and some innocent—yet sexy—groping here and there. Walking out with my behind on full display would definitely move things up a notch.
What I’d told Dave earlier about making sure of things before taking the next step was just as true now as it was then. I genuinely believed that Jacoby was different, so my hesitation wasn’t because I thought he’d hit it and quit it. It was to protect myself from the heartbreak that could come when my time here was up. Considering the feelings I’d already developed for him after only five weeks, becoming intimate too soon would surely lead to my complete devastation. And while I was certain of my decision to feel things out a bit more, I knew that would go straight out the window the second he touched me.
Jacoby could turn an atheist into a believer.
With one touch, they’d be singing “Hallelujah” and praising Jesus.
I finished washing my face and then dried it off with the towel he had hanging next to the shower. The thought of that same towel being wrapped around his wet, naked body wasn’t lost on me. In fact, I found it to be a rather appealing visual as I removed all the bobby pins from my hair before tying it up in a messy bun.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I thought once more about the risk of prancing around his place with my rear hanging out. I quickly ran through the pros and cons, as well as everything I’d discussed with Dave earlier today.
With my eyes closed, I took a deep breath and made up my mind.
14
Jacoby
I definitely didn’t think it through before grabbing a shirt for Tasha.
I’d picked one that I assumed would’ve been long enough for her, but it clearly wasn’t. Part of me rejoiced at the sight of her as she came out of the bathroom, but another part of me felt like I had set myself up for a night of blue balls. Although, I’d bear almost anything to spend an evening with Tasha. And that scared the hell out of me.
What shocked me the most was the confidence in her smile when she strode into the living room and said, “Why do I have the feeling you did this on purpose?” It was enough to calm the entire situation—well, everything except my pants—enough to keep it from being awkward.
“I swear, I didn’t.” I would’ve held up my hands to emphasize my statement, but I needed to keep them in my lap if I didn’t want her to doubt me.
After setting her dress on a small table in the corner, she came to join me on the couch. Keeping everything covered didn’t stop her from being the sexiest woman I’d ever seen. There was just something about her modesty mingled with sex appeal that did something for me. I’d never seen anything quite like it.
“If I’m going to wear this, then I think we need to talk about something.”
For some reason, her words had my stomach tied in knots, but I didn’t let that interfere with whatever she had to say. So I nodded and managed an audible, “Okay.”
“I know we’ve had a few moments…” Tasha jerked her head toward the window, gesturing to her house. It wasn’t completely clear what she was trying to say, but I assumed it had to do with the intense moments in her living room where either she’d straddled me, or I’d crawled between her legs. “But I don’t… I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to.”
“It’s okay, Tasha.” I grabbed her hand and held eye contact. “I didn’t ask you to stay for that reason. I genuinely want to spend time with you.” And that was the God’s honest truth. It didn’t matter what we did—or didn’t do—I enjoyed being around her, which I couldn’t say for a lot of people.
She seemed to accept that, though hesitantly, and moved on. Grabbing the controller for the gaming console, she immediately began to set up her character. We’d done this many times, yet it never got old. It was like we’d been playing against one another for years, as if this was our routine.
What confused me the most, though, was how badly I wished for this to last.
Ever since my life had fallen apart on the world’s stage, I’d struggled with relationships of any kind. Aside from Jessa, I had a hard time trusting people. And when my ex and I broke up, I became convinced that I was