Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
This is not happening. No, no, no.
But it was. I felt the tug inside me.
It was in the way my throat was just a little clenched up, the way my stomach kept feeling like it was on a rollercoaster every time I caught the radiant green of his eyes.
It was the beginning glimmer of a feeling I knew too well.
I was starting to fall for him.
And not just in the kind of way where I admired his body, or his eyelashes, or his prowess with a puck and a stick.
It was also the way he could be so commanding, so hard—then soft and gentle right afterward. The way he kept inserting himself in my life in a way that should have been too much, but instead was the most welcome intrusion I’d ever had.
So many people came and went from my life, joining the party or the hot mess for a moment, then taking a swift exit afterward. But there hadn't been a single shallow moment with Jesse. I wasn’t sure he even knew how to do shallow.
Jesse reached to shut off the water. Before he stepped out he turned to me and leaned in, pulling me close.
He pressed his lips to mine. His hands slid around my waist, warm and still completely wet.
I knew what it was, in that moment, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
I felt safe with him.
“You want to spend the night?” he asked.
14
JESSE
Mason sighed against my lips. I licked a stray droplet of water from his, waiting for his answer.
“I think I have to turn into a pumpkin, actually,” he said.
I groaned. “No you don’t. Turn into a pumpkin in my bed, please?”
“I have to be back at my house to wrap up the party,” he said. He bit down on his lower lip, giving me another hesitant look. “And… bad news.”
“Worse news than you not sleeping next to me?”
“I’m going to be out of town. I’m driving down to Atlanta with my friend Mary tomorrow.”
“Maybe you can come get in my bed when you’re back,” I said, sucking on one of his earlobes.
“I’ll be back in ten days.”
“Ten fucking days?” I protested. “Wow. What are you going to do in Atlanta?”
“Mary volunteers with a group that does free home repairs for elderly people who can’t afford it,” Mason explained. “I was talking to her the other night, and I maybe, sort of… told her that I’d go.”
“For an entire ten days?”
“Yeah.”
“You are too nice for your own good. Who’s going to watch the horses?”
“Going to pay Finn extra to check them twice a day.”
I pulled in a breath, stepping out of the shower. “Well, while you’re in Atlanta, make sure to tell their state hockey team they suck, for me.”
He snorted. “I’ll get right on that.”
We made it to my room and he scooped up his clothes, putting on the fancy shirt and pants again. Within another five minutes he had called a cab, and I walked him downstairs, taking him out to see him safely get in the car.
I gave him a kiss goodnight. “I’ve decided I hate pumpkins,” I told him.
He smiled. “It was a lot of fun tonight, Jesse. Have a good night.”
I gave him a little salute and watched the cab drive off.
No strings attached, just like I should’ve wanted. So why do I just want you back here?
Nothing felt right for the rest of the night. I joined the guys downstairs, and other than Robbie tossing me a fist bump and waggling his eyebrows, nobody commented on the fact that I’d brought a guy over.
It was like nothing had happened at all.
And honestly, I didn’t know if I liked that.
I lay back on a big bean bag chair, tossing a little tennis ball into the air repeatedly and catching it as it came down. The get-together went on all around me, with a few guys playing beer pong and others just drinking and shooting the shit. Elliot was sitting across the room on a sofa, next to two of his buddies. Occasionally, he looked my way, and I caught his eyes glancing over my torso. I was still shirtless, only wearing sweatpants.
I should have gone full lone-wolf and just headed back up to my room, but for the first time in a long while, I didn’t want to be alone. Something about my room felt empty now that Mason had to leave so soon.
But I also didn’t want to be down here.
I peeled myself off of the bean bag chair and got up, heading for the kitchen. Before I left, I saw Elliot stand up in my peripheral vision. He strode over to me, giving me a nod.
“What’s that?” he asked. His eyes landed just above my hips. I could smell cheap beer on his breath, which wasn’t a scent I missed.