And then I get cold air as he sits up. I’m appeased just a bit when he reaches down, lifting me from where I’m lying and pulling me to his side, his head going into my neck and breathing me in, but I’m still left reeling by the sudden and abrupt change.
“That’s enough for tonight,” he says against my skin, leaving goose bumps in its wake, before pulling away like it pains him and turning to the television.
“What?”
“That’s enough for tonight.”
I shift away to look at him, but his face is locked to the screen as if it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever seen.
“We don’t have to stop,” I say, reaching up to cup his cheek and turning his head to look at me. He gives me a soft look, then bends and gives me a sweet, chaste kiss.
“Yes, we do.”
I scrunch my nose in irritation, and he laughs, leaning in to kiss the tip of it.
“We’re going slow, Hallie.”
And it’s sweet. So fucking sweet that I can’t find it in me to argue, so I smile at him, then snuggle into his side and watch the rest of the movie.
The next night, I find it far less sweet.
Again, we kiss, lying on his couch, making out like teenagers. After long minutes of it, I’m desperate to find some kind of friction to ease the throbbing between my legs. I lift a leg to hook it around his hip, but his palm meets my knee and stops me before I get even the slightest brush of the bulge I felt between us, where I want it.
“Please,” I whisper, trying to shift around to get what I want, but his head shakes.
“No, Hallie girl. Not tonight.”
“Why not?” I pout.
Ipout. I’m twenty-seven, lying on Jesse King’s couch, making out with him, and I’m pouting because he won’t do anything. Hell, I’d takedry humpingright now.
“Because you’re not ready,” he murmurs, brushing his fingers along my jaw reverently.
“But I want to do…something,” I whine.
“And we will. Trust me. When you’re ready.”
I feel like stomping a foot like a petulant child.
“So you’re not going to do anything with me until I’m ready to, what? Tell the world I have the hots for you?”
“If that’s the word you want to use, sure.”
I scrunch my nose up, and he laughs, then shifts, rolling so I’m on my back, and he’s hovering over me. I would say something like, “Now this is what I’m talking about,” but the look on his face is far too serious for me even to begin to believe he’s about to let me ride his thigh, much less anything else.
“I messed up once already with you by moving too fast. I’m not going to risk scaring you off again, Hallie. Try all you want, but I’m not moving any further with you until you feel secure in what we have.’
Again, I want to argue.
But again, his face is so sincere, and his words are so fuckingperfectthat I can’t. So instead. I sigh.
“Fine,” I grumble. He laughs, shaking his head and giving me a soft kiss. “But I’m not going to make it easy on you.”
“You never do. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
On Valentine’s Day, even though it’s a Saturday, I get to Jesse’s place at my normal time for coffee before Emma is even awake. Still, unlike normal, instead of giving me a soft kiss, he drags me into his room, pressing his lips to mine, and makes out with me for a full five minutes before he pulls away, resting his forehead on mine.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Hallie,” he says, and I can’t help but grin.
