“Nope,” he said proudly.
Jessica simply stared at him for several beats on his heart untilshesurprisedhimby bursting into excited laughter.
“How is that even possible?” she said. “How did we end up here?”
“I don’t know,” he said, tipping his chin to press a kiss to her smiling mouth. “But I’m glad we did.”
THEN: April 6, 2020
Despite the dry tirednessclinging to the edges of her eyes, and the loose exhaustion clinging to her bones after spending all day on the beach under the hot Mexican sun, Jessica wasn’t about to let a single second of time she could be spending with Jack pass without him near.
So once the DJ packed up, and Jessica was sufficiently intoxicated on the tequila coursing through her veins, the paradise sunshine, and Jack’s kisses, they reluctantly parted ways to get ready for the evening. The plan was to rendezvous in the lobby in a few hours and get dinner somewhere in the resort together before going out again.
“What are you wearing tonight?” Bethani asked as she exited the bathroom in their suite, steam billowing out around her. Their moms were out on the grounds somewhere, enjoying some “kid free time,” as Jessica’s mom had said before they’d taken off.
With Bethani’s question, Jessica rifled through her suitcase, which was wide open, its contents spilling out on the bed she and her mom shared. Grabbing two fistfuls of clothes, she whirled on her friend and said, “I don’t know!”
Bethani laughed. “Okay, since when do you get all worked up about what to wear?”
“Since…” Jessica stopped herself from finishing the thought, though Bethani knew her well enough to do so for her.
“Since Jack,” her best friend said with a knowing smirk.
Jessica threw herself dramatically onto Bethani’s bed. “Do you think I’m insane?”
The mattress sank next to her as Bethani sat. “No,” Bethani said firmly. “I think you’re a teenager, on vacation, and infatuated with an admittedly super hot guy.”
“I think it’s more than infatuation,” Jessica said quietly.
“Do you…want more than a vacation fling?”
Jessica shot upright, gaze locking with her friend’s. Bethani didn’t appear judgemental in the slightest, only genuinely curious. “Am I crazy to say that maybe I do? I don’t even know him!”
“Look, we’re young,” Bethani said. “But I also firmly believe that soulmates exist, and when you know, you know. Maybe this is that moment for you.”
Jessica wanted to argue with her, to tell her it was absolutely unfathomable that she, Jessica Daniels, could come to Mexico only to meet the guy she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.
But…something had drawn her and Jack together. Some invisible force had nudged them both to this moment, their paths converging in an instant that was years in the making.
So maybe she wasn’t sure what life after this week would look like for them, but she knew one thing for certain: she wanted to savor the time they did have.
“It makes absolutely no sense to me,” Jessica said at last. “But I really like him.”
“So focus on that,” Bethani said simply. “Worry about everything else later.”
And it really was that simple, wasn’t it?
“My god,” Jack said when he laid eyes on Jessica an hour later, and she blushed. “You are…”
“You like?” she asked, twirling in a circle. The skirt of the pale pink dress she’d chosen ballooned around her, the spaghetti straps balancing delicately on her shoulders. Despite the humidity she knew would wreak havoc on it later, she’d chosen to curl her hair, letting it fall in loose waves down the mostly-bare skin of her back. Her only makeup was a swipe of mascara and lip gloss, and she’d laced strappy sandals onto her feet.
In two long strides, Jack was sliding his hands around her waist. “Like?Like?That doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling right now.”
He pressed his hips flush against hers, and Jessica giggled when he thickened against her stomach. The ease with which she turned this guy on made Jessica feel infinitely powerful, and experimentally, she wiggled against him, grinning when he dropped his head to her shoulder and groaned.
“Jessica,” he gasped.
“Yes?” she asked sweetly.
