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)
“It doesn’t seem like we’ll need a CT scan or an MRI,” she said. “Pay attention to how you feel over the next few weeks, but I don’t think there are any signs of concussion.”
“Thank the Lord above,” I murmured.
The doctor gave me a polite smile. “You did the right thing getting him here fast. You’re a good friend.”
My heart ached.
A good friend. Is that what I am?
She was out a moment later.
“Mason,” Jesse murmured as soon as we were alone together in the room.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t want to sleep alone tonight,” he said, looking at me and giving me a sad, sweet smile.
And I’d never felt the tug as strongly as I did in that moment.
I nodded at him quickly, pulling in a breath. “That’s why you’re going to come over and sleep next to me.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’d really like that.”
We were at my house less than an hour later. Kane had called and said that Elliot had left, and that Jesse was in his rights to press charges if he decided to. But tonight, all Jesse wanted was peace. He didn’t want to think about Elliot, and I couldn’t blame him.
Every other time Jesse had come over, it had felt heated, like I didn’t know what either of us might do next.
This time was entirely different.
As we got out of his car and walked to the front door, it was as if Jesse had never been socked in the face at all. He was walking and talking as normal, and aside from a couple places that were red or bruised on the side of his face, he was… himself.
Just calmer.
More at peace than I’d ever seen him.
I let us in the front door and we walked over to the living room. I turned on a few lamps, and Jesse breathed deep.
“Your house always smells so good,” he said. “The light scent of wood.”
“It’s one of my favorite scents,” I said. “When we used to go on trips as a kid, I’d always come back here and remember the smell of home. When you’re away for a while, it always smells stronger when you come back.”
I looked back at him, his tan skin glowing in the low light.
This man wanted to share a bed with me. Not even just for a hookup.
I didn’t know when I’d gotten so lucky, but I wasn’t in the business of questioning it anymore. After seeing him knocked out on the ground, I didn’t really have a doubt in my mind anymore about what my feelings were for him.
“I need to go check on the horses before I head upstairs,” I told him. “You can shower if you want, and change into any of the clean clothes in my dresser.”
“I’ll come out with you,” he said. “To see the horses.”
“You sure about that? I think resting might be the best thing right now.”
He was already walking toward the door. “I’m still trying to burn off some leftover adrenaline.”
“I won’t argue with that.”
He followed me out back and down the short path that led to the stables. The heat was finally starting to dissipate now that it was later in the night, and I listened to the soft sound of our shoes crunching over the dirt. The moon lit up the sky above the whole ranch, and every few yards we passed another one of my little solar lights along the path.
There was so much I wanted to say to him.
So much I felt like we needed to talk about, whenever the time was right.
But with each step we took, I was more and more certain that tonight, we weren’t going to talk about any of it. The silence between us felt more comfortable than any silence before, and strangely, it felt like I’d known Jesse for years.
What was this feeling?
It was like… the same feeling I’d had earlier in the car, where I didn’t feel like I was searching, for once.
Like everything I needed was here.
We walked close to each other. When we got to the horses, Jesse helped me check each of their feed and water buckets, which were plenty full after I’d seen them in the afternoon. He gave each horse some attention, particularly telling Maisie she was a sweet girl.
When we got back inside and headed upstairs, I asked him what he needed.
“A shower,” he said.
I nodded. “Coming right up.”
“A shower with you in it,” he added, giving me a quick look before turning and slowly stripping off each piece of clothing he was wearing. He left a trail of his clothes on my bedroom floor as he walked to my bathroom.
I followed after him. I took off my own clothes, then reached into the shower and turned on the water. As soon as we stepped inside, Jesse leaned over me, pressing his lips to mine. The water beat down on my back as Jesse wrapped his arms around me, gently guiding me until we both leaned against the shower wall.