Chapter 5

Jack

"Let's go. We're gonna be fucking late." Everett snaps at me as soon as I open the car door. 

"You're the one who's late picking me up. I've been ready for fifteen fucking minutes." I shoot back, but he just huffs and starts to drive. 

"I didn't realize she lived so far away." He says and I look at the GPS on his phone to see where we're headed. 

"The suburbs. Of course." I murmur and Everett laughs. 

"Where's your book?" He asks and I shrug.

"We're not reading the book there, we're just talking about it. Why would I bring it?" I ask and he does that thing where he silently prays for strength to deal with me. 

He's so dramatic. 

"What's in the back?" I ask, gesturing towards a box. 

"The snack we were supposed to bring."

"I didn't know we had to bring a snack." I say and he rolls his eyes at me. 

"That's because you never listen." He mumbles. 

"Well, what is it?" I ask. 

"Biscotti and coffee from the shop."

"What's biscotti?" 

"It's like a cookie thing you dunk in your coffee." He says. 

"Sounds gross." 

"Then you bring the fucking snack next time." He shoots back at me.

"Why are you so pissy tonight? Is it because you're freaking out about your date with Harper tomorrow?" I ask with a teasing grin. He huffs at me before shooting me a glare. 

"No. I'm pissy because you're irresponsible. And it's not really a date. She's just coming to the shop for coffee. Plus, her boyfriend just cheated on her. Why would she want anything to do with another guy right now?" He asks, a sharpness to his tone that he only gets when he's anxious. I just shrug and adjust the temperature in the car. Everett smacks my hand away and switches it back. 

"You're not just some guy. You'll treat her right. Maybe that's what she needs." I respond. He goes quiet for a minute and I can tell he's thinking hard by the way his fingers tap rhythmically on the steering wheel. 

"Maybe. I don't know. I don't even know what to talk to her about." He says.

"Ask the ladies at book club. Maybe they'll have some ideas." I suggest and his head swivels to look at me quickly.

"Don't you say a word to them. I'm serious." He snaps. I shrug and watch as he pulls into a nice two story colonial in the middle of the suburbs. I'm sure if I measured the grass it'd be exactly two inches. 

"I won't. I'm just saying, if we're going to do this maybe we should take advantage of the opportunity. Pearl said these books are written by chicks and we'll be in a room full of them. Women who have way more experience in romance than either of us. Why not ask for some tips?" I say. 

"I'm not going to use moves or some shit on Harper." He retorts. 

"I'm not saying you should. You genuinely care about her, right?" I ask and he nods. "Well, maybe they know a way you can show her that without making a total idiot out of yourself." 

I don't wait for him to respond, getting out of the car and walking towards the house. I knock and an older man answers it. 

"We're not interested in buying any magazines." He says gruffly.

"We're here for book club." I explain and Everett holds up his copy of the book as proof. The guy eyes us skeptically before turning back towards the inside of the house. 

"Jules! You got dudes in this group?" He yells. The next moment Julie rounds the corner, her head popping into the open doorway. 

"Oh, hi boys! I'm so glad you found the place. Come on in." She says excitedly, ushering us into her home. Her husband watches us for a moment as she takes the food from Everett. 

"You guys read these books?" He asks and I shrug. 

"We heard it could help us out with the ladies." I say and he grunts at me before opening his mouth to clearly disagree with me. 

"Maybe you should read a book or two." Julie says, giving her a husband a glare. He looks at her reproachfully before responding. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks. 

"Remember that new thing we tried last week?" She asks. 

"Yeah." He says. 

"Read it in a book." She says with a weird tone that I can't discern. He looks at her thoughtfully before turning on his heel. "Where you going?" She calls after him.

"Your library." He calls back. Julie's face splits into a grin and she grabs my elbow, leading me into her living room where all of the other women have gathered. 

"Food's there, dears. If you're hungry." She says, pointing towards a table with a mountain of food on it. 

