you both, even when you whisper, you know.” Tori gestured in our direction with his beer. “This is very touching, but shit or get off the pot.” He softened his words with a smile. “State your business, boss-man.”
I laughed and glanced around the yard as the pool water lapped the sides of the pool and tree leaves rustled in a slight breeze. I’d meant what I said. I hadn’t come to interrupt their afternoon. “No business today.” I bent to Jamie and claimed his lips in a slow, soft kiss that took some drawing away from.
Then I rested my forehead against his. “Enjoy your time with your friend, okay? And call me later.”
I couldn’t sleep, although I was trying. My phone mocked me with its silence, and I kept checking the lock-screen to see if I’d missed a message or call from Jamie. I even called it from my landline to make sure it was still working. Then I felt dumb. I almost turned it off, but I’d definitely miss his call then.
I sighed and flopped back against my pillows. If I just closed my eyes and waited like a sensible person, I’d fall asleep eventually.
I didn’t know where the knocking was coming from at first, and I slipped out of bed and headed out into my living room. The knock sounded again, and I glanced at the clock then the front door. I wasn’t expecting anyone at one in the morning.
I opened the door, and Jamie looked at me, his eyes big, his expression sheepish. “I’m sorry I didn’t call.”
It didn’t matter anymore. Not when he was right here. I pulled him inside and drew him to my bed, unfastening his clothes as we went. I didn’t even want sex. I just wanted to be close. I paused at that thought—it wasn’t a way I’d ever felt before.
I wanted to take care of Jamie, and I wanted him by my side, safe and sleeping.
We curled under the sheets and Jamie pressed against my chest, one of his arms thrown across my waist.
“I can hear your heartbeat,” he murmured sleepily.
“It beats for you,” I whispered back, certain in that knowledge and suddenly not afraid to say so.
For a moment he didn’t say anything, but his breathing didn’t change, so I knew he hadn’t fallen asleep. I waited, cold apprehension chilling me. Perhaps I’d confessed more than I should have. I didn’t want to scare him away.
“Is it crazy to feel so much so soon?” He shifted closer to me and tightened his grasp a little.
I tried to control my exhale of relief.
The black-out blind in my bedroom ensured darkness weighted us down, leaving us both hidden and exposed both at the same time. Nothing existed but each other and our thoughts and feelings.
I counted a beat before I responded. “It really isn’t.” I sucked in a quick breath. “I think when it’s right, it just is.” It had never been right before. I jostled him with a slight shrug, and he nodded his head against my shoulder.
He didn’t reply, though, but he grew heavier with relaxation and his breathing had just started to slow when he spoke again, his words tired and almost drunk sounding. “You know, I’m going to wait before I tell you I love you.”
I tensed a little.
“But you shouldn’t be surprised when I say those words.”
I swallowed against rising emotion, and my eyes burned. My heart had never felt so full at the wonder of the man I held in my arms.
21
Jamie
Minutes became hours, became days, became weeks, and before I’d even had chance to consider the passing time, an entire month had come and gone. Working with Nico became second nature—I didn’t even have to think about it. Everything we did together made sense.
But as well as racing by in a blur of happiness, time was running out. I had only a few more weeks before my final semester of law school, and I’d be studying my ass off for the bar exam.
I needed to maximize every moment and cram as much time with Nico as I could into the remaining weeks. I didn’t know how absent I’d be from his life after my internship ended, and I needed to protect against those effects.
Nico brought two steaming bowls of pasta to the table. “Mom sent over the sauce,” he explained, and I inhaled a familiar tomato and herb aroma.
Nostalgia for my dinner at his house filled me. It hadn’t even been that long ago, but