?” he purred, his normally gruff voice replaced with a smooth one.
    She tried to pull away, but Jesse had a firm grip on her wrist. She swung her head around and pleaded to Troy with her eyes.
    Picking up on the cue, Troy cut in. “Whoa, easy there, buddy.”
    “Buddy?” Jesse scoffed. “My name is Jesse.” His eyes flickered to mine quickly, and they softened.
    I looked away, staring at the concrete floor. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jess shake his head from the place his thoughts had brought him to. By the time I looked up again, his hard façade had returned.
    Troy laughed. “Jesse? Isn’t that a chick’s name?” A small snort came from his nose as he chuckled at his own joke.
    Uh oh.
    Not good.
    Jesse stood, kicking his chair backwards. His nostrils flared and his arms bulged outward as he tried to preserve some of the dignity he felt Troy had taken from him. “A girl’s name. Original.” He flexed his jaw. “Why don’t we step out into the parking lot and I’ll show what it feels like to get your ass handed to you.”
    Troy obviously hadn’t been let in on the fact that Jesse had a short fuse. Neither had I. Though it would’ve been a safe assumption.
    “Whoa,” Troy said, throwing his hands up in surrender. “We’re all friends here. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll order a round.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his money clip.
    For as cheesy and pompous I found Troy to be, his tactic was effective. Jesse’s face relaxed as he glanced over at me and picked up his chair.
    There was no way I could keep calm. I kept my hands beneath me, but I could feel them shake along with the thumping in my chest. Not only had the tension at the table increased tenfold with Jesse’s arrival, but I also feared what would happen next.
    Still, I remained quiet and waited for someone else to trigger his anger.
    “Hey, guys!” Adam approached our table.
    Oh, shit.
    “Hi Adam!” Paulina said loudly, clearly feeling the tension too.
    “Hi, Jesse, Paulina, Troy…” His eyes followed the line around the table, and paused when they landed on me. “Damn, Charlie. You’re looking good tonight. What are you so dressed up for?”
    “Me,” Jesse growled.
    Paulina’s brow furrowed and she looked back and forth at the two of us. Jesse’s eyes narrowed in on mine, and my face burned from humiliation.
    “She dressed up for me,” Jesse repeated, and smiled smugly at Adam. “Didn’t you, Charlene?”
    I tried to keep my mouth from opening from his audacity, but I couldn’t find enough strength.  My lips parted slightly, and I didn’t understand why he’d do something like that to me.
    If I’d thought we had any shot at a friendship, or even something more, that had been whisked away with his last statement. The bastard was just toying with me.
    “Hey, Jess! There you are,” a voice sang from the door.
    Neither of us looked at her, and we continued to stare at each other with heated glares.
    “You ran away,” the girl said, throwing her arms around his shoulders. “Who are your friends?”
    She was a waif of a thing, five feet tall, no more than a hundred pounds. Her pink tube top showed off her flat stomach and a sleeve of tattoos down one arm. Curly brown hair fell to her collarbone, and her lips looked like she’d just sucked dry the neck of a mortal.
    Jesse’s throat bobbed and he finally looked away from me. His hands covered hers and he gave them a tight squeeze. “They’re no one. Let’s go.” He rose abruptly and guided her back through the patio doors.
    “Whatever,” Paulina snipped.
    “I thought he was going to kick the shit out of me!” Troy said.
    But while they exclaimed unsavory