“Yeah.” I sigh, but it feels like relief. It’s as if I’ve been holding too tightly onto a complicated feeling since I last saw him and now that I’m in his presence, I can let it all go. “Where are you going tonight?”
He smiles and scrunches his face in a way that reveals all the laugh lines of his perfect face. “I was headed to surprise you.”
“Stop it.” The flattery hits me with the gust of a million butterflies.
“Because I heard a rumor...”
The train pulls to a stop and my body drifts with it so I hold on to his coat like I never let it go. “It’s unofficial.”
“But you successfully defended your dissertation and now you’re about to open your own practice. Don’t be shy. Youhave all the bragging rights.” He stares down at me with pride covering his features.
“Thank you,” I say, my heart swelling. It feels so good to have someone other than Lena and Claire be proud of me. “I’ve worked really hard and I’m proud of myself.”
“You should be. I’m taking you out,” he declares.
“You know we’re technically supposed to wait two more years to hang out, right?”
“Are we?” His lips slide into a slow smile.
“Technically,” I confirm, scrunching my nose and knowing damn well I don’t care today. “Are you trying to hard launch us, JP?”
He tucks his hand around my jaw, tilting it so I face him, making every word and hesitation emerging out of my throat shut up immediately. “Damn, Jules. No taking advantage of me.”
I throw my head back and laugh. “Right. Still just friends, then?” I’m unsure if I need clarification for him or me. I know more time is still supposed to pass, but JP makes me feel reckless.
He drops his hand, and I immediately miss his touch. Then he says, “Friends forever.”
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, we’re at my apartment, and Kevin is entirely too excited to see JP. I hate how emotional it makes me feel so I quickly move to the kitchen to drop my bag and keys on the counter. The book I was reading on the train tumbles out of my purse and slides across the counter.
“Do you want to grab food? I didn’t shop this week because I’m headed out tomorrow,” I say, just as I sense him closer.
“How far are you?” he asks.
I turn from my corner of the kitchen and find him standing on the other side of the counter. I still can’t believe he’s here. Italmost doesn’t seem real. But the way he’s currently consuming all of my personal space and making my skin tingle without even touching me tells me this is very much real.
“Far, meaning?” My voice trails as his eyes dart to the book. “Oh! Like, chapter four. Not very far. It’s compelling but I’m not sure why everyone says it’s going to break my heart—”
“When you get to chapter forty-two, call me.” His smile is all-knowing and mischievous in a way that makes me want to absorb his secrets.
“I will,” I smile, remembering these small facts about him. “I forget you love to read...author.”
He blushes and swats a hand in the air.
“Oh, come on... your book is really adorable.”
“It sold two hundred copies,” he says, and I raise my eyebrows, “last year.”
I jut out my lip. “Marketing is a freaking beast.”
He shrugs. “I didn’t write it to become a millionaire. Obviously, becoming a millionaire isn’t exactly on the fifteen-year plan—I am a teacher.”
I giggle. “You selfless bastard.”
He ignores me, bracing the counter. I fight the urge to climb over it and wrap my arms around his shoulders as he asks, “So, what are we eating? Taco Bell?”
“No, better. Or worse, depending on how you look at it...”
He eyes me curiously like I’m about to dare him to do something.
