“I’ll hold you to it, you know that, right?” I turn slightly and lean towards her, the seat crunching with the shift of my weight, and she turns her head to look at me. Sparkling eyes dance up at me in the moonlight, and I press my forehead to hers.
“That kiss was amazing,” I whisper. “All cooking jokes aside, I am really going to miss you.”
“So are you,” she whispers back. “Amazing, I mean. I’ll miss you, too.”
My heart thrums deep inside my chest, my pulse stronger than ever at her words. My fingers ache to touch her, my lips feel like they’re on fire, and I don’t even want to think about my dick right now. But that’s not all I want from her. I know she’s been hurt before. I’ll do whatever it takes to show her not all guys are douchebags. “What are we gonna do?” I ask on a sigh. I know I want to envelop her in my arms and never let her go. I need her in any way she’s willing to give.
”We’re going to practice our dance lessons and meet up with Markus via Skype on Monday,” she says. “Better get those tap dancing shoes out.”
“Fuck, I forgot about that.”
She tsks, but it turns into another sweet laugh. “We’ll talk,” she says.
“But the kiss,” I intervene. I’m not letting her off that easily. I wanna know the score before she leaves the car. “You might not want to admit it, but you kissed me back. And it wasn’t like you didn’t know who I was this time.”
She curls her lip under as she stares at me. She looks so fucking cute in her Seattle Hawks hat; I need to get her the whole kit. “Jay,” she whispers, when she releases it, my name blowing out in a whisper, and fuck do I love the way it sounds.
“You gonna deny it, Princess?”
Her eyes flick down at her purse on the floor where she reaches for it, pulling out her cell phone. “I’m not denying it. But it makes things complicated.”
I lean my elbow on the steering wheel and watch her, the squeeze on my chest is real.
“I’m just quickly texting Beth to see if she’s okay. It doesn’t look like they’re here,” she says, nodding toward the house. “And we set off right after them.”
I nod and wait while she quickly types out her message. Any excuse to spend whatever time I have left with her is fine by me.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure Jake will be on his best behavior and he’ll bring her home in one piece.”
She gives me a withering look as her phone beeps quietly from the palm of her hand. Glancing down, a little chuckle and a shake of her head tells me that things are fine.
“They stopped off for hot fudge sundaes,” she reads out the message.
I laugh. “See. Told ya.”
“Only Beth would find a hot fudge sundae bar open at this hour.”
“Probably the McDonald’s drive-through,” I muse.
“I love how they never offered to get us one.”
“For some reason, I don’t think either of them are thinking about us.” I fold my arms over my chest, liking the fact she doesn’t seem in a hurry to leave. “Which brings me back to why you say this is complicated?”
She blows out a breath and looks down at her hands, which are knitted tightly together in her lap. I don’t want her to be tense, I want her to open up to me. “Isn’t it?”
I cock my head. “Does it have to be? I mean, the more time I spend with you, J, the more I like it and I mean, I really, really like it.”
“I like it too, you’re fun and we have a great time no matter what we’re doing.”
“I sense a but in here somewhere.”
“This is all new to me, too,” she says. “We kissed, Jay, it’s a big deal for me. I’m just trying to process it.”
“It’s a big deal for me, too.”
Her fingers find my forearm before I even realize, and she squeezes around the material of my Hawks hoodie. “Well, let’s each get our bearings.”
“It’s fine. Whatever you want to do.” It’s not fine, but what more can I say to her without coming on even more strongly than what I probably have been? Fuck. It’s been brimming for a while now, I just haven’t wanted to admit it. A sinking feeling that she’s slipping away before we even had a chance hits me right in the gut and I don’t want her to run away too soon. “Thanks for coming to the game tonight.”
