Pretty Sweet - Christina Lee Page 0,86

fountain to get to it.”

“First floor?” I repeated, my hackles immediately raised. “Is there security?”

He squeezed my arm, but I spotted the wariness in his eyes. “Of course there is, silly.”

And as his demeanor changed, his eyes shuttering, his walls lifting, I could’ve kicked myself. I wasn’t used to people in my life not needing or wanting my help, and it was something I was going to have to accept. “I’m sorry. I know I can be overprotective. I don’t want you to think…fuck.”

His eyes softened. “It’s okay, I get it. You like to take care of people. You feel like you have to, but in this case…”

“You needed to do it on your own,” I said, and he nodded, lacing our fingers together.

We watched a speed boat sailing by us, spraying water in our direction.

“So did you take it, the apartment?”

I held my breath because there was something else there, underneath my concern for his well-being. I was proud of him for finding an apartment on his own, and yet I still wanted to be his safe place to land every night. I knew I was getting ahead of myself and needed to keep my desires in check.

“I did. I signed a six-month lease. I move in next month.” He sounded so excited, and absolutely needed that sense of independence and a place to call his own. Just like I did when I bought my house, knowing that someday Mom would move on too.

I pulled him into a hug and kissed his head. “I’m proud of you.”

“Really?” he asked into my shoulder.

“Really. If you need my help with anything, just ask.”

“Thank you.” He drew back to look at me, the hesitation back in his eyes. “I might need some TLC once I break the news to Mom.”

I kissed his cheek. “I’ll be here.”

No doubt it was hard keeping up with your parents’ expectations. I always tried keeping out of my father’s way so I wouldn’t rub him the wrong way, and that was definitely a pressure all its own. To imagine still dealing with that bullshit as an adult made my stomach turn. I hoped Seth could find the strength to go after what he wanted, and I hoped that part of what he wanted was me. I certainly didn’t want to stand in his way.

Then get your act together, jackass.

“Ready to hit the road?” I asked, noting the time.

He sighed. “I guess so.”

I stood up and reached for his hand. “C’mon, we can stop somewhere for a late lunch.”

33

Seth

It was Saturday, and I’d had a crazy week. I’d gone to Rose City twice, spent time practicing with Jesse, started packing, and spent every spare moment I could with Jake. He’d stayed at my apartment once when we usually stayed at his, but I was excited about my move and couldn’t seem to stop myself from wanting to get everything done now. It was silly.

I felt like everything was coming together, like my life was changing and I was finally settling into who I was in ways I’d never really let myself do before. Mom had called earlier in the week, and I’d ignored it and not called her back, but I wasn’t going to let myself focus on that.

When there was a knock on my apartment door, I looked up from where I sat on the living room floor, going through books, and called out, “Come in.”

Jesse opened the door. “Wow. You don’t usually do that without seeing who it is.”

Oh…I hadn’t even thought of that. “I knew it was you.” We’d been wanting to have a Frank Sinatra night at the Underground for a while, and we were doing it tonight.

Jesse laid two hangers covered with garment bags over the back of the couch. “How’s my sex-fiend bestie doing today?”

“Oh my God.” I rolled my eyes as he sat on the floor across from me. “I shouldn’t have told you.” Like that was going to happen. Honestly, I enjoyed that he could call me that now.

“Yeah, okay. You love it and don’t deny it.” Jesse winked.

Ugh. He was right. “I’ve only had sex twice. How can I be a fiend?”

“Twice? You slut!” He playfully swatted my arm.

“Jake stayed here last night,” I admitted.

“Ooh, tell me more.”

I trembled. “It was so good. He does this thing with his tongue…he really likes to…you know.”

“Rim you? You can say it. If you can do it, you should be able to say it.”

“Rim me. Are you happy now?”

Jesse waggled his eyebrows.