He raised his brows, then held out a mug. “Coffee?”
He was giving me coffee now?
“Did I hit my head?” I took the mug he offered and took a sip. “This is good.”
“Thanks.” Jones smirked when my gaze shot over to him. “What, I’m more than capable of making decent coffee. I can cook a mean frozen pizza, too.” His ears burned pink, but he didn’t drop his gaze.
The memory of eating pizza in my bed hit me hard. “Why are you being so nice to me right now? Don’t you hate me?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.
Jones didn’t have a mean bone in his body. I let my eyes move over that body. The white shirt he wore clung to his chest, and blond hair covered his legs. He was no longer that eighteen-year-old boy I fell in love with. Jones Matthews had grown into a beautiful man.
Jones rolled his eyes. “I’m not allowed to be nice, Charlie? I tried to wake you up when I found you out here, and when you shoved me away, I got scared something was wrong. Then you mumbled something about how sorry you were, that you loved me, and I felt bad about making you leave last night. You slept on the ground, for goodness’ sake. That must have been very uncomfortable.”
“I... I said that?” I remembered dreaming about Jones but only vaguely.
I placed the coffee on the ground so I could stretch out my back. With the sun beating down on me, I was already starting to sweat. When I looked back over at Jones, he glanced away, and from the blush on his neck, I realized he had been checking me out.
“You like what you see, Bashful?”
His Adam’s apple bopped as he swallowed. “Are you going back to Boston for the week off?”
“No.” I climbed to my feet. “Answer me, Jonesy.” He glanced up when I moved closer, his nostrils flaring. “Do you still like what you see? Do you still want me?” I reached down to cup his cheek with my hand, and when he leaned into my palm, my stomach clenched.
Jones nodded. “I can still want you and not want to be with you, Charlie.” I flinched at his words, my hand dropping away from his face, only for Jones to grab it and lace our fingers together. “I’ve had a little time to think about you after last night.”
“You’re holding my hand.” I stared down at where our fingers were intertwined, and he squeezed them. “Why... What’s going on right now, Jones?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.” His voice came out soft and low.
I wanted to drown in it. I wanted to kiss Jones, tell him how sorry I was all over again and that I loved him. That I would always love him. But my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth, and when he looked up at me with those hazel eyes shimmering in the warm morning sun, tears filled my eyes, and I had to glance away.
“I should probably go,” I told him, but I didn’t move.
Jones seemed content to sit here with me, holding my hand, and when I dragged my thumb over his pulse, I felt his body tremble.
“I should go,” I said again.
Jones made a humming noise. “What’s waiting for you up in Boston?” He tugged on my hand, pulling me closer until I stood between his open legs.
“Nothing. Just an empty apartment full of my stuff. I need to find a place in North Carolina to be closer to the shop. That’s what I have planned for this week.”
“Then maybe you could come home with me.”
I blinked, trying to make sure I heard him correctly. “I’m sorry, but did you just say that you want me to come homewith you?” I watched the wind lift his blond locks as I stared down at Jones. I untangled our hands. “What’s going on right now, Bashful, because last night you nearly chased me from your RV, and this morning, you’re... What, exactly?”
“I want you to come home with me,” Jones said softly.
He didn’t stop me when I reached down to tilt his head up.
“I’ve missed you. I want to...” He stopped and closed his eyes.
“You want to what?” I pushed for an answer.
Tell me you love me. Tell me you want to forgive me, and I will give you everything.
Jones pulled his bottom lip between his teeth before he spoke again. “I just want to be near you. To see if what we had before is still there, and maybe, just maybe, I can learn to trust you again. I hardly slept at all last night. Instead, I replayed everything you ever said to me. When you first kissed me, and our last night together. I’ve missed you so much, Charlie. Life has been uneventful without you.”
“You don’t have to say anything else, Bashful. I’d love to come home with you.”
