But he doesn’t, and it’s better that way. I know it.
“I’m sorry,” I repeat.
He nods and then his lips brush over mine, healing a piece of my heart and making it throb in my chest.Just for him.
Jasper.
TWENTY
“So you’re fucking my cousin...” Millie says very quietly, standing next to me at the booth during one of the busiest farmers’ market days we’ve seen so far this summer.
I nudge her with my elbow, even though she was quiet. “Jesus, Mills.”
She cackles and then takes a twenty from a woman buying goat’s milk soap and gives her change before waving and then turning right back to me. “How long?”
I look over at John and Kelly, who are helping other customers just a few feet away, and then over at Emerson, who’s busy unloading more corn from the back of the truck because we sold out. “Not too long.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “I don’t know who to threaten. I mean, you’re my best friend, but he’s blood.”
“Why do you need to threaten either of us?” I ask, pretty grateful for my best friend at the moment. I mean, who wouldn’t be? It’s clear me suddenly being with a guy hasn’t bothered her at all.
Not that it should. Or that I’m all that surprised. Millie’s a cool human. Always has been. Always will be.
“Because you’re both morons who’ll likely hurt each other,” she answers whimsically, like it’s just a fact.
One I don’t like but one that really probably is a fact. She’s not wrong. We’re morons. Watching him nearly fall off that water tower nearly stopped my fucking heart.
I’ve never been so scared in my life.
“We’re just fooling around,” I say, shrugging my shoulders and hoping I pull it off. My gaze roams back over to Emerson though. He’s wearing a black tank top today, no flannel on top since farmers’ markets are fairly safe. His muscles bulge every time he reaches for more bundles of corn, and I feel my throat go dry at the sight.
“Good lord. Stop looking at him like that,” she whispers. “I’m guessing you don’t want anyone else to know.” Millie is enjoying this far too much.
“Nothing to know,” I try, and she snorts loudly, pulling her parents’ attention.
I glare at her, and she just laughs again. “Oh Jasper. You’re too funny,” she says, her eyes all lit up.
Emerson looks over at us in question, and I just shake my head, grumbling as I help a new customer with their order.
It feels a little too real with Millie knowing about us, but a big part of me wants to walk over to Emerson, pull him to me and kiss him hard. Claim him as mine.
But he’s not.
So I don’t.
But only because I can’t.
“You sure noone will come looking for us?” Emerson asks, his arms around my neck as we swim naked in the pond. We onlygot back about an hour ago from the farmers’ market, but since we sold pretty much everything, we didn’t have much to unload, and we already took care of most of the chores before we left.
“Nah. Kelly said she was going to take a nap, and John is watching the History Channel,” I say, kissing his lips and running my fingers through his wet hair. “We have a while.”
He smiles against my mouth. “And Millie?”
“She said she was going into town to hang out with friends.” My dick is hard, and I can feel his pressing against me, but I’m not really in a hurry to do anything about it quite yet.
I splash him and break away, swimming away from him before he catches me again and splashes me. We swim together for a while until we both decide to climb out and lie in the grass, letting the sun dry our bodies.
“I have to go check on my parents tomorrow,” I say solemnly. Dreading it.
