Two Outta Three (Two Outta Three #1) Read Online Free Page A

to grab her laptop. Once she sat back down, she eagerly logged in, typing away manically against the hot pink keyboard.
    “You seriously aren’t looking him up, are you?” My voice was stern, but with a hint of amusement. In all honesty, I thought it was a bit funny.
    “Do you think he has a profile page?”
    I shook my head and let out a laugh. “Oh man, I created a monster.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
     
    “Rocky?”
    I turned around slowly, surprised to hear Jesse’s voice. Gulping quickly, I struggled to maintain a calm tone. “Hey! You’re here early!”
    Okay, I basically failed that one.
    Jesse peeled off his huge down jacket and brushed some snow from his hair. My eyes followed the powdery flakes as they fell to the floor and I couldn’t help but feel a bit stupid being envious of the inanimate objects.
    He gazed around the store, looking anywhere but at me. “Well, you know how it is on your first week at the job. You have to make a good impression.”
    I laughed. “Well, seeing as I’ve been working here since I was nine, I really don’t know the feeling. You know, lack of child labor laws in the Rossi household.”
    A lull fell over the two of us. I began drumming my fingers across the counter, a nervous tick of mine I’d had since I could remember. Jesse must have picked up on it.
    “Uh, well, it was really nice of your dad to hire me on like this. Last time I saw him, he looked as if he wanted to shoot me in the head.”
    “I’m sorry about your mom.” I sucked in my breath, surprised that I had blurted it out so callously.
    Jesse shifted his weight uncomfortably and pulled up his tailored jeans. It was a habit he had done since he was a kid. It was his tell that he was getting ready to leave. I wasn’t about to let him.
    “Why did you come back?” I pressed.
    He lifted an eyebrow. “I’m sorry?”
    “You heard me.”
    His eyes narrowed slightly and for a moment I thought I had angered him. Fortunately, his voice was calm, though a bit too calculating for my taste. “You already answered that question yourself.”
    I stared at him blankly.
    “My mom?” he offered, but not condescendingly.
    “Why come here? To my store. It’s been years since I last saw you and suddenly you reappear, acting all strange.”
    “I’m not acting strange.”
    I stared at him pointedly, my face stern and unamused. It had been the same look I used to give him any time he acted up and I could tell he recognized it. His shoulders sagged forward slightly, betraying the light sweat stain around his collar. He was nervous. But why?
    Taking a deep breath, he shut his eyes and in a low tone said, “I know things were left a bit weird between us, but I promise it was for the better.”
    “For the better? We were best friends, Jesse. Two out of three, might I add. You completely fell off the face of the earth. Tell me, have you even visited Stephanie since you arrived?”
    He frowned. “I think you know the answer to that.”
    “You bet I do,” I grumbled. I turned on my heel and grabbed a dirtied orange apron, throwing it on. As I tied the knot around my waist, I could have sworn I caught Jesse’s eyes following my every movement. “So what’s your deal? Why are you here?”
    “I had to take care of my mom, Rocky. I needed a job. The opportunity presented itself and I had to take it. You’d do the same thing.”
    “If this opportunity didn’t happen to show up, would you even have tried to reach out to me?” The look on his face spoke volumes and I couldn’t bring myself to hear him say it out loud, so I decided to switch gears. “Actually, where did you even run into my dad in the first place? My dad is either here at work or back at home.”
    “The pharmacy. I was picking up some meds for my mom and your dad was there for his own stuff.”
    That’s right. My dad had been fighting off a bad cold.
    I felt my resolve weakening. I missed my friend and I had no idea why there