But that wasn’t entirely true.
Jake had opened up a lot to me this afternoon, but I still sensed there was something he was holding back.
I just had to hope that it wasn’t anything bad…
25
JAKE
That was a close call.
I couldn’t believe I’d almost kissed Halle.
Although I guess if I was being truthful, I shouldn’t be surprised.
The more time I spent with Halle, the more I liked her.And not just physically.Although you’d have to be blind not to notice that she was as fine as hell.I meant, likedheras a person.
When the guy that asked for photos at the observatory dissed the commercial and Halle snapped back, I was shocked.Everyone, including me, knew that bullshit BUTT-RRR gig was fucking terrible.But Halle still defended me in a way that no one had for a long time.
The only person that I knew with absolute certainty had my back these days was Roger and my British friend, Liam, who lived in London.Everyone else was either gone or bailed, the minute the shit hit the fan.
Yet in walks Halle and after knowing me for less than a week, she’s already shown me that she’s got my back.And that meant a lot.
Then the way she listened to me spill my guts about all the shit I’d been through, without judgement or pity, just genuine empathy, blew my mind.
And don’t even get me started on that hug.
Fuck.
I didn’t even realise how much I needed that until I was in her arms.
Given the chance, I would’ve held her for hours, days, months until I passed out from dehydration or hunger.There was so much understanding, care and comfort in that moment that if Halle bottled it, it’d sell for millions.
Hugs like that could cure a lot of the world’s problems.It sure as shit felt like it could help with a lot of mine.
And that was why I shouldn’t be surprised that when I eventually and very reluctantly dragged myself away from her (only because I was worried she’d think I was weird for holding on to her for so long), I wanted to kiss her.
Sounded stupid, but it wasn’t sexually motivated.
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t hard by that point, because like I already mentioned, Halle was a freaking smokeshow.But my need to kiss her was deeper than just wanting to fuck her.It was like there was a connection.An understanding.Like we were two lost souls coming together.
I was starting to sound like an idiot.All I can say is that I didn’t know how to put it into words, but it felt…different.
Good different.
So when our kiss was interrupted by that cry for help, I was pissed.But maybe that happened for a reason.
Kissing Halle wouldn’t have been right.I didn’t want to lead her on.I couldn’t drag her into my bullshit.And I had nothing to offer her.I didn’t even have a roof over my head.
That was the reason I left.Well, that and the fact that I’d been too honest about how important I believed it was to live in the moment.I knew that didn’t align with my actions and I didn’t want Halle to ask questions that would be hard to explain without freaking her out.So I’d come back to my room, which was the right decision.
Yeah.It was definitely for the best.
I needed to keep my distance and stop things from getting complicated.
But something told me that even if I didn’t see her, it wouldn’t stop me thinking about her.
26
