I roll my eyes so hard it’s a miracle they don’t unscrew from my skull. “Hey Siri, text Jasper: Shut up Jasper. Full stop. I’m not a simp. Exclamation mark.”
Jasper
YOU ARE NOW. Shrimp Teddy.
Another text comes in before I have time to react to his nonsense.
Jasper
I’ll be making a “Shrimp Teddy” graphic later tonight. Merch drops in spring.
What the fuck? Shrimp?
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I mutter, laughing to myself. “Simp. I saidsimp! Goddamn shrimp.”
Shaking my head, I picture Jasper cackling over this for the next decade. I might be better at the voice recognition thing, but it seems to have a personal vendetta against me whenever I’m texting him or my teammates.
“That’s it. Screw this voice-to-text garbage. He better call me or send a damn carrier pigeon next time. Anything but this bullshit.”
“Hey, Theodore,” Ivy says softly as she slips into my room later. “Thought I’d check on you.”
“I’ve actually been waiting for you. You here is the best part of my day.” The words come out husky, thick with the memory of last night, and I don’t bother hiding it.
She steps closer instead of answering right away, fingertips brushing the side of the bed. “You’re going to make me blush.”
I chuckle softly at the comment, the moment settling warm between us. Now that she’s no longer in charge of my care, she wanted to stop in for her longer break. She settles into the chair beside me and digs into her dinner, and my stomach gives itself away with a loud growl.
“Have you eaten yet?” she asks.
I shake my head. “I got distracted by other things.”
My mind scrambles for a way to talk about last night without sounding like a complete idiot. Morning-after conversations have never been my forte. I’m unarmed and out of practice.
“You shouldn’t have skipped dinner because of that.” There’s a soft clink as she says, “Are you thinking about last night?”
“Aren’t you?”
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, actually.”
“Good thoughts or bad?”
“Both. Good because it was incredible. Bad because my brain is a traitor and keeps whispering that we fucked up the things between us. I don’t know how to explain it, but my previous experiences have ruined the trust in everything working out.”
That pulls me up short. Not because she’s wrong, but because it echoes everything I’ve been wrestling with all morning. “I was thinking the same thing. Well, not exactly based on my personal experience, but how it’s hard to trust that things will work out.”
“There’s one thing I know. I don’t regret it. Do you?”
“Not even for a second. I could never regret you.”
My pulse hammers like I’ve just admitted something bigger than either of us understand. Yet I feel comforted, knowing we’re on the same page.
She lets out a breathy laugh. “I think I’m a bit scared. I’ve had a handful of boyfriends, but I’ve never been in love.”
I’m in awe that she’s willing to bare this part of herself to me. I’m used to people hiding behind armor. Hell, I’ve done it most of my life. But Ivy hands me her truth like it’s a gift.
“At least I don’t think so,” she continues. “My bad experiences with dating made me believe I won’t experience that feeling. But I’m not sure that’s the case anymore. Before you, I’d never met anyone who made me feel safe enough to open my heart.”
The weight of her trust presses against me. I’m terrified of screwing up, but even more terrified of losing the chance to try. “Ivy…”
