He’s reclining on his bed when I’m done in the bathroom, his eyes quick to find mine before drifting down to my body, a smile tugging at his lips. “What’s my rating?” he asks, and I climb onto the bed next to him, mimicking his position by lying flat on my back.
“Ten out of fucking ten,” I reply, laughing as I look at Jack next to me.
“Thank you for finally giving me the rating I deserve,” he says, snorting. “It’s only two out of three, though.”
“You’re serious about that?” I ask, and he rolls toward me, his hand reaching to tweak my nipple.
“I never joke about orgasms,” he says, and I think my brain might explode. “You think I can’t do it?” Jack asks, a smug smirk forming, and I have zero doubt that if anyone were capable of scoring a second hat trick in one night, it’d be him.
“Give it your best shot,” I say, and Jack kisses my mouth for a moment before trailing his mouth down my body, my toes curling at the sight of his head between my legs.
CHAPTER 32
Jack
I’d normally be excitedabout spending nearly a whole month at home with Momma, but for the first time, it feels bittersweet because being in Texas means leaving Alondra.
The thought of not being in the same room as her for that long makes my stomach twist into knots that only Alondra’s capable of untangling.
“So guess what?” I ask Alondra as we walk out of the library.
“What?” she asks, taking a sip of her coffee, shivering when the wind hits us. “It’s too fucking cold,” Al hisses under her breath.
“So we went to Twin City last night while you were with Macy, and I’m playing darts with Coop when this girl comes up to me. She’s waving her arms around, spouting some shit about how I told her she was stunning and some angel from heaven, but then I ghosted her. I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on because I’ve never spoken to her before. Then I hear Ellie laughing from the other side of her brother,” I say, laughing for a moment, and the look Al gives me says Ellie hasn’t told her what happened yet. “Then, I connected the dots that she was one of the poor girls you were messaging from your brilliant idea to sign me up for a dating app.”
Al gasps, covering her mouth to hide her laughter, but the twinkle in her hazel eyes makes me want to do anything to keep it there. “You never did go on any dates. We picked out some really nice girls,” she muses, struggling to compose herself.
I shake my head because it doesn’t matter how nice they are—none of them are the girl next to me.
“I’m sure you did, but I won rock paper scissors, which is why I never went on any. You deleted the profile, right?” I ask, and she nods.
“Your girls were blowing up my phone once I stopped responding.”
I shake my head, chuckling under my breath as I wrap an arm over Al’s shoulder. “They’re not my girls.”
What I want to say isyou’re my girl, but I don’t. Why can I say stupid shit so easily, but anything meaningful is so hard?
She bumps me with her hip. “Right.How could I forget you don’t wantanygirls?” Alondra says, her voice laced with sarcasm. I want to correct her, but I don’t. I’m still not where I want to be, but Al already has everything I have to offer her, even if she doesn’t know it. “So what happened next?”
“I told her she must’ve mistaken me for someone else until she showed me screenshots of my profile. Then, I had to explain how one of my friends thought I needed a girlfriend, so she signed me up and pretended to be me.”
Alondra turns her head to look up at me, her nose and cheeks bright red from the wind. “Must be a pretty great friend you have.”
“The best,” I reply, smiling at her. I know Al did the whole dating app thing because she wanted me to be happy, but I am happy.Shemakes me happy.
“Well, that best friend has another class to get to, so she can get her degree,” she says, slipping out from under my arm, but I catch her hand, pulling her back into me, careful of the coffeein her hand. Al laughs, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “Jack, I really do have to go.”
I tug at her hat, pulling it further down onto her head. “I know, I just wanted to get another look at you.”
Her face softens and she smiles at me. “Fine, you got another look, but I have to go.”
I don’t want her to go. I like seeing Al smile, especially when it’s at me. I like making her laugh. I like being with her. She tries to pull away from me, but I’m not ready yet. “Wait, just . . . wait.”
“What?” she asks, tilting her head.
“Do you have any plans for winter break?”
“Huh?”
