“Are you kidding? Relaxing in a spa with a hot guy…” The words slip out before I can stop them, and I slap a hand over my mouth, eyes wide.
He bursts out laughing, and all I want to do is sink to the bottom of the spa and drown from sheer embarrassment.
“Don’t do that. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I kind of like it when you just say what you think.”
“I didn’t mean to sound like a perv.”
“You can perv all you like. I don’t mind,” he teases with a playful wink.
Suddenly, I feel a little nervous and sheepish under the energy he’s radiating, so much so that I have to fix my gaze on the water instead, bubbling, popping, and reforming as if it’s the most fascinating thing to watch.
But then he splashes a little water in my direction, drawing my eyes back to his.
“Hey, how about this,” he says. “Let’s play a new round of twenty-one questions, but there’s a catch. You have to say exactly what’s on your mind. No pausing. No filtering. Just say it how it is.”
“I don’t know. That could be dangerous.”
“Where’s all the fun without a little danger, right?” he quips. “How about I start. Ask me a question first and I’ll answer.”
I take my time searching for a question that might help me understand him a little better. One that I’ve always been curious to find out. After a couple of minutes, I finally settle on the one I like. “What attracted you to Gemma?”
He smirks, as if he was expecting me to ask that very question. “Well, she was stunning, funny, and laid-back. It was just easy being around her—like a breath of fresh air. Beyond that, she only wanted something casual, which suited me perfectly fine atthe time. I guess dating her just seemed like a good distraction,”he answers confidently.
“A distraction from what?” I ask.
“Nuh-uh, Rivera. It’s my turn to ask a question.”
“Right, sorry.” I give a soft chuckle. “What do you want to know?”
His expression hardens just a little. “Do you miss him?” He doesn’t need to say the name. I already know who he’s referring to.
“No,” I answer without hesitation. “The truth is, when I think about him now, all I feel is anger and resentment. We weren’t together long enough for it to feel like real love, not the deep kind. Any good feelings I once had for him are long gone.”
He nods slowly but doesn’t press further, and for that, I’m grateful.
“Okay, next question,” I say, leaning forward slightly. “What was the distraction from?” I ask, determined to get to the bottom of his first answer.
He chuckles. “You don’t give up, do you?”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
Jason takes a long sip of his wine, then carefully sets his glass aside. When he turns to face me again, his gaze holds a trace of vulnerability in them. “It was to distract myself from you.”
I frown, confused. “Me?” I ask, pointing to myself.
“Yes, you. I needed a way to distract myself from thinking about you, day and night.”
“I don’t get it. Why would you be thinking about me, at all?”
“Hey now, greedy. You can’t be the one asking all the questions. It’s my turn next,” he teases.
“Sorry. I just get carried away. Go on, then.”
He clears his throat. “Did you really have a crush on me when you were younger?”
My eyes widen, and I’m pretty sure my face is about as red as a strawberry. How the hell did he know about my crush? I could’ve sworn I hid it well.
“Who told you that?”
