Laughter came rolling out of him. “God, can you make this any more awkward? Fine. Fuck! It was you, okay? Yes, Jasmin.Yougot my dick on H. Are you happy now? Can we go to sleep?”
She shifted around in the small space until she was facing him. “Told you this twelve-year old boy body turns you on.”
He brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. “You’re so…”
“Annoying.”
“Cute.”
In the dim light he couldn’t see her blush, but she was close enough for him to feel her face heat up. She still played it cool, though. “I achieved something great today, so I think I’m ready to go to sleep now.” She snuggled up against his chest. “Goodnight, Kevin.”
“Goodnight, Jazz.”
She fell asleep within minutes, but he had to wait for his dick to go down before sleep was even an option. He took that time to reflect on everything that had happened, everything that was happening. These intimate moments were happening far too often and he was enjoying them way too much. He needed to put some boundaries in place. If he didn’t, this whole situation was going to steamroll and turn into a big mess. Given his past track record with girls, it would get ugly and he didn’t want that.
It would be so much easier if it was just physical. It was easy to have sex with no emotional attachments, but there was a small problem when it came to Jasmin: he actually liked her, and emotionally, she was fragile. They both were. Nothing was going to happen beyond this road trip and she would end up feeling like another person had abandoned her. So no. He wasn’t going to mess around with that heart. Anything physical was bound to translate into something emotional.
He was feeling too much already, and he shouldn’t. Happiness wasn’t something he deserved to feel. The longer he was around her, the more he felt it. That happiness walked hand in hand with guilt. How could he feel happy when his best friend was gone, taken away so tragically?
He’d seen the same happiness in Perry’s eyes just minutes before he died. He should have been the one who was still here. He should be the one going to Florida. He should be living a long, happy life with the woman he loved. But for some inexplicable reason, Kevin was the one who survived.
Boundaries were needed because the only thing he should be allowed to feel…was guilt.
Newton’s First Law of Motion: an object will continue at a state of rest, or uniform motion, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
That was him just two weeks ago, coasting along aimlessly on a steady path to nowhere. He preferred that. He had even reached the point where he was quite content being miserable. But then Jasmin came along and fucked up everything. The unbalanced force that threw his whole world into disarray. Now he was smiling all the time, laughing much more than he should.
He needed to put a stop to it. He didn’t deserve to feel what he was feeling. He didn’t deserveher.
Part Two
Newton’s Second Law of Motion:
The acceleration produced by a particular force acting on a body is directly proportional to the magnitude of the force and inversely proportional to the mass of the body
Layman’s terms: Force = Mass x acceleration
November, 19
Holbrook, Arizona
“What can I get for you?” the waitress asked.
Kevin set down the menu and looked up at the middle-aged woman. “I’ll have a waffle and the traditional breakfast.”
A warm smile lit up her face. “You’re hungry this morning?”
Jasmin was in the bathroom so he could understand why she made that assumption. “It’s not all for me,” he clarified. “And can you add extra bacon to mine? I have a plate picker.”
“Coming right up, handsome.”
“Thanks…” He looked down to her nametag. “…Connie.”
She walked back to the kitchen of the small diner and not more than a minute later, Jasmin emerged from the bathroom with a thick black jacket slung over her arm. It was one of his jackets, but he let her wear it so she would quit complaining about the cold. He had no idea how they’d gotten to the point where they were sharing so much.
“So I’ve been thinking,” she said as she sat down on the other side of the table. “I’ll take you all the way to Florida. I wouldn’t mind seeing Disney World and Universal Studios and all that.”
Like the trip to Georgia wasn’t going to be long and hard enough, now she wanted to extend it. “That’s not a good idea. And I’ve inconvenienced you enough.”
