Another ding comes. and I let out a sigh. “Yeah, I think my phone’s on the counter. I’m sure it’s the girls’ group chat.”
I line back up and send the ball right down the middle. Can’t say I got the spread that Beck usually does, but I’m pretty proud of it.
Leaning back up, I look at Beck as he comes back to the pool table. He looks white as a sheet. “Jen, why is my dad texting you?”
Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Abandoning my cue on the table, I walk to him quickly. “Okay, hear me out, I swear I had good intentions.”
I reach for my phone, and Beck doesn’t pull away or demand for me to open it.
“Okay,” he mumbles.
My phone dings a few more times, I switch it to silent. Opening my phone, several pictures are being sent one to two at a time.
“Are those the pictures my mom was looking at earlier?” Beck’s voice is barely above a whisper and my heart is in my stomach.
Taking a deep breath, I look in his deep green eyes. “Yes, I may have asked Callie and Emma to get your dad’s number for me. After our talk last night, I couldn’t sleep, so I started sketching some ideas for tattoos you might want… It seemed like a good idea at the time, so I asked your dad to send me some pictures of you from your childhood for inspiration. I didn’t?—”
Beck steps in toward me. “So, you asked my dad for pictures, and because of that my mom started looking through them too…and then remembered who I was.”
I hadn’t thought about that. Shit. “Beck, I’m so sorry.”
His hands move before I even register what’s happening, he’s sitting me on the edge of the pool table and his hands cradle my face softly.
“Jensen, you said not to kiss you because it means more to you. What if I want to kiss you? What if I want to kiss you, knowing it means something to me?”
My heart is pounding so loud that I swear he has to be able to hear it. I want to lean in and kiss him first, but I have to know.
I search his face, looking for any hint of hesitation or clarity that this is about to actually happen.
He’s not wearing his glasses today since he went out with the guys. I guess the tell I’m hanging on to is if he can answer me without looking away.
“And if I asked you about your reasoning for not wanting more? You said you wouldn’t ask me to live with the fear of you forgetting me. What if I want to be with you no matter what the future looks like?”
His hands glide back through my hair. His eyes stay locked on mine. “I’d say fuck what I said before. Fuck what I thought I wanted. I only want you.”
The pounding of my heart stops. Everything stops actually. There’s just Beck.
“Then kiss me.”
Chapter 28
Beck
“Then kiss me,” Jensen whispers, and my whole world explodes.
My lips capture hers and in a fucking instant, everything becomes crystal clear. No more mud mucking whatever this is between us.
I love her. Can’t imagine my life with-fucking-out her type of love. The worst-case scenario is wasting another second of not actually being hers.
My tongue explores her mouth as our kiss turns demanding. Her hands lock around my shoulders and I lean her farther back deepening the kiss.
When I feel her soft moan against my mouth, my knees threaten to give out on me. I need her, with every fiber of my being, I need all of her. Forever.
Hoisting her back into my arms, I carry her up the stairs and straight to my room.
This isn’t our roommates-with-benefits deal anymore. It’s not just fucking her in a public place or in the shower. It’s her and I genuinely giving this an actual chance. I don’t want there to even be a thought of this being temporary. Everything is different this time, and I want that to be abundantly clear.
