wider. So tell me, why are all the knick-knacks, photographs, and paints still on your wall? The books are still in the bookcase. There isn’t a moving box anywhere in sight.”
She turned to face me and leaned against the counter. “Anderson, I honest to God never in a million years thought Graham freaking Morgan would be interested in any idea that I had.”
“You’ve said that before. I guess I didn’t understand to what level you were not preparing to make the move. What about now?”
With a head nod for me to follow, Jurnee carried both cocktails into the living room and set them on the coffee table. She sat on the sofa and slipped her legs under her. A thread sticking out of the well-placed hole in the knee of her jeans became her focus.
“Jurnee, why aren’t you opening a coffee shop here in Michigan?” Reaching for my drink, I waited for her to find her words.
“I can’t express enough how much I didn’t think Graham would even meet with me, not to mention agreeing to take me on as an investment.” She took a gulp and placed the glass back on the table. “I needed to get out of my life for a while. I figured a month of exploring in a magical city would be just the ticket.”
I nodded. I understood the need to step back from life. My family was a lot to deal with, but our position in the city made it nearly impossible to step out of my reality. It didn’t happen a lot, but I envied Jurnee and her ability to take a life break.
“So, that’s about it.”
“I think there is probably a little more to the story but–”
Jurnee flew over to me and pushed me back on the sofa. Her body pressing down on mine as she stared at my eyes.
“I’m guessing we’re done with this topic.”
She smiled down at me. Slowly, her lips pressed against mine. Our bodies intertwined as I pushed my rock-hard excitement against her. Her moaning is going to be the death of me too.
A door slammed shut from somewhere in the house, and I jumped to my feet. I watched Jurnee fly through the air and land on her ass against the sofa we had just been making out on. A tall, slender guy entered the room as she shook her head, probably realizing I had unintentionally tossed her off me.
“Wow!” A taller male version of Avery stood in the doorway, scanning me up and down. “You are so much hotter than I imagined. How long are you staying?”
I extended a hand to help Jurnee off the floor. “I’m so sorry.”
“Trying something new?”
“You must be Derrick. I’m Anderson Douglas. You look a lot like Avery.”
“Very nice to meet you. But do I look younger than my sister is the important question.” Derrick took Jurnee in his arms. “Thanks for bringing my girl back for her big game. Rah. Rah. And stuff.”
“You could pretend that you like my Spartans. You freaking work there.”
Derrick chuckled as he caught me staring at Jurnee’s nice round ass that I had in my hands minutes ago. “Nah. It’s much more fun to tell you constantly that I don’t care about your team.” Derrick flopped down on the chair. “Have you taken him to experience the Messers yet?”
“I think we are going to spare Anderson the Messers on his first trip to Lansing.”
Derrick folded his arms across his chest and leaned into the chair, “That tour your dad does is pretty interesting. I’d hate for you to miss it.”
“I can change our departure to the end of the day.” I pulled my phone out and pulled up the app.
“We are not going to move the departure time. Are you kidding me?” Jurnee handed Derrick a beer she brought back from the kitchen. “I can’t even imagine how much money that would be. Jesus, I already used so many miles to get us these last-minute tickets. Let’s not give them any more money.”
Who is this woman? Women didn’t expect me to stick around, but they expected the time spent with me to be as expensive as possible. Jurnee’s lack of expectation was both exhilarating and off-putting. For the first time in a very long time, I found myself wanting to spend all my time and money on a woman. All this before we’ve had sex. I wondered how much more invested I could become.
Hello, we’re practicing.
19
Jurnee
Derrick insisted that Anderson and I join him for dinner