"Holy shit." I murmur, making a beeline for it. "This looks catered." I whisper to Everett, taking in the meat and cheese board, mini cucumber sandwiches, bite sized cupcakes and skewers with fresh fruit. I load up a plate and find a seat on the floor between Dawn and Gwen. I start stuffing my face as Julie gets everyone's attention. 

"So, ladies. I mean... everyone." She says, giving Everett and I warm smiles. "What do we think of the book so far?" She asks. 

"I feel like the tempo is good. I just hope Kaltor's mate isn't too predictable." Angie says. 

"Yeah, like the vampire king's daughter." Gwen supplies. 

I don't know what a mate is, so I just sit quietly and chew. But I'm guessing it's the chick that Kaltor's going to do the smut with.

"You don't think that would be interesting? Very Romeo and Juliet-ish?" Julie asks and Gwen shakes her head. 

"It's too obvious. I'd be fine with it being a vampire on the other side though. Someone he has to save." She adds. 

"What about you, boys? How are you liking it so far?" Julie asks and my mouth is full of food so I look over at Everett. 

"I don't understand the conflict. Why are the werewolves and vampires at war?" He asks and Gwen giggles. 

"Because werewolves and vampires hate each other." She says. 

"Okay, but why?" Everett asks and Gwen shrugs. 

"Because that's how the story's written." She says. Everett rolls his eyes and I'm surprised he doesn't start praying for strength to deal with her too. 

Apparently that's just for me. 

"Well, I think the conflict should be more obvious. Why would you go through with a whole ass war just because you don't like another species. I don't like spiders, you don't see me trying to kill off every spider in the world." Everett says and Julie nods. 

"Good point. Although I think it's deeper than just a general dislike for a different species. I think more will be explained as we go further in the book." Julie says. 

"How much longer till the smut?" Pearl cuts in. The rest of the ladies laugh before Julie answers. 

"I'm not sure. I didn't check what chapter it's in." She says and Pearl huffs out an annoyed breath. 

"I'm not getting any younger you know." She quips and I laugh so hard I choke on a grape. 

They discuss the book awhile longer and as we sense things starting to wrap up I notice Everett's leg twitching like it does when he gets nervous. When Julie goes to announce the end of our meeting he finally speaks up. 

"Can I ask for some advice?" He practically yells, his face turning red at his own outburst. The ladies look at him with shocked expressions before Dawn speaks up. 

"Sure." She says. 

"Um..." Everett starts, clearing his throat before he continues. "There's this girl. Her name is Harper. Anyway, I've liked her for a long time. But she came into the coffee shop a few days ago crying because her piece of shit boyfriend cheated on her. Anyway, I asked her to come to the shop tomorrow when I get off and she called it a date. I'm so fucking nervous." He says and the ladies give him warm smiles. 

"I'm sure you'll do fine. You really like her, don't you?" Julie asks and Everett nods enthusiastically. 

"Yeah. I do. I just want her to feel... important. I don't just want it to be us drinking coffee. I want to make it special somehow." He adds. 

"Feed her. Women always love it when you feed us." Gwen says and Everett nods. 

"Okay. Just make her food? I can do that." He says. 

"And pull her chair out for her." Crystal adds. 

"Maybe I should take notes." Everett murmurs, taking a notebook from his bag. I chuckle and watch as he writes down their suggestions. 

"Oh. I need to come up with her joke." He says. 

"What joke?" I ask. 

"I told her a stupid joke and she said every time she comes in she wants another one." He says. 

"Awww...." The women all coo and Everett's face blushes again. 

"How about this? How did the moon cut his hair? Eclipse it." Gwen says, snorting at her own joke. 

"Perfect." Everett says, writing it down. 

"The best thing a young man can do for a woman he cares about is make her feel like she can rely on him." Pearl says. "Make sure she can trust you. That's the most important thing." She adds and Everett nods. 

"How do I do that?" He asks. 

"Just do what you say you're going to do. It's that easy." She says. Everett goes quiet as he contemplates and we all help Julie clean up. 

Once we're back in the car, driving away he speaks up. 

"That was a good idea." He says. 

"Yeah? You feeling better?" I ask and he nods. 

"Yeah. I told you this book club was a great idea." He says with a grin.