It wasn't long before Brooke and Annette left us in possession of their shoes, but they went a barefoot hour before calling it a night. They hugged for ten solid minutes before parting.
I drove her home, carried her tipsy ass inside, and led her to the bed I'd stopped callingminein favor ofours. We found each other with unhurried touches and kisses, nothing like the first nights we'd shared together, when everything was over before it started.
"Thank you for coming along tonight," Brooke said.
"There was nowhere else I wanted to be," I replied.
"And thank you for keeping Jackson under control. He wanted to pull the sheriff routine all over the dance floor, I could tell."
"You're right about that," I said, laughing.
"I know group dates and dance clubs aren't your ideal evening out." She dipped her head, pressed a kiss to my neck. "Thank you for letting me and Annette have this."
"And thank you for letting me watch," I replied. "Do you know how much I loved seeing you kick ass out there? Fuck, you were amazing. Do you know? How much I love seeing you kick ass all the time? How much I love—I love you?" I heard a sudden inhale of breath from her, but now that I'd started, I couldn't stop. "You might not want me saying that. You might have reasons and arguments, but—"
"I love you too." She propped herself up on an elbow, lifted her hand to my cheek. Blinked down at me with those bright blue eyes and hair like heaven. "You're right. I didn't want those words because I don't know how.I don't know how, Jed, and I'm terrified I'll do it wrong."
I rolled her onto her back, settled between her legs. "You can't do it wrong, Bam."
"But you can," she argued, her hands warm on my chest. "You can. I've seen it, I've lived through it. My parents, they—"
"They're not us," I interrupted gently. "And we won't be them."
She reached up, loosened my hair from its tie. As strands fell to my shoulders, she raked her fingers over my scalp. "I don't know what I'm doing and it scares the hell out of me, but I know I love you."
Raw, fragile honesty from this woman was like a shooting star. I kissed her then because come the fuck on, how could I not? "That's all you need to know, Bam."
Chapter Thirty-One
Brooke
Discounting: calculating the present value of a future amount.
"What is that?"I grumbled to Jed's chest.
"What's what?"
I pushed up on an elbow, glanced around his bedroom with bleary eyes. Gentle rays of morning sun streamed in through gaps between the curtains. I blinked at the clock in an attempt to clear the sleep and lingering alcohol. As I blinked, the muffled sound echoed through the room again.
"That," I insisted. "Do you hear it?"
"Go back to sleep, Bam." He tugged me down, folded me into his arms so that I heard only his heartbeat.
I dozed for a bit—a few minutes, maybe more. But then there was a heavy knock on the front door.
Jed sat up, murmuring, "Who the hell is at my door first thing in the damn morning?" Not wasting time on boxers, he stepped into his jeans and zipped the fly. He left the top button and belt open. It read like a promise: he didn't intend to be clothed for long. I admired that promise. "I'll see what this is all about and be back. Stay here with the dog."
He nodded at Butterscotch, who was curled up in her bed and hadn't heard anything. "Yeah, I'm counting on her for guidance."
"It's too early for you to start with the comments, Bam." He snapped his fingers. "Come on, girl," he said to the dog. "You need to earn your keep."
For her part, she jumped up from her bed, galloped toward me, and rubbed her head against my outstretched hand.
"Good girl." With a smirk, he added. "Both of you." He disappeared into the hall only to return a moment later with my purse. "This is vibrating." When the pounding on the door continued, Jed called, "Calm the fuck down, we're coming." He tossed the bag onto the bed. "Turn off your alarm or whatever you have going. It sounds like a time bomb."
I swiped my phone to life, finding seventeen missed calls from Annette, a long line of texts asking me to answer her calls, and five voicemails. There were other texts, other calls. The first ones came in two hours ago and they came from my father's house.
I gazed down at the screen as a ridge of icicles formed along my shoulder blades. My head swam. Goose bumps rippled over my skin. I knew I was clutching the device, but I couldn't feel it. I wasn't certain I felt anything more than cold. "Jed. Jed, can you come here?"
